On my “to do” list last winter was proactively replacing the ABC line that’s in front of the engine.Well, I never got around to it and I think it failed.

Fortunately only a couple of hundred yards from my house so I’ll get it onto the lift. For reference, mileage is 42,000.

What I first noticed was the wheel was really hard to turn then I got “ABC malfunction” but error message was white not red.

There’s fluid all over the front of the engine but at a quick glance, I don’t see an obvious failure.

Does the hard steering maybe point to something else? I already (proactively) replaced the accumulators and did a fluid flush/filter two years ago. The fluid is not leaking out of the reservoir and it’s not completely empty.


Bob

 

ABC line won't affect steering. You might have failed the tandem pump which could take out P/S, or you blew a P/S line and somehow affected the suspension. Maybe hit something on the road, or the belt failed and took out either a P/S or ABC line.

 

Really? The steering was the first thing I noticed and then the ABC error popped up. All within seconds of each other. The belt is still on.

The pump is drawing from the same reservoir so wouldn’t a leak on either side affect the other?


QUOTE=MikeJ65;9031289]ABC line won't affect steering. You might have failed the tandem pump which could take out P/S, or you blew a P/S line and somehow affected the suspension. Maybe hit something on the road, or the belt failed and took out either a P/S or ABC line.[/QUOTE]

 

I just had my wife start it and it’s this one. 3 streams of fluid under pressure. This is the ABC line correct?

 

There is one pump, but two reservoirs. The fluids do not mix, it is two separate pumps on one shaft. The only thing I can think is that you had an issue with the pressure valve or an obstruction and got a huge pressure spike which stalled the pump and perforated the line. That is an ABC line.

 

ok thanks, I'm starting to remove it. I have the valve block end disconnected. Has anyone come up with a tool/shortcut to remove the two torx fasteners on the pump end? There isn't enough clearance and read about jacking up the engine but wasn't sure if that for an ABC II system. What about a compression fitting if I can get a good cut in place?

Bob

 

I got the hose off , it's part # A 2303204153. I was able to get the two bolts off (they were a PIA) going to the pump without jacking up the engine or doing anything special. I ground down a T40 to make it REALLY short and used a miniature drive which is about 4" long. They do call this a power steering hose.

The failure was right on top, three pinholes so it wasn't road damage.

 

So you'll have it rebuilt, with a compression fitting to replace the damaged section?

 

Advance Auto carries a 10 mm high pressure Union that will withstand up to 5,000 PSI. It's about $17. That is if you're talking about the metal line. Another option is to purchase the faulty line from Mercedes and cut out the bad section of yours and cut the good part off of the new one join those two with a high pressure Union. Don't use a compression fitting that puts a flare on the two connections.

 

Just to close out this thread, I was able to replace the entire line and get the pump end removed without doing anything special.

Just very slowly undoing the T40 bolts using a modified T40 bit (I’ve since bought a shallow set which fit onto a ratcheting wrench and would have save me at least 30 mins). I have the part # above and it is listed as “power steering” but it was the ABC side that was low. The initial symptom was no power steering followed by ABC warning so that leak did affect both sides of the pump.

I’ve put about 25 miles on it and it seems fine.

 

Ha, had a similar issue with my '07. I didn't tighten the oil filter housing enough when I did the first oil change which shot 5w40 all over the motor... happened down the street from my office I lost all power steering and the engine was smoking heavily... for sure though my tandem pump exited the chat!