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The light show BAS/ESP/ETS/ABS/CEL/BRAKE et al. all you here are familiar with came on big time. Typical ABS related light show...
The merc also locked up my front driver side wheel. Got home with red hot disk and wheel. Anyway,... so I started tracking the problem. I dont have a code reader so I disconnected each ABS cable and measured the voltage output while spinning the wheel. Sure enough, the front gave me 0.3V instead of the expected 1.5V+
The ABS sensor was rusted in so badly I broke off the lead and had to drill it out - just the core and then pulled the empty plastic shell out. I was just going to insert the new ABS sensor that got delivered today when I looked inside and saw a ring which just floated around and was broken. I have never taken the hub a part so I have no idea what I expected to find... but not this: Floating ABS ring which is visibly split/broken
When I turn the wheel, the ring kinda spins with the wheel but often just gets stuck and stops while the wheel continues to spin. Furthermore, when I insert the new ABS sensor in, the magnet in the ABS sensor traps the ring so the wheel is turning but the ring is stuck to the ABS sensor.
What is my next step?
Thanks for looking into this. I was surprised you would recommend the replacement of the entire steering knuckle... but my very first question is this:
The PDF file you attached is a part of a larger set. Where did it come from...? I have searched prior to posting for a service/repair manual... not only I have not found one, but I have read dozens and dozens posts/requests for one and none is anywhere online. Is this something you purchased on ebay/amazon etc.? Where does one get a shop manual for these cars?
Back to the snapped ABS speed sensor ring: Why replace the entire steering knuckle instead of just the ring? I am sure there is a logical answer but w/o the shop manual I have no choice but to ask...
What could possibly cause the ring to snap like that? This is actually not the only place... there is another place where just one side of the ring snapped...
Last edited by sarcophagus; 09-14-2018 at 08:19 AM.
Reason: additiaonal question
Thank you for pointing that out. That's what I had noticed prior to my starting this thread. I looked inside, figured I need a new ABS ring and looked up the part at NAPA. It was a $17 ring (see below) which did not look anything like what I observed in my setup. I figured it's for some other flavour of ML320 so I searched using my VIN. Same thing. Not having a manual, I thought I better consult with you guys here and find out what is going on. After I read your earlier post, I called up a Merc dealership, supplied my VIN and told them I want an ABS speed sensor ring for my car. They quoted me the same part as NAPA for $86. I told them to shove it and get me something that looks like a strip from a clamp to secure a radiator hose and emailed them my pic. They said they'll get right back to me. That was yesterday. The dealership opens today at 9am. Rest assured, I will be on the horn chasing them down... and then I'll report back to compare notes here.
And thanks for the link to the damaged axle above - wow. I hope that is not my case.
ABS speed ring for 2001 ML320
Last edited by sarcophagus; 09-15-2018 at 08:31 AM.
This was over the phone, no part # was given. I baulked at the price and asked if it is the same as NAPA gear ring for $17. They said yeah, but theirs is better! LOL. So I said I want something that looks like a hose clamp, not a gear. The service desk did not know what I was yacking about so I emailed them my pic. They were going to get back to me.... yesterday.
I just finished talking to a merc mechanic. The part I need is #1633300401. It's the complete driver side axle. $1700. He agreed I should look into aftermarket options. Or find the tone ring itself (since it costs next to nothing to make) and have a mechanic press it on.
The issue here is this: The tone ring is pressed on the axle. As water gets into the hub and the rust swells up underneath the ring, it snaps the ring... and you know the rest.
I've alrady started looking around ebay, etc. There's a lot of not just used ones but refurbished ones or outright new ones as well. NAPA has a refurbished one for $140 in exchange for the old core but they open on Monday. So that's not too bad...
I bought a new axle for $170+tax from NAPA and had a mechanic install it for $80 since it was not worth my time to do this by myself without power tools. All the abs/bas/esp lights including brake light went away but the CEL remains. The CEL light appeared later on, during my disconnecting ABS sensors and reading their voltage output. The CEL is a direct result of my diagnostic attempts.
I dont have a code reader so I searched for a procedure to reset the CEL on W163. The best I could find was this post which unfortunately is for W211 and does not work for the W163: https://mbworld.org/forums/w211-amg/...ml#post1594315
I bought a new axle for $170+tax from NAPA and had a mechanic install it for $80 since it was not worth my time to do this by myself without power tools. All the abs/bas/esp lights including brake light went away but the CEL remains. The CEL light appeared later on, during my disconnecting ABS sensors and reading their voltage output. The CEL is a direct result of my diagnostic attempts.
I dont have a code reader so I searched for a procedure to reset the CEL on W163. The best I could find was this post which unfortunately is for W211 and does not work for the W163: https://mbworld.org/forums/w211-amg/...ml#post1594315
How do I reset the CEL on W163?
Delete the codes in the ESP Control Module and any other codes in all the other modules, with a scanner.
09-13-2018, 06:46 PM
Broken ABS speed sensor ring - Front
