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Radiator blew up
Saturday I was driving to the parts store to get some replacement hose for the fuel return lines and after I left the store I noticed a little bit of steam coming from under the hood and that my temperature gauge was 3/4 of the way up. I immediately pulled over and killed the engine. The top of the radiator where the upper hose connects broke off and radiator fluid soaked the entire engine. I'm just thankful that I caught it and was able to pull over before the engine blew. I had it towed to a mechanic as I need the car soon and don't have the time or a place (I live in the city) to fix the car. The mechanic told me it is a somewhat common problem on the original plastic radiators. The new ones have extra reinforcement in that area and don't break. He said it happens because when the engine shakes, it also shakes that top raditor hose and eventually wears out that part of the radiator.
I think things could have been a lot worse so I am thankful that it is only the radiator I am replacing and not the engine too. I thought I would post this so some of you would be aware and not have the same thing happen to you. Happy motoring, Scott
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Scott 1982 Mercedes 240D, 4 speed, 275,000 1988 Porsche 944 Turbo S (70,000) 1987 Porsche 911 Coupe 109,000 (sold) 1998 Mercedes E300 TurboDiesel 147,000 (sold) 1985 Mercedes 300D 227,000 (totaled by inattentive driver with no insurance!) 1997 Mercedes E300 Diesel 236,000 (sold) 1995 Ducati 900SS (sold) 1987 VW Jetta GLI 157,000 (sold) 1986 Camaro 125,000 (sold - P.O.S.) 1977 Corvette L82 125,000 (sold) 1965 Pontiac GTO 15,000 restored (sold) |
#2
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I had a metal radiator do that, and heard of it happening to others too. What happened was the thermostat fails closed and the cooling system pressure climbs faster than the pressure cap can vent it, and of course the engine temperature climbs pretty fast too. It turns out the lowest pressure component in the cooling system is the radiator, I thought it would have been a hose.
I think your mechanic may or may not be right, but I'm suggesting you check/change your thermostat anyway. My cost was just a thermostat, metal radiators are repairable. |
#3
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Quote:
Scott
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Scott 1982 Mercedes 240D, 4 speed, 275,000 1988 Porsche 944 Turbo S (70,000) 1987 Porsche 911 Coupe 109,000 (sold) 1998 Mercedes E300 TurboDiesel 147,000 (sold) 1985 Mercedes 300D 227,000 (totaled by inattentive driver with no insurance!) 1997 Mercedes E300 Diesel 236,000 (sold) 1995 Ducati 900SS (sold) 1987 VW Jetta GLI 157,000 (sold) 1986 Camaro 125,000 (sold - P.O.S.) 1977 Corvette L82 125,000 (sold) 1965 Pontiac GTO 15,000 restored (sold) |
#4
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I was lucky, the Volvo upper rad hose nipple failed in the driveway when I was setting the injection timing, not on the highway like my sister's did (740 gas turbo). Hers blew the nipple off and warped the head something fierce. New head, rad, temp sensors, thermostat (stuck open) and gasket, $700 in parts.
Very common failure, made much more likely by using green coolant. 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! |
#5
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What does green coolant have to do with it? Mine had green coolant. It was supposed to be MB coolant. I don't know because I didn't put it in myself. I had a mechanic replace the water pump some time ago and they put the coolant in.
Scott
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Scott 1982 Mercedes 240D, 4 speed, 275,000 1988 Porsche 944 Turbo S (70,000) 1987 Porsche 911 Coupe 109,000 (sold) 1998 Mercedes E300 TurboDiesel 147,000 (sold) 1985 Mercedes 300D 227,000 (totaled by inattentive driver with no insurance!) 1997 Mercedes E300 Diesel 236,000 (sold) 1995 Ducati 900SS (sold) 1987 VW Jetta GLI 157,000 (sold) 1986 Camaro 125,000 (sold - P.O.S.) 1977 Corvette L82 125,000 (sold) 1965 Pontiac GTO 15,000 restored (sold) |
#6
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Dear Scott98:
The conventional American Green antifreeze tends to harden a plastic radiator and make its more brittle, which in turn causes it to be more susceptible to breakage under constant vibrations transmitted from the engine block to the upper radiator and to the radiator neck. Various pH buffer chemicals in Mercedes coolant (or Zerex G-05) help maintain a relatively neutral pH level (actually it's more alkaline, i.e ph=7-8) during its lifetime. This stable and relatively neutral pH level over the entire lifetime of Mercedes coolant is key to the long life of plastic radiators. Eric |
#7
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Eric, (or anyone with knowledge of this) Is there some way to check this with an ohm meter ?
On Ford's which have problems with heater cores rotting out... they have some test like between the negative side of the battery and the coolant in the radiator.... do we have some specs which can be used for checking our cars ? |
#8
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Probably too late but you don't need to replace the whole radiator - just the plastic "tank" on top. I got the part for $25.00 from the company that makes radiator tanks after finding this in a search of this forum. Radiator tank on my '84 300D broke off the same way, but at 400,000 miles, it's hard to complain. If you haven't already ditched the radiator save some bucks and replace only the broken part! F
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#9
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Hi all.
I have heard this problem before and the guy at mercedes source actually sells a kit for this,but it is easily duplicated. What he came up with was:he epoxied a piece of pipe in the opening to strenghten the neck of this nipple. Thus preventing it from braking. I forgot what the pipe was made of but I'm sure you could use a piece of stainless or even copper. Edit:just checked,he used a piece of copper pipe. Louis. |
#10
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....Is there some way to check this with an ohm meter?
When I got my first W115 (a '75 230) an experienced mechanic examined the car and said the radiator should be grounded. He said Mercedes had issued a bulletin that showed a wire from the drivers side on the upper corner of the radiator to the engine block, this supposedly prevents electrolysis. I made one up asap.
I don't know if this applies to the later Behr radiators, which are aluminum not copper and brass like the earlier rads. I had a failure in a 300D (W123) when the rad neck cracked on a trip. I simply left the cap off and the engine didn't overheat (I watched the gauge like a hawk!) fortunately not a lot of uphill driving, and I didn't use the A/C. I saw someone try to repair this kind of failure using epoxy, but it was futile. Iwas willing to pay say $300 for an all aluminum radiator for the W124 diesel but never found one. A specialty radiator shop wanted $650 to make one up (hey that's half the cost of a new head! I think I'll continue gambling with the stock Behr - reminds me~ HGV where are you? I need that Radiator! DDH
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'95 E320 Wagon my favorite road car. '99 E300D wolf in sheeps body, '87 300D Sportline suspension, '79 300TD w/ 617.952 engine at 367,750 and counting! |
#11
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Doctor Diesel was done in by the demons of Detroit
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#12
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Dear Leathermang:
You can get a quick measurement of the pH level of a test sample (e.g. antifreeze) by using pH Litmus Paper Strips that can be ordered online (quite inexpensively). The strip of appearing colors shows you the approximate pH level. Regarding the electrolysis problem in radiators: by definition, electrolysis is the process in which an electric current flowing through a water solution of a chemical breaks that compound up into its components. You can easily observe the effect of electrolysis by doing this simple experiment: add some salt (sodium chloride - NaCl) to 1/2 cup of water and dip the + and - posts of a 9V battery or 12V DC power supply into the salt mixture. You will smell the pungent odor of chlorine gas emanating from the salt mixture. Similarly, when electrolysis occurs, the various corrosion inhibitors in antifreeze are subject to breakdown and deterioration, thus partly or completely losing their anti-corrosion capability. Therefore, electrolysis is quite a serious problem when it takes place. Electrolysis occurs when electrical current routes itself through the engine's antifreeze coolant mixture in search of electrical ground. In order to test for electrolysis, try to connect the negative probe of a digital D.C. voltmeter to the battery's negative terminal, then submerge the voltmeter's positive probe into the coolant in the expansion reservoir tank without letting the positive probe to touch any metal contact. Now check the voltmeter's reading, it should be less than 0.1 V. Any higher value would indicate a serious potential difference across the antifreeze coolant mixture, because the voltage is now high enough to trigger accelerated electrolysis into action, which may destroy the anti-corrosion capability of the coolant. You know what would happen if there's no anti-corrosion stuff in your coolant system. Without corrosion inhibitors, ions such as H+, OH-, H3O+ would start ripping metal atoms from your radiator, heater core, and other metal surface within the coolant system. In case that the reading indicates a higher voltage, try to disconnect one electrical component or accessory step by step at a time while watching the voltmeter. When the voltage reading drops to zero, the just disconnected electrical component is the culprit for the defective or missing ground. In summary, if the electrical system and all its accessories/components are working properly, there's no concern about electrolysis in your coolant system. However, electrical gremlins are often quite a perennial problem in a modern car. If the radiator is not properly grounded and some electrical components have a defective ground, a serious potential difference may be established across the antifreeze coolant mixture, kicking the electrolysis process into high gears. Eric Last edited by ericnguyen; 02-24-2004 at 04:21 PM. |
#13
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Quote:
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1984 300SD 326,997 miles and counting . . . No wait, my odometer is still dead |
#14
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Dear RockinWagin:
The color (dye) has nothing to do with any capability of an antifreeze solution. It's just used to distinguish between various kinds of antifreeze. You can read my posts in the following threads to understand why distilled/deionized water is the best for mixing with antifreeze, and the actual differences between various kinds of antifreeze such as conventional green antifreeze, Japanese (green | orange | purple) antifreeze, European antifreeze (Clear, Blue, Yellowish, Orange) G-05, G11, G12, G48 etc... Antifreeze changed.. AntiFreeze Use in Large Diesels Eric |
#15
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You-all should be happy that I am starting a new job on Monday.............
First, let me state that I am color blind. Here is a pic of PEAK AF and coolant (it is probably green) so I take back my earlier............uh, statement about color. Ok I have read this: Quote:
Quote:
Do you have a label from the MB antifreeze to compare?
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1984 300SD 326,997 miles and counting . . . No wait, my odometer is still dead |
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