Man too many cars overheating!!!
 

Is it just me or is there way too many people having the same problem with their Cars? Man I am amazed by how many mercedes overheat. It's kinda ridiculous because it's not just a couple of them, it's a couple hundred thousand. Me personally I thought that the German's would have fixed this major problem the first year it started happening. I mean if I paid $41,000 dollars for a car back in 1987. I would expect to be able to sit in traffic with the AC on full blast and not have to worry about the thing overheating and leaving you on the side of the road with a cracked block. I mean It's a MERCEDES-BENZ for crying out loud! Their not supposed to leave you on the side of the road wile people in their DATSUN pickup (that has so much rust on it you can't tell it was a truck once) look at you broken down in a car that probably costed more than their house! I find it pretty sad when you have to sweat like a pig everyday that you drive it. Also they are extremely expensive to have fixed or even looked at for that matter. I apologize to everyone for my post. I'm sure some will disagree, But am just stating the facts. I paid so much money for my car that I cannot afford to even get it looked at if something ever goes wrong. I still like MERCEDES-BENZ but I do think that they messed up big time on the cooling systems of their Cars. In which it has costed you/us a lot of time and money that I'm sure a lot of us don't have. They have to know about this problem and this multi-billion dollar company will and has not done a thing about it. Well I am done now so I say "I'm Sorry" again for this post. This forum has taught me a thing or two and it has saved me money that I don't have. Because of mercedes shop I am going to become a Master Technition and will be able to fix any car or Diesel. I start college in two weeks.......................Have a wonderfull day.

Can't say that I disagree...

My 84 TD is hitting 100-105 C sitting in traffic with a/c on today. It is 90-something today, but this still seems extreme to me.

On another note, don't apologize for your comments- we're all here to share...! :p

I too have found this forum to be a great source of info- good luck starting school-

Cheers,

JAS

Interesting comments....

I used to get nervous because my cars all run hot. Then I figured I'd just not worry about it. Now if I'm in a traffic jam, I won't sit there and run the AC and push the issue (on a hot day). However, other than that I just don't pay attention to it at 100 degrees on the dial. Heck, one of my temp guages is messed up anyway. Jerks all over the place.

Regarding your comment that the cars are too expensive to have fixed.....look at it this way:

1. where else can you earn $60 per hour as a second job?
2. 90% of the repairs I do on our cars costs less than $100. I think I've only spent $125 a couple of times. Cheap
3. I will soon have 5 daily drivers and zero car payments :)

Don

I agree in general but I only gave $500 for my MB and I know a lot of other people got bargain prices on cars that look amazingly good....
Thank goodness for the free lifetime roadside assistance... LOL
I am also looking at making from scratch a radiator out of the finest stuff I can find...
If I do I figure there might be a couple of people that would want duplicates of it...
Of course we are talking solid brass.... no plastic junk here... and as many cores as I can fit into the space...

" overengineered in central Texas by fireants" ... that will be the sticker I put on it... LOL

"I paid so much money for my car that I cannot afford to even get it looked at if something ever goes wrong."

1. Don't pay so much the next time .. you are young , you have time to learn these kinds of lessons....
2. Don't ' get it looked at".. LOOK AT IT YOURSELF. You will never find anyone more honest about your car than yourself... many of us don't know anyone we can trust or can not afford those we can trust... just like you ... that is why we ask each other questions, buy shop manuals, and tackle jobs that may be over our heads at the start of the job... but usually work out ok due to moral support...

Take a look at the milage the owner report on their cars before deciding overheating is a sytematic problem -- most of us are in the 180,000 range, some in the 250,000 mile range! Most other cars only get to this milage if someone drives them all day every day, like our work vehicles (350 miles a day or so).

Also take a gander at the age -- two of mine are only a few years shy of being old enough to run for President (after the amendment allowing immigrants to be President passes -- NOT), and the youngest is 15......

Overheating and AC problems are popular summer topics, hard starts and poor heater output/not getting to temp are winter subjects. Has to do with the weather!

Peter

Dear RLNAMERCEDES100:

For most of the time, overheating on MB cars is due to a bad fan clutch (if there's no leak in the coolant system).

Replacing a bad fan clutch will bring things back to normal.

Eric

Can't help noticing how frequently the fan clutch is mentioned in response to overheating problems. While this is certainly an important component in the cooling system, I would think that proper functioning of the auxiliary fan would also be an important consideration.

When I began working on my air conditioning system that had not worked for about 5 years, one of the first things I did was to check the auxiliary fan. It was not working and I have no idea how long it had been since it did work. Got that straightened out before doing a/c work. Now, everything is going well.

The cooling system went south on my 124 last year. First it was the fan cluth, fan, tensioner etc..., then on aux fan, then the radiator.

I think I spent around $500 for all the parts and was able to do all the work myself. While I was at it, I did the t-stat, all hoses, and the overflow cap.

I have to say that I really was not bothered too much by this considering that the car was 11 years old and had 175K+ on all these components. The car never ran over 100C for the next year and 25K that I owned it. I am sure that the current owner will not have a lick of trouble for the next 100K atleast.

I'm okay with this...

I've mentioned this before but I'll say it again. Vehicles with 150K or more on the clock tend to have radiators that are filled with foreign material (bugs, dirt, etc.). Spraying them with a hose does not even begin to remove all of this crud. I took the radiator out of the vehicle and sprayed it with chemical cleaner and used the compressor to try and remove as much as possible. I still am looking for a proper chemical to get rid of all of it. However, after reinstalling it in the vehicle, the temperature runs about 5 degrees cooler all the time (85-95). Has not hit 100 even at 90 degree ambient with the A/C on full.

Brian Carlton
1984 300SD

try getting a custom radiator built for you... i have two MBs a sedan 123 gasser and a diesel 123 wagon. In my sedan, i still have the behr plastic radiator. The temp usually goes up at 100deg C, on hot days with my aux fan at full force, AC on. But i let it be. I just get worried at times. Being in a tropical country like the Philippines, we have to have our cooling system in working order.

When i got my 123 wagon, it already had a different radiator. The radiator used was a copper radiator from a w108. Big radiator. Guess what my daily temp is on a hot day?.. 90 deg C. Full AC, Aux fan on.

I think most of the posts here about heating problems is due mostly to age of the cars and the mileage the car has churned out. Oh, by the way... i dont like the plastic behr rads. :D When my plastic behr rad gives way in my sedan, i'm going to get it converted to an aluminum/copper radiator... or maybe i'll source out another 108 rad.

Overheating on MB diesels
 

Sadly, quite a lot of truth in all these posts. My experience with various MB diesels is that they tend to run hot compared to their Japanese cousins. Whereas the temp needle on any Japanese diesel would stay rock steady at 80C no matter if the outside temp is at 50C and you have the a/c at full blast. If the temp on the Japanese diesel even creeps a little over the 80C mark we know there is trouble brewing. OTOH, on MB diesels, 85C is common on a pleasent day, climb uphill stretch and it is 90C and if it is a hot sultry 50C day and you desperately need the a/c, it is 105C common. I have a oversized BEHR copper radiator and a massive oil cooler plus a electric fan over the radiator on my OM616 Turbo Gurkha and it is only with these measures I am able to keep the temps under 90C in most cases.

Even the Opel Astra and Vectra diesels it is common for them to reach 105c-110c with the a/c totally dysfunctional at these temps and the company tells you it is normal. It is normal for FIAT diesels to creep up to 95C on 35C weather. OTOH, the Toyota vans and SUVs chug along happily at 80C and most of them are abused and overloaded by their taxi driver owners and this is with the a/c running and outside temps at 41C.

Maybe the Germans and other European car manufacturers really need to design their cars in conditions where heat is a major factor. A venue like western desserts of India, Arizona and Africa would be ideal R&D and testing spot.

"I have a oversized BEHR copper radiator "
Where did you get it ? What did it cost ? Is your car a 123 ?
How about some pictures of the massive oil cooler also....?
I am just glad to know that others experience a change in temps on such things as going up hills..... maybe we are watching our temp guages too closely.... I was thinking that mine reacts to hills,etc too fast.. but I seem to be in good company....

Leathermang,

The BEHR copper radiator is standard fitment in all the Gurkhas sold here in India. The Gurkha is a 4WD vehicle manufactured by MB collaborator Bajaj Tempo here in India. It has a standard OM616 Turbo engine with 5 speed ZF gearbox and differential and Puch transfer case from the Unimog.

I have posted pictures of my Gurkha on the forum and if you do a search you will find the engine and the vehicle pics.

The Behr copper radiator is made by the Behr India subsidiary and retails for around US$170. The oil cooler is an all German Behr unit derived from a MB light truck.

I am paranoid about the ill effects of long term hot running on engines, therefore I steadfastly monitor my temps. If you need pictures of the oil cooler send me a mail and I will send you the pics and anymore info you need.

OK, that explains a LOT.... when you said 616 engine I was thinking 240d....that also explains where you found room to have a massive oil cooler... LOL .. thanks....