I woke up to a puddle of hydraulic fluid in front of the '94 wagon which turned out to be the self leveling suspension tank line ruputure into the pump under the power steering fluid reservoir. I trimmed off the ruptured piece and reconnected it and tightened the hose clamp. How much fluid should I put into the tank and does it need to be bled for air as well?

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dtf
1994 E320 Wagon (Died @ 308,669 miles)
1995 E300 Diesel (228,000)
1999 E300 Turbodiesel ( died @ 255,000)
2006 Toyota Tundra SR5 AC 4X4 (115,000 miles) rusted frame - sold to chop shop
2011 Audi A4 Avant (165,000 miles) Seized engine - donated to Salvation Army
BMW 330 xi 6 speed manual (175,034 miles)
2014 E350 4Matic Wagon 128,000 miles
2018 Dodge Ram 21,000 miles

You should replace the line. They get brittle with age & heat. A basic fuel hose from McParts will get the job done if the MB part is too pricey or takes too long to get.

There is a dipstick attached to the fill cap of the reservoir. The fill level is ~6 inches below the top, for an unladen car. Really, as long as there is fluid in the reservoir, it will be fine.

No bleeding necessary, the system is self bleeding.

- JimY

Thanks JimY. I realize that what I did today was a temporary fix. It is a funny unit with a strange filter sort of thing attached to the filler cap, non? Is the metal line attached to the top the return line from the accumulators?

__________________
dtf
1994 E320 Wagon (Died @ 308,669 miles)
1995 E300 Diesel (228,000)
1999 E300 Turbodiesel ( died @ 255,000)
2006 Toyota Tundra SR5 AC 4X4 (115,000 miles) rusted frame - sold to chop shop
2011 Audi A4 Avant (165,000 miles) Seized engine - donated to Salvation Army
BMW 330 xi 6 speed manual (175,034 miles)
2014 E350 4Matic Wagon 128,000 miles
2018 Dodge Ram 21,000 miles

Yep, that's the filter, attached to the underside of the cap.

The metal line is indeed the return from the accumulators. Whenever the engine is running, there is a constant stream of fluid being returned. The engine driven pump supplies pressurized fluid to the leveling valve on the passenger side back there. The valve in turn bleeds any unneeded fluid back to the reservoir.

- JimY

I had this same problem but on my 560SEL. The hydraulic line was replaced about 2 years ago and now I have puddle of fluid all over my driveway. My mech saw that my tank was leaking, not the hose...??? Anyway now the fluid resovoir fluid goes up and down sometimes. Rite now, the fluid is all the way to the top/?? wierd.

I having complete non function in my 85 300TD. it just doesnt work. Droopy rear end. plenty of fluid. any ideas where to begin?