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The hose which is next to reservoir did not actually leak at all as it was high up - only the ones open at the bottom of the car leaked a bit as whatever oil was left on the hose inner walls went down
Wow, wasn’t expecting a reply at all on this thread lol. I appreciate the useful insight. Fingers crossed that I don’t experience another ABC issue. If I do, your method of rerouting and coil overs would be the way to go!
I think my set up is identical to what George did although I also fitted SL 350 sway bars front and rear. I have never found the suspension too soft at all. In any case there are different Ceika kits available for different requirements as well as custom made springs to your own spec.The other difference on my car is that I removed all pipes, hoses and valve blocks etc. I also replaced the tandem pump with a regular pump from an ML 500. The new pump was $85 and I sold the tandem pump for $300. If low ride height is a problem you can also fit an air lift cup system to the Ceika coilovers. Overall I am very happy with the conversion. It gives peace of mind while still giving the car a comfortable ride with excellent roadholding and cornering ability.
The only problem is that CEIKA coils which I bought are a bit too soft for the weight of the car. The coils are dual thickness/two parts - the soft on the top and thicker, harder at the bottom. But the "soft" part is so soft that's practically fully compressed 100% of the time and the thick ones are also quite soft (much thinner than OEM) and need to be compensated by making shock absorbers very firm. So the only way to set up the car is for a hard/sport suspension which is ok with me, but the next time I would rather go with a brand which offers coil overs which are both adjustable (like CEIKA which has excellent adjustability) but thicker than CEIKA.
@George993 , which "Spring rates & Shock Valving" option did you choose on the Ceika website when ordering? Do you think other options would ship with thicker springs?
In a different thread members talk about spring rates of 26k-28k front and 20k rear as being correct. I am going to contact Ceika to check if "Spring rates & Shock Valving"-options correspond to different spring-rates. Yet, want to hear your opinion @Georg9393 given an amazing level of detail you've been sharing about your conversion project and the amount of thought you obviously gave to it.
Hi, I don't remember the numbers of rates and valving but when I was ordering there were only two options for springs - one piece or two pieces. Two pieces (as I have said before) - stiffer and softer springs on top of each other, so in theory soft is giving comfort and hard is preventing the car from bottoming out etc. But in practice soft is so soft that it immediately fully compresses and the stiff is quite soft for the weight of the car.
If there are choices now, go for the thickest possible coils only. That should allow for more flexibility in adjustments.
But let us know what Ceika says, maybe there are more choices and more knowledge available now. Good luck!
The short comfort spring is indeed coil bound with the weight of the car on but i believe the idea is as soon as the car hits a hole or uneven road the small spring decompresses and takes the initial shock of it. Whatever the idea, it works brilliantly on my car. I asked for comfort settings on my order. The springing overall is definitely not soft.
The short comfort spring is indeed coil bound with the weight of the car on but i believe the idea is as soon as the car hits a hole or uneven road the small spring decompresses and takes the initial shock of it. Whatever the idea, it works brilliantly on my car. I asked for comfort settings on my order. The springing overall is definitely not soft.
Good to know. That's what Ceika has just responded to me as well: in dual-spring setup, they intend the softer spring to be fully compressed, to "have more droop". They also say that in their street/sport option they use 16kg front and 14kg rear spring rates.
I believe that the short spring just keeps the spring seated when jacking, don’t think it has anything to do with the spring rate and ride quality.
The main purpose for the helper spring is to keep the main spring properly seated against the suspension upper or lower spring seat. This becomes particularly important when weight is taken off one or more corners of the vehicle. This is common when going into driveways or inclines at an angle. Typically, one corner will extend, or droop, and the helper spring will expand to hold the main spring in position. This leads to the next misunderstood aspect of the helper spring’s purpose:
I believe that the short spring just keeps the spring seated when jacking, don’t think it has anything to do with the spring rate and ride quality.
The main purpose for the helper spring is to keep the main spring properly seated against the suspension upper or lower spring seat. This becomes particularly important when weight is taken off one or more corners of the vehicle. This is common when going into driveways or inclines at an angle. Typically, one corner will extend, or droop, and the helper spring will expand to hold the main spring in position. This leads to the next misunderstood aspect of the helper spring’s purpose:
This was copied from a coilover manufacturer
Ceika is also a coilover manufacturer. All I can say is that they have far more options to set up the car than any other maker/ supplier and I got exactly what I asked for when I told them what I wanted.
At this point, with $16 for struts, $22 for the hose and about $1 for the clamp, plus my own labor (before the sway bars) the car has fully reliable and maintenance free, adjustable suspension and drives well for my liking. There were red "ABC, Stop Driving" alarms which looked ugly but had no other effects. So I've re-programmed the car with the STAR system to have no ABC so the alarms are now gone.
Hi George
is there any chance you can supply me with detail on how exactly you did the recoding to get rid of the ABC alarms ?regards We are having all our days with multiple alarms between ABC and SLS brake warnings
Charl
Hi George
is there any chance you can supply me with detail on how exactly you did the recoding to get rid of the ABC alarms ?regards We are having all our days with multiple alarms between ABC and SLS brake warnings
Charl
Hi George
is there any chance you can supply me with detail on how exactly you did the recoding to get rid of the ABC alarms ?regards We are having all our days with multiple alarms between ABC and SLS brake warnings
Charl
Hi Charl, congratulations on your project! You need Mercedes Start/Xentry dealer level system or equivalent. It was a few years ago so I don't remember exactly how I did it, but if you search for all my postings on MBworld I posted the exact steps somewhere. Basically there is a coding option in which you select which options the car has, and you flip one bit which indicates ABC present/absent. And all errors go away.
Alternatively if you don't have access to proper programming equipment, some companies which sell conversion kits also sell a CAN gadget you can plug in which sends "ABC is all good" messages to the rest of the car computers and there are no errors displayed as a result. If you search websites of the conversion companies it should show up somewhere.
Strutmasters has the ABC delete module, but I don't see where they sell it separately on their website, only seeing it as part of a coilover kit. Might want to contact them to see if they sell it separately.
As I find removal of the original tandem pump and installing power steering pump time consuming, I have done a loopback of the ABC pump by cutting the pipe under the radiator, bending the driver side out a bit to slide on and clamp the hose described above, with the hose going into the reservoir. I double check that the pipe to be cut is coming out of the pump and not some other place like AC
. I used eye protection as some fluid spills out. Photo above shows the cut and the new hose (red arrow)
I used Derale 15701 Transmission/Engine Oil Hose ($22 on Amazon for 5 ft) for loopback, one new hose clamp and reused the reservoir clamp.
I did not have to siphon out the fluid from the reservoir as the pump stops it from draining down, I routed the rubber hose from the top down, cut to a perfect length (under 4 ft) after routing. Tie wraps so the hose dos not move and does not come in contact with moving parts.
Here is the cut and new hose looking from the bottom. I neatly died it up above the other hoses for a clean look and not rubbing on anything.
Here is the new hose going back into the reservoir. Note the old fluid return hose (pointed with the finger) which I just pushed under to the side for a clean look. Both tided together for stability.
Hi George -
I used your post to do all of my coilover conversion - almost done so thank you so very much for that. Before I cut the pipe - i just wanted to make sure I have the right one WHERE THE RED ARROW IS POINTING TO 99.9999999999% positive this is the same pipe, but just to be sure - Also what did you use to cut it? I think I’ll use my Dremmel - sawsall and angle grinder are too big and I’m worried about cutting serpentine belt.
I used your post to do all of my coilover conversion - almost done so thank you so very much for that. Before I cut the pipe - i just wanted to make sure I have the right one WHERE THE RED ARROW IS POINTING TO 99.9999999999% positive this is the same pipe, but just to be sure - Also what did you use to cut it? I think I’ll use my Dremmel - sawsall and angle grinder are too big and I’m worried about cutting serpentine belt.
Thanks again,
Jonathan
If at all possible, you want to use a rotary tube cutter
Using any kind of saw/grinder/Dremel runs the risk of sending bits of metal and/or bits of the abrasive blade into the tube, which can then damage the pump once fluid flow picks it up. The rotary cutter makes a clean cut with no risk of contaminating the system.
The only time you need to avoid using a rotary cutter on tubing is when you're going to use a flare tool on stainless tubing to make a high pressure connection. The rolling action of the rotary cutter will work-harden the stainless tubing, which will then crack when you attempt to form the flare.
This is a low pressure pressure application, so no need for a flare connection.
Last edited by brucewane; Feb 20, 2024 at 11:55 AM.
I used your post to do all of my coilover conversion - almost done so thank you so very much for that. Before I cut the pipe - i just wanted to make sure I have the right one WHERE THE RED ARROW IS POINTING TO 99.9999999999% positive this is the same pipe, but just to be sure -
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