Antifreeze Leak - Located general area but what next? - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

jalenz · #1 02-14-2007, 10:34 PM

My 87 300D lost a lot of antifreeze in the driveway. I pulled onto ramps in garage, filled tank and it took maybe 1 gallon (50/50 mix). Started it up and watched and waited to see what happened. Nothing seemed to be coming out around the water pump. Seemed to not leak from anywhere for a while. After it came upto temperature in about 8 minutes, I did notice a puddle very slow growing about 12 inches or so behind the front passenger tire. It was dripping slowing from some type of seam....but I could not see much because there is so much boxed with metal in that area (I did take off the plastic bottom protections).

So..where do I go from here? Do I start taking apart the antifreeze container and start seeing where hoses lead looking for something that is busted or disconnected? Keep in mind that this all happened when I tried to start the car when it was -11 degrees out.

maddogg20 · #2 02-15-2007, 12:40 AM

hey bro. sounds stupid but I had a leak and i could not find it because it would only leak when the car cooled off. It was my lower rad hose. Try tightening all the hose clamps and see what happens.

Just thought I should mention it.

Andy

JasonC · #3 02-15-2007, 12:31 PM

I'm assuming my 92 W124 is similar. I had a big puddle under my pass front tire. The source was hard to find. I think I figured it out. It was the overflow of the coolant tank. If you trace the overflow near the coolant cap it goes into the fender area some where under the sheet metal. Probably not your problem since you would have seen the tank get really full. Maybe you had some blockage of ice from the cold and it built up pressure in the system and got an overflow? If not there are lots of coolant connections and hoses under the coolant tank. I'm not sure how you would find the leak if it only leaks when the car is running. Have you looked and felt around under the coolant tank?