mikejonez82

I have a 01 s500 I get of work at 3am when I wake up at 12pm the car on the ground.when I put the key it say stop car to low airmatic when I turn the car on 5 or 10sec.the car raise up .plz help also I have pic of the car when is low

mikejonez82

tusabes

Well you obviously have an air leak , and if you don't fix it soon you will burn out the air compressor pump

First thing to check is the shock towers for cracks in the black mastic . Spray soapy water on them and look for bubbles as the car is raising up. Epoxy can temporarily fix but mb makes a strut top reseal kit for about $100

If your strut tops aren't cracked it s time to get the car in a lift and Spray all the struts and air lines with soapy water to look for the leak

vmystikilv

Find the leak, check shock mount front and rear and everything else. Mines did the same thing. turned out to be a leaking rear shock, fix it fast before it gets expensive. Your putting strain on all the other parts and may have to replace more later. grab a bottle of soapy water and start spraying...

corkshoppe

jack up the front and you will see if the strut has split in the middle,thats what mine did, if it has then get one from arnott and you can install it yourself, and be ready the other side will go next! let us know if you do it, well walk you thru it!

mikejonez82

I went to the shop today and he told me that the two front ones r lickin bad but he can't tell if the back ones r bad to until I fix the front ones .I have to get the front ones frist then he check the back ones.he chargin me 1385 wit labor rebuild wit life time warranty.what yea think????

tusabes

Where are they leaking? If its just the strut tops there is a repair kit is $100 and labor another $150

If you need two whole new struts that's a ok price

mikejonez82

He said I need a whole new struct n do u think the back is bad too?? I have pics of the back ones.the back one don't get low as the two front ones.n he puttin rebuild ones wit life time warranty.

vmystikilv

He's getting you arnott ones. For 1385 dollars I would just toss airmatic and go conventional coils for 300 more. Then you will never have to worry about anything . No front struts , no rear struts, no compressor , no airmatic control unit, no airmatic valve block, no relay , no fuse, no airlines, no more suspension failures

mikejonez82

I don't think so he said rebuild some spot in cali.he said if I put that .the ride won't be the same

vmystikilv

No, it wont be the same. Your going from air shocks to coils. However, the w140 and w126 still are some of the best riding mercedes of all time and so is my ml truck and they have coils. Many people have done this and are very happy with the ride. Even on my 5 previous range rovers. Yeah , I lost the air suspension on all of them but going to coils still gave me a great ride. I've been lucky that every time my airmatic broke I was able to fix it cheap. I love the system, but, the second I have a plus 1000 bill to repair it at any one given time, so long airmatic and I will sale any of the working parts I have to recover the cost easily. Make sure if you do this to keep your parts. The are reviews on here about the ride quality after doing the conversion. Look them up for yourself . I'm looking for a cl now and as soon as I get one I'm pulling out every single abc component, selling, then buying a coil over so I don't have to worry about it again. And no offense to anyone , and in my opinion, the w140 s500 coupe is the best riding mercedes of all time!!!!. There , I said it, glad to finally have that off my chest, lol.

corkshoppe

only 1 strut is bad, thats why the whole car is dropping, but change out both either the front or back.

mikejonez82

They changed the two front ones today but he said the back ones still goin down but it doesn't have no leaks on the back.he said it might b the val block.that u think??

corkshoppe

could be but id guess it is a leaky shock, did you take to dealer or indy. dealer could have told you if it was valve block. odd though

mikejonez82

I took it to a indy he said he didn't find no leaks on the rear shocks but the rear still go down not as much like the front us too.also can I drive it like that if is the block??

mikejonez82

I got the front fix n the Val block no leaks on the rear at all .but the front is a little low n the back is high n the air matic to low still comes up y after I changed the two front n val block, the back doesn't have any leaks plz help I spent a lot of money already

corkshoppe

if you have changed all that and the rear still drops it has to be the rear shocks or the line. you might have spent all that money and really all you needed were rear shocks. buy get a bottle of soapy water and start spraying and looking for slow bubbles.

wallyp

Look inside the rear window, and find the snap-in covers at the outer ends of the area under the window (outside the rear headrests). When you snap the covers off, you will find the air lines for the rear struts, and you can check for leaks at those connections.

ChuckinTucson

Given that most air lines/connections are subject to at least minimal leaks, it is "normal" for an airmatic equipped car to be lower after sitting for 4-6 weeks? I leave mine at the office for about that length of time and it's usually pretty low when I get back. I've had it completely inspected by the dealer without any leaks, but now you've got me wondering. As soon as I start it, I don't get any warning messages and the car goes back to normal height.

rfar34687

Hello guys, i'm kinda new here on the site, so any help will be very appreciated. I've been having airmatic problems too on my 03 s500 not 4matic, I replaced my front struts by new Arnotts about 2 months ago, and I'm very pleased with hem. The problem now is that my car is sinking all the way over night, I have checked the new front struts and they don't leak anywhere, the airmatic pump is working and raises the car in less than two minutes after I start the car, the rely I think is working fine since the pump starts when needed, and stops after the struts have been inflated. I've been reading the posts here, and I see that one of the main reasons for the car sinking is a leaking strut, but I remember that when one of my front original struts blew, I never got the car to sink entirely, but only from that side, leading me to think that if the car sinks completely, either the leak is on all four struts at the same time, or somewhere else between the components, but I don't know how to test the valve block or the air reservoir, which I know it exists, but don't even know where it is located in the car. Can you guys give me some advise on how to troubleshoot this further? Thanks in advance.

corkshoppe

it might be rear shocks as well, since you replaced the fronts,

rfar34687

Yes sir, i'm kinda crossing my fingers on the rear shocks since I paid my arm and leg for the front ones, anyways, I'm going to have to take the car an Indy so they can tell me more precisely what's going on. What haunts me a lil bit is that when I had the passenger side front strut blown, the car was only lower at that particular side, so I though that maybe if one of the shocks go bad, the valve block would allow the other 3 to remain inflated, and I'm only speculating here, I'm not sure how the system works. Anyways thanks for such a quick reply.

corkshoppe

when one of my rears went out, both front and rear went down, but when my front right went out only the that side dropped, if that helps. i replaced the 1 rear and all good and the same with the fronts too.

kcscout

Guys I am having the same problem with my wife's 2000 S500. It recently started dropping to the ground over night. start it up and it pumps right up within a couple of minutes. I took it to a mechanic who diagnosed it and told me that I needed all new air shocks and a new control computer. I also have fault codes for the ABS, ESP and BAS system coming up. Mechanic wants $3,200 to do repairs. Not sure if the car is worth it. If I can replace the air suspension system with coils and shocks that would be great. I also have a 97 S320 (W140) and I love that car. Hardly ever have any trouble out of it. Ride is terrific after 245K miles. Anyway, what do you guys think. Is a 2000 S500 worth the $3,200 to fix the airmatic system or should I trade that car in.

kcscout

What does this conversion cost in parts & Labor? Can a DIYer handle the installation?