ABC Delete, Strutmaster
06-24-2017, 09:55 PM
#1
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Roseville, CA
Posts: 37
Likes: 0
Received 2 Likes
on
1 Post
2003 CL55 AMG
ABC Delete, Strutmaster
About a month ago I was driving to the gym and the serpentine belt in my 2003 CL55 broke. Long story short it was caused by the idler pulley freezing up. I replaced both belts, tensioners, and the idler pulley. After I was done there was a considerable amount of Pentosin in my driveway. I know my front two ABC struts were bad and needed to be replaced, but that's not what went. I don't really know what went I suspect it was the front pulsation dampener but in the end I don't really care. I had had enough of the ABC, this being the third time this type of thing had happened to me.
I decided to go with the Strutmaster Coil Over Conversion with the electronic module, It was about $1600 shipped.
The front two struts went in extremely easy took an hour total for both. The back was a mother father. In the end if you have a lift it shouldn't be that hard. Me doing it in my driveway in the 100+ Vegas heat sucked a lot. The hardest part was getting the control arm, trailing arm, and wheel hub to line up to get the bolts back in. It took me about 6 hours per wheel and a lot of wrestling and prying. The other hard part was accessing the top of the strut in the back dash, in the heat this sucked but I guess wasn't really that hard. I also replaced the Tandem pump with a non ABC S500 power steering pump, it bolts right up.
I have been driving the car for a week, no issues at all. The car feels a little more like a sports car than it did before but it is not bad and no worse than what you'd get from a Charger or a Camaro. I grew up on Z28's and corvettes so I think I like it better.
I had a lot of trouble finding information on this so I thought I would share.
I'll post pictures as soon as I get them off my phone.
I decided to go with the Strutmaster Coil Over Conversion with the electronic module, It was about $1600 shipped.
The front two struts went in extremely easy took an hour total for both. The back was a mother father. In the end if you have a lift it shouldn't be that hard. Me doing it in my driveway in the 100+ Vegas heat sucked a lot. The hardest part was getting the control arm, trailing arm, and wheel hub to line up to get the bolts back in. It took me about 6 hours per wheel and a lot of wrestling and prying. The other hard part was accessing the top of the strut in the back dash, in the heat this sucked but I guess wasn't really that hard. I also replaced the Tandem pump with a non ABC S500 power steering pump, it bolts right up.
I have been driving the car for a week, no issues at all. The car feels a little more like a sports car than it did before but it is not bad and no worse than what you'd get from a Charger or a Camaro. I grew up on Z28's and corvettes so I think I like it better.
I had a lot of trouble finding information on this so I thought I would share.
I'll post pictures as soon as I get them off my phone.
The following 2 users liked this post by Kahn95678:
principledchiro (06-25-2017),
rickard681 (06-26-2017)
07-02-2017, 01:03 PM
#6
I am looking at a 2004 CL55 and going this route. This is to be a ''fun car'' for my wife and I and the thought of being stuck somewhere if the ABC failed doesn't sound fun. LOL
