Oh My Gosh - Used the wrong oil !
 

Just picked up another car. Its 560sel and when I went on a test drive it was clearly leaking oil from the self leveling system high pressure hose near the pump. So before I take it home I ask the guy to refill the reservoir so I can make it home before it ran dry. So off he goes to Walgreens and returns with a bottle of clear mineral oil. So into the car it goes. I have replaced the hose and now I want to put the correct fluid into it. I have no problem purging everything but I am concerned about the oil in the accumulators and the lines leading from the control valve to the hydraulic cylinders. It would seem to me that oil is easily trapped in this dead end circuit.

Any way to flush it all out? Will the mineral oil that had been used for a number of months at least, cause any long term problems? The guy said the MB oil is mineral based and that this low cost alternative is OK to use. I dont buy it. However the system is working fine and I suspect the oil has been in there for at least 6 months.

I suspect if it is to cause any issues with your system then it will show up via way of a leak because it ate the hose or seal up.

Can't you disconnect the linkage at the sway bar and the line at the strut and as you adjust the link from the sway bar "pump" it out at the disconnected strut end?

I would not worry about the fluid in the strut.

OK I replaced the fluid with the genuine article. It looked and tasted exactly the same as what was in the system. The guy was probably right about using regular mineral oil. It is sure a lot less expensive than the MB stuff.

I replaced the return hose and also forced air thru the system to remove every last drop of old oil. I probably didn't need to replace the oil but I will sleep better now. ANd I need all the sleep I can get.