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As the forum is on the brink of full inactivity, except for the usual ad postings, I feel it is my patriotic duty to post some info regarding my experience with ABC conversion to coilovers.
FAIR WARNING: If you plan to keep your ABC system, that's your choice and more power to you. This is not the place to express your superiority against those of us that have decided otherwise. As all the forums in the site, be respectful of other's opinions.
On to the matter at hand: COILOVERS. If you are considering them, I know it's not just for the fun of doing a major undertaking that will cost you around $2,500, but because your ABC has "let you down" somehow. In my case, I purchased the car with it broken, so I kind of knew what I was getting into. What I didn't know was how wonderfully complex the system is. Lots of processing power, lots of piping, valves, diaphragms, sensors, etc. Tandem pump, dual tank, large amounts of CHF11s, filters and man-hours to service will keep your S-Class riding as it should, which is better and almost any other car. For some users is lack of maintenance, others will pay the consequences of previous owners' neglect, and many others just had bad luck. Whatever the case, final result is the same: a bill that may or may not cost more than the car itself, and makes you wonder where did your life went south.
Perhaps you soldiered on with the failing system, thinking it was just a computer glitch in the screen "ABC service required - Car too low - service required", breaking more parts in the process. Or you just did some internet research and decided after looking at most forums (which I should have checked before getting in this endeavour) that fixing the ABC was not what you wanted. How hard could it be? Coilovers, it is!!!
So you start searching for the right application for your car. In my case, I didn't even know the type of system in my new junker, but if you have a W220, you "only" have two options: Air ride or hydraulics. IF there are any factory spec'ed W220s with standard spring/strut setup, I am not aware, so feel free to add to our general knowledge. If your car has the air suspension, you are "lucky", as the system is far simpler and more serviceable; compressor, hoses, airbags and a button in the dash. I was hoping my car had that setup, as I previously owned a Range Rover, so that was a recurring nightmare, even if manageable. Alas, no luck. My S55 was equipped with the ABC system, and it had been broken for a long time, as it was leaking everywhere and all "struts" had 2 inch metal rings on top of them so the car wouldn't sag, albeit ride was race-car harsh.
You will find many options for the conversion kits, such as Yellow Bird, Strutmasters, BC racing, etc. and the reason I went with Strutmasters was that they offered the error capping module so the screen will not show the code anymore. Perhaps other makes have the module now, so this is not to drift your purchase one way or the other. Cost of the purchase: $1,106 with S&H (but I have seen them offer these kits at a lower price,so be on the lookout for any offers). Transit time to Colombia, South America: 2 weeks. Additional transport and nationalization costs: $600. Results below:
Front units
Rear units
Installation videos are in youtube and the instructions include the links. While this may seem straightforward, THIS IS NOT an activity to be undertaken by a level I-III shadetree mechanic or a run of the mill DIYer. Large, professional tools are required and a working knowledge of suspension system is key. Luckily for me, I consider myself the sidekick of an excellent mechanic, so we were able to do the activity "together", but I still paid him $300 for his troubles. Got my suspension on, no more error codes and the car resting evenly in all four.
Ride quality was very nice, but IT IS NOT ABC, therefore, the car feels closer to a regular E-class than the isolated experience an S-Class always provides... not bad at all, but not "the best or nothing." Please consider this vs. maintenance needs before deciding to change. Once I got the car sorted out, I started driving the car everywhere and unleashed its potential to the max. In doing so, a new issue became evident: when accelerating full-throttle, torque caused the car to go into "rodeo mode" and this effect was amplified by the engine and transmission bad mounts. I changed those and alleviated the issue, but the core cause remained... there were no sway bars.
Luckily, some versions of the W220 do have factory sway bars, so while I initially considered not installing any, stability issues increase if your bushings, control arms and other suspension components go south. I guess this was the silver lining, as it forced me to change all those parts, so my suspension has nothing but new parts. I decided to tke the leap and bought both front and rear sway bars (P/N front: 2203232165 - rear: 2203201711, $120 for both, no issues with buying used, but buyer beware) and links (P/N front: 2203201689 - rear: 2203200232 both sides $60 for all four); however, one additional consideration is that the existing front lower control arm does not allow for a sway bar to be bolted to it, so both of those need changing as well (P/N 2203308907 left and 2203309007 right, sold in pairs).
Rear sway bar
Front sway bar
When installing the front sway bar, the space where it goes has the piping and diaphragm for ABC in there and I removed them thinking it'd have no consequences. As it turns out, the diaphragm controls the extremely high pressure from the tandem pump, so DO NOT REMOVE.
UNLESS YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING, DO NOT REMOVE!!!
Brace them together and zip tie them to the adjacent bars. If you remove them, like I did, you'll find yourself in a hot mess of hydraulic fluid that no bolt can stop. My mechanic worked his magic and bypassed the tandem pump so only the steering side is working now, but I don't have any idea how he did it; he charged $100 to do it. And this is not the most challenging phase of the job.
The rear sway bar requires that you separate the chassis from the body and remove the exhaust pipes in order to nest it in the designated place. This costed me $150, but labor in this country is ridiculously cheap, as it took the better part of two days to get this done. I drove the car at full-throttle and it's now steady as a rock.
I think it was a worthwhile investment for me, as I no longer deal with the maintenance or issues associated with ABC, which in this country could bankrupt you without hesitation. Your case and results may differ, so this is just a guide with basic info, and the only way to see al the nuances is doing it yourself. If you decide to take the chance, I hope this guide is useful and feel free to include anything I may have overlooked. I also hope this is not too heavy to read... Cheers!
As the forum is on the brink of full inactivity, except for the usual ad postings, I feel it is my patriotic duty to post some info regarding my experience with ABC conversion to coilovers.
FAIR WARNING: If you plan to keep your ABC system, that's your choice and more power to you. This is not the place to express your superiority against those of us that have decided otherwise. As all the forums in the site, be respectful of other's opinions.
On to the matter at hand: COILOVERS. If you are considering them, I know it's not just for the fun of doing a major undertaking that will cost you around $2,500, but because your ABC has "let you down" somehow. In my case, I purchased the car with it broken, so I kind of knew what I was getting into. What I didn't know was how wonderfully complex the system is. Lots of processing power, lots of piping, valves, diaphragms, sensors, etc. Tandem pump, dual tank, large amounts of CHF11s, filters and man-hours to service will keep your S-Class riding as it should, which is better and almost any other car. For some users is lack of maintenance, others will pay the consequences of previous owners' neglect, and many others just had bad luck. Whatever the case, final result is the same: a bill that may or may not cost more than the car itself, and makes you wonder where did your life went south.
Perhaps you soldiered on with the failing system, thinking it was just a computer glitch in the screen "ABC service required - Car too low - service required", breaking more parts in the process. Or you just did some internet research and decided after looking at most forums (which I should have checked before getting in this endeavour) that fixing the ABC was not what you wanted. How hard could it be? Coilovers, it is!!!
So you start searching for the right application for your car. In my case, I didn't even know the type of system in my new junker, but if you have a W220, you "only" have two options: Air ride or hydraulics. IF there are any factory spec'ed W220s with standard spring/strut setup, I am not aware, so feel free to add to our general knowledge. If your car has the air suspension, you are "lucky", as the system is far simpler and more serviceable; compressor, hoses, airbags and a button in the dash. I was hoping my car had that setup, as I previously owned a Range Rover, so that was a recurring nightmare, even if manageable. Alas, no luck. My S55 was equipped with the ABC system, and it had been broken for a long time, as it was leaking everywhere and all "struts" had 2 inch metal rings on top of them so the car wouldn't sag, albeit ride was race-car harsh.
You will find many options for the conversion kits, such as Yellow Bird, Strutmasters, BC racing, etc. and the reason I went with Strutmasters was that they offered the error capping module so the screen will not show the code anymore. Perhaps other makes have the module now, so this is not to drift your purchase one way or the other. Cost of the purchase: $1,106 with S&H (but I have seen them offer these kits at a lower price,so be on the lookout for any offers). Transit time to Colombia, South America: 2 weeks. Additional transport and nationalization costs: $600. Results below:
Front units
Rear units
Installation videos are in youtube and the instructions include the links. While this may seem straightforward, THIS IS NOT an activity to be undertaken by a level I-III shadetree mechanic or a run of the mill DIYer. Large, professional tools are required and a working knowledge of suspension system is key. Luckily for me, I consider myself the sidekick of an excellent mechanic, so we were able to do the activity "together", but I still paid him $300 for his troubles. Got my suspension on, no more error codes and the car resting evenly in all four.
Ride quality was very nice, but IT IS NOT ABC, therefore, the car feels closer to a regular E-class than the isolated experience an S-Class always provides... not bad at all, but not "the best or nothing." Please consider this vs. maintenance needs before deciding to change. Once I got the car sorted out, I started driving the car everywhere and unleashed its potential to the max. In doing so, a new issue became evident: when accelerating full-throttle, torque caused the car to go into "rodeo mode" and this effect was amplified by the engine and transmission bad mounts. I changed those and alleviated the issue, but the core cause remained... there were no sway bars.
Luckily, some versions of the W220 do have factory sway bars, so while I initially considered not installing any, stability issues increase if your bushings, control arms and other suspension components go south. I guess this was the silver lining, as it forced me to change all those parts, so my suspension has nothing but new parts. I decided to tke the leap and bought both front and rear sway bars (P/N front: 2203232165 - rear: 2203201711, $120 for both, no issues with buying used, but buyer beware) and links (P/N front: 2203201689 - rear: 2203200232 both sides $60 for all four); however, one additional consideration is that the existing front lower control arm does not allow for a sway bar to be bolted to it, so both of those need changing as well (P/N 2203308907 left and 2203309007 right, sold in pairs).
Rear sway bar
Front sway bar
When installing the front sway bar, the space where it goes has the piping and diaphragm for ABC in there and I removed them thinking it'd have no consequences. As it turns out, the diaphragm controls the extremely high pressure from the tandem pump, so DO NOT REMOVE.
UNLESS YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING, DO NOT REMOVE!!!
Brace them together and zip tie them to the adjacent bars. If you remove them, like I did, you'll find yourself in a hot mess of hydraulic fluid that no bolt can stop. My mechanic worked his magic and bypassed the tandem pump so only the steering side is working now, but I don't have any idea how he did it; he charged $100 to do it. And this is not the most challenging phase of the job.
The rear sway bar requires that you separate the chassis from the body and remove the exhaust pipes in order to nest it in the designated place. This costed me $150, but labor in this country is ridiculously cheap, as it took the better part of two days to get this done. I drove the car at full-throttle and it's now steady as a rock.
I think it was a worthwhile investment for me, as I no longer deal with the maintenance or issues associated with ABC, which in this country could bankrupt you without hesitation. Your case and results may differ, so this is just a guide with basic info, and the only way to see al the nuances is doing it yourself. If you decide to take the chance, I hope this guide is useful and feel free to include anything I may have overlooked. I also hope this is not too heavy to read... Cheers!
Just an fyi, I completed my Yellow Spring Racing coilover conversion about two weeks ago now. I ordered the 20kg spring rate for the rear coilovers but, I'm discovering that they are a little too stiff for what I'm looking for. I'll be replacing them with 14kg springs in a few days but thought I would see if someone on the forum would be interested in a set of 20kg springs. BTW, these are on a W220 03 s600 TTV12. Please PM me if anyone is interested...I'm in southern California.
06-24-2018, 12:13 AM
