89,000 miles. S320. Is this common? Cost to repair?

in my limited observations, p/s pump leaks:

>...not very common in M104: 6 cyl set-ups, perhaps a different story when viewed w/ the W140...

>...very common in latter M119: 8 cyl set-ups (just a matter of time)

options most likely include new high pressure hoses, "re-seal kit" and/or rebuilt p/s pump

hope this helps
-fad
'94 E320 Coupe
'94 E500

I tried to remove my ps pump on my 97 s420 but i failed to get the pump out. Beside the 2 13mm bolts to the left of the pump are there others that I don't see? Also do I have to take the pump out to rebuild it? Any help is appreciated.
thanks

I don't know if your 97 S420 is similar to my 93 400E, but I ran into the same problem when I first tried to take my pump and bracket off. It turns out that there are two 13 mm mount bolts that are accessed from the back of the pump bracket (see pictures). I had to take the left front exhaust elbow off (from the top with 1/4 drive and 1.5" extension) to snake my hand up there from the bottom (with 3/8 drive and 1" extension). This was a horrible idea for Mercedes to design a bracket with bolts that were so difficult to access and I can remember uttering a litany of colorful adjectives while doing this job.

On my car there are a total of six bolts in the front (2 mount bolts to the left and 4 bolts around the front of the pump--see the fourth picture) that will enable me to pull the front half of the pump off. Most of the time, the radial seal leaks and this is accessible by just pulling the front off.

Attached Thumbnails

         

__________________
1993 400E, 256,000 miles (totaled)
1994 E420, 200,000+ miles
1995 E420, 201,000 miles

emerydc8, i couldn't believe you were able to get the bracket off. I did it on my 400e and access the bolt in the middle from the back. Luckily, I didn't need to remove the housing brackent to rebuild the pump. Just the 4 bolts in the front will take the pump off.

__________________
93 Toyota Corolla 177K
95 S 500 coupe 82K
92 400E 180K (SOLD)
94 E 420 150, blown gaskets (SOLD)
http://www.kanio.net/mercedes_signature.jpg

Thanks for all your help. I was able to remove the same exhaust pipe you mentioned. The instructions for removing the inside bolts say to use a short wrench but it forgets to mentioned that you need to have small hands.
thanks again.