Hey Everyone! I was working on my Vario roof rebuilding process today. I was in the process of testing out the hydraulics that I had replaced (all 11 cylinders) and suddenly while the car was sitting in park, idling, I hear what sounds like a high pressure hose letting loose and tons of fluid starts shooting out from just behind the driver side front wheel. After doing a little research, this appears to be a problem with my ABC system. I don't know what to look for as I am new to the R230 world. Could this just be a broken hose? Any direction with this issue would be greatly appreciated.
As always, any tip, tricks or even replies, are greatly appreciated.
The rear valve block is located there. I suspect you have a blown hose there. You'll have to check it out and see exactly what's leaking. Make sure to bookmark this:
This is the location for the ABC pressure supply block, and it seems the most common failure is an o-ring which seals the ABC pressure sensor. Mercedes sell a "repair kit" which lists for $145. The kit includes an o-ring and an installation tool (!) which facilitates its installation on the sensor.
The part number is 220-320-11-58. If your o-ring has failed, then I would look to purchase solely a replacement o-ring.
The installation tool that comes with the kit (pictured) is overkill. Presumably Mercedes are concerned that in the course of rolling the o-ring over the pressure sensor threads to seat it in position that it would become damaged. If one shares this concern, then there are countless ways of improvising a solution; e.g., wrapping electrical tape around the sensor threads.
My local dealer stocks the kit. I have no idea how common it is to find it in stock among other dealers.
I jumped into this problem today and found a hose has blown out (see Attached). Is the procedure in WIS the best way to go or is there a better process?
Also discovered other problems (see attached). I know this car was in a mild crash that effected the left front area. Looks like the previous owner(s) cut some corners ...:banghead:
I'm off to EPC to find the part number and see if I can find one.
As always ... Any tips, tricks, advice or even replies are greatly appreciated!
Hmmm ... pictures didn't load ... here they are. I don't know why they load up weird.
I think the part number I need is the hose from pulsation damper to t-piece (inlet) 230 997 32 82. Any help verifying this would be great.
Also, a couple more questions. Is the ABC system like the Vario Top system in that once a hose fails you might as well replace all hoses or just wait until the next one fails?
Since I had this failure in the ABC system, Flush and Filter, RODEO are probably in my future. Is there any thing else I should be looking at?
As always ... Any tips, tricks, advice or even replies are greatly appreciated!
Many forum members have removed these lines and had a hydraulic hose repair shop replace the hose portion.
If it is difficult to remove, some have cut the metal lines, and used a compression coupler (10mm I think) to splice the lines after repair.
Much less costly than dealer parts, but common to the ABC fitted cars from MB.
If the fluid is not bright green, this would be a good time to flush the system with new CH11S fluid.
One last thing, you may want to replace the pulsation damper in the rear portion of the LF wheel well. It’s the first downstream of the pump, and has the highest pressure spikes of any part of the system. A failure of this dampener will send the spikes to the rest of the system, causing more failures.
Best of luck on the repair and keep searching for answers here...we have all had the same happen.
Thanks for the reply! What is the success rate of using the compression coupler? I've used them on home water lines but my understanding is the ABC is under significantly higher pressure than typical home water lines. Just don't want to go down that road knowing another failure is going to happen.
I have encountered this problem too. For my case. It was the hose that goes into the Dampener Accumulator valve block that sits just inside the side grill behind the driver side wheel. The hose wasn’t too difficult to replace. Since I had the valve block out in the open. I replaced the Dampener Accumulator too. Good luck.
Ok ... The hose that blew out has been replaced. I filled the reservoir (it took about 2 3/4 quarts) and also did the adding a little compressed air thing. I started the car and voila ... no ABC warning on the dash! I then pressed the raise button once, the car raised. I pressed it again and it raised again. Pressed it again and the car lowers to normal position ... WOOO HOOO! everything appears to be working. As others have suggested I continued to raise and lower the car (with sport mode on and off) 10-15 times and everything works great!
When I filled the reservoir, the engine was off, I filled the level to the "Motor Aus" (motor off) notch.
I go out this morning and look under the car and there's a puddle. Crap. I rechecked the bolts, they are tight and dry. I then checked the dipstick and it was WAY over the "Motor Aus" notch ... almost to the top of the dipstick. WTH?
I then removed enough fluid to put it back in the "Motor Aus" notch. I started the car, pressed the button to raise, pressed the button to raise again, and pressed again to return to normal. This process was performed a total of 3 times. I then checked the fluid level again, this time with the engine running, and it was significantly lower than the "Motor An" notch. WTH?
I know while adding fluid I did make a mess. I'm not sure it was this size of mess but a mess nonetheless. If you look at the attached pictures, I am pointing to where it is leaking.
I am thinking this leak is residual leaking from the initial blow out, plus the spillage from filling the reservoir.
I've followed the lines and I cannot find any thing that would indicate an active leak. It appears the leak is coming down part of the frame? sub-frame? I'm not sure what to call it.
Any Ideas??
As always, any tips, tricks, advice or even replies are greatly appreciated!
Those underbody trim panels can hold A LOT of oil. I'll bet there was nearly 2 quarts in mine. I removed them and cleaned them so I wouldn't have to deal with the continual drips.
Thanks for the reply! My car didn't come with those panels ... unfortunately. I'm ordering them tomorrow.
I did take the car for a small drive today to see if the ABC light would come on. It didn't. The leak seems to be slowing down. I still think it might be some residual. I'm gonna keep an eye on it.
Thank you to everyone who replied! I really do appreciate it.
What really held a lot of oil in mine were the panels under the seats - not the lower engine covers. I'd be surprised if someone had remove those. The lower engine covers, though, are prone to curb damage, then they get ripped off at highway speeds.
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