I once posted a coolant hose question. I pondered all the possibilities of fixing it including changing all the hoses. Then the PEH thing hit me. why change it when it might be fixable?
Besides, money is as tight as it has always been.

I decided to hit the local Home Depot and bought a clamp to replace the one on the leaking hose. I picked one with the widest "band" i could find. $0.50 later, the leak was gone.

Thanks PEH! I'm still on the fence about the fuel filters though.
Or maybe I'm just a typical 240d owner trying to get as much out of the car as I can. OR maybe it's a statement against all those "new car" or suv drivers out there that I don't need a mortgage-size car payment or feel the need to support the big car companies greed.

Getting this job done myself and getting it done for less than a dollar feels great!

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Jennifer
90 350sdl

you have just experienced the 'peh high' - had it many times myself
congrats jen now you're gettin the idea! the satisfaction of analyzing and taking the path of least resistance to solve the problem.

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1984 300D Turbo - 231k....totalled 11/30/07 RIP

The PEH syndrome...

Boy, if it's that contagious just think of all the other maladies you will pick up frequenting this site...

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'99 S420 - Mommies
'72 280SE 4.5 - looking to breathe life into it
'84 300SD Grey - Sold
'85 300SD Silver - Sold
'78 Ski Nautique

Lol, this reminds me I have to PEH my upper radiator hose. It keeps slowly weeping away coolant and that coolant is money. I'll just cut it back an inch or so and cram it on there further this time. What I won't tell PEH is later this year I'll buy all new hoses with MB coolant.

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Jeff M.
Mercedes W123 DIY pages are now located here.
1983 / 1984 300D Sold
2000 CLK430 Cabriolet ~58k Sold
2005 Avalanche 4x4 ~66k

What's your time and effort worth stitting in a DOA car on the side of the road? 50 cents? More?

Automobile cooling system failures are the number one cause of roadside breakdowns. Additionally, the most common cooling system problem is the catastrophic failure of a hose. Replacing hoses is also one of the least expensive things you can do to a vehicle to improve overall reliability. Consequently, cooling system hoses are not one of the places I cheap out.

Rant ends here.

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Never a dull moment at Berry Hill Farm.

My time is valuable to me and I don't want to be sitting on the side of the road waiting for AAA because a $15 hose let go. And spilled $8 worth of coolent all over my clean engine. So my SOP when I buy a new older car is to change all of the cooling hoses, belts, etc. To try to make it reliable. Cutting a hose to stop it from leaking is a good way to get home, but not a long term fix. Anyway off my soap box.

Turns out there was nothing wrong with my hose at all, I was thinking it was irregular inside (from a previous leak?!). I was losing an almost unmeasureable amount, but none the less.... I know it is a newer hose, I just am not certain on how new it is (guessing 2-3yrs). It almost appears as if I'll end up buying a whole new cooling system (minus the head ) next year. What I thought was a thermostat problem doesn't appear so....

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Jeff M.
Mercedes W123 DIY pages are now located here.
1983 / 1984 300D Sold
2000 CLK430 Cabriolet ~58k Sold
2005 Avalanche 4x4 ~66k