How to S55 AMG Coilover Conversion | ABC Delete | DIY W220 Yellow Speed Racing & ABC Error Bypass

[@PrimalLunchRecords]

Installed a set of YellowSpeed coil overs in October 2017. Was relatively simple, replaced a few other parts in the process, control arms, brake lines, and a fresh set of Michelin tires - a local specialty alignment shop did the height adjustment and fine tuned the set-up at all four corners - something I believe makes a great bit of difference in the long run. The stance is perfect, the small but adequate amount of adjustment you get at each strut tower can make or break your overall ride, but it seems like a fair trade from the AirMatic system. I did go back to the AirMatic system in 2020, but it didn’t last, the right rear air strut failed within 20k miles and I didn’t hesitate to put the YellowSpeed coil overs back in - it’s almost 2025 and the car has 253,000 miles and it’s been my daily driver since 2012. It’s a 2004 S500, very well maintained and very reliable to drive. Have been looking for an S55 and likely will find a good one, as they tend to be well loved and maintained by their owners. This is a great reference for anyone who may be doing the job, It’s not complicated and having the peace of mind in knowing your car’s suspension is never going to leave you stranded is worth every penny.

[@cckid78]

Thanks for that info!!! 😉

[@user-de9rg2nu5p]

There is so much more in order for this conversion to be done properly - bare minimum are sway bars

[@SaltySRT]

Sway bar and softer springs should make this much more pleasant. The spring rate is plenty for roll stiffness, it suffers being too stiff over bumps. I have the parts in my garage whenever I get time to do part 2.

[@arbenp3240]

Amazing video. This really gave me the confidence to purchase my S55. But now we need a sway bar install tutorial hahah.

[@SaltySRT]

Honestly once ABC is not a factor, you can really enjoy the car. Yeah sorry been delayed on sway bar video, I'm still waiting for some backordered hardware to come in.

[@yvesalepin3486]

Look forward to see part 2!

[@SaltySRT]

Me to! I'm finishing off my motor mounts first though.

[@driftareal5158]

Best conversation video on KZbin hands down one question is….is this the process on let’s say a 2005 Cl 55

[@SaltySRT]

Thanks!!! Sorry I am only familiar with the W220, I don't know the extent that ABC is used on different chassis's but they should be fairly similar as Mercedes will try to share as many parts as possible. Try looking up the fuse diagram looking for "ABC", suspension side is probably close to identical.

[@cckid78]

Amazing bit of information shared!!...05 S600 here & I'm strongly considering deleting mine. .... I'm gonna get the ABC properly seviced first, but after that I'm gonna look for a way "out".

[@bananaclipzz]

Bro thank you for the awesome vid and commentary, Im in the market for these and this looks so simple. Hoping the ride is still fairly nice.

[@SaltySRT]

Glad you like it. The care is "sportier" now but in all honesty the ride quality is not as good and I am looking into a re-valve and possibly softer springs. But the feeling of not having to worry about getting stranded because of ABC still makes it completely worth it.

[@angelred364]

thank you for the clear video. please do the abc removal video soon! very good quality and footage.

[@SaltySRT]

Thanks. Will get around to that video once I finish doing motor mount swap.

[@zafar78600]

This is a very clear explanation.Of course the remove the old pump and lines and valves and save 200 lbs weight.though sway bars will add some

[@W220MAFIA]

Getting ready for install I appreciate your content for this w220 thanks for the motivation as well 💪😎 I subscribed and can't wait for your content to come 💪💯🔥

[@SaltySRT]

Thanks for stopping by, glad to have you here

[@mikeb1039]

Wow, the most detail I've seen!! Nicely done!! got my first sagging at rest (left rear wheel) so I'm going to have to decide which way to go. 8:11 - $20 if they aren't for Mercedes. ;) No swaybars?

[@SaltySRT]

Yeah no sway bars, but I am looking at adding at some point in the future to see the difference. The more I drive it the more I want softer springs + bars.

[@pierreperk7079]

You made that look easy.This video made my decision to do this to my Mercedes.What is it that they're talking about that?You have to change power steering pump?

[@iftahtsabary]

Thank you for a very important video! looking forward for video #2 for pump, also please share the link for the coilover kit

[@SaltySRT]

Added in link to manufacture website. You can likely find cheaper looking around other vendors and around major holidays like July 4th, Black Friday, etc.

[@iftahtsabary]

@@SaltySRT thanks! can you share comfort and performance of this setup?

[@SaltySRT]

Neither comfort or performance are as good as stock, its not horrible for ~$1k coilover setup but I wasn't expecting it to beat OEM other then reliability. Smooth road is fine, its the bigger bumps it upsets the car. I am going to give softer springs and sway bars a shot and see where things land.

[@shanekozy456]

Nice vid.. what needs to be done differently if there was a blown line prior to conversion? Where would you plug the line? Can the lines be eliminated at the pump? I find two different solutions but hardly any diagrams or videos.. Thanks for any help.

[@SaltySRT]

I'm just finishing editing the video for removing the tandem pump and going to conventional power steering. Once that is done all the lines can be removed.

[@bafigueroa21]

Great video brother 👍🏽

[@SaltySRT]

Thanks for the visit

[@angelaldacoaa]

My s500 came with airmatic i just fixed the system. Drive it too nice to just converto to coilovers. Same with abc id rather fix it but thats just my prefrence if i were buying and it was converted i would offer less caise nowni gotta convert it back 🤷‍♂️

[@justinkcramos]

What happens to power steering?

[@mikerivard]

Hi have you changed your springs to softer ones and do you have any info for sway bar purchase and installation Thanks for your video cheers

[@SaltySRT]

Haven't changed to softer springs yet, won't mess with that until I put in the standard power steering pump, remove all the old ABC stuff and toss in sway bars. I'm just going to grab some used ones from eBay, you need non-ABC control arms which I already have from FCP Euro.

[@CL500MBZ]

So any update since this video? Hows rhe car.

[@arakassabian5879]

Kia ora from New Zealand, is the process the same for a 1999 S320 W220 LWB? Thank you.

[@richardgreene3460]

Very detailed/clear video! How is the ride quality compared to the ABC system?

[@SaltySRT]

Thank you. Smooth roads its essentially the same, but ABC is much better at bumps. Not having to worry about $1k services every 10k miles is very "comforting" though 😁.

[@beast_e55_amg]

I just got an s55 and I blew a line with the abc suspension… so is anything else needed suspension wise besides the coil over kit to convert it over?

[@SaltySRT]

Probably better off doing the power steering pump conversion at the same time rather than trying to plug the lines. I'm just finishing editing the video for that.

[@zww7033]

Do you need to swap over a tandem pump for power steering after this swap ?

[@thedoo777]

I had mine done My brand was hiro Coil overs! I just had a Bypass From Strutmaster I think it cost me 82$ It's a shame that Did not come out with a Adjustable coil over kit I would've bought those! The St Louis dealerships And shops are so lazy That they just want the StrutMasters! I love them I'll be back

[@SaltySRT]

I wish there was a higher quality kit available like Bilstein based struts, everything seems to be entry level and Strutmaster I avoided because of not being able to adjust height.

[@damiangarcia5273]

What about the power steering? Mine just went bad and not sure what pump to use to swap it out.

[@SaltySRT]

I haven't sorted out the exact pump# to be used, I heard on the forums there are 2 different versions from a non-ABC car that have different bolt patterns.

[@brannosmith]

What happens when ABC is dead? Is the suspension totally non-functional or is it just worse than it should be?

[@SaltySRT]

Suspension will bottom out as there is no fluid pressure to hold the car up and becomes not drivable as the tires rub against stuff in the fenders.

[@Odin851]

@@SaltySRTmine did the opposite when a line blew - the car raised itself to it’s highest setting. I drove a total of 4 hours with no fluid in the system as I was away from home. This was 20,000+ miles ago and hasn’t had any issues since rebuilding that line stronger than factory.

[@cckid78]

​​@@Odin851 🤯🤯🤯🤯🙆🏿‍♂️....... AMAZING STORY!! My 05 has a very LIGHT leak(valve block) But I keep two quarts of that green hydrologic fluid and a very close & careful eye on things..... Also I drive the car very gracefully handling wise. But will definitely enjoy it on interstates & open country roads. I'm gonna check out your page for other info, but please feel free to share any other experiences you've had. 😉😉👍🏿

[@damiangarcia5273]

Do I just have to take off those 2 fuses to remove the red light?

[@SaltySRT]

Yes but that's only if your removing ABC.

[@CalebTomaschefsky-Youtube]

Did you know you can open your hood up to a 90°. There's two pins on each side of the hood you push in to open further.

[@SaltySRT]

Yes, but for some reason I didn't think about it at the time. Everything else I have ever had didn't have that feature, old habits 😭

[@stevensocolovert9135]

What conversion kit did you go with? And what did you pay? Thanks again.

[@SaltySRT]

Yellowspeed, they seem to hover around $1200

[@sebas8586]

Hola kreo ke si desconecta la centralita ABC no saldría el fallo

[@SaltySRT]

No sé cómo deshacerme del error aparte del módulo Strutmaster y alguien que menciona programarlo con STAR.

[@Kohovysavac]

Why you get rid off abc, what problem did you have with a system?

[@SaltySRT]

ABC keeps breaking, on average something ABC related fails every 10k miles.

[@celalhuseynov8753]

Tenk yu superr

[@donguzmanmx]

Donde cómprate tus coylowers

[@SaltySRT]

yellowspeedracingusa.com/products/dynamic-pro-sport-coilovers-2000-2006-mercedes-s55-s65-amg-w220

[@stevenjenkins3882]

Makes sense

[@SaltySRT]

Thanks 😊

[@rudyflotte3239]

Is the power steering ok since your pump went out ?

[@SaltySRT]

There is a leak from it and is not able to build enough pressure for ABC but the power steering side seems to still be ok, but probably driving on borrowed time which is why I still want to do the S500 pump swap.

[@damiangarcia5273]

⁠@@SaltySRTWhen will the s500 pump swap be up lol? Mine just went out and want to see how it’s done 😅

[@SaltySRT]

I'm shooting for sometime in October, have been doing other maintenance items and haven't been looking forward to pump removal as I know its hard to get to.@@damiangarcia5273

[@hkpoweralajmi5170]

Good jop bro if you Wana sell the S55 let me know

[@SaltySRT]

Thanks 😁. Not yet though still got plenty to do with the car.

[@michaelfreni5565]

What brand coil overs did you go with? Ty

[@CL500MBZ]

Those are yellows

[@maxboya]

My W220 S55 is at 180K on original ABC suspension with zero faults. ABC will always be more superior than any other coil over you could ever possibly install. You’ll never compete with the millions of dollars on R&D spent on the system. When I see people do coil over conversion on a factory equipped ABC system. You might as well just not change the motor oil then! The ABC system faults because of the hydraulic fluid becoming aged and containment all the moving valve blocks plungers etc. The system has to be routinely flushed and filter replaced every 10K miles. Go and drive your vehicle for 30,000 miles without changing the oil, go ahead and report back your findings as to what happens to the internals of that engine and which engine swap you decide to go with. Incredible how ignorant people can be, just change the dang pentosin fluid and the system will out perform any coil over non sense conversion. Otherwise just stop changing your engine oil cause hey if you don’t replace the ABC fluid then why even bother changing any fluids right? Just run it until it breaks, then replace it with zero engineering zero backing and lack luster agility. It’s yall car at the end of the day and if yall want to downgrade a phenomenal vehicle, be my guest!

[@commasNculture]

How many labor hours would u say is reasonable for this job

[@SaltySRT]

I would budget 3 hours. There isn't anything that difficult about the install if you have all your tools ready to go. Hardest is probably the quick disconnect if any of your lines are stuck.

[@commasNculture]

@@SaltySRT thanks I had a shop told me it would take 20 hours and even more to take the lines out because they have to drop the sun Frame 🙄

[@SaltySRT]

@@commasNculture Sorry I meant just for the coilover swap portion in this video, I just got done with the pump swap and that took me like 5 hours, removing the tandem pump is horrible but the video should be very helpful. I'm still in the middle of removing lines and I am probably 6 hours invested there.

[@SaltySRT]

@@commasNculture In all honesty as I am almost done with removing the lines, if I had to do it again I would just leave them, too much time and it really messy as there are soo many junctions that you have to disconnect and every one of those will have fluid come out.

[@babytoymania516]

This car will be a BOAT with no ABC

[@SaltySRT]

Actually the body roll without ABC isn't the problem as its plenty, its doesn't have enough compliance now so ride quality isn't as good. ABC is best of both worlds.

[@bmwman1981]

How to ruin a s55 amg

[@SaltySRT]

I definitely ruined the AMG get bent over at the dealer experience 🤣.

[@thedoo777]

You don't need sway bars Unless you're going to do some Overly aggressive Or racetrack

[@SaltySRT]

I am hoping once I get the sway bars in (very soon), that I can take some spring rate out to improve ride quality.

[@maxboya]

My W220 S55 is at 180K on original ABC suspension with zero faults. ABC will always be more superior than any other coil over you could ever possibly install. You’ll never compete with the millions of dollars on R&D spent on the system. When I see people do coil over conversion on a factory equipped ABC system. You might as well just not change the motor oil then! The ABC system faults because of the hydraulic fluid becoming aged and containment all the moving valve blocks plungers etc. The system has to be routinely flushed and filter replaced every 10K miles. Go and drive your vehicle for 30,000 miles without changing the oil, go ahead and report back your findings as to what happens to the internals of that engine and which engine swap you decide to go with. Incredible how ignorant people can be, just change the dang pentosin fluid and the system will out perform any coil over non sense conversion. Otherwise just stop changing your engine oil cause hey if you don’t replace the ABC fluid then why even bother changing any fluids right? Just run it until it breaks, then replace it with zero engineering zero backing and lack luster agility. It’s yall car at the end of the day and if yall want to downgrade a phenomenal vehicle, be my guest!

[@SaltySRT]

I'm glad it's working for you, my pasted comment from a similar reply. I agree it "should", but the system just regularly breaks. List of things of memory that have happened from 60k-130k miles. Half the work performed below was under extended warranty at Mercedes dealership, other half was best Indy in the area (this doesn't include work done prior to me taking ownership). The warranty company lost tons on this car, like ~$20k (Kind of like Doug Demuro and his Range Rover) -Flush every time there was any service performed, so usually a flush every 10k miles which is about how often stuff has broken, come to think of it probably had more ABC fluid changes then oil changes -Strut replacement -2 accumulator failures -Valve block leak -3rd failure of pump -Random vomit of ABC fluid to inside of hood (believe that was related to accumulator) I just want the car to work