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I wanted some opinions about how to proceed with my findings on my 2003 sl55 with 130k miles
Last night as I was pulling into the drive way, I heard unusual rattling noise and soon a burnt oil smell. As soon as I realized it was the car, I parked it immediately and noted two large puddles of hydraulic fluid tracking behind the source of which was the fender well behind front drive wheel. I took it off this morning to inspect it and its all wet from the oil, the hoses, the cylinder, etc. I started to car to see which of the hoses were leaking but I saw nothing jetting out, as the reservoir is empty. The car has been given intermittent blue and red ABC warnings for the past several months.
The questions are:
1. Is it worth tracking the hoses and replacing at this time or depending on the cost, should I consider a coilover conversion at a cost of approx $4-5000.
2. Knowing the suspension is shot with no fluid in the ABC reservoir, can I drive the car or will it negatively affect the tandem pump and the power steering.
3. If I go with the coilover with or without swaybars, given the hose leak, must I also change the tandem pump?
A member here had the same issue you did, same area of leak, his turned out to be a banjo bolt Oring that was broken. What you want to do now is hit the area with a few cans of brake cleaner to clean all the hydraulic fluid off, then get some CFH 11S from advance auto and fill the reservoir and start it briefly to see if the pump has run completely dry or not. You might need to force some air into the reservoir with a vacuum pump or something to force the fluid in. Then you will be able to trace the leak, it might be as simple as replacing and Oring, or as complicated as replacing the a whole hose, which shouldn't be that bad either.
Unless all your shocks are leaking, your main high pressure line ruptured, and your pump has crapped out, then i'd consider getting coils. ABC is wonderful if you can keep it going.
You cannot drive the car without fluid in the pump it'll burn out in a few minutes, if you change to coilovers, you'll need to get a pump from an ML or something to power the power steering rack. Coilovers must be done with sway bars or else the ride will not handle well and could potentially be dangerous.
^^^ Agreed. Why spend thousands on coilovers when it's probably just a broken hydraulic hose? If you DIY, it might cost a few hundred dollars for the part.
Part no. 230 997 32 82 #340 on diagram is the line itself. MBdirectparts has that line priced at $66.55. You should be able to pull down panels to follow the line. You could also consider having the hose repaired at a hydraulic shop. They could splice in a new section perhaps.
I have never worked on my ABC hoses yet so no direct knowledge to share. Since the pulsation damper is located in the LF fender well, I would start by pulling the liner out and try tracing the line from there. The whole replacement job might be able to be accomplished without going under the car. My guess is that it will be easier than it looks once you get started. This looks to be a fairly easy hose replacement vs some of the others.
Interesting, mine just broke yesterday. Same hose and ripped open in the same spot. I have 181K on the car.
My daughter was using the car and she said it sounded like an explosion under the car. This is my first problem with any of the hoses.
I have bulges in this exact line. Mine don't appear to have swageloks either and disappear somewhere above the transmission. The line that goes from the driver side to the passenger has swageloks but I cannot for the life of me get them undone. Going Pb Blaster route for now.
Well, I keep answering my own questions. Maybe it is just my process. I took a closer look at the diagrams posted here and realized that the two lines didn't go up under the transmission. They were seized but I got all three off. Off to the hydraulic store.
they go here BTW.
And yesAn've given up on keeping any oil in my system or off of my floor.
I got the lines rebuilt with disconnects on the hard line interface. $120 for all three. They built them just a little too long so it was a bit of a struggle to get everything to line up. Hopefully they aren't under too much strain.
Here they are installed. You have to make sure you think through the order that everything goes back together before hand. The disconnects swivel when loose to allow for line alignment with the block but you need to start with the banjo bolt or you won't be able to get a wrench on it to tighten it again. All Hoses need to be tight before securing the block.
Anyone know what the long Grey plastic thing is with the wire coming out?
With your hoses there, it can be critical to get them rebuilt with the same length. See your cable clamp on the chassis there towards the left - and the big one on the right - you might find unwanted vibration because the pipes aren't perfectly aligned in the rubber clamp. Go through the rev range slowly between 1000 and 1500 RPM to find and correct any buzzes and vibrations before you put the wheel liners back on.
Nice work with the quick disconnects on the new lines!
I checked and no buzzing. I did find the bad accumulator, it was the rear one. There was also another bulging line that I had remade. 4 lines, 4 accumulators replaced. No more warning lights.
Ran a rodeo. How long should I run a rodeo for best effect?
I got everything back in. Took it for a ride and it is on rails!
A total b$%ch to do but now that it is done, totally worth it.
I checked and no buzzing. I did find the bad accumulator, it was the rear one. There was also another bulging line that I had remade. 4 lines, 4 accumulators replaced. No more warning lights.
Ran a rodeo. How long should I run a rodeo for best effect?
I got everything back in. Took it for a ride and it is on rails!
A total b$%ch to do but now that it is done, totally worth it.
Rodeo doesn't run indefinitely, at least not with MB Star. Once you start the cycle, I would let it run until finished.
The idea behind rodeo is to get the fluid in the struts hot and moving through the system.
Once done I would inspect the filter in the tank and at least wash it out, or preferably replace it. Presuming you have the newer (white) 3uM filter in the tank. The old filter style mesh is black.
There are the ones you mention. Then there is the return one connected to the same block as the one in the rear and then there is the pulse damper behind the drivers wheel. They are all pressure vessels with gas charged bladders. The last two are smaller than the first two. The first two supply the struts and the last two protect the system from errant pressures.
I learned all this on this forum. Thank you MBworld!
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ABC Leak Behind Front Wheel Driver Side sl55 r230
