Carlos, I agree, you went above and beyond to help so many Benz owners with similar issues. Thank you for that.
Also, dko888,
thank you for posting those instructions on the seals replacement, i have been looking for that. They are so useful. Like Carlos, i have the same question. What is step 18 referring to? "Glue upper center console of air suspension strut in the engine compartment".
My understanding was that if you replace the seals, you should not need to glue anything. What am i missing?
As for the checking of the bellows for wrinkles (step 23) is another answer i have been looking for. My bellow separated and i posted a question about that on how to attach it back. I was thinking to glue it back but now it seems that all i need to do is pull it back down and it will be sucked back when air is pumped into the system.
Can someone please clarify step 23? I would appreciate that.
Vehicle: Merz 2002 S500 W220.175 -owner since Oct.2008
Location: The Great White North - Canada
Posts: 26
Hi Detcomm, I am glad to be of help, and that I have had the vacation time to do it!
I looked at my bellows, and I was also surprised to find that they are "loose" on the bottom portion, but from the manual posted by dko888, it appears that they are loose by design, and as you say, by "helping them back into place" they should stay in place once the system is pumped with air. I am not sure if they are "sucked" into place, or "pushed" into place. I have looked for a detailed explaination of the internal workings of this, and can't find anything.
By the way, I wanted to suggest to everyone NOT to use the one-legged jack to lift the car for any work to be done. It is extremely unstable, even in my garage, for prolonged periods of time. I think it is best to used the pneumatic jacks, or something with a solid base, and not just one point of contact like the MB jack.
I have no idea about step 18 to glue upper center console. However, I've ordered a reman front Air Strut from "www.arnottindustries.com" which supposed come with new top seal design. Will post pictures of top part of strut once arrived.
As of seperated bellows, most likely, it's due to air leakage. Pls see attached document from Mercedes WIS. Carlos and Detcomm, Pls PM me if further Mercedes WIS documents needed.
Vehicle: Merz 2002 S500 W220.175 -owner since Oct.2008
Location: The Great White North - Canada
Posts: 26
dko888, that second manual helps to understand the refill process better. yesterday I didn't do this, in order to drive 30km on sport 2, getting all the bumps to test my first epoxy job - I assume that the bellow automatically fell into place, since I filled the struts (turned the car on) with the wheels just touching the floor and the struts did raise the car - I was lucky!
This second time around, I will be sure to fill the struts with the wheels in the air, and manually pulling the bellows down until they "stay" as air is pumped in.
In my case, given that my car is jacked-up, without air in the system, while my last epoxy seal is curing, I assume it is normal for the bellows to become undone as air is lost. This gives us another point where air can be lost in the air system, and I assume it can also be checked for air leakage with soap and water since it is referred to as the "head bearing" - right ? In the other manual there is mention of a "Support bearing" where the pict indicates where the bellow's plunger (bottom end) is supposed to fit over. I assume that wiping both these surfaces to remove grit and grime may also be a good idea prior to filling.
dko888 - thanks a million for these manuals - they are a great help for diy's. Where do you get them?
Vehicle: Merz 2002 S500 W220.175 -owner since Oct.2008
Location: The Great White North - Canada
Posts: 26
Hi dko888,
I believe that the metal part is UP, when placing in the strut, since the shape of the metal part (convex) is the same as what I saw in my car with the original cap still in place
(you can have a look at the video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEldjt1egeA )
and also, on that middle-upper part of your new cap, I can see a small grove (above the rubber O-ring) where the C-clip will be placed to keep the cap in place.
Once you remove the original cap, it would also be great to have close ups of that cap.
Excellent work dko888!
cheers
Last edited by carloslameiro : 01-09-2009 at 08:03 AM.
Vehicle: Merz 2002 S500 W220.175 -owner since Oct.2008
Location: The Great White North - Canada
Posts: 26
Hello all,
First, I apologize for possibly "overdoing" it with my contributions, but this happens from posting stuff here as I carry out the stuff and I want to contribute ideas or videos, hot-off-the-press. After this weekend, I will have less time, and back to real work! ;-)
In a previous message, I indicated that I had lost the full video of replacing the mastic from my driver's side, which did NOT have any apparent air leak. I have found the video, and have posted it to youtube (links below), and I have confirmed that once I removed the mastic, there is a leak in the gap of the C-ring, and I have proceeded to epoxy the full circumference of the steel cap.
If of interest, here are the 4 videos I recovered from my mobile, which I had thought lost (there were in the phone memory vs the SD card). The last one is incomplete as the battery did die at that point.
Skylaw, without wanting to be stubborn, in comparing the W220.175 (2002 S500) upper seal of the front struts with earlier versions, including your previous 2000 S500, it would be beneficial to get the details as to the thickness of the steel cap, the presence or not of an O-rubber ring in the circumference of the original steel caps of previous S-models that did not have mastic, and the design and thickness of the brass valves and its threading into the strut connection hole that experienced metal fatigue.
One can see from the steps a and b in the previous youtube videos that my non-leaking driver side strut did start leaking from the cap once the mastic was removed, with no aparent damage caused from my removal process (using screwdriver and hammer). This is whata leads me to think that the mastic is actually acting as a sealant - again without wanting to be stuborn, just calling it as I see it. Anyway, I could be wrong of whether this was intentional or not.
From dko888's pict of the steel cap from the new fix-kit, we can see that there is an O-ring. From other posts, I think that we can expect to find *no* such O-ring in the original steel cap.
Also, the original and fix-kit design of screwing the brass-valve to the steel strut hole is open to leakage, since this metal-to-metal connection also does not have a rubber washer or O-ring. Again, the brass-valve connection to the strut was originally under the mastic, just enough to seal (my opinion), and not really enough for full-vibration-absorption (especially sideways and upwards). I have taken your advice, however, and in sealing with epoxy the brass-valve connection to the strut (steps 10-12 of other youtube videos), I have added quite a bit of epoxy in an arch around the brass-valve to add considerable structural reinforcement (see picts from previous posts).
Anyway, just a few more thoughts on this. Hope that this information (apologies if it is too much) is useful.
Today I will be filling the bellow with air (will try to do my last videos!), and then testing the car.
Hey guys, I just replaced my air compressor today and relay as recommended. I had the entire front end raised on 2 jacks with both wheels off the ground.
When the installation was complete, i started the car and let it run until the compressor turned on. I then lowered the car and the right front passenger strut sinks and will not hold at all. I do not hear any hissing air leaks.
I do need the top seal replaced and i will replace it as soon as i receive that special tool i ordered.
The thing that bothers me is that before i replaced the compressor, the car did not sink with the old loud compressor.
Does anyone think that once i replace the top seal, the strut will be able to build pressure? how come it was able to build pressure with old loud compressor?
The only other thing that changed is that the bellow separated from bottom but i secured it back down. I was able to drive the car last week and now it's worse.
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