I am thinking of buying a 2004 sl with 79000 miles.my concern is the abc problems
do all these cars have this problem and does it happen to all the cars.supposedly it costs around 6000 to fix and I am in no way going to pay this amount
also what other items should I look out for.
This is not my first sl I had a 1997 that I loved and always loved this model but have heard a lot of bad things about reliability issues
thanks Jimbo

 

I haven't heard of this happening to all the cars, but know it has been problematic for some. The most important thing that you can do is to get a PPI report done by an independent mechanic. This should give you a definitive answer as to if the car is worth investing in or not. Hope this helps and best of luck!

 

In my opinion it's all about doing the proper maintenance. The one thing that will turn the abc into a disaster would be if you have a leak somewhere in the system and you let the pump run dry. it will destroy itself and put metal fragments through the system thus resulting in replacing the entire system. it is very easy to replace fluid and I suggest that about 30k you should change it. I really like my 04, some of the maintenance is more difficult, like the transmission fluid change. now that I found the oil drain plug it's not that different than my old r129, I bought a dipstick to check against the built-in oil level sensor. so far my 04 has been great and is a good quality car. my r230 only had 21k when purchased, I've put 11k on her in just over a year. I wouldn't buy a car like this with higher mileage without good service records and a good carfax.

 

Where did you buy the dipstick from

 

ebay. it's much like the special dipstick that you can't leave in the car, that would be for the 722.6 transmission like on my past slk230. these sl's don't have a dipstick tube for the transmission you have to check underneath, a pain, it's more messy than it needs to be and you need special tools. I made it easier in the future to change fluid by adding another drain plug to the pan. they are really a generic dipstick for the engine oil. when I changed the oil and filled it, I used the engine sensor to find the right level, I then marked the oil level on the dipstick with a file. you can't leave it in the engine either.

 

Brookings statement got me thinking...i have a 03 sl500 with 41K miles, i drive very infrequent particularly in winter ..if it sits for 3 or 4 weeks the front will leak down. is this a sign of system leakage ? is the ABC pump the same as had been used on the 129 chassis or was it a new design for the R230 ?? ... any recommendations.

glen

 

if there is no oil showing on the strut boot or floor it may have fragments in the check-valve/accumulator. that would be an internal leak. probably could use a flush anyway. I seen someplace that some of the problems in the 03 models was the use of atf as a hydraulic fluid instead of the blue green chf11s fluid. It looks like a colored mineral oil to me, like used in the r129 top hydraulics. this chf11s is used in the r230 top hydraulics too. I used about 5 liters to flush the abc system.

 

how much would be expected for the flush and new fluid to cost ??

 

you can do this yourself by removing the old fluid out of the reservoir with something like a baster, paying attention to the very bottom for gunk. disconnect the return hose from the cap, use rags wrapped around the hose to catch fluid. run a hose from the return hose, clear would be best, to a bucket. with the cap off, remove filter by pushing in and turning it a 1/4 turn to unhook. get a funnel and have someone inside to push the button that moves the car up and down, start the car and keep filling the reservoir until you see new fluid going into the drain bucket or the tube shows bluish color. keep pushing the up and down button until finished. run about an extra liter after it shows new fluid to be sure. don't let reservoir go dry. fluid will run approximately $100 to 125, filter about $40 and you do the labor. be very clean. if you would rather, check around town and see what they would charge.

 

local MB dealer wants $800.00