cdporterfield

Can anyone give me step by step instructions on how to change the airmatic compressor. And what tools I will need?

Keyrat

First of all, a disclaimer: Use your best judgement. I am not responsible for what you do or don't do. Needless to say I am not responsible if your equipment breaks or fails. It worked for me the way I explained it. For any installation if you feel uncapable of doing, get professional help. Ok, with that being said let's get started....

Disconnect the battery.

Remove the plastic liner under the car on the passenger side, there are (8) 8mm bolts holding it in place. Once you have removed that panel you will see the compressor. Unplug the 2 electrical connectors, then unscrew the pressure line bolt and the air cleaner hose clamp. Now you can unbolt the compressor which has (3) 8mm bolts holding it in place. You will also want to remove the vertical plastic liner that is attached to a support bracket with (2) 10mm bolts in front of the compressor for easier access.

Drop the compressor, remove the rubber vibration bushings from the old compressor and install them onto the new one. Now you need to remove the factory installed air line on the new compressor and install the new air line you got when you bought the compressor. This is accomplished by holding down the base of the air line with a flathead screwdriver and pulling out the air line. Install the new air line by simply pushing it into place.

Install the compressor. If the new compressor has a different size air supply line bolt from your existing one, you will have to remove the (2) gold colored compression sleeves on the pressure line, slide out the existing bolt, insert the new bolt and reinstall the compression sleeves. The only thing you have to be careful about here is that the compression sleeves are very easy to break if you open them up too much. Take your time and pry them open a little and try not to lose them.

The application on my 2001 S500 required a MB Suspension Compressor Part # A 211 320 03 04 and a MB Air Line Part # A220 327 00 00.

There are no special tools needed for this job. I used a floor jack mounted under the factory jacking point (there's a rubber pad at this location) and a jack stand under the control arm. This is a pretty simple job if you're mechanically inclined and can be completed in about 3 hours.

cdporterfield

Hey, thanks so much. I got a jump on this job yesterday and was all set to install the new compressor when I discovered I needed the new air line. It seems that the new compressor has the airline attaching at the opposite end. Otherwise, everything just plugs/screws in.

Even though I am saving myself a few dollars by doing this myself, it is still not exactly cheap. My local stealer charged me $126 each for the strut repair kits that appear to have about 20 cents worth of parts in them. Over all, I spent over $700 on parts so far. It's ridiculous for something that MB knows is a defect, but it's what I get for being out of warranty.

Keyrat

Follow the instructions for removing the air line that comes installed on the compressor. Don't try to pry it out or force it. Also, did you test the top of the struts for leaks? My front end dropped (on both sides), and 2 different shops told me I needed to change out the 2 struts and the compressor. I really wasn't confident in their opinion so I bought the compressor and air line ($299.60 + $37.45) and installed it myself. The great surprise I got was that when I removed the compressor was that I discovered that the air line that comes out of the compressor was cracked and was losing the air pressure. So in conclusion, I could have just replaced the air line for $38.00 and been done. Luckily, I didn't replace everything like the shops wanted me to for $3200.00. - $3500.00.

cdporterfield

The first thing I did was to buy a new relay and see if that would cause the compressor to at least run. It did not. I then disconnected the battery for a while to see if the compressor would "reset." It did not. I then bought the compressor, air line and strut repair kits. I put the compressor in after switching the airline from the old compressor. After replacing the relay and compressor, the system pumped up just fine and has stayed up since yesterday around 8 p.m. without the car being restarted. I have not heard the compressor restart at all, so whatever is leaking is doing so very slowly. Right now, I plan NOT to do the strut repair unless the car starts sinking again.

Keyrat

My new compressor is silent compared to the old one, if I press the "raise car" button on the dashboard, the car quickly rises and you don't hear a thing. Anyways, glad to hear that the compressor may be the solution to your problem.

cdporterfield

My new compressor is anything but silent. I have never heard such a racket from this car. Plus it seems to turn on every 10 seconds while the car is moving. It does not run when the car is turned off, nor does the car sink at all. It makes me wonder whether the struts ever leaked (I have not done the repair yet) and what the problem may actually be.

notkbna

I went through the same with mine. I replaced the seals a month a go. I have the racket and it goes on and off every 10 seconds. 3 days ago I started to get the "stop, car too low" message again. I switched relays tonight and all the sudden now runs again. What i noticed is when I turn the car off, and lock the doors, the car goes down a little and then stops. When I replaced the struts seals I was told the pump was bad. The guy put it on a battery to show me that it was not running. I thought hw was just trying to sell me another pump. I made him to reinstall the old pump not without a little argument. A day after he said he pulled the whole pump apart piece by piece and using parts from another one froma BMW he rebuilt mine. Well, I don't now. the truth is the car is doing the same again. There must be a reason for the pump being running all the time and I don't have the feeling that is normal. I will go for a new pump but before I will make sure the none of the lines are damaged. Frustration and desappointment are my major feeling right now. I never had any kind of troubles before with my cars until now. I'm starting to think it was a bad idea to buy a damn Benz.

notkbna

definitely I need a new pump. I had a new whole set including a new upgraded relay for $380. The pump has no enough power to lift the car up. It takes so long that the relay cuts the power to avoid to damage the pump. Then, it restarts again and again and again until it whatever gets fried first. In my case is the pump. I am lucky because my nearest stealer got one in stock.