I too have a Strutmaster conversion on my 2003 S500 4-matic. Unless you are a purist, and a lover of Airmatic suspension, as my MB Indie says, you cannot really tell the difference in ride comfort. But you will save a lot of money in suspension woes. Just my $0.02.

 

I was all ready to buy the car when the seller told me it had the ABC suspension. That was almost a deal breaker as I did not want the ABC suspension due to all the problems I've read about it. However I still took a shot at it after reading about the strutmasters conversion and I am happy with it. If the car originally had airmatic, I probably would have kept the airmatic suspension as it's easier to maintain and fix.

 

Conversion Photos

Here are three photos; I hope they answer your questions.

Hello
How could you switch off the abc system alert after replacing struts?

 

I will be doing the conversion sometime in the future, the only thing I wonder about is what happens to the tandem pump?
Is it just capped off, and left with fluid in?
Is the Airmatic steering pump an alternative if the ABC pump fails with a conversion?

 

Apparently the best thing would be to replace the tandem ABC/PS pump with the Power Steering pump from a W211

 

I capped the lines off at the struts and left fluid in the tank. I'll have to flush my tank since the previous owner used regular red power steering fluid. But if you want to remove the tank all together, you would have to use the power steering pump from an airmatic equipped w220.

 

Power steering fluid in an ABC system? Strewth no wonder it didn't work.
Appreciate that info, I get a lot of spares from Germany and the power steering pump wont break the bank.
I don't know what the situation is in the US, but here it would be around the same price to replace the whole system with coil-overs as it would to replace one strut, and as I hate air/hydro suspension it is a no-brainer for me.

 

I too purchased a used 2006 S430 [112,000kms] recently that had failing airmatics and I converted to the strutmasters. The ride is very good: I can feel the road through the tires and the steering wheel a bit more than I could with the airmatics; this is something I prefer. Like others, I want to eliminate as many "break-down" parts as possible, and the airmatics have way too many of these attached. I am going to focus on the transmission next and replace the flex discs, for they are the primary cause of total transmission failure. Is there anything else I should change while I am at it?

 

This conversion is exactly what I am going to be doing in the future :thumbsup:. I was wondering if you guys could take some photos of the car (sides and close up of the fenders) so that we can see how the car sits with the conversion. Trying to visualize the height of the car compared to ABC's height. :bowdown:

 

Conversion Photos

Here are three photos; I hope they answer your questions.

 

Ride height looks good, may be a little higher on the front than my S55, but I heard that converted cars sit at about the same height as the mid setting.
What is the handling like, is there a lot of role in the corners? If you drive it hard, is there any more understeer than there was?
And, did the conversion come with any sort of anti-role bar?

 

I just got this in January, and the airmatics were leaking. I drove the car with them for a few Kms and found the ride much too soft, I could not feel the road at all. Now, I can feel the road. On smooth roads at higher speeds, you'd think you are gliding; much like the airmatics. I do not believe there was an anti-roll bar, or anything of the sort. I had the MB mechanics at my dealership install them. I find it handles very well, although I am not "hard" on my vehicles. At 55, I have nothing to prove and I quiet like staying alive. I hope these answers are helpful for you. One of the things you can do to reduce costs is to sell you cores, when you convert, to Arnott Industries: they'll pay for the UPS shipping and give you $300. That brings your conversion with the necessary computer message blocking device down to about $1300. I simply used the strutmaster boxes to ship the cores to Arnott.

 

I live in the UK, and I have ABC, so I am guessing that Arnotts would not be interested in anything I have.
Our roads are dreadful, all over the country drivers are in uproar about the potholes in the roads, so smooth roads are rare. Because of this, and because of the failure rate and cost of the struts, I want to do the conversion eventually, it wont happen overnight as I have a lot of other issues that need sorting out first, I am just finishing swapping all of the ball joints at the front, next is the engine mounts, then it is a refurbish on the steering rack, the list is long.
I am 53, and although I don't consider myself to be hard on my cars, I like to be "Enthusiastic" now and again, and although the S-Class is probably not the best of vehicles for it, its not the worst by far either (Lexus L430, handle like blancmange) .

 

I have 3 Ls-430s as of now, and i feel they handle almost the same if not better.. The S430 that i had had a rough ride, yet all of the steering and the airbags were in good condition... Maybe it was just me..

 

Here are 2 pictures of before and after. You can see how my ABC system was stuck in the raised position. The after picture shows the car lowered back to normal. (The after picture also shows quite a bit of space between the fender and the tire. That's due to the wrong size tires that came with those wheels. I have since installed stock size tires on those new wheels and the tires fill in the void quite nicely).

 

There is a $200 "core charge" when you buy a rebuilt Airmatic strut from Arnott, which you get back when you return your old strut (with free shipping). I don't think that there a core charge for their new Airmatic struts. BTW - the new struts do not have the adjustable damping of the factory and the rebuilt struts.

If you go to the Arnott website and scroll down a bit, you will see the triangular recycle symbol and the legend "We buy cores!". Click on that, and you will find a list of the cores that they buy. The W220 Airmatic cores are $75, W220 ABC cores are $300, and Mayback cores are $1000...

I am not certain, but I believe that if you call them they will send you a return shipping label, so they pay for the shipping.

As an aside - I think that I have seen some comments on the forums that Arnott doesn't ship the struts overseas. I think that if you call them and set it up, then send your struts (or identical ones) to them, they will rebuild the struts and ship them to you.

I have no affiliation with Arnott, other than as a very satisfied customer.

 

I bought my '01 S430 back in Feb with some sort of mechanical shocks in place of the air system. Not really sure of the brand, but it sounded like a good conversion based on what I was told of the maintenance costs associated with the air system. Then, reading this forum afterwords it seems like a good overall plan. Considering I didn't have to pay for the changeover, or any repairs to the original system, I'm quite happy with it. It seems like it was set up in a sporty fashion, with a lower stance and solid, firm ride. Not harsh by any means, but it seems to handle aggressive cornering well. Also a good ride in normal conditions.
From what I can tell of a VIN search, it was delivered from the dealer with AMG body kit and wheels. So, the stance and look match up well.
I don't have any idea what of the original system may be left in the car. I do see the air lines at the top of the front shocks just sitting there. Kind of shoddy looking, but I capped them with old plastic valve stem caps.

 

Quick side shot:

 

That's similar to what mine looks like. A little hard to tell in these photos, but the rear has just slightly higher clearance than the front. Just slightly.




Here's the left rear wheel.




And the left front wheel.




Here, you can see the red coil spring; had to reach a little into the wheelwell to get this view, because you can't really see it otherwise. Front left.




And, while harder to see on the rear left, you can still make out the red spring at the top of the wheelwell..

 

In my opinion, ruins the resale value of the car. Just like Lincolns where the coil springs were used in place of air struts.

 

Considering the prices of w220 mercedes right now, I don't think resale values matter much. And I think most people who are looking at w220 mercedes' already know the problems with airmatics and ABC suspensions and probably turn away from buying the cars anyway. I almost didn't buy my s500 due to the ABC system but the only reason I did end up buying the car is because I knew there was a conversion available.

 

It might indeed, but not likely by much. In addition, the eventual breakdown and deterioration after 100Kms [which seems to be the general consensus] is not a problem. It is much cheaper to have the lifetime warrantied shocks sent to you when needed. In addition, you eliminate a number of other common failures: compressor, etc.

 

Arnott rebuilt air struts come with lifetime warranty.

 

I must disagree with you there. Dealers look for that on cars and want NOTHING to do with one that has the steel springs. Most Mercedes buyers look for those original components. So, in my experience, it makes a big difference.

The spring conversation is typically more expensive than the Arnott replacements.

 

"The spring conversation is typically more expensive than the Arnott replacements."

This is patently false. I looked at all options before I replaced the airmatic with the coil conversion. The price for the coils + message blocker, including shipping was $1600. I recall the rebuilt airmatics from Arnott being much more. I happen to prefer the coils to the airmatics: I can feel the road a bit; with the airmatics, I was gliding along, getting car sick. I felt like an 88 year old driving a "car as big as a whale" in North Miami, who wears pink polyester pants and white shoes, and is oblivious to everything around him. In addition, I did not buy the car to resell it. I will drive it for anywhere from 6 - 8 years, and by that time, the market value, airmatics or coils, will be a moot point.

 

I am selling my wifes 2002 S55 AMG due to the ABC problems. "$80 hose blew out" Total price after tow, parts and labor $700. Love the car but that issue is waaaay...WAY to $$$$$$. Love this idea as well but still not the real deal. Just my .02

 

I purchased a Rear Air Suspension Conversion Kit for my 02 e320 4 matic wagon from Strutmasters. Had my mechanic install it and noticed an unresponsive, noisy harsh ride. My mechanic called customer service at Strutmasters, spent 4 hours removing interior, reins pecting everything and still had a poor ride. After second call with customer service, Strutmasters sent a different set of struts to replace the original kit set. I spoke with a supervisor who said the VP would not authorize any assistance in payment for my mechanic's labor to replace the wrong/ defective parts.

Update on status.
Spoke today with the owner of Strutmasters who offered $130 toward my labor costs to replace the 2nd set of struts. Although it is less than what I will pay my mechanic, I will give him credit for being a standup guy.

 

You can look at it through rose tinted spectacles as much as you like, but the resale value of the W220 is low, and will only get lower.
Ignoring the engine size and the toys, the price range you are looking at is between £900 for a shed to £9000 for the last year of the model run.
And don't think for one minute that they will suddenly get classic car appeal and shoot up in value, because as much as it is painful to admit, the W220 comes from an era when Mercedes Benz quality control was at best average.
There may be a couple of types that may get a small classic following, the S65 for its rarity, and (I hope!) the S55 Kompressor, even then it could take a few years.
So, anybody that owns one now, should just do as they want with their car.

 

Exactly how I look at it. I bought this car to drive, and do so with as little cost as possible. I've eliminated all of the ancillary components to the air shocks as possible bank account syphons. The car rides beautifully, and as I have posted before, I can feel the road: an important aspect when driving in difficult conditions and situations.

 

Did you ever sell that 02 S55. If not, I am interested in it because I own one and would like to buy for parts! if possible.
Thank You,
Joe McGovern
772-453-6302

 

Is it an S55 and if so, what year is it. Are you interested in Selling it?
Thanks,
joe McGovern

 

Anyone unhappy with the Struttmasters conversion?

Mine is in the shop and I think I want to just get rid of the ABC system and sell the old strutts. It looks like they go for $50 each now at Arnott's or I can try to sell here or ebay.

I only have 65,000 miles on my 2001 S55 and I figure doing the conversion now will get rid of future problems. I have the ABC red light and my local mechanic is trying to figure out costs.

 

It's been 2 1/2 years since I did the conversion and I'm still happy with the ride quality. I'm going on 160,000 miles on my S.