Thompson Jay

ok this may. Seem like a stupid question but 2 weeks ago my powersteering went a week later the cars on the ground I bought 4 new airstruts and going to have them installed this weekend are these related and how do I know if my powersteering pump has a self lever or not??

wallyp

There is no real connection between the two systems - unless you have ABC, which is the hydraulic suspension system. That option was available, but relatively rare, on an S500, but is standard on an S600.

You say that you are replacing all four "airstruts". The usual suspension system for the S500 is Airmatic, which uses four pneumatic struts, powered by an electrically-driven compressor located in the right front wheelwell..

The ABC suspension uses four hydraulic struts, powered from a hydraulic pump, which on those cars is the back half of the power steering pump.The power steering pump is driven off of the serpentine belt on the front of the engine. Even on the ABC cars, the pump is only a hydraulic supply pump, with no controls or adjustments.

Look on your dash at the row of buttons. Airmatic has a button showing a shock absorber with lines around it - this is to make the suspension more firm if desired. There will also be a button to raise the car with an Airmatic suspension. If you have ABC, there will be a button on the dash saying "ABC".

It is rarely necessary or desirable to replace all four Airmatic struts at once. The much more common method is to replace only failed struts. If you do replace all four, you will probably have at least three usable spares. Your failure might not even be one of the struts...

This will tell you more than you want to know about the Airmatic system. Reading thru it could save you a lot of money...
https://w220.ee/Airmatic

tusabes

You definitely need to look at the center dash buttons

if one button says ABC your car doesn’t have the standard air struts , it has The hydraulic strut Option. The hydraulic strut pump uses the same pump as the power steering so that may explain a failure in both systems

joseluu

If the car is flat on the floor it is almost impossible that the problem comes from the struts. If all four fail at the same time you win a prize.

Kebowers47

For this 20 year old 'not collectible' car, any major repair will cost more than the actual cash value of the REPAIRED vehicle. Have an Independent Mercedes mechanic take a look and pay for a thorough Pre-Purchase Inspection to see if it is worth spending the repair cost. The 'power accessories' problem might be just a belt or belt tensioner