My 1st ABC issue - SL55

[Candellara]

Chaps,

Encountered my 1st ABC issue today :-(

Malfunction message - noise from the ABC pump area and it's pushing ABC fluid out of the reservoir and onto the inner wing area - lots and lots of fluid :-(

Car tucked away in garage now

Any ideas?

When you start the car it takes a few minutes for the malfunction message to appear and the suspension still lifts but you can hear the pump working very noisily and the the ABC waning comes up in white - not a red warning. I'm guessing the ABC pump is failing - hence the malfunction warning and it pumping fluid out of the reservoir?

Edited by Candellara on Sunday 7th May 11:10

[86DA]

Some very good info here

http://mercedes-abc-drive-carefully.blogspot.co.uk...

[rubystone]

What a bummer - only about 3 weeks into owning it? All that advice on ABCs and the history suggesting all was OK? But at least the dealer who sold it to you will cover it under warranty? You were suggesting he was a decent fellow on another thread.

I've been considering one myself but the well known faults on them are akin to buying a 996 - go into it with your eyes open and buy (and ideally budget) expecting the worse.

Hopefully for you it doesn't require an ABC rebuild!

[Candellara]

rubystone said:

What a bummer - only about 3 weeks into owning it? All that advice on ABCs and the history suggesting all was OK? But at least the dealer who sold it to you will cover it under warranty? You were suggesting he was a decent fellow on another thread.

I've been considering one myself but the well known faults on them are akin to buying a 996 - go into it with your eyes open and buy (and ideally budget) expecting the worse.

Hopefully for you it doesn't require an ABC rebuild!

A few months now and i really love it. Unfortunately the car suffered an initial problem which was an EIS unit. The supplying dealers (Ashtons in Bovey Tracey) were really good and covered the cost. The car was checked over prior to my ownership and everything given a clean bill of health ABC wise

The ABC system (although very good and really effective) is known for trouble after about 10 years of service generally. The car is now with MB Chichester for diagnosis tomorrow. There are about 8 major ABC components so it could be any of them or a combination

[swisstoni]

Just One of Those Things when you have an SL55.

The upside is that the suspension is magnificent when it's working. I've had Citroens with their legendary suspension and the Merc is better.

[Candellara]

swisstoni said:

Just One of Those Things when you have an SL55.

The upside is that the suspension is magnificent when it's working. I've had Citroens with their legendary suspension and the Merc is better.

I was extremely surprised at how well the car handled given it's weight. I'd go as far to say that it handles better than the Jag F type V8 i had a few years ago

[Candellara]

Initial diagnosis is proving difficult due to the volume of oil that has been pumped out of the reservoir, although MB have confirmed all the struts are ok.

£156 per hour labour rate at MB (ouch) and we're into three hours for diagnosis & cleaning up all of the oil (removing undertrays etc) Their initial guess is that the ABC pump and pulsation damper have failed

[anonymous-user]

You can take this with a pinch of salt if you wish but in my experience the main dealers no longer have proper knowledge of the ABC system and charge a fortune for anything they do often randomly replacing very expensive parts until the 'stumble on the fix'.

I strongly advise you get the car to a decent independent who will a) find the issue and fix it and b) not require you to take out a second mortgage.

Whereabouts in the country are you?

[Candellara]

cb1965 said:

You can take this with a pinch of salt if you wish but in my experience the main dealers no longer have proper knowledge of the ABC system and charge a fortune for anything they do often randomly replacing very expensive parts until the 'stumble on the fix'.

I strongly advise you get the car to a decent independent who will a) find the issue and fix it and b) not require you to take out a second mortgage.

Whereabouts in the country are you?

Whilst i partially agree with what you're saying, MB Chichester reckon that they deal with a large amount of ABC issues and say it's a very common problem on CL's / SL's. I agree with garages in general replacing very expensive parts but the suspension struts have been eliminated so it's really just the pump, pulsation damper or the valve blocks at fault. Everything at the moment points towards the pump and pulsation damper (which is the most common fault)

There's no MB specialists in Chichester, West Sussex that i'm aware of that have STAR diagnosis etc and i'm also wary of said independents not having enough experience of the marque and as such, replacing expensive parts until they fix the issue. I / the warranty won't be parting with any money until the offending component is isolated and identified. So, if they reckon it's a combination of items, they'll be replacing them one at a time to ensure the fault is rectified

[swisstoni]

I use a specialist Indy for all but routine servicing.
As hydraulic ABC was phased out a long time ago I'd expect the experience to be with the indys nowadays.

[anonymous-user]

Candellara said:

Whilst i partially agree with what you're saying, MB Chichester reckon that they deal with a large amount of ABC issues and say it's a very common problem on CL's / SL's. I agree with garages in general replacing very expensive parts but the suspension struts have been eliminated so it's really just the pump, pulsation damper or the valve blocks at fault. Everything at the moment points towards the pump and pulsation damper (which is the most common fault)

There's no MB specialists in Chichester, West Sussex that i'm aware of that have STAR diagnosis etc and i'm also wary of said independents not having enough experience of the marque and as such, replacing expensive parts until they fix the issue. I / the warranty won't be parting with any money until the offending component is isolated and identified. So, if they reckon it's a combination of items, they'll be replacing them one at a time to ensure the fault is rectified

You are in luck, massive luck as you live near Olly/PCS.

Please take it to PCS, Olly knows more about ABC than just about anyone in the country. Just search for him in the MB forums and you'll see he has a reputation second to none.

The main dealers will just fit new parts until they fix it and tell you they were all goosed. Pump is £800 plus fitting, valve blocks are £1100 plus fitting, then there's new ABC fluid which will cost around £250 alone rom Merc plus flushing, testing costs etc.

Olly will diagnose the issue and offer you various fixes including new OEM parts or reconditioning... for instance the pump can be rebuilt for around 12% of the cost of a new one! Same with valve blocks..... Merc will not do that!

Trust me on this!

PCS
113A London Road, Horndean,
Waterlooville, Hampshire, PO8 0BJ
Telephone: [phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]

PS I am in no way affiliated to PCS ... in fact I have personally never been there, but hundreds of satisfied Merc owners can't be wrong.

[Candellara]

cb1965 said:

You are in luck, massive luck as you live near Olly/PCS.

Please take it to PCS, Olly knows more about ABC than just about anyone in the country. Just search for him in the MB forums and you'll see he has a reputation second to none.

The main dealers will just fit new parts until they fix it and tell you they were all goosed. Pump is £800 plus fitting, valve blocks are £1100 plus fitting, then there's new ABC fluid which will cost around £250 alone rom Merc plus flushing, testing costs etc.

Olly will diagnose the issue and offer you various fixes including new OEM parts or reconditioning... for instance the pump can be rebuilt for around 12% of the cost of a new one! Same with valve blocks..... Merc will not do that!

Trust me on this!

PCS
113A London Road, Horndean,
Waterlooville, Hampshire, PO8 0BJ
Telephone: [phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]

PS I am in no way affiliated to PCS ... in fact I have personally never been there, but hundreds of satisfied Merc owners can't be wrong.

Thanks for that

If i don't get a satisfactory outcome from MB Chichester (i'm still getting over their labour rate of £156 per hour (and FWIW, that's more expensive than most Ferrari and Lambo dealers)- i will certainly get in touch with him

The next day or so will be crucial as to whether Ashton's will honour their obligations under their warranty and / or MB Chichester successfully identify and remedy the problem. The car has full, very extensive and no expense spared MB service history so it goes to show that these problems can suddenly become evident whatever the car's history. I'm on it and as i used to be in the trade allbeit many moons ago, won't take any BS :-). So far, I'm into 1 hour for diagnosis plus a further two hours to clean all of the oil off from the underside of the car in order to top up the ABC system and run it up to investigate the issue but the tech's opinion is that the pulsation damper and the ABC pump has failed

Edited by Candellara on Wednesday 10th May 20:05

Edited by Candellara on Wednesday 10th May 20:09

[anonymous-user]

Candellara said:

Thanks for that

If i don't get a satisfactory outcome from MB Chichester (i'm still getting over their labour rate of £156 per hour (and FWIW, that's more expensive than most Ferrari and Lambo dealers)- i will certainly get in touch with him

The next day or so will be crucial as to whether Ashton's will honour their obligations under their warranty and / or MB Chichester successfully identify and remedy the problem. The car has full, very extensive and no expense spared MB service history so it goes to show that these problems can suddenly become evident whatever the car's history. I'm on it and as i used to be in the trade allbeit many moons ago, won't take any BS :-). So far, I'm into 1 hour for diagnosis plus a further two hours to clean all of the oil off from the underside of the car in order to top up the ABC system and run it up to investigate the issue but the tech's opinion is that the pulsation damper and the ABC pump has failed

Edited by anonymous-user on Wednesday 10th May 20:05

Edited by anonymous-user on Wednesday 10th May 20:09

Mine was the same - extensive MBFSH yet the front valve block failed amongst other things. The pump was replaced in Jan 2012 by the previous owner.

[Candellara]

Diagnosis from Mercedes is that the ABC pump and pulsation damper (which is attached to the pump on my car) is faulty and requires replacement. Spoke to the MB tech at length and he seems very knowledgeable.

I can't fault Ashton's (the supplying dealer) as their warranty is covering the majority of the repair bill (limited by the per hour labour rate clause). A big thumbs up and i'd have no hesitation in recommending Ashton's at Bovey Tracey

Mercedes labour rate (£156 per hour) is quite frankly ludicrous and equates to £1170 for a tech / fitters labour per day

[anonymous-user]

Candellara said:

Diagnosis from Mercedes is that the ABC pump and pulsation damper (which is attached to the pump on my car) is faulty and requires replacement. Spoke to the MB tech at length and he seems very knowledgeable.

I can't fault Ashton's (the supplying dealer) as their warranty is covering the majority of the repair bill (limited by the per hour labour rate clause). A big thumbs up and i'd have no hesitation in recommending Ashton's at Bovey Tracey

Mercedes labour rate (£156 per hour) is quite frankly ludicrous and equates to £1170 for a tech / fitters labour per day

Make sure they flush the whole system and use new Pentosin fluid when refilling as if there are any contaminants in the system the next issue will be the valve blocks.

[Candellara]

cb1965 said:

Make sure they flush the whole system and use new Pentosin fluid when refilling as if there are any contaminants in the system the next issue will be the valve blocks.

Have instructed that as a matter of course. Thanks for advise

[chris333]

cb1965 said:

Candellara said:

Whilst i partially agree with what you're saying, MB Chichester reckon that they deal with a large amount of ABC issues and say it's a very common problem on CL's / SL's. I agree with garages in general replacing very expensive parts but the suspension struts have been eliminated so it's really just the pump, pulsation damper or the valve blocks at fault. Everything at the moment points towards the pump and pulsation damper (which is the most common fault)

There's no MB specialists in Chichester, West Sussex that i'm aware of that have STAR diagnosis etc and i'm also wary of said independents not having enough experience of the marque and as such, replacing expensive parts until they fix the issue. I / the warranty won't be parting with any money until the offending component is isolated and identified. So, if they reckon it's a combination of items, they'll be replacing them one at a time to ensure the fault is rectified

You are in luck, massive luck as you live near Olly/PCS.

Please take it to PCS, Olly knows more about ABC than just about anyone in the country. Just search for him in the MB forums and you'll see he has a reputation second to none.

The main dealers will just fit new parts until they fix it and tell you they were all goosed. Pump is £800 plus fitting, valve blocks are £1100 plus fitting, then there's new ABC fluid which will cost around £250 alone rom Merc plus flushing, testing costs etc.

Olly will diagnose the issue and offer you various fixes including new OEM parts or reconditioning... for instance the pump can be rebuilt for around 12% of the cost of a new one! Same with valve blocks..... Merc will not do that!

Trust me on this!

PCS
113A London Road, Horndean,
Waterlooville, Hampshire, PO8 0BJ
Telephone: [phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]

PS I am in no way affiliated to PCS ... in fact I have personally never been there, but hundreds of satisfied Merc owners can't be wrong.

In case of any future non-warranty work, there's another thumbs up for PCS from me. He's looked after my R129 SL for the last 6 years and service and general helpfulness has been amazing.

[Hoofy]

Good shout with Ollie. Have used him in the past (when I had the CLK).

[anonymous-user]

Any news?

[Candellara]

cb1965 said:

Any news?

Should be ready today.

New ABC Pump & Pulsation damper. New Pentosin oil and filter replaced in the reservoir. Whilst in there, MB noticed that the air intake seal from the air filters to the supercharger was distorted & not sealing and there was a crack in the under tray of the car - so i've opted to have these issues sorted as well.