Self leveling system fluid
 

Does anyone use anything other than the MB fluid?.... I use a universal hydraulic fluid from Cenix in my tractor hydraulics and since I have a small leak in the 240Ds self leveling, I was thinking of using this :o till I can fix the leak.

I've used tractor hydraulic stuff myself. Had the same leak problem and figured the tractor stuff was better than nothing and the system was already broken so couldn't hurt anything.

Any guesses as to who will be first to say MB stuff only? :D

Cheers,

Bill

Me, me, me. :sun_smile

I just looked at the bottle of MB stuff I've got, it doesn't list any specifications or anything.

Honestly, I really don't know what else would work. I've heard that the MB stuff is pretty different from 'regular' hydraulic fluid, but thats all just heresay.

I've heard that the only way to really tell is a taste test. Get a few wine glasses, pour in an ounce or so of the hydraulic fluid. Swirl it around, give it a sniff, and then sip some into your mouth. You'll quickly notice the refined flavor and delicate complexity of the MB hydraulic fluid. Compare that to the crude and unsophisticated palate of the generic hydraulic fluid. The choice of what to use, of course, is yours.

Seriously though, I'm sticking with the MB stuff for the moment, because I don't know enough about hydraulics to decide on a good replacement, I've already got a liter of it that the previous owner gave me, and the hydraulic system is in perfect working order with lots of new parts, and I see no reason to potentially endanger it... However, if the system wasn't working well anyway, or I knew more about hydraulics, I'd consider other fluids. I'm certainly not dogmatic about it.

peace,
sam

Yeah, I knew somebody would :D

cheers,

Bill

Link to previous Self Leveling Hydraulic Oil thread

I used the Febi Fluid for a flush & refill with a new filter 12 months ago......the old fluid was like cloudy castor oil.....probably best not to mix old & new fluid

Easy to flush & refill.......just undo the return.......put some clear plastic tubing on the line....start her up and run until bottle nearly empty.........fill bottle with new fluid..........run until clearer new fluid comes out while making sure bottle doesn't empty......I needed ~2 liters

The filter is under the bottle cap.........I suspect this was the first time this fluid & filter were changed on my 1978 280CE (w123) :eek:

My 'cheap' MB parts supplier in Australia told me it is the same as the genuine MB Fluid.......and $US10.51 per liter seems a low enough price not to risk anything else

Link to Febi Hydraulic Fluid on Fastlane

David

Just a few minutes ago I found a puddle of hydro oil under my rear passenger door and a near-empty tank! :eek: :mad:

A rubber bushing/grommet on the support bracket got loose and the metal wore a 1/2 pinhole through the line. I assume it's the return line since It's not spraying, just dripping.

The passenger side accumulator is also soaked, hopefully It's just a fitting.

Until I find a TD in the scrapyard or a sutable way to repair the line, I'm surely not going to pay $17/L willy-nilly. So-far I have seen from here the Febi and O-rileys oil work as sutable replacments.

The fluid is actually a mineral oil based product and is used on a variety of cars. Citroen probably has the most history using mineral based hydraulic oils but there are a bunch of others as well. Castrol, Febi and another who's name escapes me are all pretty much the same. If you can find a store that supplies parts for wierd foreign cars you'll probably find another (and likely cheaper) source. No matter what, do NOT substitute or add a petroleum based or regular brake type fluid. It will destroy your seals like a scene out of Andromeda Strain.

Irg

"mineral oil based product" Thanks for all the feed back. I will hunt for a mineral base oil. $10.00 a ltr is a little steep for the MB stuff. :eek:

Both my tractors used mineral based 80-90W gear oil for their hyraulics, but I don't recommend that in an MB.

Given that FEBI and Bilstein are one and the same, I'd feel pretty good about using their products. I should probably pick some up for myself.

[IMG]http://assets.************************/assets/product/103438/103438_200_3.jpg[/IMG]

MB publishes a list of fluid products for its cars... I have not seen it... but have heard it refered to ...
Someone has a copy of it....maybe the specs are listed on it....

Why not just use the FEBI (Ferdinand Bilstein) that all the wholesalers use? It is OE to Mercedes.

The approved products list is now available online, hosted by a generous forum participant.

MB Approved Service Products

Personally, I had a seal failure in a hydraulic cylinder for my cabriolet top. The replacement part cost $125. There are six of them in the system. I don't know why that one failed. Unless you know EXACTLY what you're doing, it would be penny-wise pound-foolish to skimp on the hydraulic fluid. You may end up ruining ALL the seals.

The fluid used for the hydraulic top is the same as the fluid used for the self leveling hydraulic system.

I'm glad this thread came up before I ruined my perfectly functioning system in the spring. I thought hydraulic fluid is hydraulic fluid and surely would've ruined my system.

Once again, thanks all....

Cheers,

Bill

I also heeded the gospel of the forum choir and used what MB called for. At least I'll know any failure won't be because I tried to use something costing slightly less.

very similar discussions happen onthe Harley boards all the time.

MB won't tell you what it is or label the container with the specs. They want it to stay a mystery so you keep buying it from them.

It's the same crap that HD does with their "mystery" oils.

There is no mystery oil. The MB oil is not the only acceptable hyd fluid or else MB must provide the oil for free. The law states that a manufacture cannot require a specific brand oil unless it is provided at no cost.

Most owners manuals say "use a XXX type oil, such as MB mystery oil"

My harley manual says if you can't find HD brand oil, use an oil rated for diesel engines. It's a pretty vague statement but keeps them legal without telling you the specific. You have to find out what oils are ok for diesel engines.

For the suspension fluid, I bet generic PS fluid is the same stuff, or meets all the required specs. I'm not talking about red colored ATF, which is specified for many cars PS systems, but the clear PS fluid that AZ & WM sell for about $2 quart.

PS fluid and ATF are both hydraulic fluids. there is very little, if any difference. All the navy aircraft I've flown use a red colored hyd fluid. Mainly to help identify leaks and prevent using it as engine oil & visa-versa.

I bet aircraft hyd oil is probably auto ATF, marketed at 10X the price.

I suppose HD specifies a diesel oil because their engine technology never got past 1940's tractor engines. ;) j/k, friendly biker to biker jibe. ;)

Anyway, if law requires MB to provide a specification in addition to a recommendation for their own oil, can we just call them up and ask what the spec is so we can find our own?

I'm worried about using other fluids not because they aren't MB branded, but because sometimes there are subtle differences in fluids that mean a lot for compatibility, like Dot 5 and Dot 5.1 brake fluids. If I were comfortable with the spec, I'd be happy to poke through catalogs and interrogate tractor shops to find a similarly spec'ed fluid, which some of these FEBI fluids mentioned may be. I just don't know...

Damn you, stuttgart, for keeping us in the dark about our ass-ends!

peace,
sam

odie

"For the suspension fluid, I bet generic PS fluid is the same stuff"

I dont think its mineral based tho, which is, what I understand to be the big difference. After a quick check around on line I couldnt find any mineral based hydraulic fluid cheaper than the MB stuff at $10 a ltr.

When I was looking for a substitute for the MB hydraulic fluid two years ago, I found that not all hydraulic oils are alike. I'm sure there is an over-the-counter oil that can be used in place of the MB hydraulic fluid, but which one, and who can absolutely tells us it'll work without harming the seals?

FWIW, I took some of the MB hydraulic fluid and had my colleague run an FTIR analysis to tell me what it is in hopes of reverse-engineering the fluid. The information I got was that it is a high-quality hydraulic fluid. I couldn't get more detail or research it further since this was a freebie done on company time.

basically the law says...

If a manufacture requires you to use a specific brand or only their brand, they must provide it at no cost. That means if MB requires that your warranty is only valid if the car is serviced with MB brand fluids, filters, pads, belts, hoses, etc...then they MUST provide those items at no cost.

That is why your owners manual will never say you MUST use their products or void the warranty.

They cannot refuse a warranty claim as long as you are using the specified TYPE product.

If all MB will tell you is "hydraulic" fluid, then they can't say later "no warranty" if that's what you used. Granted our cars are way past warranty. But is this, or similar, system in use on current production cars?

I think the manuals probably say use "MB fluid, OR a fluid designed for MB cars" which means you are free to use ANY fluid that any petro-chemical company wants to label as "ok" for MB suspensions...since that company has now accepted responsibility for the compatibility of it's fluid.

As with the HD senario, HD does not usually state the type or weight oil for the chaincase or transmissions...however, there are other brands available that specifically state they are for use in HD trans & chain cases. And they don't tell you the magic formula either. But they are also accepting responsibility if their product ruins the bike. But you do have to show a direct link to the oil causing the problem. I guess that's when HD fixes the bike & says the oil caused it.