I picked up a new radiator for a 1980 300D I have been messing with today and to my pleasant surprise it is ALL METAL!! If anyone wants additional info let me know. See attached pic showing the old one on the left and the new one on the right. I am going to inquire but I'm pretty sure it is the same radiator for the 1985 300D/300TD.
oh yea - that is the styrofoam packing material on the sides - I should have removed it for the pic.

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Jim

WOW Tell us more, Where'd you get it and how much??

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1985 Euro 240D 5 spd 140K
1979 240D 5 spd, 40K on engine rebuild
1994 Dodge/Cummins, 5 spd, 121K
1964 Allice Chalmers D15 tractor
2014 Kubota L3800 tractor
1964 VW bug

"Lifes too short to drive a boring car"

Jim:

WhooHoo! No more plastic hose nipples breaking off!

Hans has an outfit he gets rads from that makes copper/brass replacements for everything EXCEPT the Volvo Turbo Diesel/92 gas turbo (they use the same rad) -- guess which ones I had to replace?

I'd gladly trade the slight increase in weight and size for the efficency of the aluminum rad -- they only last about ten years before they corrode shut or start to leak, and when anything goes wrong, you have to replace the whole thing.

The 30 year old rad in the 280 has survived being patched at least once, has had a tank replaced, and has been frozen, still works just fine after I got the oil cooler bracket resoldered and a small hole (from having the bracket torn off from freezing the water in the rad!) soldered.

Peter

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1972 220D ?? miles
1988 300E 200,012
1987 300D Turbo killed 9/25/07, 275,000 miles
1985 Volvo 740 GLE Turobodiesel 218,000
1972 280 SE 4.5 165, 000 - It runs!

Alright, what metal and where'd you get it and how much was it?
Has to give you better cooling.

psFred, If you have a ring of either aluminum or copper made to fit inside your plastic inlet and outlet on the regular radiator, they will last almost forever.

Give us the info on the brass, I hope, radiators.

Thanks
Ben
www.reproduce100s.com

Ben:

Kinda late when the nipple is busted off flush to the tank. That was the 92, my TD broke while I was working on something else, thank heavens. Too brittle to do anything with, and the new rads both had a reinforcement. I think the 92 original did, too -- I'm not sure what went first there, the rad or the head gasket.

My sister was on her way up from Florida (nephew driving) when the check engine light came on -- typically, she didn't have him shut if off and pull over immediatly, but drove to the near exit and ran it till it stopped. Warped the head beyond repair, had to get a new rad and a rebuilt head in a hurry. Had to borrow the tools and shims from my friendly mechanic and set the valves myself in his shop to get her on the road in time.

I hate plastic rads.....

Peter

Peter

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1972 220D ?? miles
1988 300E 200,012
1987 300D Turbo killed 9/25/07, 275,000 miles
1985 Volvo 740 GLE Turobodiesel 218,000
1972 280 SE 4.5 165, 000 - It runs!

I got it from a local radiator repair shop "Ben's Macon Radiator Service, Inc" (478) 743-5548 and is listed as "Macon's Oldest". Total, including tax, was $180.20. The box it came in had Radac, Dayton, Ohio writtin on it. I did the internet search on it and did find a Radac listed in Dayton but no internet link. Also, the box has "Limited Lifetime Warrenty" written on it. The material looks like copper but I'm sure it is brass. Fabrication seems to be high quality.

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Jim

My '77 240D had one. These are the good ol' fashion brass radiators. I don't know when they changed to plastic tanks but it was sometime between '77 and '80.

Building of brass radiators was made illegal due to the lead in the solder.

I'm glad you got one, I'll bet it'll do a great job.

Have a great day,

Couldn't they use a lead free solder, like plumbers use?
My 77 300D had a metal radiator also.
I would hope I could find one for my 84 SD as well.

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Bob Roe
Lehigh Valley PA USA
1973 Olds 88, 1972 MB 280SE, 1978 Datsun 280Z, 1971 Ford T-Bird, 1972 Olds 88, 1983 Nissan Sentra, 1985 Sentra, 1973 230.6, 1990 Acura Integra, 1991 Volvo 940GLE wagon, 1983 300SD, 1984 300SD, 1995 Subaru Legacy L wagon, 2002 Mountaineer, 1991 300TE wagon, 2008 Murano, 2007 R320CDI 4Matic 52K, some Hyundai, 2008 BMW 535xi wagon, all gone... currently
2007 Honda Odyssey Touring, 2014 E350 4matic

Interesting...I like having the radiator cap on the radiator itself...my '85 has the presure cap on the expansion tank, apparently with no direct access to the radiator itself...never liked that setup.

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2001 VW Jetta TDI, 5 speed, daily driver
1991 Ford F-350, work in progress
1984 Ford F-250 4x4, 6.9l turbo diesel, 5 speed manual
Previous oilburners: 1980 IH Scout, 1984 E-350, 1985 M-B 300D, 1979 M-B 300SD, 1983 M-B 300D
Spark-free since 1999

Keep in mind - this one is for a 1980 300D which does not have an exp tank.

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Jim

Metal radiators have brass tanks and copper cores. Plastic and aluminum rads are lighter and much more efficient -- the aluminum transfers heat better and they are much lighter. Since aluminum doesn't solder (or even hold paint, for that matter), no brass tanks. Probably a serious electrolytic problem as well. They also plug faster and cannot be repaired, as they are crimped together, and almost never survive being taken apart and reassembled.

It's all about saving money.......

Peter

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1972 220D ?? miles
1988 300E 200,012
1987 300D Turbo killed 9/25/07, 275,000 miles
1985 Volvo 740 GLE Turobodiesel 218,000
1972 280 SE 4.5 165, 000 - It runs!

Actually, of the common elements and mixtures (alloys), nothing exceeds the thermal conductivity of copper (0.9watts/oC./sec./cm.3) except silver (1.006watts/oC./sec./cm.3). Even gold is lower than copper. Aluminum is lower still and is only used because of cost, weight and fabrication ease.

As an interesting side note, the electrical conductivity of copper is much better than gold, but gold is used in high end electrical contacts. Reason: lack of oxidation at contact point.

I can't believe I just descended into the abyss of thermodynamics

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The Golden Rule

1984 300SD (bought new, sold it in 1988, bought it back 13 yrs. later)

I admit to being a bit rusty on my thermo... what is the /oC./ part mean? Is it 0 deg C?

I think electrical resistance is very close to this also; I recall silver is the best, and copper is about 95% as good, but like you said, copper and silver both oxidize, hence the use of gold for electrical contacts.

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Bob Roe
Lehigh Valley PA USA
1973 Olds 88, 1972 MB 280SE, 1978 Datsun 280Z, 1971 Ford T-Bird, 1972 Olds 88, 1983 Nissan Sentra, 1985 Sentra, 1973 230.6, 1990 Acura Integra, 1991 Volvo 940GLE wagon, 1983 300SD, 1984 300SD, 1995 Subaru Legacy L wagon, 2002 Mountaineer, 1991 300TE wagon, 2008 Murano, 2007 R320CDI 4Matic 52K, some Hyundai, 2008 BMW 535xi wagon, all gone... currently
2007 Honda Odyssey Touring, 2014 E350 4matic

oC. is the best I could type for .
would probably be clearer? I don't know how to do scientific nomenclature on a regular keyboard.

You are correct on electrical conductivity. Ag>Cu>Au>Al>Ni(poor).

Resistance
Ag....1.6 u ohm cm.
Cu....1.7
Au....2.4
Ni.....7.2 (wow!)

Drude's Law [Dr. P. Drude (Berlin,circa 1900)] relates the product of the electrical and thermal conductivity (given set units) as a relative constant of 1.6 . Cu slightly exceeds all common metals in that relationship (those darn available electrons!).

Sorry for the digression.

Mercedes content: The pins and individual female sleeves on our connectors sure solder nicely, as if they were silver. They don't tarnish like a tin alloy.

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The Golden Rule

1984 300SD (bought new, sold it in 1988, bought it back 13 yrs. later)

I thought that the MB contacts (pins/sleeves) are nickel plated aka "German Silver"? Any metallurgical input, is welcome!