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I just purchased a 2011 S600 and 2 days later have my first problem. The power steering hose blew a hole in it leaking out onto the serpentine belt and causing the belt to come off. I had to pull the electric fan out to put the belt back so I could find the leak, it is the upper part of the hose just 1 inch after the steel u turn. How difficult is it to replace? What has to come off to get it out? As a brand new owner I do not have a service manual for it yet so am going in blind, Please Help. Any advice as to what manual to buy?
se blew a hole in it leaking out onto the surpentine belt and causing the belt to come off.
se blew a hole in it leaking out onto the surpentine belt and causing the belt to come off.
mercedes service information is available online by subscription from Mercedes. Virtually every procedure you encounter will contain link references to other procedures.
you can subscribe for various periods, the least expensive being 24 hours. Have lots of printer paper available. Go to startekinfo.com
There are various criminals who download this information and then sell it on eBay ... I’d be surprised if they find a V-12 S class worth their time.
That is an ABC hose, not a power steering hose. Mine also blew on me early last year. They're expensive from the dealers.
When you change it you should also replace the pulsation dampener on the pump (black sphere thing).
When you remove the pulsation dampener the hose is reasonably easy to access on the pump end. You need to undo it along where it mounts to the head then get underneath.
Underneath things are a bit trickier. There is a pipe bracket that is held on with one of the bolts that also holds the AC compressor. You need to pull the (long) bolt right out to remove the bracket. Unfortunately it will hit against the subframe so you need to unbolt the engine mount on this side and jack the engine up slightly. This will allow you to pull the bolt out and remove the pipe bracket. Then just follow the pipe to the ABC valve block and unbolt and pull out.
The job is not difficult as such but just a bit more time consuming than simply replacing a pipe.
Thanks pillowshot, your analysis was bang on. Upon further discovery by taking off the undercarriage protection panels after nervously putting the car on the lift for the first time, yes the hose goes to the ABC control valve at the left fender not the steering rack. When I was looking for the hose on line everyone referred to it as a power steering hose so I did too. I ordered a pulsation dampener today along with the hose. I am lucky that I do not need to lift the engine up a bit to get the AC bolt out it clears on mine by about 1/16 of a inch (made my day). When the parts arrive is there any precautions I need to do in bleeding the system. Thanks for your help.
Ah, you are very lucky then and I suspect your engine mount must be good on this side. Mine was actually collapsed (I only found this out a month ago though and didn't know at the time) when I tried this job and the engine had to be lifted slightly.
I took no precaution. The pump is already primed with fluid, when you pull the pipe off you will get a tiny spillage but really not much. Just clean everything with brake cleaner before disconnecting pipes to ensure no dirt or oil contaminants gets into the system. This is the high pressure line so it will just pressurise when the pump starts turning.
Simply replace the pipe and continue as you were. Best of luck with it.
Thanks Pillowshot, a friend of mine with a Porsche talked with his foreign car repair shop and the owner said he has done a few of these hose replacements on the S600s. His advice is to not start the car as it will hurt the pump and suggest that I flat bead the car to him after I reassemble it and he will bleed it. His shop is about a hour away. The pump still has oil in it so is not dry and the hose is after the pump so I am feeling the you (Pillowshot) have it right should not hurt the pump and what air is in the new hose will just work through the system.
Is my thinking wrong?
Air in the system can be bled simply by raising and lowering the car. Any remnants will bleed over time on its own. This is the procedure most places would follow when replacing a strut for example. I spoke to some Indy's who told me there are bleed valves by each strut in the rear but it just isn't necessary to use them.
Personally I would put the pipe in, raise and lower the car about 10 times and then pat yourself on the back for a job well done.
The install of the ABC hose and pulsation dampener went fine no leaks and the system required about 2/3 of a liter of new fluid to bring it back to full. Car is running great again. Thanks