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My very first mercedes,. I love it.
it's a106,000mi west coast car,.s500
i have fixed the leaking fitting ontop of the pass strut,. I have a very small leak at valve block which i will sort out soon.
when i drive the car in a spirited fashion around tight twisties,.the airmatic releases air in quick exhaust bursts til the message in the dash comes on saying airmatic too low. Is there supposed to be a pressure release delay of some sort to avoid this?
I Did a quick hook turn yesterday on a wet road to go in opposite direction and front susp deflated,.
I'd appreciate some help,.
thanks
Last edited by Phantom309; Feb 19, 2020 at 10:04 AM.
'00 S320 W220, '98 A160 W168/ sold in 2005 '86 260 E W124 '90 260E W124
Do you have a pre facelift model? if so: it is a Clear sign of a leaky strut. Sealing of the top of the strut isn't that easy. There is repair set available, but hard to find. Just resealing with epoxy won't work. Leaky strut tops show the failure as soon as the strut get unloaded either by tight corners or if taken on the car jack. If the connectors of the valve block are leaking, you need new nipples and O-rings.
Another possibility is a leaking diaphragm inside of a strut. The support mechanism consists primarily of an inner cylinder (basically a variable-rate shock absorber) and an outer cylinder (the main strut body), joined by a rolling diaphragm. That means that only an inch or two of diaphragm is between the two cylinders, and as the inner shock moves up into, or down out of, the outer cylinder, a different part of the diaphragm rolls into the gap. If there is a relatively small split in the fabric and rubber diaphragm, when the split is pressed onto one or the other of the cylinders, there is only a small amount of air leakage thru the split. If the split rolls up or down into the gap area, suddenly you have a much larger leak.
While it is not a perfect answer, many DIY owners have bought Airmatic struts rebuilt by Arnott, a Florida company. The struts are between $300 and $400 exchange, and come with a lifetime warranty. Arnott recently stopped supplying struts directly to owners, selling thru selected auto parts chains, such as Autozone. I have bought several Arnott rebuilt struts, and have had two fail. Both were promptly exchanged at no cost, but I had to do the R&R.
Few owners recommend using the cheap no-name replacement struts available online, but a couple of folks have gotten a couple of years of service out of them so far.
Do you have a pre facelift model? if so: it is a Clear sign of a leaky strut. Sealing of the top of the strut isn't that easy. There is repair set available, but hard to find. Just resealing with epoxy won't work. Leaky strut tops show the failure as soon as the strut get unloaded either by tight corners or if taken on the car jack. If the connectors of the valve block are leaking, you need new nipples and O-rings.
thanks for your knowledgable reply . I was leaning towards the height sensors untill i read your post.
car has 1 new strut on pass side,. So i would hazhard a guess that the drivers side is NFG
what you have told me makes perfect sense too as when i stuff it hard out of the hole it lifts up and dumps air,.
'00 S320 W220, '98 A160 W168/ sold in 2005 '86 260 E W124 '90 260E W124
Facelift is a car after Sept. 2002, model year 2003. The picture suggests it is a facelift. Therefore no epoxy seal on the top of the strut, and no repair set necessary. First thing to do is fix all leaky parts, as leaks make the compressor run more often, until it gives up and the air pressure and air mass drops.
well an update,. whatever has given up it is compounded by the cold weather,. its been sitting in the driveway for two days at -15c and everything is flat now,.
suspension will not pump up,.
going to have to beg the neighbors shop and see what i can do,. might have to break out the inner tube repair for my kids bicycle,. lol.
on another note i did buy some nice 17x8.5 amg 5 spokes,. i just need some amg bumpers abd trunk lid spoiler,.
Airmatic problems caused by below-freezing temperatures are often caused by moisture in the system that freezes in the valve block, causing internal air leakage.
Moisture in the system is often caused by a failed rubber fitting or hose between the compressor and the system air filter/intake tube. This lets in enough moisture to saturate the dessicant located in the compressor's inlet/outlet tract.
Airmatic problems caused by below-freezing temperatures are often caused by moisture in the system that freezes in the valve block, causing internal air leakage.
Moisture in the system is often caused by a failed rubber fitting or hose between the compressor and the system air filter/intake tube. This lets in enough moisture to saturate the dessicant located in the compressor's inlet/outlet tract.
Ah,.. thanks wally good to know,. what would you recommend for a new valve block,..? Amazon .ca lists about 10 different blocks,. all different names and prices,.
can the compressor be disassembled to dry the dessicant,.? i will try and order a new air filter for it,. and i looked at a site with a scots lad that makes replacement piston rings for the compressor,.?
You might not need a new valve block. Just getting the moisture out of the system might take care of that minor problem. And even if the valve block is malfunctioning, some of them can be rebuilt, some can't. Depends largely upon whether or not the block can be disassembled. Rebuilding usually consists of cleaning, checking and lubricating everything, and replacing the O-rings.
You can disassemble the compressor and change or dry the dessicant - bulk dessicant is readily and cheaply available on-line.
That is one of the many little projects that I need to take care of on the 2003 S500 that I recently bought - the right rear strut drops after a below-freezing night. Pull the compressor, check the inlet tract rubber fittings and lines, replace the filter (which is just an in-line fuel filter), replace the dessicant, replace the piston ring, see if the valve block will come apart, etc., etc. Hopefully, it will be a casual one-day job. Biggest problem is likely to be that I might have to wait for some parts, such as the rubber fitting on the compressor inlet.
another question i have,. why is everything completely collapsed? i was under the impression from reading the airmatic bible, that the struts would still maintain 4.5psi ,.
In the past the car has pancaked the front struts,. but never all four,..
will the air springs be hurt now<.?
like all newbbes at this point i,m wondering about a coil conversion and do away with the airmatic if its not reliable in cold temperatures,.
Last edited by Phantom309; Feb 21, 2020 at 01:29 PM.
'00 S320 W220, '98 A160 W168/ sold in 2005 '86 260 E W124 '90 260E W124
It may hurt, but its too late already when the car went flat completely. When the car fully flattened most of the times the compressor has given up and cannot deliver sufficient air pressure and air mass. The valves on the top of the struts shall prevent the full collapsing, but it is depending on various algorithms which I don't (and most probably nobody) fully understands. To rebuild the compressor make little sense. Most of the times the long bolts break off during disassembly, and the sealing surfaces are corroded. To rebuild the part you need a new piston ring, new O-rings, new dryer, ..... Just get a new WABCO (nothing else!!) I would replace the compressor before trying a new valve block. As Wally said, ONLY an originale valve block works, all the Chinese parts make no sense and you need to replace them sooner (not later!!)
I would propose to lift the car, with a "low rider" car jack, before changing the compressor and trying to lift the car again. Just to unload the pressure to the air bladders in the struts. The lifting points would be the differential in the back and the center car jack point on the center of the front axle.
It may hurt, but its too late already when the car went flat completely.
well, i got lucky i guess,.it warmed up and i started it and it raised up fine,. i,ve been driving it,.
while it was sitting in the driveway on uneven ground with the motor shut off key out, we watched the front end sink slightly then raise up,. it did this 3-4 times over 10 mins,. then it has dropped the front end down again,. I will definitely check the valve block when i get it onto a hoist,.i would think it drains the reservoir for either a leaky strut or valve block, which is yet to be determined,. but i also have my suspicions on the pass side ride height sensor,. If the car is parked with the wheels turned to the left, car maintains its height over night,.
Put the car up today, removed a bucket full of 8mm head bolts and 4 plastic belly pans,.(noticed i have small transmission leak) valve block definitely leaking back thru compressor.
removed compressor and valve block,.
disassembled comp in the kitchen and water ran out of every orifice,. That explains the bad cold weather performance. The desiccant looked like clumped beach sand,. So i put i
t in the oven at 175f for couple of hours
dried everything off,. Air filter rubber hose was cracked at one bend,. So unfiltered air was getting in.
everything is reassembled on the compressor will put it back together tomorrow. I think if the compressor could draw its air from a better spot it would be better i will soak the air filter with methyl hydrate and the fumes should help things along,.
The air should be drawn from a semi-enclosed compartment up inside the chassis, very well protected from road splash. There should be a rubber tube from the rubber inlet fitting up to an in-line fuel filter (which, by the way, is installed in what seems to be the wrong direction - the tube should be attached to the end of the filter marked "INLET", so that air is drawn into the filter outlet). There should be, but now rarely is, a rubber boot covering the filter, but it isn't actually functional. There should then be another short rubber tube attached to the end of the filter that is marked "OUTLET". The filter should be inserted up into an opening in the chassis with the open rubber tube at the top, pointed up, and retained to prevent it from falling out.
The Airmatic system should only pull in enough air to replace that which it dumps when you and you passengers get out of the car, or when you unload the luggage and liquor from the trunk. The replacement air should be dried as it goes in, and the dumped dry air helps keep the dessicant functional. It will take a long time to get all of the moisture out of your system, but it should gradually happen.
Against advice i got a chinese block from amazon,. Which looks identical to all the others,. I got it so cheap i wonder if it was s pricing mistake,. $35.00cdn delivered to my place!!
Put everything back together yesterday and car rose up nicely,. Compressor now releases a little air right at the end of its cycle, like the air dryer does on the big truck
Why would i need to buy new Desiccant?
Wally you are right about the intake hose,. If i open up the first bend it definitely is cracked through,. So i need to source s new one
The car still has its filter upper condom,. It is in good shape,. The filter lets air thru easily in both directions, no idea if it actually filters air or not,.😁
Only thing thats nagging on my mind is if i got the 2 rear strut hoses in the right outlets,. My son was helping me,. And he cut all the hoses off before i had them mapped,. Colours are worn off,. I used 5" of new line for each port except the compressor feed line, with good quality brass push together connectors,. Trying to push old lines thru the new, port clamp nuts, was impossible so cropped the lines back to where they were straight and it all went easily. The new line and 5 connectors cost more than the valve block!!
So i'm in for about $100 cdn so far.
We'll see whats next! 🤪
Where to source the new hose without a mortgage,.?
Last edited by Phantom309; Mar 3, 2020 at 08:36 AM.
'00 S320 W220, '98 A160 W168/ sold in 2005 '86 260 E W124 '90 260E W124
You can use any rubber hose with the right dimension. Inner diameter ~8,5mm outer diameter ~14,5 mm. There is no big You can buy it anywhere hardware store or such. Important is, as the tube needs to be bend, it shall not knick and keep the diameter open. So the it needs to be a mechanical strong material with textile strengthening
It's been a party!!
i was so happy the car raised up ,. I counted my chickens before they hatched and off i went.!!
meanwhile back to reality. I had airlines so mixed up it was embarrassing,. So i took the airlines off the front struts and blew thru them figured those two out,.
the reservoir was easy, then made a little rigging to blow up 1 back strut and then things worked like they are supposed to!!
Iam pleased to say that so far i have been very lucky with the valve block
now i am sure the pass front strut has a leak somewhere.
thanks to everyone and their advice.
now if i could just figure out why the cruise quit after i did the ecm reset.
There are a number of resets that need to be done after some maintenance operations - one is to start the engine and turn the steering wheel from lock-to-lock a couple of times.
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