Car lowered by itself...Airmatic bad??
07-01-2011, 06:40 PM
#1
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S600
Car lowered by itself...Airmatic bad??
Two things. 1) front to back doesn't have the same clearance. 2) my car lowered by itself...
I have 20" AMG's on my 2003 S600, so there isn't a ton of clearance between my wheel wells and tires to start, but I have been noticing that it sure looks like there is more room between the front tires and wells and the rear tires. In other words, the front sits up higher than the back (I haven't measured, but eyeballing on level ground it appears to).
So I can live with that.
I always leave the ABC in regular (no buttons lit up). Today, after driving the car for about 45 minutes, I was sitting in the car while it was running. After about 15 minutes waiting for somebody, and while the car was running, all of a sudden the car just lowered. It felt kinda cool and hi-tech, but I'm pretty sure that wasn't supposed to happen without me pushing a button or something.
SO.....what could this mean? Both the back wheels looking lower than the front and the unsolicited lowering this morning?
Most importantly, do I have to fix it (what are the impications if I don't), and what could/should this cost to fix?
The more specific the answer, the better (or maybe worse) I'll sleep tonight. THANK YOU!
I have 20" AMG's on my 2003 S600, so there isn't a ton of clearance between my wheel wells and tires to start, but I have been noticing that it sure looks like there is more room between the front tires and wells and the rear tires. In other words, the front sits up higher than the back (I haven't measured, but eyeballing on level ground it appears to).
So I can live with that.
I always leave the ABC in regular (no buttons lit up). Today, after driving the car for about 45 minutes, I was sitting in the car while it was running. After about 15 minutes waiting for somebody, and while the car was running, all of a sudden the car just lowered. It felt kinda cool and hi-tech, but I'm pretty sure that wasn't supposed to happen without me pushing a button or something.
SO.....what could this mean? Both the back wheels looking lower than the front and the unsolicited lowering this morning?
Most importantly, do I have to fix it (what are the impications if I don't), and what could/should this cost to fix?
The more specific the answer, the better (or maybe worse) I'll sleep tonight. THANK YOU!
07-02-2011, 08:59 AM
#2
you dont have airmatic, you have abc which uses hydraulic fluid instead of an air compressorl
check the abc fluid level, and if its empty, stop you just blew a abc hose. turn off car or you will burn out the pump. abc hose is relatively cheap, new hose and fluid are a couple hundred bucks
if fluid is full, when you restart it, crank the steering wheel all the way to the right and then all the way to the left, to reset it, if it raises back up, chalk it up as a fluke and dont worry about it. Be very careful that your wheel lip does not hit the fenders when you crank the wheel if it's slammed down. In front, otherwise you'll also need sheet metal work!!!
if it wont come back up, and the car is sitting slammed on one or more corners and will not come up, get ready to open your wallet......four figure repair time. either your abc pump or valve blocks or some other pricey component went out
check the abc fluid level, and if its empty, stop you just blew a abc hose. turn off car or you will burn out the pump. abc hose is relatively cheap, new hose and fluid are a couple hundred bucks
if fluid is full, when you restart it, crank the steering wheel all the way to the right and then all the way to the left, to reset it, if it raises back up, chalk it up as a fluke and dont worry about it. Be very careful that your wheel lip does not hit the fenders when you crank the wheel if it's slammed down. In front, otherwise you'll also need sheet metal work!!!
if it wont come back up, and the car is sitting slammed on one or more corners and will not come up, get ready to open your wallet......four figure repair time. either your abc pump or valve blocks or some other pricey component went out
Last edited by tusabes; 07-02-2011 at 07:15 PM.
