While I was replacing the alternator on my wife's SD, laying on the floor resting for a moment, I noticed that the oil cooler hoses that connect to theradiator were covered with seeping oil residue. Not that they seep enough toleave oil spots yet, but enough to cover them in gunge. Should I replace themnow? Is this a high failure item? She has 207,000 miles now. You guys recommend just changing them out? Do they just "blow" or do they leak enough to tell that they need changing. That is what I like SOO much aboutthese Mercedes. Her car always starts to fail slowly, so we always have time to fix it. EVERY failed part has given us time to replace, i.e. water pump, now the alternator, etc. NOTHING has ever failed so the car couldn't make it home. Not so with the XJS, hehe.

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85 300TD FED-Daily
84 300SD-Wife's
86 XJS-Sunday
66 GMC-Work- Given to my stepson
83 BMW Airhead- Given to my stepson

It would be near the top of my "do it soon" list. Mine seeped for about 3 months before I got around to changing them.

If they do fail suddenly, you will loose too much oil fast. Drive with one eye on the oil pressure guage.

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Charles
1983 300D, bought new, 215k+ miles, donated to Purple Hearts veterans charity but I have parts for sale: http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/mercedes-benz-cars-sale/296386-fs-1-owner-83-mb-300d-turbo-rebuild-parts.html

Plan some time incase the job goes bad. I lost 3 of the Aluminum threads on one of the Oil Cooler Nipples.
There is a repair for this in the DIY section but it involves Hacksawing the Nipple off, drillinging it, tapping in and installing a Steel Nipple kit you can get from the dealer. The Kit itself does not cost much but rounding up the proper sized Drill Bit and Tap (sells a OSH Hardware for about $13 it is the Drill Bit that is hard to find and is expensive) at a resonable price in a short period of time could be a problem.

One of the Members suggested using a Dremel tool with a fiber cutoff disk and cutting a slot through the Hose nut and spreading the nut out before you thread it off so that it turning the nut off does not damage the threads.

In my case I was using a large 1-1/16 Combination Wrench. With the long handle and heavy Wrench I did not feel anything. A piece of Aluminum thread stuck in the threads of the nut and acted as a cutter for 3 of the threads as I unscrewed it.

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84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel