I drained/flushed mine (alone) by:

1. Under the engine on the right (US Passenger) side, there is a connection of the PS hose/pipe to the steering rack. With a pan under this, loosen or remove the bolt. Fluid will drain out of the reservoir.
2. Slowly turn the steering wheel in both directions (engine off) to move the rack back and forth slowly to purge fluid in the rack
3. Re-install the bolt to connect the pipe/hose to the rack and fill the reservoir.
4. Start car, move steering wheel each way, then check/refill the reservoir
5. Start car, turn steering wheel each way 8-10 times to full lock to fully 'purge' the rack.

Finally, if you want to have a complete purge, repeat the above procedure. You'll be draining out 98% new fluid, but you'll end up with 100% new fluid in the PS system.

PS: Be sure you've addressed the ABC system fluid!! Respond back here if you need info on how to do that.

 

Gary
Thanks for your reply. I will crawl under there today and attempt to drain it the way you described. Since the car has 90K on it and I don't think it has ever been done, I am going to repeat the process after a short drive.

Regarding the ABC: I flushed it out the other day. Poor mans rodeo style. Took a 30 minute drive to get things up to temp. Put the return line in a 5 gal bucket and had a friend keep cycling ride height. After six liters, it was coming out as clean as the new going in. Put new filter in and set the "engine off" full mark and took a drive. Later, I noticed some on the floor under the reservoir. The reservoir was filled to the top and had overflowed. Maybe some thermal expansion caused this? I took a large syringe and extracted some and put the level back at the "engine off" full mark.
When I flushed it, the contents of the bucket looked like black oil from a long overdue oil change (fugly). Then when I was removing some to reset the level, I noticed after the new stuff had circulated and mixed with what was left in the system, it didn't look very new any more. I thought, well, guess I will have to flush it again. I read your article in the "ABC intel" thread and it addresses my situation exactly I think. Eight or Nine year old car with 90K miles, yeah, we will be doing this twice.
I have had the car two years and other than having to add a little when I bought it to set the levels, it hasn't needed any and the levels were always spot on regarding the engine on and off marks. I bought the filter at the dealer. Was that the ten micron? I have been reading on here there is a three micron. When I do the filter after I flush it again in a week, should I be getting the three micron or doesn't it matter? Also if you know a place to order it cheaper I would appreciate it. I think I was almost sixty bucks out the door at the dealer for the one I bought.
Rich

 

I have a lift, which does make this method for PS a bit easier!!

Regarding the filter. I don't think anything other than the 3 mm filter was produced after about 2004-5, so the one you bought at the dealer should be the 3mm one.

I bought my 3mm filter (and a good bit of other stuff) from FCPEuro. www.fcpeuro.com As I recall, it was about $40, and shipping is free (may be a slightly higher total purchase than that, but you can combine it with something else you need).

GLAD to hear the 'first of two' ABC flushes has been done. My fluid ('03 with 49K miles) was green when flushed, but I'll do it again this summer, just to be sure. I'm also installing the four 'accumulators (black bombs) new this winter. Then, I think the ABC will be good for MANY miles.

 

Gary
Ordered more Pentosin and a filter from FCPeuro. Should be here in 5 biz days. Will do the second ABC flush then.
After that I will do the power steering. Is there a filter for the power steering? The only thing I found was an after market one that you install inline. Some of the reviews said it was too restrictive and they removed it. Any thoughts? If it doesn't call for one, I don't feel the need to add it unless you tell me that sys is problematic without it. I haven't seen a lot of complaints so I guess not.
Rich

 

I don't recall whether there was a filter in the PS reservoir or not.

By the way, here is a link to a workshop manual and parts listing for the R230 that I found VERY easy to load and use. I have windows 7 OS, and it installs the MB documents AND a virtual machine to operate those documents on XP (and print as well). Great value, I thought.

Mercedes Wis Asra EPC Ewa 2013 Service Shop Repair Manual Set Combo Pack | eBay

 

Gary
This is turning into more of an ABC thread than PS. I will try to upload a photo of the dipstick to illustrate my question. I found out why it overflowed after the flush. Something has changed. The delta between the engine off and engine on levels has increased. Prior to the flush both levels where right on, (less a small discernable diff if I had the ride height up or down).
After the flush I must have set the level to the engine on mark (not the engine off as I stated in post #3 ), and the increased delta caused the engine off level to over flow. I adjusted the fluid level to the engine off mark and now with the engine running it is a good inch or more below the engine on mark.
No lights or leaks, everything seems to be working fine, and there is still plenty of fluid in the reservoir.
Did I lose the charge behind a diaphram somewhere or something and basically have increased fluid capacity when running now? If the level change was only half as much, I probably wouldn't bat an eye at it. But the fact it was always perfect on either mark before I flushed it is making me wonder what changed.
On the dipstick: The "T" in "motor an" is basically my new level when the engine is running. When I shut the engine off, it fills up to the proper engine off mark.

Tried to post a pic of the dipstick several times, but doesn't look like it posted. I will have to figure out what I am doing wrong.
Hope this makes sense.

I ordered the WIS disk from the link you posted. I used them a lot with my 98 R129. If its the same thing, the interface was a little clunky, but once I learned to navigate, it was a treasure trove of info.

 

I'd think if there was damage to an 'accumulator (etc)', then any excess fluid would stay in the accumulator - engine running or not. I can't really explain why you have that difference in level other than perhaps you have the car in the 'raised' position, which would take a little more fluid into each strut to raise it!!

Maybe someone else can give clarity to this!!

 

Following along...

Attached are the WIS instructions for setting the fluid level. Unless I am reading it wrong, you only check the level with the motor off (Aus) and unladen after a 5 min wait. See instruction 6.

Strange that the fluid levels now have changed so much from what they were??

Good Luck,

Bob

 

Thanks for the responses: Will use the engine off mark from now on. Guess I got used to using either mark since if one was correct the other was always OK.
Cant guess why the levels seem different. For now: I'll just keep an eye on it and chalk it up to one of life's little mysteries, (sounds better than calling it a senior moment).
Being unexplained, I am concerned the display is going to light up with dollar signs and a smiley face saying, go to dealer, while a laughing sound comes out of the speakers.
New Pentosin and filter are on the way, will do another flush and set to engine off level.
Got bored and measured distances from deck to fender. Front left is a little off.

 

Flushed it again with eight liters of Pentosin and put new filter in. Fluid was so bad originally I really needed that second flush. Looks good now.
No sinking or problems, just trying to stay ahead of the curve on the maintenance a little.
Funny thing: After this second flush, the engine on and off levels are perfect again.

 

Hi, I am new to the R230 forum. I bought a 2003 SL500 from a good friend recently. Car is in fair condition but needs major service. I like DIY and am trying to do some by myself.

I'm planning to change ABC filter and fluid but recently I hear some whining noise when turning slowing. Checked the power steering reservoir and the fluid looks brown. When I look into the PS reservoir after removing the cap, it looks like the fluid is clogged within the reservoir. I remember the power steering reservoir of W220 S-class has an internal filter. It couldn't be taken out for cleaning or replacement. I wonder if there is also an internal power steering filter inside the R230 reservoir too, and if it's hard to replace the reservoir since it's closely packed with ABC reservoir and AC pipes. Can someone give me some hints?

Many thanks.