PHILLYCLSJOE

Quick update: It seems the supercharger belt was shredded due to my inability to read installation directions properly . The triangle bracket was not flush, and i had two of the spacers on a pulley backwards. Everything seems to be sorted out now and everything looks much more flush.

I ordered a new Blower Motor for the HVAC system along with a new resistor pack that came with it, super simple install and now i have ice cold air and Heat. Thats done.

I just ordered two brand new lower control arms and ball joints as I've discovered mine are shot, and that is where the squeaking noise is coming from. They will be installed by my shop here on Tuesday.

Lastly I just ordered a new set of wiper blades and a driver side rear view mirror as mine is completely faded and difficult to see out of at night.

I'm hoping this will suffice for the 3,000 Mile journey i'm about to embark on next week. I will be flushing the entire ABC system this weekend with fresh fluid and filter and making sure everything is full and topped off. I've noticed that I have once again developed some sort of vibration at low rpm's/idle, up to about 1100 rpms and then it goes away. My shop said when they have it up in the air for the control arm install they will double check everything really well. It almost feels like something is rubbing up against something else. it's hard to explain. I also noticed the vibration once i re-installed the supercharger belt, so maybe it has something to do with that? Hopefully the shop can figure it out before I leave. And lastly It's going to need valve cover gaskets and a proper tune up, Plugs/wires, etc. I'm getting a bit of oil seepage on the driver side unfortunately.

It will be mostly highway driving. I had the car out late last night on some local roads here cruising at around 110, it felt like driving on a cloud. I'm really looking forward to letting this autobahn beast purr down the highway for this trip.

I'll post an update when I get down there.

Once i return i will do another oil change and address a few other items on my list to do. I would like to split my cooling system, install a higher flow pump, install the killer chiller, and install the 83mm Pulley & Belt that Dave (CICBarkeep) so kindly sent over, and a proper tune to go with it all. That should hold me off for a while as far as power is concerned.

Joe

CICBarkeep

I once met a guy who always followed instructions. Once. And even he ended up with parts left over now and then. Good to hear control arms/ball joints was the cause of the squeaking and that struts weren't necessary. $$$ saved for sure! Mine vibrates at idle in Park and again during acceleration at about 2,200 rpm when cold but all vibrations disappear once up to full operating temp (95 C). I'll be following your instructions/pictorial and replacing the tranny mount within the next week or so. Hope that solves my vibration issue and good luck with yours! Might be some combination of the plugs, wires and ignition coils.

Sounds like things are coming right along and have a great trip! We put about 350 super-enjoyable highway miles on ours a couple weeks ago. Averaged about 80mph and yielded 21mpg. Obviously found a sweet spot. My wife looks over at me at one point and says "I love this car; I just LOVE it! I can't believe how comfortably the miles fly by in this thing." Then goes on to say she can't wait to take a "real road trip" sometime soon. You know what they say, happy wife, happy life. Maybe we'll visit Philly. Never been there and I hear the cheesesteaks are pretty good!

maw1124

Your wife is right on!! Nothing crushes continents like an AMG S Class. It's really obnoxious. You just roll along at 82mph and get 20+ mpg in the comfort of your living room. It's rather insane. Stop every 5 hours for gas. So what. It's a beautiful thing.

maw

EDIT… I’ve been around people who say “I can’t be in a car on a road trip for longer than …” and I’m sitting there thinking “I don’t want to be that guy who says ‘It depends upon which car you’re driving’ but…” It really does… depend… upon…

PHILLYCLSJOE

I think you're right Dave, may be a combo of motor mounts and ignition tune up. That should get sorted when i return at some point.
If you ever decide to take a trip to Philly certainly let me know. I'll point you in all the right directions, and would love to meet up for some cheesesteaks. Philly has some of the best food and restaurants anywhere.

Trans mount was a super simple, straightforward and cheap install and even if it doesn't totally take away the vibration at least you know its one less item and gives you some piece of mind

Joe

PHILLYCLSJOE

Maw, the wife is always right, even when they're not!

Yes sir, very much looking forward to putting some miles on the S class. Should be a fun trip.

I'll be flushing the ABC system today and straightening up the trunk i ripped apart to replace my amplifier for the radio. Get everything bolted back in its proper location. Everything has just been sitting back there, and although i haven't really been driving the car much, i noticed yesterday that the radio was once again going in and out and giving me an "Audio unavailable" error message on the command. I said to myself " oh no here we go, 5 days before i'm supposed to leave." Popped the trunk and checked all of my connections and turns out a plug was pulling out just enough to not have a secure connection. made sense as I've learned if any one aspect of the audio circuit is out and not creating a full loop, you won't get any audio. popped it back in and everything came back on-line. Crisis adverted!

Joe

PHILLYCLSJOE

ABC fluid has been flushed and a new filter installed. The old fluid didn’t look all that bad, but I also don’t know if it was recently changed. Now I know it’s done and it has all fresh fluid through the system.

I used a clean white bucket to inspect the old fluid, a funnel with a screen for adding the fresh fluid, and then ran all of the old fluid through the screened funnel just to see if I would catch anything. Everything looks pretty good. I am noticing when I first start driving the car, and only after very harsh bumps, I’m getting a very short and quick “ding” notifying me that there’s a malfunction with the ABC system. From what I’ve read, this is an early warning that my accumulators may be on their way out. It doesn’t do it all of the time which is good but I’ll definitely be replacing them once I return.

all in all not a very difficult job. I didn’t even really need anyone to push the ABC button as the system bled itself. I did have someone turn the steering wheel side to side which increased the flow a bit.

one more thing checked off the to-do list

Joe

all pictures are of the old fluid, old filter, and the funnel after the old fluid was filtered through it.

CICBarkeep

Encouraging! Looks quite a bit better than what came out of mine doing a rodeo after 35,000 miles.

PHILLYCLSJOE

Made it down to Hilton Head, SC yesterday. So far, so good. It’s like driving a 500hp cloud! Once we got through the ***** hole city’s of philadelphia and Baltimore/DC, it was smooth sailing the rest of the way. We have a section of 95 here in Philadelphia we call the “whoops” where the road will literally throw you in the air for a half mile up and down. I thought my suspension was going to explode I was so aggravated and angry. Once we got past that I settled down and enjoyed the ride.

I am noticing, even before we left, that the driver side rear is sagging very quickly. I noticed it started doing this after I flushed the fluid and after a full tank of gas (for what it’s worth). It pumps right back up and there hasn’t been any issues driving, but 10 minutes after I’m parked the rear driver side is slammed.

we pulled into ”South of the Border” and I immediately spotted a CL63 and parked next to it. Had some Renntech badging and looked to be a very nice spec, brown interior over black. Waited a while for the owner to come out but never saw him.

I’ll keep this post somewhat short, we’re out to breakfast now and heading down to west palm, another roughly 6 hours which will be a piece of cake and an enjoyable ride. Loving this car so far

Joe

CICBarkeep

Yours is the better-looking car! Glad to hear you're enjoying the ride!

Root Causes for Corner sagging when parked:

• The valve block is unable to hold pressure. The O-rings in the valve block can wear over time which gradually leads to hydraulic fluid escaping from the strut. It is possible to rebuild the valve block with a repair kit
• The Struts may have a slow leak.
• A filter in the ABC reservoir that has become dirty and needs replacement.

Or maybe, just maybe, your hydraulic fluid level may be low. No symptoms or messages but I checked mine about 500 miles after the rodeo had been done and had to add almost a quart. I'm sure I'm not telling you anything you don't already know, but the fluid level should be to the top of the dipstick scale after sitting with engine off and cold and at the bottom with engine running and hot immediately after a drive. Good luck and enjoy your stay in F.L.A.

maw1124

Yeah the W220 will go down as one of MB’s iconic looking cars, and the AMG spec ones are as good as they get. I’m often shocked to see mine in parking lots, and still get compliments whenever someone sees it. “Wow! What year is that?! Man it’s CLEAN!!” ‘06 is never what they’re expecting, and they seem to not know what to do with that information. Brain doesn’t seem to fully process it.

As for the ABC block, CICBarKeep is correct. In addition, the MB procedure BEFORE replacing the block is a fluid flush and filter, in your case a second time. I would drive the car for a while before doing the second fluid flush. The Pentosin has cleaning agents that may have dislodged material that is interfering with the block seals. Give the system time to filter all that out, then throw another filter at it with the new fluid. Valve blocks aren’t cheap, or easy to rebuild, so there’s no hurry to go that route.

I’ve seen sagging come and go, get cleared up with flushes and filters, hold pressure for weeks but sag after a few days, and seen the need to top off the system after a filter and flush as the fluid fills all the voids in the system. It happens. Remember MB didn’t think you’d ever need to do any of this, so the procedures aren’t exactly fool proof. The Rodeo after the flush isn’t sufficient to get the fluid 100% to everywhere it needs to go. Keep checking the cold fluid level as suggested. It lets you keep tabs on the color. I keep Pentosin in the garage for this reason, winter is different than summer, YMMV, yadaX3. Eventually the system will be full of fluid, devoid of air, and she’ll settle in nicely. A highway drive from PA to FL in September is just the type of drive that helps it do so. Hot Pentosin running through the system for hours at a time is surely good for it. You may hear a brief burst of air when you exit the car from time to time, at the rear driver wheel well. That’s just the pressure relief valve, another component that it’s good to have cleaned with fresh Pentosin.

GL, keep us informed of your progress and most of all have fun. I’ve done that I-95 run from FL to DC, stopping at South of the Border. That was about 10 years ago. It’s much different than the I-75 run from MI to FL, which I’ve done multiple times. It’s the type of run that teaches you “it depends upon what you’re driving.”

;-D

maw

EDIT… when you’re ready, ABC Sport On + ESP Off will get you a whole new level of engagement on your run… I’m told it’s a hidden program somewhere between regular driving and dyno mode… you’ll feel it, 10% more raw, nothing crazy. But don’t get silly and toss the car around. I only mention it because I keep my ABC Sport Mode On at highway speeds. I keep ESP On at those speeds too though. Makes this big old SClass feel nimble and planted like my 500E (more like your CLK — you won’t believe it). ESP Off around town dials back the nanny.

RLNY

Did your engine mounts need changing also? I wanted to just change my trans mount for now but was told it would cause issues if I don’t do all mounts at once.

maw1124

Engine mounts and transmission mounts are par for the course on these cars. Don’t skimp on them. If the car doesn’t idle like a Prius, they all need changing. All that engine power and heat takes its toll on all chassis rubber.

BTW, PhyllyJoe, is that a second CLK I see in the garage?

maw

CICBarkeep

I'm guessing you're speaking of the ESP? Comes on by default but can be deactivated when full engine output to the rear wheels is advantageous or desired? Downside is that while deactivated the Distronic function of the cruise control won't be operable?

maw1124

Yes, ESP, sorry wrong car. Audi is DSP. Same thing, traction control off. Post edited. “Full engine power to the rear wheels”… is advantageous until it’s not, like a 911 LOL.

Turning it off will let you get deeper into the accelerator without the engine management cutting power. Combine that with wider rear wheels and you get better, more “raw” hookup. To me the car feels more natural (until you go too far and it feels scary), supercharger engagement is more predictable, all of it. Try it on your own.

I didn’t know that about Distronic, as my car doesn’t have it.

maw

CICBarkeep

Learn something new about these cars every freakin' day! Thanks.

maw1124

Try it in M mode, with ABC on and ESP off… you’ll notice feathering out of corners can actually happen somewhat more aggressively without traction control intervening. And because it’s an SClass, there’s still a deeper level of protection before the car gets sideways. One of the articles I read about this car (I’ll post it when I get to a computer) before I bought was talking about how it’s really difficult to lose control of the car with PreSAFE, ESP, all the various nanny controls. Which I’ve learned actually means you can peel it back a layer at a time. If you think about it, smaller supercharger pulleys just peel back a layer of protection from a jumpy car, which you can get back with wider rear tires.

maw

PHILLYCLSJOE

You two are awesome! Tons of great info, and although i didn't post back I did read your responses on the road. Maw I took your advice for a decent part of the trip, ABC Sport + ESP off. Car felt planted and peppy, good to know for future endeavors!

Total Trip log was: 3650 mi, 86 Hours, 42 average mph and 16.7mpg (with my foot into it a decent amount of the way) and at no time did we get to 155mph in safe open areas.

I'm officially spoiled with a new road trip vehicle and I can honestly say i can not imagine doing that trip again in anything less. The instant power for overtaking, the cruising speeds, the calmness of the car at higher speeds making it feel effortless and putting your foot into it just a tad more, looking down and going "Holy smokes", it has it all. It was such a pleasure to take this car on that trip.

Heres where I'm at:
- Before I left I had my Mechanic install brand new lower control arms and ball joints. I need my uppers done now as the tops are blown out and that is where the squeaking is still coming from.
- The car is still losing pressure at all 4 corners no more then 10 minutes after being parked. I still have a brand new filter for it and I'm going to buy 5 more quarts of pentosin and do another flush. See if i can find anything in that fluid after that long haul that will give me some evidence as to what might be going on in the system.
- I'm also getting the "Airplane fasten your seat belt ding" for the ABC suspension on occasion, which makes me think its a good time to do Accumulators and be done with them for a while.
- I have a decent vibration from idle to about 1100 rpms and it totally goes away after. I believe this may be engine mount related and will try to tackle those at some point as well.

Between the trip the and the amount of money i poured into this thing so far, I may take my time with these repairs as i have other vehicles i can drive and she can sit in the Hanger over the winter out of the elements. I'll be slammed with work in October but i'll do my best to order parts and keep the post updated with progress. The ABC Flush and filter I'll probably do this weekend and continue to drive it to try and flush out any material stuck in the system, and i'll report back.

I also have a bunch of pictures I took along the way that I will try to upload here in a bit.

Joe

maw1124

Good stuff Joe!

If all 4 corners sag immediately, I want to think some sensor or solenoid rather than both valve blocks. Do you have access to a scanner? If not, maybe pimp (I mean "pay") a dealer for a scan. That may reveal something.

Also check the fluid level while cold. Some of your fluid might be sitting in your failed accumulators. The chime over bumps points right at accumulators. I would definitely do those and the flush before winter.

Other than that, let it sit. You can try a couple things over the winter before cracking open the wallet again, like a used ABC module to see if that changes things. I wouldn't be surprised. It's cheaper than 4 struts (doubtful) or 2 valve blocks (probable). You don't want the thing down on all 4s over the winter because that WILL cost you 4 struts sooner. These cars don't sit well, which yours probably did before you bought it.

GL, keep us posted. Cheers,

maw

PHILLYCLSJOE

Good stuff. I'll advise and do what i can before temp drops too much or she sits too long without being driven.

I'll run it back up to my mechanic who has a diagnostic scanner and see what we can pull.

How about jacking the car up and resting it on stands, relieving some pressure from the struts/system?

CICBarkeep

Joe, I was thinking about you just yesterday, thanks for the update. Sounds like a great trip! Road trips in ours always make me think of the "It's not the destination, it's the journey" quote. Anyway, maw is no doubt on to something with the accumulators which is no surprise, the guy is basically a S55 Guru! Looking forward to the photos and have a fruitful October.
Dave

maw1124

I don't know but if you have a Floor Jack, that might help. I've never stored mine that way, so YMMV.

I guess you should have the attached. For reading and reference, but it's the Pressure Sensor and the Module that I suspect in your case. If not, then 2 Valve Blocks it most likely is. Definitely start hunting for that module though, because "the control module commands the valves to open or close, which allows fluid to enter or leave the struts."

So that's (1) fluid check, (2) accumulators, (3) fluid flush and filter, and (4) control module. If you can get those before winter you've done well.

GL

maw

EDIT, I cannot attach the document I want to send. Give me your email address and I'll send it that way. NVM, here you go, it's still on the internet. You should download and save this... http://mercedes-abc-drive-carefully....y-part-of.html

wfooshee

I can understand why you want to flush it before you put accumulators in, but those failed accumulators WILL cause problems if you continue to drive it. You'll pop a hydraulic line and end up needing to be towed from wherever that happens, plus the expense of repairing the line.

Put the accumulators in and then flush when you get a chance. Nothing wrong with that. The rodeo that needs to be done for a good flush will include fluid in the accumulators as it runs the system through its paces.

GrepAwk

Looks nice

PHILLYCLSJOE

A few more pictures from the trip

Hopefully will have some time today to give it another wash.

Enjoy!

Joe

CICBarkeep

NICE!! In a word, these things have PRESENCE. My wife and I were dining in sight of ours last evening and a guy in one of those hot rod Cadillac sedans parked next to us and couldn't take his eyes off it. Full walk-around including one of those "nice car" headshakes. Made our day!