StarvingArtist

I've been eyeing the SL65 for a while too. All the information you need to heat shield, rebuild, reroute, and maintain the ABC is on the forums. Same with the coil packs and motor mounts. Between the S, the CL, and the SL forums it's all there. Chances are good you will need to deal with all three unless it's already been done.

BlownV8

From my experience, that only applies to the coil packs. The new design seems to be a little more reliable but that too is probably subject to time and mileage. The engine bays in these cars are like a blast furnace. The temperature absolutely destroys the hydraulic hoses and is probably why the coil packs fail so quickly.

In the two bi-turbo V12 cars I've owned, they were very similar and both chewed through 3 ABC pumps before 100k miles. Seems that once you have a blown pump the contamination spreads throughout and ends up contaminating the system and causes more issues. I installed only new pumps so a few were replaced under warranty. One of the new pumps failed in a few months.

Seems that the only people that like the ABC have not owned the car long and or driven the car much. I drive quite a bit so I may see issues before others. I'm excited there is a standard shock, spring, and sway bar setup for the V12 models under development. It will mean that the car will be 100% more reliable without ABC and the car will be a much more viable daily driver. Yes, it may not handle as flat around corners but the ABC has an artificial feel and isolates you too much. Then again, that's what MB was trying to achieve.

Doug427

You really have to pull the engine to change engine mounts ?????!!!!!!!!!

E42AMG???

engine does not need to be removed.

E42AMG???

It seems that all the people telling you the car is a money pit, are the ones who can't do any of the work themselves.

So with that information there, if you can't do the work yourself. Have a lot of money, or don't buy the car.

Abc vs airmatic, part for part are very comparable in price. If you are having your parts ordered by a shop please keep in mind that prices will not be comparable.

BlownV8

When you compare new ABC to new Airmatic, ABC parts are more expensive than Airmatic parts. A new ABC pump will cost over $1k. You can get a new Airmatic pump for a few hundred. New ABC struts, again, over $1k. New airmatic struts, under $1k. How about a new ABC line, over $100 each and some way more. New Airmatic lines, pennies per foot. Not to mention, the ABC is so much more complicated.

With that said, you can get rebuilt parts but the rebuilt ABC pumps have proven to be very unreliable. Once you factor the time it takes to change the ABC pump, it is quickly consumed if that part will not hold the needed system pressures. Airmatic pump, very quick and easy to replace. Rebuilt ABC lines are every bit as good as new but they are still much more expensive than the plastic tubing of the Airmatic system. There are some really good rebuilt Airmatic components that, in my experience, are as good or better than the new MB units.

To properly work on the ABC system, you need a Star system. With, Airmatic, it's not necessarily needed. The systems are not comparable as far as the complexity to work on or diagnose. Typical failure points for ABC: ABC pump, accumulators, ABC lines, ABC sensors, front and rear hydraulic control blocks, and ABC shocks. Add all of those components with the time it will take you to repair, it's not cheap. Anyone that has owned these cars, even if you work on yourself, will tell you it is expensive to repair and maintain. If you don't have the time or knowledge to work on the ABC components, it is out of this world expensive to maintain and repair.

Airmatic is known to suffer from bad air struts, control block - rarely, Airmatic relay, and Airmatic pump when the owner runs on a bad strut too long. The Airmatic pump will overheat and crack if it is constantly running. Again, quick and easy to replace.

BlownV8

Edmunds purchased one to see how expensive it was to maintain.

Between 58k miles to 72k miles, it cost over $13k to repair and maintain. This is not at all unusual.
https://www.edmunds.com/mercedes-ben...t/wrap-up.html

E42AMG???

^ He's just upset that he has been taken to the cleaners.

Most people don't buy abc lines new they get them made which is way cheaper. If you can make them yourself then about 5 dollars for the fittings and 10 dollars for the hose. I do understand that the airmatic airlines you can go to your local international dealer and buy 20 feet for 60 dollars.

You can rebuild the abc pump for under 200 dollars as long as the motor rotor isn't wore out. I've used reman pumps before no issues.

Ive had an abc car with 200,000 miles with original struts. Never had to replace one, have had cars with new ones how ever.

If you don't flush the system properly after your pump fails then you will run into a mess of problems.

There is also magnetic filters that are highly recommended.

Like I said for the third time if you can't do the work yourself expect to pay.

ItalianJoe1

On the earlier cars, that's the way it says to do it. I did mine by lowering the subframe with the engine in place.

The later cars have a two piece mount arm, which comes apart and eliminates the need to remove the engine or subframe. 25 hour replacement became 3 hours.

tscales

I second this. I bought a 2005 SL65. Loved it. Briefly.

Then it was quickly a money pit. A deep money pit.

tw2

Does a large amount of this information apply to the 600 series also? I was very keen on an SL600 at one stage but am glad I got the E55 instead.

ItalianJoe1

All of it, the 600 is the same engine, just slightly smaller turbos and different tuning, the general reliability and issues are the same.