Good morning from Texas!

I'm Garret, and thank you for this excellent forum. I have been searching it for a few days to gather information on my 'new-to-me' car. A little about me - I'm a nearly 40 year old car enthusiast. I haven't built a 1000whp twin turbo track beast, but have done a number of engine swaps, auto-to-manual swaps (mostly fwd cars), lots of experience with the 6.0 powerstroke diesel (did headgaskets and studs in-cab and other repairs), and have rebuilt a handful of engines and manual transmissions. I currently have a 5.4 32v engine on the stand for my work truck F150.

I recently purchased a 2001 S500 from a local seller, it has 103k miles on it and mechanically appears perfect. Runs and drives quite well, with ice cold a/c (which is an absolute MUST here in Tx) The car is an absolute joy to cruise in.

However, it is a 19 year old Benz, and has the following faults:

Fuel gauge *was* inoperative for the first few days of ownership, has since started working. Not sure how accurate it is, but I'm using the trip odometer to gauge my fuel stops. I stop at around 200-250 miles and top off the tank. Previous owner claims dealer installed new fuel level sender, which did not remedy the inoperative gauge at the time. Dealer said he would need to install a new cluster.

Left headlight sprayer is missing, new one on order. Did not discover until I topped off the washer tank.

Front soft close doors inop. PO claims he shut the driver door one night and heard a loud pop. Said both doors did not soft close after that. Rear doors still soft close. Locks and trunk still work fine. When you gently close the front doors, you hear the air pump kick on. Currently have no plans to repair until I do more homework on it. Has anyone experienced a similar fault with this system?

Valve cover gaskets leaking. Previous owner repaired the same leak with Felpro gaskets, which are not durable in my experience. Have new OEM MB gasket kit on order.

Front driver strut has torn boot and has fluid film caked on the strut body. However, does not leave a puddle. I plan to remove it for inspection, hoping to find a loose hydraulic line. Car has no ABC faults and ride height stays the same when parked overnight. Anyone have advice in this area?

Rear struts missing boots completely. Thought a PO had done rear coil conversion at first until I looked closer and realized they were OEM struts. Probably going to order the ebay boot kit, but would like to inspect the struts first.

Vibration at highway speeds 60mph+. Creates a dull drone sound in cabin. Searching this reveals a large number of reasons. Hard to speculate until I can get under the car and poke around. It has very low grade (but brand new) tires on it. I had them re-balanced two days ago with no change in vibration.

Occasional long start. Sometimes it'll fire right up at the flick of the key, and other times, it will crank seemingly forever before firing.

There seems to be some hesitation at WOT from a stop, and when the car is warmed up, the engine has a weird idle. The best way I can describe it is as a 'lope' but a smooth one.. guess you'd call it a lumpy idle? There's no misfire codes, but while I have things apart for the valve cover gaskets, I will check the vacuum hoses and pull some of the plugs for inspection.

Since the car only has 103k miles and the exterior is almost perfect, interior is an 8/10 (mostly just needs to be deep cleaned), I feel it's worth putting some effort into and making repairs. I'm leaning towards saving the ABC system for now, since the repairs seem to be limited to the struts. All of this work will be done by me to ensure it's done correctly.

Thanks in advance for any advice or thread links you can offer. I will continue to browse the forum, read the W220 encyclopedia, and learn from the posts here.

 

Are you sure it has abc and not airmatic air suspension ? ABC was a rare option most. Are airmatic . Just look at the buttons on the Top of center console - if one says abc you have abc . If it just has a picture of a shock it’s airmatic

if the suspension doesn’t sag don’t touch it !

cracked soft close actuators is a very common problem . The pump shuts off the damaged lines to protect itself . Some people just glue the actuators with epoxy but new ones are recommended

the vibration is likely bent wheels and balancing won’t fix it

unless you gave the service records or carfax showing it’s had new spark plugs , now it’s your time to change all 16 it may fix your idle and other issues . Do NOT buy plugs on amazon or eBay most are counterfeit ! Fcpeuro, rock auto or your local auto parts store is best .

the long cranking issue may be your crank position sensor failing it’s a very common failure part

 

Welcome to the family! Sounds as if you have a rara avis.

Some common maintenance items:
- Transmission mount. If this doesn't restore smoothness, you probably also need engine mounts as well (more difficult, more expensive).
- Check the flex disks at the front and rear of the driveshaft. You do NOT want a failure at speed!
- Crank position sensor. Usual failure mode - won't start when hot, then starts when cold. Easy fix, keep the old one in the trunk for emergency replacement.
- Vacuum lines are common failure points, often hard-to-see cracks at connections.
- Lots of info on the PSE (Pneumatic Service Equipment) system. Failed soft-close actuators one of the most common problems. There are kits for repairs - not easy to do, but replacement door locks are $$$, and not easy.

Be careful where you buy parts - there are many more counterfeits than genuine parts out there. There are some good on-line vendors.

The first suggestion is to buy a STAR/DAS system clone. This is a Chinese copy of the $35k dealer maintenance and repair computer system. When you no longer need the system, you can sell it and recover most, if not all, of the cost.

A great deal of info:

https://www.benzworld.org/forums/w220-s-class.25/

https://w220.ee/

 

Thank you both for your kind responses.

The car is equipped with ABC, it has the buttons on the dash "ABC Sport" and the struts are hydraulic and not pneumatic.

It's actually a very oddly optioned car, maybe certain options were not available in 01'. It has Distronic cruise control and ABC but lacks rear a/c controls, no rear seat heated/cooled options, and doesn't have the option for rear seat passengers to move the passenger front seat forward. No fog lights either.

I think that's why the title information shows it was not first registered until December 2001, well into the 2002 MY. Dealer probably had to discount it heavily to move it.

I am a little familiar with the Chinese copy devices, I have the clone IDS scan tool for Fords. I've seen the SDConnect devices on the same websites. I will look into one of those devices. Has anyone had luck running the Xentry software on a different Windows based OBD scan tool? I have a few different ones laying around.

So far, the only parts I've purchased from ebay are used parts.. mostly interior trim bits. My experience with Ford is the same, ebay and amazon are riddled with fake Motorcraft parts as well.

I will look into the bent wheel situation, my driver front and one of the rears has a heavy curb rash mark. I didn't consider they could be bent. Great idea.

I really need to make time to get the car on ramps and slide under it for inspection of the driveline, exhaust, etc.

Are the motor/trans mounts liquid filled? I know some are on some vehicles, when they go bad it's quite obvious.

I will also go ahead and purchase a crank position sensor as it's cheap enough it makes sense to have a new one in the engine and a used spare.

I might as well make an account at FCP Euro, I've done two guest purchases from there already.

Thank you again for all the suggestions

 

Try rotating the wheels, see if that makes any difference for the vibration

yes the engine mounts are fluid filled and fail often . You can upgrade to the black series /maybach mounts
https://blog.fcpeuro.com/why-you-sho...-engine-mounts


here is the link to buy them far cheaper than the kit price, you don’t need the black series transmission mount
https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/mer...mer-2402400817

here is the lemforder transmission mount you want
https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/mer...unt-2122400418

the abc strut boot covers are just dust covers . If your abc works fine with no error messages don’t remove struts or touch it ! Check fluid and filter color should be light green or tan . If it’s dark brown put in new pentosin chf11s-s fluid and filter

 

@garretml... pm me. I live in the Spring area of Houston, Have Xentry/DAS and I own two 220s so I have plenty of experience with the chassis, the systems and troublehooting them. We can get together and scan your car and go from there. rmeuropean.com is also a great source for parts and most always cheaper than fcpeuro.com especially if you don't care much for the "lifetime replacement" feature on the parts. Either way... message me and let me know.

 

A very generous and valuable offer!

 

A little update - I've learned a good bit since this initial post

Did an oil change with mann filter. Found the copper o-ring on plug to be very worn and leaking when tightened, will replace at next change. Also found cap to be heavy marred from being removed/tightened with suspected channel locks, it appears to be weeping oil near the base when tight. (replaced all 4 o rings). Doesn't drip or run, just gets shiny with oil residue. Already have a new oem cap, filter, and the correct tool to install it right on next change.

A visual inspection of the plugs and wires makes me suspect they are newer and not at fault for misfires. A scan with a handheld obd2 scanner shows no misfires or irregular timing issues.

I do suspect vibrations are from the crank pulley and there is an audible noise coming from the tensioner. New idler pulley and crank pulley with bolt are on order. The car came with a new belt and tensioner.

Visual inspection of the mounts and flex discs reveals no irregularities, flex discs look new. I suspect some wear on the left motor mount, as the engine does lift slightly on heavy throttle, but not enough to warrant replacement yet.

Passenger side valve cover is cracked, used replacement on order with new gasket and bolts. Replaced gaskets and crankcase ventilation hoses, old ones were quite perished. Even the cracked valve cover is not leaking quite as bad as before. Found cracked fitting at rear of engine above throttle body, still trying to identify that part for replacement. Have temporarily sleeved the assembly with a rubber hose and clamps to prevent unmetered air entry for now.

Changed CPS with Bosch replacement, no change in long start. Will check fuel pressure at next available opportunity. Kept old one as a spare.

Replaced cracked driver door window and seal. Found moisture inside door when changing glass. Now passes soapy water leak test.

Did runout test on wheels, both fronts bent, driver front about .06 out. I think .04 is service max. Passenger front about .04 out. Rears ok.

Changed blower motor module, cabin filters, and oiled bearing at bottom of blower motor (squeaky at low speeds). Blower still quits working when ran at high speeds for a long time. Will probably replace with new motor or just never run it at full speed, next to highest speed seems to run all day with no issues and is more than sufficient.

Replaced several damaged pieces of interior trim.. broken sill/step cover, torn grab handle, got both rear floor lights working again and replaced busted plastic covers. Also replaced inop. bulbs in rear vanity lighting. Couldn't find good used black seat plastic trim, so I ordered oem new. Seats look much more presentable now.

I still have a to-do list on this car, but overall it's getting there. I find working on it to be about par with any US domestic vehicle I've owned. Easier than some Hondas.

 

Fuel filter may be responsible for long cranking

did you swap wheels front to rear to put the bent ones out back?