Forrest Gump 9

Hello all

I'm new to the S series. A buddy of mine has an '04 S55 and starting to have problems with the ABC system. So he wants to convert the car to coilovers to get rid of the ABC system. Just wondering if there's such a kit out there. I did search but come up with nothing. Thanks in advance.

MB_Fahrer

If you don't mind, I've also got a similar question. Who makes a coilover kit for a 2006 s65?

Cheers,
Ricky

Zax63

I'm no expert, but i will add my two cents because this part of the forum is usually so dead that it may cause someone who actually knows something to chime in and correct me. I think the problem is that the power steering pump function is somehow shared with the abc pump. If this is true you would need to figure out the power steering setup. I last checked on this about a year ago, but I believe Arnott industries was working on something. If the car is an airmatic it is a different story. At the very least, Arnott industries has cheap( relative term) strut options.

arnottdoug

Arnott currently does not have a Coil Conversion Kit for the S65 but it is on our development list. Download an Arnott Catalog for the lastest products available by application including the Mercedes-Benz coil overs. If the catalog has a part number but the does not appear on Arnott's web store than that means it may be released soon.

For the S-Class W220 Chassis - Arnott currently offers part number: C-2242 Which coverts the 99-06 S-Class w/Airmatic, w/o ABC, w/o 4Matic. This includes a device exclusive to Arnott which will turn off your dash air suspension warning lights after installation. The Kit is $1,395 plus a $300 core charge (Price as of 9/2012)

shardul

iTrader: (1)

nice work

now do you all have anything in the works for the v12 cars w/ABC

arnottdoug

Not yet but thanks for the product suggestion - I'll add your voice to the list. As you can imagine we have a long list of products to develop. The more people ask for specific applications the quicker it moves up that list.

shardul

iTrader: (1)

thanks basically a w220 chassis with ABC v8 or v12

biker349

i believe strutt masters has a kit for $1299. call them

MB_Fahrer

http://www.strutmasters.com/Mercedes...-4-s55-mod.htm

Zax63

This looks like an airmatic kit not an abc kit, or am I missing something? He has abc.

OCKlasse

You could more than likely use the Arnott kit for Airmatic vehicles. It just requires more work:

-W220 non-ABC lower control arms
-Sway bars front and rear along with all attachment parts

The trickiest part is what to do with the ABC pump. I would venture to guess a non-ABC power steering pump would fit since both the S500 and S55 use the M113. Then you would have to have ABC coded out with Star. Of course, all of the ABC components would then be removed or capped off in addition.

OCKlasse

While this kit would work, I would personally suggest utilizing sway bars. If not, get ready to fly the airplane

biker349

strutt masters has a kit for the cl500 which is abc. call them they have options and modifications for other abc mercedes.

MB_Fahrer

Agreed

hotgreek

This is the story Years back i convert my 1997 S 500 with almost the same suspension system as the S 55 hydraulic suspension. If you find struts for the car the power steering is not a problem You just plug the holes from the hydraulic lines come from the master valve

Zax63

I know this thread is over 3 years old. I am posting this here on the off chance that one of you (Shardul?) has pursued this. I see that there is a new company working on a coil-over kit for the SL cars, and I talked to Strutmasters yesterday and their kit is still a non-sway bar kit. The new company said they would develop something specific for us if there was enough interest.

Just wondering if anyone has figured out a coil over set up for us that includes anti-sways without buying a donor steel spring car and swapping out the suspension components. Knock on wood, my ABC has only broken a few times on me that has left me stranded...most of the time it fails in my driveway. I'd just like to know when I am traveling that when I come out to my car I will not be stuck somewhere for 3 days waiting for parts to arrive to get my car off the bump stops. It seems to me that many of us drive the cars hard enough to warrant anti-sway bars.

I imagine with the aging w220 population of ABC cars, there would be a market for a well designed kit.

Welwynnick

What's needed is a proper service programme.

Inspect all the ABC flexible hoses every year, and replace any that are damp from seeping at the joints.
Use fire-sleeve to protect all the hoses in the engine compartment from heat.
Check that the fluid level moves from top dipstick mark to the bottom one when you start the engine - if not replace the accumulators.
Replace the fluid and filter every three years.

That way you can be confident it will keep working.

Nick

Zax63

I would challenge you to compare maintenance regimens.
I maintain this car like an OCD person cleans their hands. However, the suspension remains uniquely unreliable.

I am not talking about the repeated failures in the keyless go system that usually don't leave me stranded as long as I carry a jumper pack in the trunk. I have replaced all of the door handles, the two front ones three times. I am not talking about the coil packs that have failed, or the TMPS sensors that fail so regularly that I may call their failure the most reliable thing on the car.
I am talking specifically about the suspension, arguably the worst system on the car...beyond even our famous ignition coil packs. It didn't work well for Citroen in the 80s, and it is documented to not work all that well for Mercedes in repeated write ups. In fact, I think it is the primary reason for the low resale value on these cars. I replace the fluid approximately every 30k miles or two years. I am not a mechanic nor do I care to be one, but I have all lines inspected every time the car is in for service, which, as you can see from above, is about 10 times a year. This is the most unreliable car I have ever owned, and I have had an Alfa. I have changed all of the lines at least once, One three times. I have replaced all four struts, three under factory warranty. I have replaced the suspension computer after a failure in the circuit. The valve block is being rebuilt as we speak. I have had the pump replaced under warranty. I have had the accumulators replaced. It is not a particularly reliable system, even if you maintain it. In theory it is fabulous. It does everything; handles well, rides well. But in reality, it is overly complicated and requires nearly constant maintenance. In truth, it has only stranded me on the side of the road once; twice if you count the power steering rack blowing its top upon departing the dealership after performing one of the routine flushes of the ABC system. I do drive the car all year round, and I find it does not particularly appreciate extreme weather changes, like 95 in summer, negative 10 in the winter. I also drive the car within its supposed design parameters but quite harder than the average owner; I have run it at land speed record events, I have run the car at the strip, but more importantly I take on ramps as hard as I can. I love throwing a 4800 lb car into a turn and knowing it will stick beyond all common sense. Perhaps this has contributed to the failures. You may wonder why I keep the car after all this, but there is something intoxicating about 1000 ft lbs of torque (yes, you can read my write-ups elsewhere...thank you Marcin!) and it is my favorite car I have ever owned. I feel like I am in an abusive relationship with a crazy hot chick who is an awesome lay and you can take home to the family... but behind the scenes is all maintenance.

Welwynnick

Sounds like an addiction. After reading your recent posts, I recognise that feeling. I've owned four S600's; two of them turbos (one Euro-charged - which has done 162,000 miles). The latter was taken on as a challenge, and was nothing but trouble, but all the others have only needed a ball joint and some tyres between them. Maybe some cars are just unlucky, maybe they're badly made, or maintained, or driven. Or maybe just not driven regularly enough.

Had I depended on dealers, no doubt it would have qualified for scrap by any normal measure, but as it was, I certainly spent more time working on it than driving it, so I'm not sure whether that makes it a success or a failure.

I didn't mean to make light of the work needed to keep ABC working. Its stranded me twice, and took a lot of time, effort and money to get on top of it. I think we've suffered from Mercedes' over-ambition and innovation. Squeezing active suspension and a twin-turbo V12 into a mass production sedan for the first time was a big ask. That engine simply cooks everything that's not metal, so the ignition and hydraulics were always doomed. Its a shame, because the ingredients promised a big, fat, comfy limo that could rip up the road like an uncompromised supercar, for ordinary money. If only it would stay on the road.

What I've done, apart from simply fixing everything, is to properly heat-shield the coil packs and hoses everywhere around the engine. Mercedes started the job, but I don't think they finished it. Insulation requires an air gap, a metal shield, and another air gap, so that's what I've done everywhere, and by using industry-standard compression-fitting hoses, I've made it (relatively) cheap and easy to maintain. That was my invention. It always worked a good day, but I don't think its a success if you can't count on it to work every day. I think I've got to that point now - or at least it did until the transmission started jumping into neutral. I'm now contemplating doing the job that I've always fought shy of - rebuilding an auto transmission.









Heat shielded ABC hose:



Not heat-shielded hose:



I could go on forever, but let me let you into a little secret. You'll never see how good ABC is with the stock, staggered wheels. Fit rear wheels & tyres to the front, and open up a whole new world of ability, yet still remain comfortable and cossetting. The wider the wheels and tyres, the more the benefit from ABC (but the fronts must be the same as the rears).

Nick

Zax63

Thanks Nick...I wonder what offsets the S65 would need to clear those 275s up front... it feels like the 245s barely fit About the dealer...I have a great personal relationship with them, they discount everything, and I have found a new indy that a)charges very little b) is obsessed with w220 S classes c)is quite competent and d)maintains his own Star diagnostic. I may extend my ownership a few more years.
Mods, I apologize in advance for the hijack, but it is a 3 year old thread that I revived from the dead:

Pics from today, note the larger size air intakes:



new cones as compared to the original size I was using





fun with ABC





disassembly begins

Welwynnick

That's a fine sight - for all sorts of reasons. Do I take it you're rebuilding your own front valve block?

I have to admit that's one job I dodged so far, but history shows I'll have to do it eventually, just like the usual W220 things:

coil packs
ABC struts
ABC pipes
ABC pump
ABC accumulator
IC pump
diverter valves
engine mounts
TCU connector
conductor plate

I also rebuilt my own turbos last year, but I think that's just unusual.




Can't believe I missed the cold air intake in your Speedriven thread. I thought it was only Racehorse & Thericker that had them - and then only the SL & CL had room for them. I'm glad Speedriven did the right thing, as a hot air intake is a terrible idea. I guess your car doesn't have Distronic; last night I read you were going to modify your distronic mounting to make more space, so the bigger filters make sense.

On the W220 there's not much room at the front. I added a thick full-height IC exchanger to mine, and had to put the ABC cooler in front of that, but it was a very tight fit behind the distronic radar. My plan is to use an E300D radiator with an auto oil cooler, and use that for the ABC oil. No more silly little ABC cooler. I notice too, that your ABC cooler is in front of your front valve block. Clever.




After a lot of experimentation, I'm now running AMG ML63 wheels all round. They're 20x10 with 46mm offset and 275/30 tires. I have to avoid potholes like the plague, but otherwise they work better than I could have hoped.



Keep the W220's running, Nick

Zax63

Very observant on the cooler. You seem to have tackled some crazy ambitious tasks. Your wheel setup looks awesome, but I know my car is rockin' some strange offsets so I'd be hesitant to try the same exact setup. Also, my only concern with wrapping the hoses (you can refute this, it is just the first thing that popped into my head) is the question of is it harder to find a weeping line if it is covered?

Yes, I am having the distronic mount removed and replaced by a single bar, not welded in yet in that picture. I just found that the 4x6 cones were choking the heck out of the motor, so I had K and N fab those up custom. I am not rebuilding anything, my indy guy is; he is a rockstar. And less than half the cost of an MB mechanic!!!

Welwynnick

That's a fair point. Its important to inspect each hose, say, every year (at least the ones in the engine compartment, anyway). The bit that fails is the crimp at the end of each hose, so that's what needs to be both protected and inspected.

Insulation / protection is most effective when there's an air gap, so the fire-sleeve should be loose rather than tight. I've tried 20mm, 30mm and 25mm diameter sleeve. They're a bit tight, a bit big and just right, respectively.

When the sleeve is loose, it can be pushed up and down quite easily to uncover the joints. The red fire-sleeve in the picture above is 30mm Aeroquip, which is rather loose (and also rather expensive, and inflexible). The ideal material is 25mm diameter aluminium-coated fibreglass heat sleeve. This is available as tube, or a wrap that can be tied around an existing hose.

I think its a simple solution to a big problem.

Do you know if the new filters give you more power? I'm fairly new to turbocharging, but I do know its important to have the intake pressure as high as possible (same as any pump in fact - I've learned a lot about them - see my sig).

Nick

PS. You probably have the best W220 on the planet.

PS2. Here's another easy tip. Add a thin bead of black outdoor sealant across the top edge of the windshield. At high speed, half the wind noise will disappear. Really worthwhile.

Zax63

Do you know if the new filters give you more power? I'm fairly new to turbocharging, but I do know its important to have the intake pressure as high as possible (same as any pump in fact - I've learned a lot about them - see my sig).

Nick

PS. You probably have the best W220 on the planet.



I appreciate the tips on the wrapping of lines... I also appreciate the compliment on my 220. I don't know on the filters as I am in R and D mode, but I suspect my setup could use the extra CFM capacity. I will let you know, Marcin just sent a new tune as I was running into a little boost clipping at the top end of the quarter when I ran it last year on his aggressive tune. I dialed back the boost an 1/8th of a pound and will attempt a run on Friday if weather and schedule permit before they close my track for the season.

danno14

In to hear more about the valve rebuild! It would be cool if your Indy would be willing to rebuild them for others as well.....