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So my pressure hose blew out the other day unfortunately... I was wondering if replacing the pressure hose can be a do it yourself fix. Can anybody help me out on wether or not I can do this myself instead of bringing it to the shop. I know I have to bring it to the shop for fluid and a rodeo but I was just hoping I can replace the hose myself. My friend just helped change a abc pressure hose on a cl65 and he said they had to remove a AC line, he said he wasn't for sure if my cl55 would be the same.
I was wondering if replacing the pressure hose can be a do it yourself fix. Can anybody help me out on wether or not I can do this myself instead of bringing it to the shop.
In principle, yes you can; a few of us have done it. The pipe needs to be de-pressurized and removed. Take it to a regular hydraulics service shop (there are more than you think) and get them to cut the flexible section out and make a new flexible hose with 10mm compression joints at each end that connect to the bare metal pipes. It will only cost a few tens of bucks. Refit the hose with new O-rings where appropriate, fill the reservoir with CHF-11S and cycle the suspension up & down lots of times. No need to see a dealer. Also do this to any flexible pipe that looks wet, to prevent the inevitable from happening again. Howard and I have done this successfully to our cars - see this thread:
Turns out that its not the pressure hose, its a abc line that connects to the valve block. Here's a picture of the blown line. Looks like I have to bring the car to my indy shop to have it fixed. What do you guys think?
That looks like one of the pipes at the bottom of the front valve assembly. Its located in front of the left hand front wheel. You have to remove the wheel arch liner; the forward under tray; or the front fender to gain access. The camera would have been pointing directly upwards; the front of the car is to the left.
For those that don't frequent the W220 forum, here's an illustrated description of my second ABC hose repair.
While I was upgrading the IC system, I had the front end apart, which allowed easy access to the ABC pipe between the front valve assy and the RHS front strut. I knew it had been seeping for a few months, and wanted to change the pipe before it failed (and we were about to go on holiday). This is what it looked like from underneath:
I raised the car, drained the fluid and removed the pipe - a few minutes' work for the valve end, and a few HOUR'S work for the "quick release" connector. I got my usual hydraulics contractor to make a new 3/8" two-wire hose with 10mm compression fittings:
They did it while I waited, and it cost £41. I scraped the paint off and thoroughly cleaned the metal pipes, then cut them with a plumber's pipe cutter, and fitted the new hose to the clean ends:
I ran some Pentosin CHF-11S through the pipe, and part-filled it before fitting. Access is awkward to fit the hose to the valve assy, so its easier when the headlight, the horn and the headlight washer are removed.
Here's the hose in front of the sub-frame. I skipped the solid pipe section there and protected the hose with a section of heater hose (I had a lot lying around...) and that fitted the existing bracket quite neatly.
Getting all the jacks and stands from underneath the car is tricky when the suspension doesn't support itself, but eventually I started the engine and raised the suspension up and down several times, keeping the reservoir fully topped up. It didn't leak a drop. A couple of days later I finished putting the charge cooler together and took the family on holiday. All that happened was I got a slight leak from a headlight washer pipe (another "quick-fit" connector ......).
That's how I look after ABC. This was a similar job to fixing the damper hose, but much easier this time due to better access, and simply because I'd done it before. Apart from the seized quick release connection, it was quite straightforward.
I was under my CL this weekend and noticed the line up front was weeping a little (I believe it's the same one as in the photo). I guess the clock is ticking.
thanks, what i mean are how many hoses are there to replace. don't care if there are 3 hoses on one line. that would count as 1. and don't care if there are metal pipes. what i'm trying to find out is if i purchased every hydraulic hose for my car from mercedes how many would i have to purchase. i'm thinking in the neighborhood of 12, not counting hoses from the reservoir. am i in the ballpark?
thanks
p.s. i've already had 4 replaced over the passed 4 years, but some may have been duplicated replacement.
Last edited by biker349; Aug 17, 2014 at 06:19 PM.
There are a couple things I learned working on my ABC system to replace air cells and hoses that I never saw on line before working on my car.
1. Before you disconnect the quick couplers at the strut, bleed the pressure out of the strut at the bleed valve in the line. Even if the car is jacked up & the wheel is hanging there can be a lot of residual pressure in the strut. When you disconnect the quick coupler, there is a valve similar to a tire valve stem that slams shut keeping the pressure in the strut. You can not hook the hose back up without bleeding off the pressure. I made a tool to do this, but if you are not able to fabricate a tool like I did you will have a difficult time reconnecting the coupler.
2. Replacing the HPE hose does not require lifting the engine, but replacing the main pressure line from the pump does and the main pressure hose is a PITA compared to the HPE hose. Lifting the engine is a piece of cake, just two easily accessible bolts and use the lifting ring at the front of the motor and an engine hoist. Be sure to disconnect the upper radiator hose before lifting the engine though or you could damage the radiator. I unbolted the thermostat housing and moved it out of the way to remove the cooling fan and belt giving me better access anyway.
3. Replacing that high pressure hose does require disconnecting the main pressure line from the A/C compressor so have the A/C system vacuumed out before you tear apart the car. It would suck having to just open it it up and let all the refrigerant out into the atmosphere because your car is already torn apart in your garage.
4. If you are looking for a way to get a wrench on the banjo bolt holding the hoses to the pump and scratching your head while thinking WTF, don't worry, it is not as bad as it looks. A long extension and wobble socket going up through the hole where the lower control arm attaches to the body allows easy access. There is a plastic cover over the hole so you cant see the access at a glance, but it just pushes out of the way when you push the extension through it and falls back into place when you pull the extension out.
Finally, if anyone needs to borrow the strut pressure release tool I made because you disconnected the quick coupler and now cannot get it to go back on, just ask. Pay the shipping and send it back to me when you are done.
2. Replacing the HPE hose does not require lifting the engine, but replacing the main pressure line from the pump does and the main pressure hose is a PITA compared to the HPE hose. Lifting the engine is a piece of cake, just two easily accessible bolts and use the lifting ring at the front of the motor and an engine hoist. Be sure to disconnect the upper radiator hose before lifting the engine though or you could damage the radiator. I unbolted the thermostat housing and moved it out of the way to remove the cooling fan and belt giving me better access anyway.
3. Replacing that high pressure hose does require disconnecting the main pressure line from the A/C compressor so have the A/C system vacuumed out before you tear apart the car. It would suck having to just open it it up and let all the refrigerant out into the atmosphere because your car is already torn apart in your garage.
4. If you are looking for a way to get a wrench on the banjo bolt holding the hoses to the pump and scratching your head while thinking WTF, don't worry, it is not as bad as it looks. A long extension and wobble socket going up through the hole where the lower control arm attaches to the body allows easy access. There is a plastic cover over the hole so you cant see the access at a glance, but it just pushes out of the way when you push the extension through it and falls back into place when you pull the extension out.
Accessing the lower engine ancillaries, like the turbos, diverter valves, starter motor, knock sensors, alternator, AC compressor, motor mounts and the ABC pump and feed pipe is difficult to say the least. The subframe is the biggest problem, because it simply fills all the space available.
One other way to access some of these parts is to support the engine and lower the front of the subframe. There are two bolts for the motor mounts and four bolts for the subframe. In the first picture you can see the ABC fed pipe and the RHS motor mount.
On the other side, the ABC pump outlet banjo (shiny hex nut) can be accessed using a long, straight socket extension. It couldn't be much easier. You can also see the PAS outlet at the rear of the tandem pump (the "Dark Side of the Moon") and the LHS diverter valve.
Apart from the two motor mount bolts, none of the engine connections have to be touched - not even the air filters.
I removed both high pressure lines over the weekend. You all were right it is a total PITA! I tried like crazy to get the lines out without pulling the A/C line, but there was no way around it just like Dr. Matt said. I also really appreciate Dr Matt telling us about the little plastic cover by the control arm lower bushing. That really helped get the banjo bolt loose. I am so thankful for the forum sharing info like that.
The dead end U-turn line is the one that failed on my car but the other high pressure line that runs between the x-member and the oil pan is in rough shape too. I'm going to replace them both while it is apart.
My question is this. Did you replace all the green o-rings in the banjo connectors or use again as is? Any other tips on what to replace while it is apart?
Thanks again for all the help! I am not looking forward to putting this thing back together.
Gentlemen,
I am also a victim of the ABC hose deterioration leading to leaking/popping. My 03 CL600
slipped right out of the crimped fitting.
with 160k miles that runs like brand new is suffering aging of the hydraulic system hoses hence they are going one after the other. I quoted the one line that first broke on me and the simple "dead end" line up front by the sub frame was quoted me $700 at a MB dealer. Needless to say i about had a stroke and looking at the hose with over 20 years experience of machine shop ownership i asked myself where in the hell is there $700 dollars in this part. Anyway, since i was able to fix it for penny's on the dollar it was too bad but my initial gut reaction was to ask a MB dealer thinking it was going to be reasonably priced HAHA, yeah right. So again recently another hose bit the dust and now i'm thinking i need a game plan to replace ALL of them. I am going to put this out there along with postings in other social media. I want to get fabricated multiple brand new complete sets of hoses specifically for the ABC system. I am going to assume the hoses are the same for the "S" class as for the "CL" if not i am willing to get full sets made for that as well. I will be offering "Full sets" only and probably for penny's on the dollar compared to OEM. What i would need is a full used set for a template. If we could all gather our sources and possible used inventory and send it to me i will get a full replacement set fabricated. My car with 160k miles still runs like new with not a skip of a beat but this ABC system hoses failing and the replacement cost makes many think of dumping their MB's. For as all do it yourself gear heads it would be worth having a full set on ready for the day or to replace all if you have the time and extra car while you do the work. I am sure more and more of these cars if not already will be for sale looking like they've been lowered due to bad ABC system as a result of failed hoses. The pump is pretty tough and will hold up for quite a while as mine still works fine just whines a little more than i would care but right now its doing its job and not worth the many hours to replace it. So, if anyone is interested in working with me to get a sample set together let me know. I can be reached at carolinamike72@gmail.com, send me an email and we can go from there. Since my intention is to keep my CL600 i would like to for my own sake and for resale sake for some replace these hoses. If you think because your car has low miles you are not susceptible to failed hoses you are wrong because with age these hoses and the crimped fitting become weak. On another note if someone might have a better source and much cheaper to buy these hoses i welcome any information as i would like to replace all them (with flex joints or ends) ASAP.
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