Hydraulc fluid on E320 W210
 

Does anyone know what it is for? Is it for the steering wheel pump?

It is below the minimum currently and would like to know what to use to top it up / change it. The service book does not refer to it at all, so I presume one never changes it. But on older cars I have noticed it becomes thin, watery like, so I am sure it does need to be changed.

"Hydraulic fluid" is typically the name used for brake fluid > as the brakes use a hydraulic piston/cylinder design.

MB use DOT-4 fluid. [at least my 97 C230 uses DOT-4]

Brake fluid should be changed every two years > as it is "hydroscopic" >> it absorbs water vapor > which in turn lowers the boiling point of the fluid > which lowers the thermal efficiency of the fluid.

There is a specific "power steering fluid" for the power steering system of the car

Is this a station wagon or sedan - they are different.

The wagon has a reservoir in the front, left corner of the engine compartment. That reservoir feeds an engine driven hydraulic pump. The pump supplies both the power steering and the self-leveling rear suspension.

The sedan has a more conventional setup, with an engine driven power steering pump with integral reservoir.

I'm not up to speed on the fluid requirements for either...

- JimY

Yes it is the "wagon" (we call them estates here).

The service booklet does not mention it, but I know on my old Peugeot the steering pump fluid was getting hot (that is normal) and very very watery, so I changed it. So do I need to change it at all? The car is 4 years old and has covered 25K miles.

On my 95 e320 wagon (124) it has the pump which operates the rear self-leveling system and the power steering. However, the power steering fluid resevoir is located directly atop the pump, while the rear leveling suspension resevoir is located in the left front corner of the underhood area, and uses a special fluid which I purchased from MB. My car was low on this fluid for some time however, with seemingly no side effects.

Ah, I neglected to notice you were across the pond, otherwise I would have directed you to examine beneath the passenger side of the bonnet...

The 124 and 210 chassis estate cars are rather different in this area. The 124 uses a "dual pump" which provides hydraulic pressure for both power steering and self leveling, but uses separate fluids to do so. It contains a typical small reservoir for the power steering fluid and in addition is plumbed to the larger reservoir for the leveling system. A common problem is a failing seal and the pump mixing the two fluids together.

The 210 is simpler, with only the larger reservoir and the same hydraulic fluid powering both steering and suspension.

MB does not specify any change interval for this fluid (neither did they for the 124 suspension). The conventional wisdom on the earlier cars was to change the fluid every 3-4 years. My personal opinion is don't bother, that is overkill. With only 25K miles in four years, just top off the fluid and don't worry about it. Your owners manual should specify the fluid required. Likely it is only available at the main dealer, or from a Mercedes specialist.

- JimY

I also own a 2001 E320T. My approved fluid booklet dated October 2000 (which may have changed by now) lists three different approved hydraulic oils for various MB's:

For the 600 sedan, MB part no. 100 890 00 11
For the load leveling system, hydropneumatic suspension, hydraulic soft top, 4matic, ASD, MB part no. 000 989 91 03 10
For tandem pumps with common oil reservoir for steering and level control in E-class, Model Year 1996 (aka W210 vehicles), MB part no. 001 989 20 03 01

I assume that each oil has different additives to handle the specific application, with the 210 oil having to work with the self leveling system and power steering. My guess is that non-purists just buy the generic Febi oil (for the 124's) and use it in the 210's. Similar to when I worked on 600s with bad hydraulic systems and would find that PO or previous mechanic would have substituted ATF in place of the approved (and very expensive even in the 80's) MB oil. Costly mistake. :( Common wisdom on 124's which should be applicable to 210's would be to change the fluid and filter at the resevoir every 2 to 4 years. In my experience, there is a big difference in the color of clean fluid and used fluid. I have not changed mine yet but I expect to soon. I will let you know how it goes. Mark

On my 124 wagon I changed the suspension fluid @ the 30K mile major service intervals. Very little difference in color between the ~three year old fluid and the new. The old fluid was still almost completely clear. So my opinion is that it was overkill. But then again, it was only $30 once every three years - hardly breaks the bank.

- JimY

The fluid I added came a Mercedes specialist. It came in a blue plastic container and had the Bilstein name on it. The new fluid was clear, what is in the tank is nearly black.

Troverman, that was my experience with my '91 TE. Probably had never been changed before I changed it at 113K mi. Interesting that the 123 wagons had paper filters, the 124 wagons have fine plastic screen filters, and the 210 wagons have reverted to paper filters. I would venture a guess that the paper filters filter finer particles than the plastic screen filters. The oil in my 210 wagon has not been changed in 80K mi. and is starting to darken. Definitely time for a change. Mark

I own a 2000 E320 wagon. I know that my MB keeps hydraulic fluid #001. Now it has pretty dark color and I consider to change it soon.
Guys, do you know anything about Synthetic hydraulic oil: Pentosin CHF 11S? Does anyone tried to use it in self-leveling system?

Sorry, not sure about the Pentosin--I used Bilstein fluid which is OEM, bought from an MB indie.

Changing it is definitely a good idea if it hasn't been done yet. However, keep in mind that the new fluid color will turn dark very quickly as well. It just does that! I used Febi-Bilstein hydraulic fluid as well, which is OEM and can be purchased online instead of the dealer for much cheaper. Good place is ***************. It think it's like $8 vs. $20 plus at the dealer. It takes less than a liter to replace the reservoir. Here is a link: http://www.***************/search/product.aspx?sid=1xjvai55s5ag1tiuhsipm555&makeid=800016@Mercedes&modelid=1387605@E320%204MATIC&year= 2002&cid=98@Fluids%20%26%20Chemicals&gid=7607@Hydraulic/Suspension%20Fluid

Bansai, that fluid requirement for our 2002 wagon is somewhat "unique". It's made by FUCHS and is available ONLY thru the dealership from what I can tell. Think: :greedy: :greedy: :greedy: per litre

Also, Pentosin is not an suitable alternative for our car. Refer to the label on the top of the reservoir...part number is right there.

Thanks uberwgn!
I already know that.. I bought one liter such of fluid gold from MB dealership (they charged me $35 for one bottle :annoyed: )...
But I'm guessing that it would be not enough.
My 2000 wagon uses synthetic based fluid 001.989.20.03.10 as your.
I've seen Febi/Bilstein fluid at local store. This fluid has mineral base and probably is not compatible with mine.

Why I thought about Pentosin CSF 11S. I heard that new W211 wagons use it at their suspension self-leveling system. Might be it will compatible with our system as well? :confused:

WOW, I got off cheap @ $30/litre. :D

I am not doing any fluid experimentation on my car. The requirement is quite specific and the label printed on the reservoir corresponds to the info published in the car's documentation. ;)

The traditional PS fluid is not a suitable choice, either.

If you're planning a complete flush, you're going to need more than 2L.

Problem is, these cars share fluids for the PS system and the load-leveling system. You can imagine the characteristics of this uber-fluid are going to be "special" and not easily duplicated.

Does that make sense?

Yes. It does. :) BTW I found OEM MB fluid 001.989.20.03.10 for $18 for bottle, but they didn't sent it to me (kind of hazard policy...) :(

WOW, that sux. Can't it be shipped UPS ground??

I’m going to refresh hydraulic fluid and filter on this weekend.

What exactly I’m going to do.

- Suck out old fluid from reservoir.
- Fill in new hydraulic oil to Max level.
Turn on engine and turn front wheels from limit to limit a few times.
Turn off engine.
Refill reservoir again and install new hydraulic oil filter.

I’m not going to flush suspension lines, accumulators etc. Hopefully it will not necessary in case when fluid is going to be renewed every three years.

Is it OK?

Let me know how it goes. I've been extracting 1L of fluid annually and replacing with the same amount of fresh fluid.

If you're able to find the part number for the filter, and how to swap it, I'd be keen on hearing about that. Nobody has been able to get me the correct filter for the car :mad: so I haven't gone hog-wild with a complete flush.

thx.

I just bought #40 Part# 0021845501 . I'll try to make a pictures.
http://www.detali.ru/cat/MB/B32225000282.0877.gif

Cool, thanks. I found it as well:

0021845501 $10.50 $0.00 $7.88
Electrical - Ride control components - Filter
Filter - Auto leveling system 1996 - 2003

I've had a long-standing argument with the folks in NJ about the reservoir on our car. Their technical expert insists that our car has a traditional PS reservoir which it does not. I've even sent them pictures of our engine showing no conventional PS tank. It's become a sore subject for me...very irritating when the mfr doesn't even know their own product. I went so far as to take the car to the local dealer and they didn't know either. :rolleyes:

I just refresh hydraulic fluid a few minutes ago.

Fluid gold and filter
http://www.xytopok.net/mvnforum/geta...nt?attach=646&

Suck out old fluid.
http://www.xytopok.net/mvnforum/geta...nt?attach=647&

Removed old oil filter
http://www.xytopok.net/mvnforum/geta...nt?attach=648&
http://www.xytopok.net/mvnforum/geta...nt?attach=649&

Fill in new fluid and installed new filter.
http://www.xytopok.net/mvnforum/geta...nt?attach=650&

Old fluid and pump ($4 in Advance Auto Parts), which I used for suck out that.
http://www.xytopok.net/mvnforum/geta...nt?attach=651&

excellent, thanks for the update.

How is the filter removed?

See attached picture

OK, thanks. It's just a quik depress and she pulls out?

:)

When you press it then you will able to unhook spring from the cap.

LOL, I finally got around to this today. The filter arrived this past week and I figured it was a good time to toss it in. When I squeezed the filter at the top, the whole thing came apart and shot half way across the driveway :silly: Hmmmm. I went back and reviewed the Bansai diagram only to realize the spring was mounted completely backwards indicating someone else has had this out previously or such work is coming from the factory (date code on the filter aligns with the mfg date of the car).

I corrected it per the diagram and all seems well. :cool:

dont forget Fast Lane, am a new customer and all three of my orders were excellent
http://catalog.peachparts.com/

Unfortunately they don't have OEM Hydraulic fluid 001 989 20 30 10 (Fuchs Titan ZH 5364 B SL) :( You can find it in MB dealership only...

Here - go to these guys. Good place. They have both the Febi-Bilstein and MB OEM Hydraulic Fluid for much cheaper than dealer, and will do free shipping if order is over $50. Select your year/model and look under Fluids and Chemicals category:

http://www.***************/

I asked those guys as well (also called to Importec and local parts vendor). They had old, mineral type of Hydraulic fluid (000.989.xx.xx.xx), which perfectly compatible with W124 and not compatible with our synthetic base hydraulic oil. :(

Wow, did I misread the part number on the reservoir. Thanks, I'll submit a post to see if I'm ok with the quart of Febi I added last summer since I have synthetic and mineral oil mixed in there now! Don't really know enough if that is ok or now. I know using anthing other than synthetic in Transmission is not good. Interesting that ******** and other sellers list that as an ok fluid for w210's.

one of the supplemental books I have for the 2002 car confirms that the FUCHS fluid is the only one suitable for the car...it agress with the number printed on the fill cap of the reservoir.

I have 1992 300D 2.5 turbo which has hydraulic fluid resivor up front behind headlight on drivers side. This fluid supports a locking rear differential that stops the rear wheels from spinning. Adding to what others have said on this posting, a third use for hydraulic fluid in a benz.