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Strutt, Block or Pump - yes, another ABC thread

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12K views 13 replies 4 participants last post by  rewillia  
S
#1 ·
I have spent a great deal of time reviewing everything ABC on this and other forums, and yes, I know I will have to get it scanned to determine the fault codes. The amount of info is overwhelming and I'm now more confused than ever. All I'm after at this point is some insight from those who have been through this so I can have a decent conversation that isn't one sided with my indy.. and who knows, depending on the issue I may be able to follow one of the DYI's out there

So, here is the detail I know

1) Since I bought the car (October 2011) every once in a while, when opening a door after the car had been parked a while, a motorized sound came from the front end - no noticeable change of height

2) Every once in a while, sitting in the car parked with the engine running a noticeable drop to the front end happened, and it would raise back up when put back in drive (seemed like the front passenger side - but can't be sure)

3) During my spring oil change, my indy noticed a bit of 'weeping' at the lower end of the suspension at the front passenger side - said not to worry didn't look major

4)Never had any ABC warnings until last Saturday when pulling out of the garage the RED 'ABC Drive Carefully' showed up - left the car parked

5) Sunday started it up - no warnings - cycled through raising and lowering the car about 10 times, found no issues. Checked ABC fluid and it was a tad low

6) Monday, drove the car to work, no issues all 85KM. Started it up to leave work, instantly the RED 'ABC Drive Carefully' appeared, and I was driving, as others have stated, a tuna boat. Bought some fluid and topped up the ABC

7)Tuesday, drove the car to and from work - approx 170Km round trip and 5 minutes before getting home the WHITE "ABC Visit Workshop' came on, no RED warning

8) Thursday, drove the car to and from work again, this time no warnings at all, until I stopped into a store to run an errand. When I came out and started the car, instantly the RED message again. When I got home, parked the car and looked, the front passenger corner was raised while all the other corners lowered and normal. Couldn't cycle through the ride height as I guess when the RED warning is on, those functions are disabled

9) I have no noticeable leaks of fluid on my garage floor, and looking around best I can with a flashlight in the engine area and wheel wells, I see no leaks.

I'm not thinking pump, as when the RED warning is NOT illuminated, raising and lowering the car seems to be normal, which leaves block or strut, and I'm assuming it's the front passenger side causing the problem due to the 'weeping' found by my indy, and the fact that it now appears to be at max ride height when the rest of the car is lowered.

So, there you have it..... any of you out there care to suggest given your experience what the problem is ? Again, I'd just like to go to my indy prepared, so am looking for whatever feedback and info you all have.

Thanks in advance

-Stephen
 
R
#2 · (Edited)
No expert/SME on the ABC myself but reading lends me to ask; Do you trust you're INDY? If yes, then don't worry about it being a one sided coversation, he IS the expert right, so just get the car into him and let him find out whats going on, If NO, find a new Indy or take it to your Authorized Mercedes-Benz Dealer Service Department and get them to check it out, tell you what they find.

After all, its only money and that comes and goes....gotta pay to play!

BTW (edit); just ran across one of your previous post wherein your stated with enthusuiasm your appreciation for your Indy shop "McNally's....is there a reason you don't think they will give you an honest assessment (and price) for whats wrong now?
 
R
#4 ·
What dialogue? Your' trusted Indy assesses the fault, tell you what it needs, you say OK maybe with an "ouch or two", and it gets fixed. Unless your planning to do the maintenance and repairs on your R230 yourself which we can gather your not, then why the effort?
 
R
#6 · (Edited)
You already indicated that a problem was starting to reveal itself on the LF, ie. indication of "weeping" as you or you Indy put it, then you've seen various levels of fault warnings (white/red) while the vehicle appeared to operate correctly and/or would clear the fault indications via cycyling the ign. off/on.

Chances are your issue lies in the LF strut and could be as simple as a bad sensing element (sensor) or better possible just an intermintent fault in a sensor connector somewhere, i,e, bad connection. That would explain the fault earlier serving to clear itself when cycling the ign. but possibly has now has reached a point that the ABC computer is sensing a full failure and as such will not reset itself or command the system to right itself again.

I'd put my money on a bad sensor connection or sensor fault but by all means I would stop driving the car and get it to a shop for a proper diagnosis. I'd also take care of that "weeping" once and for all before it becomes a full blown leak!
 
#7 ·
Depending on where the oil was found, it could be just a loose fitting. If its found coming from inside the boot, that it's probably a bad strut.

There are two sensors, height sensor and shock travel sensor (don't know the tech term for them). The height sensor is mounted attached to the control arm, the shock travel sensor is internal to the strut and will require replacing the strut. I have encountered both a leaky strut and a bad travel sensor. The Star tool will let you read actual values of the sensors and you can tell exactly which one is bad very fast (not to mention pulling the codes from the ABC system)

I don't think its a pump/block problem due to the fact that it will max that strut when you get the error.
 
G
#8 ·
This sounds quite reminiscent of my brake related issue with the intermittent RED dash warnings. That basically turned out to be nothing more than old, contaminated fluid solved by a thorough flush. In this particular case at the very least you should strongly consider the rodeo flush that I doubt many indies can offer. I'm a big advocate of using indies and one of the things I like about mine is his overt willingness to admit when he simply can't do a particular procedure like this one.
 
R
#10 ·
Stephen, does that mean you'll keep driving the car until you have the fault corrected? I ask only as we'd all hate to see you end up with more problems because you continued to drive/operate the vehicle while in fault mode (red).

Either way, good luck with it and do let us know what the final outcome (repair) was.
 
S
#11 ·
NOPE !!

It's in the garage.. haven't driven it since the last incident last week...and I'm debating at this point if I should flat bed it to my indy, or drive it down. I guess it will depend on the state of the warnings before I head out.

I've had a few setbacks lately, so I'm hoping it's a sensor :D

Thanks for the concern !! ;)

-Stephen
 
S
#12 ·
Just an update for those following...or lurking...

Since last week, I haven't driven the car, but I was able to cycle through the ride heights and left the car in the fully raised position. It's been 6 days now and all 4 corners are still fully raised, so it appears to be holding pressure.

Anyway, I haven't had the car scanned yet due to my current workload, however, have an appointment for next week where hopefully I'll know more.

-Stephen
 
S
#13 ·
UPDATE

Well, I just got back from my Indy and he believes it's the pump. :-(

When I left home today, I had no warnings, half way to Indy I get the white 'visit workshop' and as I pulled into the shop, it went red 'drive carefully'.

On first scan, the pressure was showing as 0 bar. After stopping and starting the car, the pressure slowly built up to @185 bar and fluctuated +/- 10 bar. They did the rodeo test and pressure was @ 100bar +/- 20 bar or so.

Based on this, he is 99% sure it's the pump. The guy in the shop who is the ABC expert was off today, so the shop owner couldn't bounce it off of him to get his ideas, however, he will when the fellow returns.

So, looks like I'm after an ABC pump. Indy stated he could get a new one for @ $1600, it would take @ 5 hours labour @ 90, and he also stated we should flush/refill the ABC fluid (as will loose some during the pump removal/install) and change the filter - basically another hours labour.

He should be sending me an estimate today, and I've asked him to look into a rebuilt pump, so I will see where it goes.

-Stephen
 
R
#14 · (Edited)
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