steve sl550

R231 owner with ABC here looking for insight from R230 owners Re ABC PM (preventative maintenance) ideas.

I plan on long term ownership of my 2018 R231 w/ ABC and am trying to develop a plan for best maintaining and trying to have least failures.

MB dealership Hd Mechanic says no longer need to flush fluid/change filter for life of the car (but what do they mean by life is the question ?)

Here is what I think is a good plan and wonder if you R230 owners agree or have any other ideas or comments:

1)Flush/ refill with new 3u filter every 30/40K miles or 3/4 yrs if mileage not reached.
2) Replace all accumulators when #1 above done. My thinking here is with good accumulators that are fully charged any shock introduced into the system will be lessened and the pump seal, strut seals AND hose and hose crimps will see less shock and strain.
I wonder how many issues are caused over time by accumulator not at full N2 charge?

What do you R230 owners think of 1 & 2 above ?

Any other ideas ?

THANKS in advance, Steve

Leej

@steve sl550, I'm sure there are others with more expertise and experience than myself who will hopefully chime in, but my opinion on your plan is #1 sounds like a good idea, but not sure about #2? I would think replacing all the accumulators every 30/40K miles or 3/4 years is a bit overkill. If an accumulator goes bad, I guess there is some logic that there will be additional strain on the system, but my advice would be to monitor the accumulators and replace as needed (or if one goes bad, AND its been 5 or 6 years, replace them all...).

When I bought my '08 SL550, the accumulator on the pump was bad, I replaced the one accumulator, and have had no other problems with ABC (noted I have only had the car about 2 years). However, I do pay attention to the ABC system, and look for potential problems. My bigger fear is a hose going bad, losing fluid, and ruining the pump... But I don't lose sleep over it.

Just my opinion, I would be curious to see what others say, and what the expected life of an accumulator is...

Lee

MBCO

It amazes me that MB techs have been brainwashed by Germany into thinking and then saying to customer owners "sealed for life" R230 ABC system is based on Pentosin fluid for its hydraulic pressure system. Pentosin has a shelf life (+/- 5 years) according to its manufacturer. This is simple, change the fluid and filter every 30/40K miles and you'll be fine, "sealed for life" is B>S> IMHO). R230s also contain a "dampener" mounted in the wheel well on early models and on the combination pump in later models: 2007+ I believe, see mine from 2007 SL550.. These black metal sphere's contain a membrane and a Nitrogen filled area that dampens high pressure pump output. The membrane fails, sending pump vibrations into frame and felt through steering wheel and floor. Re: #2 I would only replace/overhaul accumulators/valve blocks when they fail. They will give you notice when they are weak, your car will sag. Good luck with your R231, very nice cars.

steve sl550

Really appreciating inputs from the R230 forum members (after all we ABC owners are all exposed to same issues...just that you guys are well into it and us R231 guys just getting involved and want to learn).
So as more thoughts develop in response to my initial question I have another here:
When flush/filter change done good idea to do following:
1)Drain struts or not before any flush?
2)Siphon out tank, install new filter and flush/replenish
3)Finally install another new filter and close it up
Thoughts on above or any further ideas as to accumulators B4 warnings?

My question on accumulator PM replacement B4 warning is due to thought that if the N2 charge slowly migrates through the rubber diaphragm reducing the compressible area isn't the amount of surge pressure accommodation reduced with less N2 charge thereby stressing the pump seal/hose/hose crimps and strut seals?
So wouldn't new accumulators with more acceptance of a surge cause less stress on the weakest components?

If accumulator aging/loss of N2 surge capacity isn't an issue then do we just have to accept that hoses will rupture/crimp seals fail strut seals fail due to ageing and there is no way of not getting failures?

Another question:
Supposedly the new 3u filter, regular fluid changes and new type "O" rings in the valve blocks you R230 owners are using/replacing with should greatly reduce pump seal wear and valve block issues so if this true and the R231s have these BUT, some R231 owners "with high mileage" are already having blown hoses ect soonly other thing I can tihnk of is accumulator degradation ??

Sorry if I'm **** but, comes with the territory being a former Navy Nuclear Submarine Chief Engineer

THANKS for any input/thoughts

Steve

sean65

To expand on your question a bit, other than waiting for an ABC warning when going over bumps, when is the right time to replace an accumulator? I considered replacing my front accumulator when I had the valve block out of the car, but it just felt like throwing away a good part and I'm not about that.

steve sl550

Question:
What prompts the ABC warning when going over a bump alerting that the accumulator or accumulators need to be changed?

I suspect that a greater than normal pressure spike is sensed by the pressure transducer and that that set pressure spike (rise above acceptable) relates to a loss of the accumulators original design function; therefore it would seem then that said spike does stress the system more than normal.

So...I'm wondering if there is some tracking that can be done to see if failed strut seals, ruptured hoses and or failed crimp joints ect occur after ABC warnings or is there no relation to the warning?

If those who have had failed strut seals, ruptured hoses and or failed crimp joint failures noticed ABC warnings after going over bumps and then failures occurred might be a real good tell tale that doing accumulator replacement as a PM might be a good idea.

So.....Any real world experiences that can be tied to this ?

Sure would be great if most ABC failures can be avoided by fluid/filter and accumulator PMs

Tommyboy928

Way to early for you to worry, but what i done is use as prevantive maintaince is QMI Hydraulic treatment with teflon , for 5 years on my 2007 ,this will make oil last longer,less heat in system and also keep rubber nice and good .

For the guys with already leak ,this stuff restore the system ,rubber in seals ,O rings goes back to orginial state. Now tested in ABC system for 10 years allready. specs below

ebay have boxes with this .

Multi-System Sealer

PART NO. FT40204

Full Throttle® Multi-System Sealer restores hardened, shrunken and brittle seals. Specifically designed to soften and gently swell the seal, recovering its elasticity before it breaks.

• For Use in Oil System, Transmission and Power Steering
• Full synthetic, Solvent-Free Oil-Based Formula
• Restores Seals and O-rings
• Metal and Chlorine free
• Concentrated Treatment
• Stops Leaks