paccord

Hi, I have a 2011 S600 with 36K on it, I have owned it for 9 months a fantastic car. I am planning to do a flush on the ABC system as I do not have any records of it being done. The fluid is dark in color (not black thank God). I have 12 liters of fluid, a new filter and have bought front and rear accumulators. The accumulators on the car appear to be original on the car. When I first got the car the shipper blew the primary hose from the pump to the front valve body (fortunately did not run the ABC tank out of fluid so the pump never ran dry) so I replaced that line and replaced the pulsation dampener on the pump. I also purchased the flush tool for the job. My questions are; do I need to do a rodeo before flushing the system? and during the flushing operation? Can I instead raise and lower the car with the dash switch instead? I do not have access to STAR to activate the rodeo function. If the rodeo is necessary is there a scan tool that I can buy cheaper than STAR to start the rodeo? I also understand that I need to get the fluid up to 80 deg C before the flush, will driving the car and raising and lowering it accomplish this?

Thanks for your help
Jon

tx170754

I’ve just did this at the dealer for $325 and yes they did calibrate the system after by a “rodeo” procedure, not so sure if it can be done in your garage using STAR or another tool, but after seeing it I really doubt it. Wether is necessary or not that is another discussion.

tx170754

And BTW my car is a CL600 with 31,000 miles, the ABC fluid was not dirty but I did not want to take any chances.

vettebk

Change the green pentocin fluid every 25-30K miles with a new filter (3 micron) and check the hoses for any signs of wetness once a year. Clean fluid means fewer ABC problems.

WarrenC

Yes, you can do it without the star system. Just make sure it is good and warmed up and use the buttons on the dash to raise and lower the suspension.

DaleB

You can indeed do this in your garage, with or without XENTRY/DAS. The rodeo is pretty entertaining to watch, bit not really needed. In fact, I was afraid the thing was going to spit the fluid flush tool out the top of the reservoir when it was doing the rodeo. Drive the car for 20-30 minutes beforehand to get the oil warmed up, and use the button to raise and lower it as has been suggested.

paccord

Thanks Dale B, I was just looking for a confirmation.
Jon

auburn2

autoenginuity with the mercedes expansion will do the rodeo. That is $250 for the basic tool and $250 for the mercedes expansion.

lionsfan54

I also wouldn't freak too much about it being a dark color. It seems to darken up fairly quick, but then stays like that. And, another vote for doing it with the "raise/lower" button. You'll be fine

paccord

Thanks Lionsfan54, I am just waiting for delivery of a 27mm wrench that I will modify to fit the front accumulator and then will start the flush.

paccord

Finished the ABC flush and replaced the 2 accumulators. I had to bend a 27mm wrench and narrow the open end to get it to fit on the front accumulator. That accumulator was on very tight, the rear was easy to do. The flush was easy with the flushing tool and my wife raising and lowering the suspension from the dash. Here



are some pictures of the wrench. Thanks for your help.

DaleB

Nice work on the wrench. When I did mine we resorted to a chain wrench, which also worked very well.

nath_h

I just changed my ABC fluid yesterday. Just curious...where do you all think this fluid ranks in terms of being dirty? It looked pretty dark to me.

nath_h

another of the whole bucket...

vettebk

The fluid should be clear of debris and green in color. Yours looks a little dirty to me also. In my experience, the fluid needs to be changed about every 20K miles or two years if you want to avoid problems.

WarrenC

I would say it looks typical from what I've seen. It probably stinks too?