I have a faint coolant odor in the cabin of my 98 210. No noticeable leaks anywhere just the slight odor with the windows up and ventilation on. I'm thinking heater core leak or under hood leak. But I don't notice the odor, or any leak, under the hood. I don't really look forward to replacing the heater core if thats the problem. Are there any leak sealants that can plug a small leak and not damage my cooling system?

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Muleears
'07 E320 Bluetec 133K my DD
'04 Jaguar XJ8 VDP, 34K
'10 Hyundai Accent 60K Grocery Getter
'02 VW Golf soon to be on the road again
'97 E300 Diesel Son's DD
'61 VERY tolerant wife

Hampton Roads, VA USA

Gone but not forgotten:
'67 250S 95K
'86 300SDL
'87 300D Turbo, 364K! R.I.P.
'98 E300 Turbodiesel, 213K
'02 S420, 164K
'01 Prius 138K

Roy (Whunter) posted a list of links about glycol poisoning. It's not at all a fun chore but does need to be taken care of.

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1987 300D (230,000 mi on a #14 head-watching the temp gauge and keeping the ghost in the machine)
Raleigh NC - Home of deep fried sushi!

Interesting thread, I didn't know it could be that dangerous. Now, how do I plug the leak?

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Muleears
'07 E320 Bluetec 133K my DD
'04 Jaguar XJ8 VDP, 34K
'10 Hyundai Accent 60K Grocery Getter
'02 VW Golf soon to be on the road again
'97 E300 Diesel Son's DD
'61 VERY tolerant wife

Hampton Roads, VA USA

Gone but not forgotten:
'67 250S 95K
'86 300SDL
'87 300D Turbo, 364K! R.I.P.
'98 E300 Turbodiesel, 213K
'02 S420, 164K
'01 Prius 138K

Cheap fixes give cheap results. If a hole can be plugged by just pouring an additive in, most likely it can come unplugged later just as easily; to say nothing of what else the stop leak material might gunk up in the process. Your mileage may vary, but I've *never* heard of a liquid repair product that did what it was supposed to and nothing that it wasn't.

Anything worth fixing is worth fixing properly. I've jury-rigged plenty of things in my time, and on those occasions when it *didn't* fail later, it was only because the fix was "better than the original" so to speak.

It may not be fun, but my opinion is that changing out the heater core (if that's indeed where your leak is) is the only safe option. Of all the systems on a M-B diesel where failure is catastrophic, oil and coolant are the two places I take the least chances. If the thing gets worse while you're a hundred miles from home and dumps your coolant, you're looking at an overheat and a tow home, because the mechanic-in-a-bottle didn't do its job.

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~Michael S.~
Past cars:

1986 300SDL
1987 300SDL
1982 240D
1982 300SD


Current:

1987 300SDL

Glycol in various forms, including vapor, is very toxic.

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1987 300D (230,000 mi on a #14 head-watching the temp gauge and keeping the ghost in the machine)
Raleigh NC - Home of deep fried sushi!

Check your hose connections at the firewall. Mine had one that was a little compromised and cleaning it up, and retightening, resolved the issue. Evidently, the coolant was making its way into the interior side of the firewall.

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Sam

84 300SD 350K+ miles ( Blue Belle )

If you start getting really sick consider carry a small flash of whiskey to combat the effects of glycol poisoning

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-Typos courtesy of my mobile phone.