hello
I own a 1994 sl 600 and i woke up this mornign to my front end to be very low? I have no idea what the problem is? can you please help me look to where the problem might be. there is hydraulic fluild in the resevore so? i don't think there is a leak? could it be a fuse for the pump?

 

if you have the ADS than i cant help, if you dont then you shocks must be replaced. same thnghappended to my 300TE. and the ride will feel wavey. \

if you do have ADS than go to a trusted mahanic becaue i have heard that they are a LOT of money to fix/replace.

mark

 

ouch that sucks, same thing happened to my brother. We ended up replacing the valves that control the hydrolic fluid and that fixed it.

BUT even after that it happened again as I was swapping tires. This time I took it upon myself to try and repair it. Sounds kinda retarded, but I went to each wheel well and lifted up the car, and just 'pumped' it up and down. Hey as retarded as it sounds it worked, car got right back up and we were on our way.

I must admitt though, then the front suspension is out, the car just looks soooooo sick! Almost a shame to get it fixed.

 

This is my first time posting. I've been a reader for a long time though. I just got a 1993 600SL. I have very little experience with these cars but I don't mind getting my hands dirty and figuring things out. Plus, I couldn't pass up what seemed like a good deal. It is kind of interesting because it seems like it is a German version imported to the US. For example, the cruise control control arm is all in German. Also, it doesn't have a wheel change switch next to the level control switch. In any case, I decided to check all the fluids and before I understood what I was doing, I pulled the cap and filter out of the ADS hydraulic fluid reservoir. The next morning I came out and the front end seemed really low. I was able to drive it but it got lower to the point that it was hitting the ground regularly after a few miles. I drove it home carefully and searched the forums here. I found various suggestions, such as making sure the fluid was topped off and resetting the system by disconnecting the battery. I've also tried jacking up the car and lowering it several times. It seems to stay a little higher when I do that (maybe an inch or two) but it eventually drops down to where the front end is less than an inch from the ground.

The ADS light comes on when I first reconnect the battery but after I turn the steering wheel to both stops, it goes out.

I'm thinking that maybe I contaminated the system when I opened the cap without cleaning everything around it first. Is there something else that coincidentally may have gone bad? Also, is there a way to verify what might be bad? I know there are a lot of people who are going to recommend pulling out the ADS. I'm not quite willing to do that yet. It seems like these systems can be repaired if you can figure out what is wrong and are willing to get dirty. Is there anyone who can point me in the right direction? Maybe to some sort of troubleshooting guide?

Thanks in advance!

 

If you have no external hydraulic fluid leaks you may have a faulty distribution valve block. To test this I would disconnect the battery and disconnect the return line at the fluid reservoir. If the vehicle lowers and commensurate fluid flows out of the return line, then the valve block has a leak.