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Makes perfect sense, and now that you mention it that could be one reason to explain my ride height issue particularly in the front. I do remember watching a video of a guy on youtube who replaced that inner rubber donut on the shock mount. And i do believe mine are on their way out. As far as front suspension, the Shocks are still OEM but everything else has been replaced. My only thought was that the front valve block which still needs to be rebuilt just wasn't building/holding enough pressure to keep the proper height, but that doesn't really make sense. The pump will build and hold pressure while the car is running/driving so ride height wouldn't change due to a bad valve block seal. Its a shame because i don't think i have any issues with the front shocks whatsoever, however the rubber protective cover around the springs has completely disintegrated and the top part that you're explaining is looking a little worn out as well. You can buy the covers 2nd hand, so maybe when i decide to tackle that top mount, i'll just pull the shock off completely, freshen and clean it up and put it back in. I guess if its working properly theres no reason to replace the thing in its entirety, not to mention their not cheap and finding a really good clean used one can be difficult.
Good info and thanks for the input
glad I could help. The issue is actually the very large rubber bushing that sits right on top of the shock and when it disintegrates, the shock pushes into the bushing which gives the appearance of the little donut bushing on top appearing away from the body. Another rubber bushing under the donut bushing actually means that the shock is now sitting about a half inch higher than it was designed for. Brand new China shocks had the same issue because I think they are just rehabbing that giant bushing and not replacing it with a stock sized part. I searched high and low to find that large piece of rubber (and even asked a manufacturer to make them) and if I came upon the problem again, I would pull apart the new China shock and fill that top rubber bushing with the urethane. It’s unfortunate when the shocks still work perfectly, but the rubber is disintegrated. Only a stock shock will get it back to perfect, but will soon again have that issue without being modded.
Tough week for the S55. Pulled it out of storage last weekend to give it a bath and the driver rear window regulator went out. Drove it around for the weekend and while heading back to storage i put my foot to the floor and ran through 3 gears, music up and enjoying a nice warm day. I get to the light and hear some kind of metal clanking noise, turn the radio down and it sounds like something is wacking or caught in the fan. Pull into a parking lot, turn it off, pop the hood and realize my Crank pulley decided it had enough and blew apart
On the other hand, I took some time before all of this and rebuilt the front ABC Valve block. Unfortunately the car is still dropping down and loosing pressure somewhere in the system. It seems to be more pronounced on the driver side then the passenger side. Not sure if its the struts or if possibly its leaking through the pump and i'm not sure exactly how to diagnose either. There are some S600 Shocks on Marketplace by me for sale that if i can get a deal on i may try swapping for the hell of it. I've been giving my C63 more attention recently as I want that car done before the end of Fall or before we hit dead winter here in the NE. The car is still sitting too low in the front, so i may try to readjust the front links to bring it up higher on its highest setting. I've never done a rodeo or a re-calibration so maybe i'll give that a go as well.
Regarding the Crank pulley, i was thinking about buying a VRP modular pulley but I've heard they cause a decent amount of vibration, and they're also $1400 dollars. I think i'm just going OEM brand new from the factory and it looks like they're around $450-500 for a new one with the Bolt. I really don't feel like spending another $200 or so on a crank pulley tool so if i cant find one cheap i'm just going to rig something up to get it off/on.
Possibly over the winter I'm thinking about ripping it apart and installing the 550cc Injectors i bought for it, replace the supercharger oil and throw on that 83mm pulley Dave gave me with a proper tune. If I can get the outside of the car squared away by next spring/summer that would be great. I'm looking at pulling both bumpers and having them repaired/resprayed, some small additions around the edges like a nice front lip and a rear window spoiler, and have a proper paint-less dent repair specialist come out and pop out some dings around the car. All of that along with the set of HRE's i have for it would really make me happy and the outside of the car would basically be done. I may pick up a pair of rear quarter windows that haven't been Delaminated and maybe re-tint the entire car. Who knows we'll see. If i saw more of these out on the road i probably would have sold it by now quite honestly, but i swear to God every single time i drive the car I get a thumbs up by some random person on the road, a compliment, or someone coming up to talk to me about it while i'm pumping gas. Every. Single. Time. I don't know what it is but it makes me enjoy it that much more. If only they knew the pain i go through with this thing! LOL
No fancy tools needed to get the crank pulley off. If you don’t have a burly 1/2” drive air gun hold the torque converter with a pry bar and loosen with a breaker bar. Slides right off.
ABC drops? For it to be a strut it has to be peeing on the floor when parked. Valve block most likely culprit. Give it a rodeo. Always good practice.
'06 MB S55 AMG; '04 Audi Allroad 4.2; '05 BMW M3 Conv.; '92 MB 500E
Originally Posted by PHILLYCLSJOE
Tough week for the S55… Pull into a parking lot, turn it off, pop the hood and realize my Crank pulley decided it had enough … Unfortunately the car is still dropping down and loosing pressure somewhere in the system. It seems to be more pronounced on the driver side than the passenger side. Not sure if its the struts or if possibly its leaking through the pump and i'm not sure exactly how to diagnose either… The car is still sitting too low in the front, so i may try to readjust the front links to bring it up higher on its highest setting. I've never done a rodeo or a re-calibration so maybe i'll give that a go as well… Regarding the Crank pulley… I think i'm just going OEM brand new from the factory and it looks like they're around $450-500 for a new one with the Bolt.
Possibly over the winter I'm thinking about ripping it apart and installing the 550cc Injectors i bought for it, replace the supercharger oil and throw on that 83mm pulley Dave gave me with a proper tune… I'm looking at pulling both bumpers and having them repaired/resprayed, some small additions around the edges like a nice front lip and a rear window spoiler, and have a proper paint-less dent repair specialist come out and pop out some dings around the car.
Who knows we'll see. If i saw more of these out on the road i probably would have sold it by now quite honestly, but i swear to God every single time i drive the car I get a thumbs up by some random person on the road, a compliment, or someone coming up to talk to me about it while i'm pumping gas. Every. Single. Time. I don't know what it is but it makes me enjoy it that much more. If only they knew the pain i go through with this thing! LOL
- Joe
Joe, a few additional thoughts from our convo the other day… (1) if it was my car I’d get rid of the lowering links altogether, for just the reason you’re experiencing now. After MB and AMG designed all this, what good is another link in the chain, or is it just the weakest? (2) if the car is losing pressure from somewhere you cannot see, on mine that was the pump on its way out. But it would only droop after a few weeks, which MB considered “proper functioning”. Eventually the pump gave, I replaced it, and no more vapor loss. Valve blocks is the other likely culprit but you’ve addressed one already and they’re spendy. How long does it take to droop? Short answer is, the same slight vapor loss from reduced temperature you’ll see from the valve block (or from tires for that matter), you’ll see from the pump at this age. (3) you won’t need (or want) larger injectors with an 83mm pulley and tune. Over the years I’ve observed that as soon as people went for so much boost that they needed larger throttle bodies, looped fuel rails and larger injectors, that was the point of no return. In fact, that’s WHY 83mm pulleys came about. It’s so little extra boost (about 10%) it’s simple, but on this light car it feels like a ton if properly delivered to the rear wheels. But definitely change that supercharger fluid. Should have been done with cooling pump and crank pulley so you’re not technically all that late LOL. My recipe would be one step colder plugs (discussed) + one step wider wheels all around but particularly the rear; (4) bumper respray, PDR and color correction I consider every 5 year items… you’ll do those again; and finally (5) I think they made less than 2500 of these for North America, so it’ll always be rare and dope when you get it right. I’ve owned mine over 16 years for this very reason, similar to the 500E. They’re both Bruno Sacco designs and I think they’ll both be legendary before all is said and done. So if you like the car enjoy the ride, is what I say. You won’t find a simpler car that delivers what this one does — +500 hp and tq (550/575 w/pulley and tune) with this level of 4 seater luxury and safety done litter the landscape for a reason. It’s for a certain customer. And the fact that you can wrench on it yourself if you want makes it a real German Muscle Car (which is all of mine even though I don’t wrench — I value simplicity).
Joe, a few additional thoughts from our convo the other day…
(1) if it was my car I’d get rid of the lowering links altogether, for just the reason you’re experiencing now.
After MB and AMG designed all this, what good is another link in the chain, or is it just the weakest?
(2) if the car is losing pressure from somewhere you cannot see, on mine that was the pump on its way out.
But it would only droop after a few weeks, which MB considered “proper functioning”.
Eventually the pump gave, I replaced it, and no more vapor loss.
Valve blocks is the other likely culprit but you’ve addressed one already and they’re spendy. How long does it take to droop?
Short answer is, the same slight vapor loss from reduced temperature you’ll see from the valve block (or from tires for that matter), you’ll see from the pump at this age.
(3) you won’t need (or want) larger injectors with an 83mm pulley and tune.
Over the years I’ve observed that as soon as people went for so much boost that they needed larger throttle bodies, looped fuel rails and larger injectors, that was the point of no return.
In fact, that’s WHY 83mm pulleys came about.
It’s so little extra boost (about 10%) it’s simple, but on this light car it feels like a ton if properly delivered to the rear wheels.
But definitely change that supercharger fluid.
Should have been done with cooling pump and crank pulley so you’re not technically all that late LOL.
My recipe would be one step colder plugs (discussed) + one step wider wheels all around but particularly the rear;
(4) bumper respray, PDR and color correction I consider every 5 year items… you’ll do those again; and finally
(5) I think they made less than 2500 of these for North America, so it’ll always be rare and dope when you get it right. I’ve owned mine over 16 years for this very reason, similar to the 500E.
They’re both Bruno Sacco designs and I think they’ll both be legendary before all is said and done.
So if you like the car enjoy the ride, is what I say.
You won’t find a simpler car that delivers what this one does — +500 hp and tq (550/575 w/pulley and tune) with this level of 4 seater luxury and safety done litter the landscape for a reason.
It’s for a certain customer.
And the fact that you can wrench on it yourself if you want makes it a real German Muscle Car (which is all of mine even though I don’t wrench — I value simplicity).
If i saw more of these out on the road i probably would have sold it by now quite honestly, - Joe
I feel your pain. I haven't been on the forum in awhile and I'd almost given up on my car because I just don't enjoy wrenching anymore. The car developed another ABC leak from an o-ring between the pump and one of the lines and I finally forced myself to fix it a couple of weeks ago, along with replacing the other o-rings and crush washers while I was in there. I drove it to work a few times and now the map sensor has failed (another job that's more aggravating than it needs to be!). I've listed the car for sale 3 times and always pulled the ad the next day. As much as this car has literally pissed me off, it still looks amazing and I haven't brought myself to part with it yet.
I feel your pain. I haven't been on the forum in awhile and I'd almost given up on my car because I just don't enjoy wrenching anymore. The car developed another ABC leak from an o-ring between the pump and one of the lines and I finally forced myself to fix it a couple of weeks ago, along with replacing the other o-rings and crush washers while I was in there. I drove it to work a few times and now the map sensor has failed (another job that's more aggravating than it needs to be!). I've listed the car for sale 3 times and always pulled the ad the next day. As much as this car has literally pissed me off, it still looks amazing and I haven't brought myself to part with it yet.
When considering the cost and hassle of owning our S55 I just try to remind myself of our boating days. Last one we owned (34ft. Sea Ray) cost $65k, burned 15 gallons of fuel per hour / per side @ 25 mph, cost $6k per year to dock & store, and required countless hours to keep presentable and running in good nick. Owned it five years and put less than 200 hours of run time on the thing, at least half of which was spent at idle in 'no-wake' zones. And then the portside engine blew thanks to a plastic bag being sucked into the strainer and what turned out to be a faulty temperature gauge. Options? New engine @ $20k including install or sell the boat for $15k. I couldn't get rid of it quick enough.
When considering the cost and hassle of owning our S55 I just try to remind myself of our boating days. Last one we owned (34ft. Sea Ray) cost $65k, burned 15 gallons of fuel per hour / per side @ 25 mph, cost $6k per year to dock & store, and required countless hours to keep presentable and running in good nick. Owned it five years and put less than 200 hours of run time on the thing, at least half of which was spent at idle in 'no-wake' zones. And then the portside engine blew thanks to a plastic bag being sucked into the strainer and what turned out to be a faulty temperature gauge. Options? New engine @ $20k including install or sell the boat for $15k. I couldn't get rid of it quick enough.
It’s definitely more hassle than cost! I try to think of it as “I won’t get as much car for the price that I’d have to give it away for”. Even at 20 years old these still have more features and gadgets than a lot of new cars.
It’s definitely more hassle than cost! I try to think of it as “I won’t get as much car for the price that I’d have to give it away for”. Even at 20 years old these still have more features and gadgets than a lot of new cars.
My wife and I are in our 70's and I lack the equipment, tools, experience, and spousal permission to do much more than rudimentary wrenching and I try NOT to think about the beating we'll take if we ever sell ours. It's as demonstrably well sorted as any you're likely to find, but with 152k miles it's probably destined to be sold to pay medical bills or become an heirloom one of our nieces will sell. 😎😎😎
My wife and I are in our 70's and I lack the equipment, tools, experience, and spousal permission to do much more than rudimentary wrenching and I try NOT to think about the beating we'll take if we ever sell ours. It's as demonstrably well sorted as any you're likely to find, but with 152k miles it's probably destined to be sold to pay medical bills or become an heirloom one of our nieces will sell. 😎😎😎
Here's hoping there isn't ever a need that requires disposing of the needy mistress. The car doesn't take half when the thrill is gone.
AMG Crack is a peculiar manner of addiction. Always love the buzz when applying the loud pedal. We pay to play!
Guys if you give up on them.... Drive a 222 S-65. You'll fall madly in love again. Be sure to find one with Carbon Ceramic brakes. 60,000 miles on second set of brake pads with original rotors. Still makes me giggle four years into my time with her. 222 car has been wonderfully free of things to babysit/that feeling of dread about 'what is next.'
'06 MB S55 AMG; '04 Audi Allroad 4.2; '05 BMW M3 Conv.; '92 MB 500E
Philly Joe, what did you decide to do here? New crank pulley and seal + supercharger fluid and 83mm + tune? That’s all a reasonable “one shot” before winter.
Philly Joe, what did you decide to do here? New crank pulley and seal + supercharger fluid and 83mm + tune? That’s all a reasonable “one shot” before winter.
Inquiring minds want to know.
maw
All work and No play as of late. Car has been sitting in the Hanger until I can get a new OEM crank pulley for it.
I've been ordering a bunch of parts for the C63, trying to get that car ready before dead winter, so the S55 may be on the back burner for a bit. Camshaft Adjuster plates from 63Motorsports should be in by Tuesday along with some more parts from FCP. Hopefully next weekend I can make some decent progress on that car. Headbolts, Lifters, Cams, some titanium hardware, adjuster plates, plugs and put the top end back together. Then i may pull the Intake manifold and freshen that up as its a common wear item. Put it all back together and keep my fingers crossed she fires lol. Looking forward to the M156 Platform though, it should be a fun beater.
However I will more than likely take your advice, sounds like a good starting point for where I want to be with the S55 and go from there.
Over the last week i had some time to spend on the car. It's been on ramps and jacks since last September when i blew apart the crank pulley. FB Marketplace came through once again and patience is always your friend if you have the space and time. Found a brand new OEM pulley for $150 and the tool for another $150. All in for Parts at $300 isn't too bad. Last week i dove in and tore it apart. Pulled all of the plastics underneath, all of the cooler lines off of the fan shroud (What a PITA), pulled the fan and made some room for tools. I will say a proper video borescope is great for this job (Honestly any job) it is such an incredible handy tool to be able to see what the hell you're doing. While the pulley was off i figured i absolutely need to do a front main seal, so i ordered one from FCP Euro and put it in. At first, I didn't have the seal 100% in and figured oh well, the pulley will suck the seal in. No. Not how you do it. I took the handle of a screw driver and pressed it against the seal and took a hammer and tapped it all the way in. It actually sits about 1/8th inch inside the engine. What i found was instead of the pulley pushing the seal into place, it was actually trying to spread the seal as the snout of the pulley is tapered. So as I'm fighting the pulley and seal, i'm keeping my eye on the torque wrench and realizing its not getting pushed in and i'm getting close to 148FT LB's of torque on the wrench. Pull it back off, take a day off, talk to my mechanic, he says no put that seal all the way in and take a torch and heat that snout up, it'll slip right on. Well sure enough thats exactly what i did and it slipped right on like he said. Torqued it down to 147.5FT LB's and then 90 Degrees and she's in and good to go. Put everything back together yesterday, and i've been driving and enjoying it all Holy Saturday. Sure is a treat once again.
I still have a few things to check off the "To-Do List" like a new rear window regulator, Flickering driver side headlight (STILL) and some other small stuff, but it was a pleasure to blow the winter cob webs off and make sure everything is working properly.
My next order of business is to order a window regulator and get the headlight squared away, and in the mean time I actually just found a Cat-Back exhaust that was built for an S600. It's from a company based down in Sarasota i believe called "Renn-Haus". Full bolt on cat back with resonator delete to 2 Magnaflow mufflers. Looking forward to how it sounds as i was looking for something very similar to this kind of set-up. I didn't want to start cutting the exhaust up and i can always revert back to stock if i don't like it. Then well do pulley and a tune and see how she likes it.
Hope all are well and enjoying.
Happy Easter!
- Joe
Last edited by PHILLYCLSJOE; Apr 4, 2026 at 09:07 PM.
'06 MB S55 AMG; '04 Audi Allroad 4.2; '05 BMW M3 Conv.; '92 MB 500E
Good stuff @PHILLYJOE ... I know the guys at RennHaus indirectly... they've been around a while and know their stuff... let us know how the exhaust sounds. I've bought one replacement headlight already because I see the wiring on my passenger one flaking off. Hopefully I don't need it. Glad you have her back on the road. BTW, that factory crank pulley was over a grand back in the day, so good score there.
So did you do pulley and tune yet or is that next?
Pulley and tune is next. Always some maintenance items to check of the list before i throw go fast parts at it.
I'm sill getting a good vibration at around 2-3000k RPM ad i think it may be my driveshaft flex disc. Last time i had it in the air at the mechanics i had a looksy underneath and it looked like the driveshaft flex disc could use to be changed. I may do that next when i have the exhaust down to swap out for the Renn-Haus exhaust. A little "while you're in there" I really hope thats the case. I've read nightmare stories of different levels of transmission fluid (Which i just did a conductor plate and a full flush) so hoping its not directly related to the fluid level, and a bunch of other random stuff, but figure start with the easy cheap parts and work my way from there.
Damn car will be brand new by the time i'm done with it.
The exhaust was a v12 catback which is a 3' exhaust so i'm hoping i can retro fit it. Pulley, tune, and maybe hit the dyno and see what she puts down out of curiosity. Should be a fun spring.
Mine is leaking so another one is set to go in very soon (the little torquoise seal goes). Didn't get to it last fall before the weather hit. I want to try to get it in the next couple weeks and see if that cures it. I'll let you know.
Look closely at (Or just replace) the driveshaft center bearing and it's support bushing if it has been in there five years. They sag for high speed vibrations. Easy access with the driveshaft out. Do the Guibo joints front and rear on the driveshaft.
'06 MB S55 AMG; '04 Audi Allroad 4.2; '05 BMW M3 Conv.; '92 MB 500E
Originally Posted by maw1124
Vibration at 2k-3k... you did all the dampers already?
If so, that might be the same vibration I was chasing. There's a little power steering damper on these at the front ABC hose... Mine is leaking so another one is set to go in very soon (the little torquoise seal goes). Didn't get to it last fall before the weather hit. I want to try to get it in the next couple weeks and see if that cures it. I'll let you know.
maw
Got this in with some other minor interior tweaks (attached). Low level "groaning" vibration gone and no more leaks. Which is weird because it felt like it could have been driveshaft flex discs or center bearing or differential (something bigger and rotational) but it wasn't. All of that was fine, my buddy (mechanic and shop owner) refused to replace the rubber, diff fluid was new and full, etc. I'd been chasing that vibration for a year or 2, maybe 5k miles, and for all that time he's been refusing to change the rubber, which I'd suspected because it's original. He was right and I was wrong. When we had the transmission out for the rear main seal there was no play whatsoever.
Interior tweaks attached (leather airbag, wooden shift knob and rear armrest wood). Trying to get parts out of the stash and onto the cars LOL
Can anyone think of a reason the ABC pump might make a steady 'pulsation' sound when the A/C is off and stop when the A/C is on? Alternator is brand new. I think it's the compressor, the shop doesn't want to go there as they replaced it less than a year ago. BTW. Fixed the blower issue with a new motor and resistor. Thanks for the tip Joe
Last edited by CICBarkeep; May 1, 2026 at 08:13 AM.
Looks Great MAW, well done. Love the wood accent, gives everything a high end classy feel.
Dave - Only thing i can think of that would cause a pulsation from the pump with the AC off/on would be the extra load the compressor is using once its on. It's possible something is out of balance and when the compressor kicks on, its using more tension in the serp belt to drive that compressor and in turn balancing everything out. I do notice i have a slight wobble to my ABC pump pulley, however no sound from what i can tell is coming from that area. Even after both valve blocks have been rebuilt and all new accumulators she still drops in the front left quite a bit. MAW had mentioned previously that its probably slowly bleeding out from the pump, so its possible that slight wobble from the pulley is the culprit and weakest link.
Have someone sit in the car, pop the hood and take the engine cover off and have them turn the AC on and off a bunch of times while you check it out and see what could be causing it. How are your idiling RPM's? Everything seem normal there? Are you certain its coming from the Tandem Pump and not the AC Compressor itself?
'06 MB S55 AMG; '04 Audi Allroad 4.2; '05 BMW M3 Conv.; '92 MB 500E
Originally Posted by CICBarkeep
Can anyone think of a reason the ABC pump might make a steady 'pulsation' sound when the A/C is off and stop when the A/C is on? Alternator is brand new. I think it's the compressor, the shop doesn't want to go there as they replaced it less than a year ago. BTW. Fixed the blower issue with a new motor and resistor. Thanks for the tip Joe
The only thing I can think of is if the compressor pulley is starting to seize or has failed. Since that belt also feeds the tandem pump, you'd get some funky ABC happenings only when it's engaged? But that's a WAG.
I'd run it in the garage with the AC on and watch the belts and pulleys. If any belt is stuttering you can maybe watch where from. I've recently replaced my tandem pump and water pump pulley (slight wobble), so it's getting about that time.
"While you're in there" are the most expensive four words in Mercedes land behind "the car was cheap."
The shop thought it was the pump. I thought it was the compressor. Then, sure as ****, I fire the car up today...............and the pulsation is gone.
'06 MB S55 AMG; '04 Audi Allroad 4.2; '05 BMW M3 Conv.; '92 MB 500E
If it's gone with the AC on that's a great result. Could just have easily been some air bubble that the pressure relief valve took care of the last time you drove the car. Maybe seeped in over the winter storage? Fingers crossed.
Of course you would wonder where the air came from but that's [maybe, hopefully not] a problem for another day.
If it's gone with the AC on that's a great result. Could just have easily been some air bubble that the pressure relief valve took care of the last time you drove the car. Maybe seeped in over the winter storage? Fingers crossed.
Of course you would wonder where the air came from but that's [maybe, hopefully not] a problem for another day.
maw
Confession time. Turns out the new alternator solved the issue and for the sake of brevity I'll leave it at that except to say the pulsation was in fact coming from the compressor. The new trim you installed looks great and I couldn't help but notice the Coco Mats. Sharp!
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