[abdoul]

Hi there I was driving when I heard a hose bust on the driver's side front ..

Within less than a mile ..the car was not drivable.. it was to the ground with the wheels all the way to the wells.

For starters, can anyone recommend a Rockville MD area (or vicinity) MB mechanic who is actually FAMILIAR with C215 ABC hoses/lines replacement. I found out the hard way that many don't...

That being said,
I'm trying to guess using my pictures and based on people who experienced this before.. trying to figure out what is most likely hose that busted... I don't want to pay $400 to tow it and get it diagnosed when I can guess what hose I need.

I will replace all the hoses but will start with the busted one and the ones that require the shop. The DIYer I will tackle myself....

I am planning to mimic what was done here.. and replace as many hoses as I can (if not all) with higher pressure hoses and using the factory fittings. If anyone has upgraded to coilovers, i am interested in your old.ABC lines even if cut as long as I can use them as blueprint and reuse the fittings and build an entire set before I get the car tower hence no downtime as the Indy Shop. As you can guess I plan to retain the superb ABC... Superb when it works!!

Based on the above pictures it is possible to narrow down and determine which hose busted? The car is to the ground so I cannot lift it to see. I've ordered an ultra low Jack but meanwhile I'd anyone can shed the light for me....

Thank you!!!

 

[calgary]

Did you - or anybody else - recently added or changed the ABC oil, and not properly tightened the cap (ring). The photos do not show a busted oil line, but rather a leak from the top
of the ABC oil tank.

 

[abdoul]

Not to my knowledge. I will triple check. The reason I suspected a hose because I heard the noise closer to the floor pan .. the dip stick is indeed cracked. I ordered a set and will fill oil and see.. I'd be the happiest if that's the only problem.....

Would I still need to take it to a delaer for re-pressurizing/rodeo test...or can I simply cycle through up and down a few rimes as I read somewhere...

 

[tim687]

Please do check if any hoses have bursted in the first place. Driving the car without any hydraulic fluid will permanently damage the ABC system and you'll be facing very high repair costs in the near future.
I am in the process of creating a webshop that features repaired ABC hoses. If you could send me the exact part number of the hose that exploded, we might be able to arrange something.

FG 215.379 - LINE ARRANGEMENT OF HYDRAULIC SYSTEM > Mercedes EPC Online > nemigaparts.com

Parts catalogs. Spare parts catalog Mercedes EPC Online. Mercedes. Car. LINE ARRANGEMENT OF HYDRAULIC SYSTEM.

nemigaparts.com

 

[abdoul]

Not to my knowledge. I will triple check. The reason I suspected a hose because I heard the noise closer to the floor pan .. the dip stick is indeed cracked. I ordered a set and will fill oil and see.. I'd be the happiest if that's the only problem.....

Would I still need to take it to a delaer for re-pressurizing/rodeo test...or can I simply cycle through up and down a few rimes as I read somewhere...

Wishful thinking definitely

have a busted house in front of the tire. True that my dipstick cap is cracked.. The fact that it was empty let me believe that I indeed needed a hose.

 

[tim687]

Yep, green blood of death it is.
Don't start (and thus drive) your car without refilling the resevoir

 

[abdoul]

Ok. I am gonna have to tow it and get abused by the mechanic as this does not appear to be one of those easy ABC DIY hoses...unless I missed it. 😔

 

[tim687]

I can't identify the hose that is leaking, so it's probably the hose going from the pump to the pressure regulator valve

 

[calgary]

.....and I still think it is the Power Steering "green" oil tank cap, that was not properly fitted and not tightened enough - and caused the oil leak...??? On every CL that I have seen, there always appears to be moister on top of both, power steering and ABC oil tank. Bad Mercedes design ?

 

[abdoul]

.....and I still think it is the Power Steering "green" oil tank cap, that was not properly fitted and not tightened enough - and caused the oil leak...??? On every CL that I have seen, there always appears to be moister on top of both, power steering and ABC oil tank. Bad Mercedes design ?

Thank you Guys! Will triple check.

When it happened, I heard a SWOOOOOOSH sound.. 😃 on the front left.... then a slow leak allowing me to cruise for almost one mile to get off the highway and park right after the exit.... I assumed ans hoped that it would have been quicker had it been a hose..... . When I topped it off couple of days ago (dipstick was dry).. I started (idled .. not moved) for less than a minute to see.... it poured down ... that's when I took the above pictures.

I am not sure what you refer to as "green"

 

[abdoul]

I can't identify the hose that is leaking, so it's probably the hose going from the pump to the pressure regulator valve

Thanks. will inspect closer.....

 

[calgary]

Thank you Guys! Will triple check.

When it happened, I heard a SWOOOOOOSH sound.. 😃 on the front left.... then a slow leak allowing me to cruise for almost one mile to get off the highway and park right after the exit.... I assumed ans hoped that it would have been quicker had it been a hose..... . When I topped it off couple of days ago (dipstick was dry).. I started (idled .. not moved) for less than a minute to see.... it poured down ... that's when I took the above pictures.

I am not sure what you refer to as "green"

I should have said the power steering oil tank with the "green oil"...This is the lower of the two tanks, that are shown in your photos...

 

[calgary]

Since you added oil and it poured out right away, I now do agree with Tim that is has to be a hose or a break /crack in another part of the ABC system.

 

[abdoul]

I should have said the power steering oil tank with the "green oil"...This is the lower of the two tanks, that are shown in your photos...

Got it. Thanks!!

 

[tim687]

.....and I still think it is the Power Steering "green" oil tank cap, that was not properly fitted and not tightened enough - and caused the oil leak...??? On every CL that I have seen, there always appears to be moister on top of both, power steering and ABC oil tank. Bad Mercedes design ?

On mine, there is moisture on the dipstick cap. I did notice that there is a little hole in the dipstick cap, so it's probably venting off any pressure or something.

dipstick was dry

What dipstick was dry? The power steering one or the ABC one?

 

[abdoul]

On mine, there is moisture on the dipstick cap. I did notice that there is a little hole in the dipstick cap, so it's probably venting off any pressure or something.


What dipstick was dry? The power steering one or the ABC one?

ABC one. The top one.

 

[abdoul]

Am I closer to identifying the culprit?

I hate to spend $280 just to tow my car (and damage bumper as i partially did already) only for a diagnostic.

I am still hoping this is a DIYer... I cleaned up all the hoses, and put 1 liter in the emptied out ABC tank. As soon as I start the car it would squirt it out below the tank.... albeit rather slowly.

I plan to purchase a low profile 3T jack and stands and have a look. Better use of my money that I would otherwise spend on ONE WAY towing to the closest reputable Mercedes specialist... 🙂

Please take a look at this low res/quality vdo and chime in. Chances are one of you know exactly which hose I need to change.

I could not identify any damage on any of the hoses .. unless it was at the connectors...


More pics

 

[tim687]

You should jack the car up using the original jack that comes with the car. It allows you to jack it high enoughin the air to put a jack stand underneath it and rather fortunately they thought of the ABC system being sagged when designing the jack, so all should fit

My first guess would be the left front hose, which is on above every other filthy hose. The area (and everything below that area) that is common to leak is quite dirty.

I would be in a group of 3 watching/diagnosing the car as follows:

• Have somebody clean all the hoses beforehand, then lay underneath the car, to see where it starts to seep from.
• Have somebody be inside of the car at all times! Just to turn the engine of if there is a problem
• Have somebody CLOSELY monitor the resevoir level and refill for just enough so you can look underneath the car

 

[abdoul]

You should jack the car up using the original jack that comes with the car. It allows you to jack it high enoughin the air to put a jack stand underneath it and rather fortunately they thought of the ABC system being sagged when designing the jack, so all should fit

My first guess would be the left front hose, which is on above every other filthy hose. The area (and everything below that area) that is common to leak is quite dirty.

I would be in a group of 3 watching/diagnosing the car as follows:

• Have somebody clean all the hoses beforehand, then lay underneath the car, to see where it starts to seep from.
• Have somebody be inside of the car at all times! Just to turn the engine of if there is a problem
• Have somebody CLOSELY monitor the resevoir level and refill for just enough so you can look underneath the car

Yes Excactly what I was hoping to do. I've got buddies out of town.. sometimes towards the end of the week. I had my son start and stop the car after 10 seconds. to play it safe.. but this is a 3 person operation. LOL

 

[tim687]

Great, oh and by the way, start spraying some WD-40 on the quick disconnects of the hoses. That's the part where the strut connects to the hose.

Those will be stuck, spraying when with WD-40 on a regular basis and trying to rotate the collar will help to allow you to disconnect the line, which you'll need to do