Transmission oil cooler hose repair/replace?

[Diesel911]

A new Lower Control Arm will cost $300 + and you would need 2. I do not know if a New Lower Control Arm may also come without the Bushings installed.

Prices have crept upwards; 3-4 years ago more people had jobs and the Upper Control Arms cost less. That and not having to develop a new skill/labor to change the UCA Bushings might have made replacing the UCA more appealing then it does now.

Last year I bought new Transmission Cooler Hoses for less than $10 each. Now the same place is selling them for $13 each.
At the new price I would consider only changing the hose with Clamps and re-using the Fittings

[pawoSD]

Originally Posted by Diesel911

A new Lower Control Arm will cost $300 + and you would need 2. I do not know if a New Lower Control Arm may also come without the Bushings installed.

Prices have crept upwards; 3-4 years ago more people had jobs and the Upper Control Arms cost less. That and not having to develop a new skill/labor to change the UCA Bushings might have made replacing the UCA more appealing then it does now.

Last year I bought new Transmission Cooler Hoses for less than $10 each. Now the same place is selling them for $13 each.
At the new price I would consider only changing the hose with Clamps and re-using the Fittings

If you can't afford the proper $13 hose why are you driving an MB in the first place? Saving $6 to do a hack job on such a critical line makes no sense.

[vstech]

Originally Posted by pawoSD

If you can't afford the proper $13 hose why are you driving an MB in the first place? Saving $6 to do a hack job on such a critical line makes no sense.

I don't think it's a case of not affording the $6, it's more like "it's JUST a hose!" heck, 13.00 will buy a LOT of 5/16 transmission line... the rubber hoses on MB's are what 8" long? I DO like the spring line covers that are on the originals, but I don't think replacements come with that.

[Diesel911]

Originally Posted by pawoSD

If you can't afford the proper $13 hose why are you driving an MB in the first place? Saving $6 to do a hack job on such a critical line makes no sense.

I may be a Heretic as far as Mercedes goes but to me a Mercedes is just another old Car that needs to be fixed. I get zero Snob value from owning one.
As far as a "Hack" Job goes if you worked in any sort of Industrial/Mechanical type jobs you will find that sliding a Hose over a Nipple and using a Clamp to hold it is an absolutly normal situation.

And, yes I would do something like that to save $6.

I only bought the stock Transmission Cooler Hoses because at that time I wanted to get the job over with. I was worried I would not easily be able to find the right sized Hose.
So today I drug out my old Transmission Cooler Hoses and cut the collar off of one. As it turns out 5/16" Oil Cooler Hose would have worked fine and I would not have had a problem finding some.

Also by just replacing the Hose I would have saved 1/2 of the cost or more off the cost of both Hoses both hoses not just $6.

See the pic below; you need about 18" of 5/16" Oil Cooler Hose and 4 Clamps.

[SD Blue]

By the time you cut off the old fittings and hose, cut new to length, find the proper clamps to fit, and assemble it, you are looking at 2+ hours. The end result.....clamps that not only tend to cut the hose at the first opportunity and catch on everything when you are doing an oil changes or belt changes. Been there and done that on another vehicle. Time is worth more than the $3/hour saved and can't see any benefit of introducing another leak source.

I'm all for rebulding more expensive parts and saving some dollars but not in this case. Personally, I keep a couple of clamps for emergency repairs only.

[DeliveryValve]

Interesting, first post of the thread was originally posted here.

upper control arm replacement question (w123)


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[DeliveryValve]

Personally with type of hose, I have no problem with diesel911 clamping on a new hose to the old hose ends. Clamping the hose on is serviceable repair for this type application. I've seen quite a few of hardline repairs of cutting out the affected area and clamping a hose between the two and not leaking for the long haul. So in this situation, I don't see a problem of doing this.


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[Diesel911]

I did not start this as a Thread. I believe one of the Moderators did that.

[pawoSD]

Clamping is how they make domestic cars. I prefer a permanent crimped hose. And as mentioned, massive wasted time to sit there cutting fitting and clamping.

[vstech]

Originally Posted by DeliveryValve

Interesting, first post of the thread was originally posted here.

upper control arm replacement question (w123)


.

yup. I figured it's better on it's own, but left a copy of the first post in the original thread because it's relevant to that topic.

[Diesel911]

Originally Posted by pawoSD

Clamping is how they make domestic cars. I prefer a permanent crimped hose. And as mentioned, massive wasted time to sit there cutting fitting and clamping.

In the pic below is what I used to cut the Collar off. I doubt if it takes more than 1 minuet per Collar.

Of course it is always a personal choice how a person spends their time. But, most people have some time that they are not getting paid for that they waste not doing much of anything the benefits them.

If wasting time is an issue it would not make any sense to buy an old Mercedes in the first place.

It would make more sense to buy a Mercedes enough that you do not have to do much work on it; or, just get a Honda.

My Neighbor likes to grow some of his own Vegetables. To me it is a lot of work and a waste of time. But, it is not to Him because He gets satisfaction out of doing it.

[pawoSD]

Well, I suppose I do waste lots of time. Mainly I think that the factory hoses are more durable/reliable for little added cost.

[ah-kay]

You can buy in from the shop which causes you travel time and gas money. Get it online and paid for shipping, unless you buy over $50. Get in from the JY, also causes you time plus gas. Or fix it yourself for peanut.

This is one of the reasons that I drive an Old MBZ. Some members here spent a fortune of their rides, making it an upside down car - spending more than what the car is worth.

My $0.02

[Diesel911]

Originally Posted by ah-kay

You can buy in from the shop which causes you travel time and gas money. Get it online and paid for shipping, unless you buy over $50. Get in from the JY, also causes you time plus gas. Or fix it yourself for peanut.

This is one of the reasons that I drive an Old MBZ. Some members here spent a fortune of their rides, making it an upside down car - spending more than what the car is worth.

My $0.02

Well there is a gamble either way. You could spend more money to buy a car that appears to be in better condition and still end up with problems.

Or you can fix the car that you have and even if you end up spending more that the resale value of the Car with the assumption that ounce you Fixed that area of the Car you are going to get may thousands of miles of trouble free use from the part fixed.

Example:
When I bought my Volvo Diesel I found out it smoked too much (I paid $2000 in 1992) due to poor compression.
The parts to overhaul the Block were about $1300.
For me that is a lot of money to put into a used Car and that amout of money put it in the "more than the Car was worth catagory".

But, even thought it is really getting ragged now I have been driving it 19 years and am still driving that Car; it turned out to be a real econmey Car.

The Major parts replaced since 1992 have be 3 Throw Out Bearings, 2 Clutches, a Rear Wheel Bearing, a couple 3 Timing Belt Sets, the Upper Strut Mounts, Rear Springs (the rear started sagging badly), a U-joint and other regular Maint. stuff.
For the last year the Differential is a little noisy and needs rebuilding or replacing but I have never gotten around to doing it.

[ah-kay]

Originally Posted by Diesel911

Well there is a gamble either way. You could spend more money to buy a car that appears to be in better condition and still end up with problems.

Or you can fix the car that you have and even if you end up spending more that the resale value of the Car with the assumption that ounce you Fixed that area of the Car you are going to get may thousands of miles of trouble free use from the part fixed.

Example:
When I bought my Volvo Diesel I found out it smoked too much (I paid $2000 in 1992) due to poor compression.
The parts to overhaul the Block were about $1300.
For me that is a lot of money to put into a used Car and that amout of money put it in the "more than the Car was worth catagory".

But, even thought it is really getting ragged now I have been driving it 19 years and am still driving that Car; it turned out to be a real econmey Car.

The Major parts replaced since 1992 have be 3 Throw Out Bearings, 2 Clutches, a Rear Wheel Bearing, a couple 3 Timing Belt Sets, the Upper Strut Mounts, Rear Springs (the rear started sagging badly), a U-joint and other regular Maint. stuff.
For the last year the Differential is a little noisy and needs rebuilding or replacing but I have never gotten around to doing it.

The problem is that one never knows how long the car will last after one spends a fortune on it. It turns out good for you as you can handle it yourself. For an average Joe in the street, the Volvo would have been junked long time ago. Keep up the good work and new ideas. I enjoy reading your post.

As the best car I ever bought? A one owner 83 300D in excellent condition with an engine knock for $700. Changed out 1 injector from a JY for $2 and all is well. It has been driven 35K miles since with almost 0 maintenance, except the normal oil change and valve adjustments.