Thanks Rod_84. Yeah, I sort of knew what I was saying didn't make good sense but I went with it anyway. I have seen/read many references to the $300 diagnosis hardware and the Rodeo and Pitch routine. Guess I'm trying to do what I can from the ease and comfort of my garage. If I keep the car next time it goes to my independent MB mechanic might get him to do the full flush. Interestingly, when I took it to him for initial inspection and to correct the valve cover gaskets he said MB did not call for any service on the ABC system. But, similar to the transmission, that just does not make good sense to me. But I am new to all of this.

 

YES it is in fact true that there is no service interval. Technically according to MB, filters and fluid last FOREVER.

Remember when they said the W220 s-class had a 'filled for life' transmission? Then they reversed their position when transmissions blew up and said 'not your life, we meant the life of the car'. Then they came out with a service interval and started recommending fluid changes.

In theory, if you are leasing the car for 3yrs you technically don't need to change the oil either. The car will probably still run when you return it. Would you do that though?

Flush the ABC oil. I bought a filter and some CHF11S (can't remember if Pentosin or one of the other brands) and it was approx $240 incl shipping (bought out of state, so no tax.. used a few coupon codes too).

I flushed TEN liters through the system, then replaced the filter. I will probably not have an ABC problem for 5-10 yrs based on what I could see of the old & new fluid. I will probably flush every 2 years though.

$240 is half the cost of a strut. And there are four of those. Plus valve blocks, hoses, valves, pump, etc.

And remember if one part goes (strut leak) you'll drain the fluid then burn up the pump. So you could easily hit $1000 or more from just one part failure.

I'd flush the system completely and drive the car for 3 years without a worry.

No, you won't dislodge anything bad enough to hurt the system. But as Rod said, yes, you'll dislodge lots of small bits which is the point of the flush. Small bits sticking together over time make large bits which then clog your system up.

Clean it up now and don't worry about it.

 

Thanks for the info. Yep, I already have the Pentosin fluid (CHF11S I believe it is) and a new pump filter. I put a new pump filter in when I got the car a few months ago. In the next day or so I am going to go the DIY flush.

In case anyone is interested I have attached a picture of the fluid currently in my car (presumably original as I did not see where it had been flushed/replaced in the service records I have) AND fresh fluid.

Thanks again to all...Mark

 

2005 SL55 AMG with 105,000 miles here.

I change my fluid per the procedure in my signature every 20,000 miles. The only ABC components I've changed are the accumulators as well as rebuilt both valve blocks at 100,000 miles as preventive maintenance. Pump and all struts and hoses are all original. Hoses show no sign of weeping or leaking. I inspect them all every 10,000 miles.

 

Have read everything here...... My two cents; I purchased a 08 SL 550.... Took it to my trusted mechanic after I inspected the abc fluid and found it to be tan in color and suspect it has never ever been changed nor the filter ..... So I had the brake fluid the auto trans and the ABC fluids and filter changed .... Then I get the whining sound that I suspect is the psd dampner .... And order same for $400 while I am away on business.... Today I start the auto and notice no whining noises above 1500 rpm..... But the suspension abc fails..... So my mechanic states it happens as the system is used to more viscosity in the mineral oil....so now I need a $1800 tandem pump.... New mineral oil and so on.... Here is my take ... My thoughts ... The car is exactly 6 years old.... The mineral oil and filter for abc was never changed.... I think at 41k miles my pump was going to fail no matter what....$3k later all fixed I think..... But here is what I believe and I think should happen with all abc cars..... As the specialists in Germany state .... This system CAN last. 300 k miles BUT you must somewhere at 25-30k miles change the pentisol and the filter or every 3 years in order to have no issues with the system. So a used $40k car with no service hit the wall and now I pay for this due to no service before..... So all new pump and dampner and pentisol..... I will every 25k service the filter and flush fluids:... Oh and it seems the mechanics out there with +30 years say .... Don't buy a re manufactured pump.... Get a new OEM... So that is what I have done.... I will write if I have more issues or thoughts!!!!

'99. 430 clk
'10. 350 e coupe
'08. 550 SL

 

Hi everybody and thanks in advance....
I just bought an 04 sl500....
Ill be replacing the abc fluid in the week or so...
1st question. Is the abc fluid the same as the power steering. When replacing the abc fluid will ill be replacing the power stering as well?

2nd question the fluid that works for the roof. I ve checked and it seems to be a seald unit... I can tell that the oil is not looking to good.... How could i replace it ?

Thanks guys

 

Fluid for Power Steering and ABC sys is "Pentosin CHF 11S"
You can buy it from the dealer for $40 a quart or you can order it online or from napa for about $20 a quart. Some people say they buy it in larger containers for even less.
The Power Steering and the ABC will be two separate reservoirs. I don't know the 04 intimately but if it is like my 07 you should order no less than 10 quarts. I flushed mine a while ago, I will tell you how I did it, I am assuming your 04 is similar, but verify that.
Take the return line off the ABC reservoir.
Get a 4 or 5 foot piece of clear tubing and an adapter to mate this to the return line. Stick the extended return line in a bucket.
Open up no less than a half a dozen of the cans and get them ready to pour.
Have your helper start the car and continually cycle the ride height button while you add fluid.
CAUTION: DO NOT LET THE RESERVOIR GET EMPTY. If you have trouble keeping up, shut the car down until you get your act together.
After a while you will see the fluid coming out look as clean as the new fluid you are putting in. Shut the car off and hook the return line back up and install the new filter. Set fluid level in reservoir to the "engine off" mark. Wait a while (like 15 min) and make sure the fluid level is still set properly, (easy to overfill, and messy). Start car back up and cycle height a few time and recheck levels for "engine on" and "engine off". I drove the car for about a week then changed the filter again.
I ordered my parts from FCP euro. They were about half of what a dealer wanted.
Good Luck
Rich

 

power steering fluid and ABC fluid is the same, but as el gringo mentions they are in separate reservoirs. Amazon is the cheapest place to get it in 5L containers ($81) or 20L containers ($231).

Top fluid can be changed out, but you need a syringe with a tube to extract it. http://www.tophydraulicsinc.com/en/ was supposedly making one available that would work perfectly, but I haven't seen an update on if they have yet. You take out the 2 screws on top, one is to let air in/out when you are sucking it out and putting it back in, one is to actually get it out/in. Use FeBi 02615 for the top fluid. It is similar to CHF 11s, but doesn't have the awful smell. This is important in the event there is a leak in the system that you don't have really smelly fluid spilled and soaked into things in your interior. Here is a past post by top hydraulics about getting fluid out of the system:

"How would you flush out old or bad fluid from the soft-top system? Roughly half of the hydraulic fluid is stored in the reservoir; the rest is in the pump, the lines, and the hydraulic cylinders. There are two levels of flushing:

1) Preventative maintenance. In this case, it is not necessary to get all of the old fluid evacuated. I would suggest siphoning all fluid out of the reservoir, re-filling the reservoir, moving the top one half cycle (all the way up or all the way down), emptying the reservoir again, and refilling it again.

2) Removing the wrong fluid. You need to get all old fluid out of the system first. Small amounts of the wrong chemical will still almost do as much harm as large amounts. In extreme cases such as water in the fluid, it must be blown out of the hydraulic lines with compressed air. Frankly, if you know that you have the wrong fluid in your system, then you should have Top Hydraulics upgrade all seven cylinders at once. Top Hydraulics' seals are almost insensitive to most fluids, and they can deal well with water.
The hydraulic lines are attached to the pump by a retainer plate. Once you unfasten that plate, all lines can be pulled out of the pump and they will still be in the correct order because they will still be attached to the retainer plate. (You will find it easiest to pull the lines out of the pump one by one, while they are still attached to the retainer plate.) With the lines removed from the pump, you can now cycle most fluid out of the cylinders and the lines by cycling the top manually. The pump still needs to be removed and fully drained. You can get the fluid out of the pump portion by pulling off the electric motor."

 

I am getting ready to do an ABC refill in a few weeks and it just dawns on me thanks to carguyshu's comment (thanks), I ought to change out the power steering fluid at the same time. From reading above, it looks like 5 qrts/lts will result in a "mini-flush." According to the ABC maintenance article:

Does anyone know how much Pentosin is in the power steering system?

It sounds like purchasing the 20L container from Amazon is the way to go. Do a complete ABC fluid change and change the power steering fluid at the same time. Probably dispose of any remaining Pentosin as the partially full container will no doubt collect some water as soon as the moisture in the air that got into the container condenses out.

 

I read l somewhere the abc system was claimed to be sealed with no maintenance interval for the purpose of hitting a target "cost of ownership"

If thats true, screw the manual and maintain your abc system. Otherwise, youre just giving MB more money.

 

I watched a video showing how to use the ABC tool to change the fluid (not on W220) and the recommendation was every 40K miles.

 

this is not best idea, wait til its start leak..

 

Star Diagnosis states that unless there is an issue with ABC, even oil that has a "pugnant" odor and is black in color should be left alone, as these are simply natural consequences of the oil aging. Surely M-B was aware of Pentosin having an expiration date when they wrote that instruction.

While I would neither encourage nor dissuade someone from changing their oil, I would strongly recommend replacing the filter on an older R230 if it is original. At some point midway through R230 production M-B went with a filter which passes no particles larger than three microns. With the original filter it was ten microns.

 

Why is the pump making noise in my car if it is good for life?