I had a funny little coincidence today. My 300D has been losing a very small amount of coolant for several months (maybe a 1/4 inch in the tank every 2-3000 miles). I would get a faint smell of antifreeze every once in a while, but no visible leak. I hadn't bothered to look very hard because it was so minor. Anyway, last night I popped the hood on my wife's 240D just to check fluids, etc. and I noticed the coolant was down a cup or two. I started poking around and found the bottom radiator hose clamp was leaking just a tad, at the engine end. I tightened the clamp and all was well. On a hunch, I checked the same hose clamp on the 300D, and sure enough, it was just loose enough that I could make it leak by wiggling it around. Strange that both cars were leaking from exactly the same place. Maybe that clamp tends to loosen due to vibration?

remember.

thanks

tom w

__________________
[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

Duly noted.
Thanks Craig.

__________________
Jimmy L.
'05 Acura TL 6MT
2001 ML430 My Spare

Gone:
'95 E300 188K "Batmobile" Texas Unfriendly Black
'85 300TD 235K "The Wagon" Texas Friendly White
'80 240D 154K "China" Scar engine installed
'81 300TD 240K "Smash"
'80 240D 230K "The Squash"
'81 240D 293K"Scar" Rear ended harder than Elton John

good find. you can also check underneath the t-stat housing where there is a short length of hose. mine always leaks a bit when winter starts, but is deceptive as it dries off quickly under there.

__________________
1984 300D Turbo - 231k....totalled 11/30/07 RIP

Thanks, I'll take a look.

Mine drools sometimes from where the upper hose connects to the radiator....I intend to replace that hose sometime soon though. The end is just too stretched, from being taken off and on many times.......my return line from my Power Steering also drools for the same reason, overly streched on the end and not sealing on the barb. The leak from that is so miniscule that the level in the P/S reservoir has not changed in the past 7k miles, so I am not too workied about it....and I check all fluids at least 3-5 times per 1k miles....so there's no risk there at all.

__________________
-diesel is not just a fuel, its a way of life-
'15 GLK250 Bluetec 118k - mine - (OC-123,800)
'17 Metris(VITO!) - 37k - wifes (OC-41k)
'09 Sprinter 3500 Winnebago View - 62k (OC - 67k)
'13 ML350 Bluetec - 95k - dad's (OC-98k)
'01 SL500 - 103k(km) - dad's (OC-110,000km)
'16 E400 4matic Sedan - 148k - Brothers (OC-155k)