Just to be sure, the fluid capacity on the 617 is roughly 3 gallons, correct? I added 1 gallon of coolant and 1 1/4 gallons of distilled water to the system and my Prestone tester, whatever that's worth, indicates that I'm protected up to 129C. I'm assuming that there was still coolant in the heater core. If I end up having to buy another gallon of Zerex, I'll test the Prestone tester.

__________________
'81 300SD

Here is some interesting info about antifreeze testers:

Not all antifreeze testers are created equal!

After my recent eye-opening experience with the Prestone "floating pointer" tester, I bought a "professional" floating disk model, only to realize that it is totally insensitive in the 50-70% range. I currently have a refractometer on order.

__________________
When cryptography is outlawed, bayl bhgynjf jvyy unir cevinpl.

Anybody got a radiator for sale?

I did the pressure test, and with the thermostat open, the car would hold 18psi and then gradually decline about a point per minute. With the thermostat closed, the top of the radiator would start leaking at 10 psi.

I know that radiator shops can check used radiators for leaks, but can they also check how well the flow is in the core?

How well would JB weld hold at the point where the plastic meets the metal? That's where it's leaking. Thanks

__________________
'81 300SD

Trying to fix that problem is a loosing proposition. Round up a new Nissens radiator and save yourself a little money and a lot of headache.

__________________
When cryptography is outlawed, bayl bhgynjf jvyy unir cevinpl.

there is a large o-ring, and it is what is leaking... most shops can pull the tank, and replace the o-ring, but a new radiator is best...

__________________
John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
1987 300TD
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

There have been a lot of people complaining about Nissens recently - I'm not sure if that would be a long term fix.

__________________
1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

Looking at the picture of the thermostat it is broken open, so you would have had a perfect full flow before the fix.

Just a possibility but maybe there was a cooling system weakness before hand but due to the t'stat broken open, it was kind of masking the problem.

Did it take a while to warm up to operating temp?

__________________
1995 E300 Diesel

Who are these people and what are the complaints? What percentage of Nissens users have complaints?

__________________
When cryptography is outlawed, bayl bhgynjf jvyy unir cevinpl.

A 7 PSI cap my buy you some time and is easier on the cooling system components. I've used them on my 300D and my 2003 Dodge for years with no issues at all.

As I mentioned earlier, even with the engine at 90C there's no significant pressure at the cap, so I don't think that a 7 psi cap would help. I will consider a low psi cap with a brand new radiator in order to preserve my heater core.

Army, tell me more about Nissens. Are they leaking, or is it a flow/fin issue?

__________________
'81 300SD

I could have sworn there was a big hullabaloo about their quality taking a nose dive and people having problems with them - I've just googled and it is like it never happened. Perhaps it didn't... may be my memory isn't as good as it used to be...

__________________
1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

Maybe they used reputation.com to scrub all of that negative info.

__________________
'81 300SD

I haven't read anything bad about the Nissens, a few negative reports about the new Behrs coming out of China here and there, but everything I read about Nissens is positive. I actually helped a buddy install one in an 83 SD a year ago, the quality was great and performance is excellent, not to mention it was a lot cheaper than Behr through our parts guy. Go with Nissens and don't look back. Even in the middle of summer with the AC blasting in traffic he had zero heating/cooling issues, and it did great throughout winter too.

You wanna see a bad thermostat? HAHA, take a look at what I pulled out of my car shortly after I bought it.

http://www.eatoncomp.com/images/83mercedes-benz300sd/coolant-system/IMG_0930.JPG

http://www.eatoncomp.com/images/83mercedes-benz300sd/coolant-system/IMG_0931.JPG

__________________
1991 F250 super-cab 7.3 IDI. (rebuilt by me) Banks Sidewinder turbo, hydroboost brakes, new IP and injectors.
2003 S430 - 107K
1983 300SD - Tanoshii - mostly restored ~400K+.
1983 300SD - Good interior. Engine finally tamed ~250K.
Monark Nozzle Install Video - http://tinyurl.com/ptd2tge

I've been looking for that model getting ready for desert season in the southwest...what's the part number if you remember IYRC?

Just found a 71*C at AutoZone for $45 - Part #3586 Special Order

__________________

1986 300SDL 440,xxx