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There was a small puddle of ABC fluid by the drivers front wheel. Also the top of the reservoir seemed to show some residue. I pulled the filter and the gasket looked a little wonky. I pulled the wheel and see no evidence of a leak around the strut or fittings but this bushing (or whatever it is) was the only thing showing evidence of fluid. Research indicates the accumulator ?
Last edited by Iceclimber7; May 26, 2025 at 03:21 PM.
Based on what I read here, the ABC fluid is being forced up through the resevoir due to the accumulator failing...and viola. The other clue was an occasional ABC warning when hitting bumps and/or fluid on the wheel lol. I will start replacing all the components over time.
Last edited by Iceclimber7; May 26, 2025 at 07:11 PM.
Well done. The light coming on occasionally is the usually first sign of accumulator failure. Others likely to follow. You don’t wanna ignore this too long because if one of those diaphragms sends rubber into the system, it’s gonna be a much longer project. An example of that is Alex on legit street cars with his CL 65.
Yeah good advice. I just ordered a 2nd unit for the back. It's an aliexpress gamble but like half the price. I'll post the results.
I didn't really think about it, could either one be causing the issue ? Well let's replace them both.
Last edited by Iceclimber7; May 27, 2025 at 12:48 PM.
While you have the system open I’d recommend doing all of three of them. I did mine myself about a year ago at the first sign of the ABC warning when hitting a bump. It was about $600 for the accumulators in 2023 prices. Not sure what model year you have but I’d be leery of AliExpress substitutes—Mine’s an 2003 w 34k mi so for 2203270115 I used OE (Corteco 80001406) x2 but needed Genuine MB for 2203200415. It was about $600 for all 2023 prices plus the CHF 11S.
While doing mine, i found a weeping ABC hose also, which of course was an NLA part. Had to take that to a hydraulic shop to be rebuilt. Upside is they can be rebuilt better than original. Its also not a bad idea to add upgraded heat shielding to any lines even remote close to exhaust components.
All good advice thank you. I have been ordering "no name" parts for a long time and have yet to get a part that was not OEM quality. Very little is not made in China. So as mentioned if I am wrong I'll post the results. I have a Corteco and China one on the way to compare with pictures. Oddly the China one will get here faster with free shipping lol. I have no beef with this maintenance this a twenty year old high performance very complicated car and thankfully this forum exists and lots of you tube. If I couldn't do this work, no way I keep an SL55.
It is really a simple hydraulic system. Driving when you know the accumulators are bad, you can blow a high pressure hose cause the system typically runs at 2850 PSI and accumulators absorb high pressure spikes when you hit a bump, so bad accumulators could cause the pressure to spike to way too high and blow a hose. Then you need a new hose besides the accumulators! I got all three accumulators from FCPeuro online they guarantee all the stuff they sell forever. I had the high pressure hose replaced by some engineers after the Benz dealership wanted over $9000 and a local indy shop wanted $5000, the engineers did it for under $2000. "Sure, we have done a dozen of those, never any problem afterwards..." Corteco is OEM. People sometimes think the ABC is an achilles heel for these cars but it is really fantastic. I own a Maserati with their famous Skyhook suspension and it is no where near as solid feeling as the Mercedes ABC. The first minute you get red ABC warnings on the dash, immediately order new accumulators and pulsation dampener! And get all new fluid and filter. Doesn't really cost that much for what it is, and these are fantastic cars. Once you get it serviced you're probably good for 7-10 years or maybe longer. And live happily ever after.
Last edited by tonylinc; May 28, 2025 at 12:27 AM.
I think the return line is the one I ordered. I have the PD on the bench and need a 24 mm to get it apart. You can see the base of my PD does not match that picture, which is weird.
Thanks again.
Thanks lilbaggie and nice name lol. I just got it apart and ordered the same. I feel like if I had a 24 mm in hand and gotten the side vent off I might have gotten it off in place, but I ended up just disconnecting the 3 hoses and had to use a vice to hold it because that thing was on good. But, it's off and Amazon had one. I am just posting this diatribe to maybe help the next 2004 SL55 owner.
Just sold my '11 Porsche TurboS cab for an '03 SL55!
I went through all if this but also included a rear valve block (twice) and all 3 or 4 accumulators on my '03. I agree, great system and car. My only add to these posts would be yes, it will go at least another 7-8 years (longer I think) but, don't wait that long to replace the fluid.........that might go several years, but keep an eye on it. My car had probably never had the accumulators replaced until i got it 3 years ago, so they went ~20 years. Also, you'll see lots of guys dumping their ABC in favor of coil overs. I'm a bit of a purest myself, but besides that, I can't image giving up the flat corning (no roll) that I get out of the ABC, + a great ride. As a 40+ year Porsche 911 purist, now aging old guy, this SL 55 is a wonderful sidestep for me, I love it.
I agree I thought about coil overs for my SL500 after an ABC failure but my solution was to sell that car as it was a boat anchor. They have all the problems of the SL55 and zero reward.
My fluid was just changed 5k miles ago but I hear you. Fiddling with all these parts could introduce problems.
Hey sports fans I have the front accumulator and pulse dampener in place and now waiting on the rear accumulator to be delivered. I thought that was behind the passengers rear wheel but I am watching a YouTube that shows it on the drivers side.
Posting some stuff I found
Yeah the rear is a challenge. The accumulator, the return accumulator and the valve block are all on a carrier. While only the top bolt needs to be removed, the carrier is on a slider designed to slide straight out. However that is impossible when all the hoses are connected. Like the YouTubers I forcefully tilted the carrier out, kinda ripping the slider open. It all fit tightly back in. Official way is likely to disconnect hoses at their disconnect points but I didn’t know how to do that and didn’t trust that these connectors wouldn’t later leak.
Yeah the second post the guy removed everything and was stressing about plugging everything and wrapping the hoses. I'd really rather not go that route. Seems like you are asking for leaks.
I nearly stripped the front accumulator trying to reinstall and about crapped. I had to stop, take it all out again and get the rigid hose with the relief valve to seat. It's not leaking praise oden.
The consensus is another thread was that they are equivalent if not exactly the same. I also notice that FCP Euro sells some of the R230 ABC kits with Pentosin and some with Titan.
