This am (I ended up not checking it when I got home last night) level was below the section where the top of the container and the bottom join together (like the lip)... so I added fluid up to that lip...Got to work 22 miles later and the fluid was to the TOP of the container (ie: fluid level went up) , could be b/c of heat that it flows into that container from the engine when it gets to operating temp?

I bet this excess fluid will now go to the ground and return to the level below or at the lip ....

I need to confirm what is the "proper" level...

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1995 E320 smoke silver / parchment

Hi

Try pressurizing the system cold. Just put a pump (any pump - ballon pump, bicycle pump) to the OVERFLOW hose and see if the system holds pressure for some time, ie 1 hr. The cap has a built in one way valve to hold the pressure. If the cap is not working, you can immediately hear the hissing. Any leaks when cold will show up as drips. These small leaks cannot be seen as they evaporate immediately from the heat of the engine.

Oreo

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1992 124 E200 (Euro)

Just make sure that when you top it up to the proper level, (as explained in the previous post) that you do it when the engine is stone cold

Wait at least 8Hrs after you parked the car.

Phil

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'95 E300 Diesel, 264,000 Miles. [Sold it]

Ok, so the seam is where I was targeting....35 miles accross the city round trip later, and no fluid loss!!! WTF.... A PMS'ing cooling system! I mean not one drop at my 2-3 stops in this HOT south FL weather... Let's see if any fluid on the ground at 5pm.... 22 miles back home...check and I'll report back, lol.

I have access to a one of those pressure pumps for the cooling system. Will have to ck tommorrow. I am also going to reread this thread to see what else to ck... If the car was loosing fluid continually it would have definitely lost it today with the driving and all.

To avoid adding one sentence responses... following the 2 water pump comments, I will also look out for those tommorrow.

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1995 E320 smoke silver / parchment

Keep in mind that many Water pump leaks are notorious for occurring only when AFTER the engine has been shut-off.

They typically leak through the water pump weep hole.

Phil

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'95 E300 Diesel, 264,000 Miles. [Sold it]

I was just going to add that point.

On all of the Japanese / American cars I've owned, when the water pump was going out, coolant would leak out of the weep hole, and you could see it puddle on the garage floor.

With my 1993 300E (3.2) "E320", coolant would only leak out of the water pump when the car was running. It didn't leave any residue on the garage floor.

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Paul S.

2001 E430, Bourdeaux Red, Oyster interior.
79,200 miles.

1973 280SE 4.5, 170,000 miles. 568 Signal Red, Black MB Tex. "The Red Baron".

This am, there was a little "puddle" on the ground. It was I.D'ed as green in color, sitting right under the engine towards the front..... I have to do some reading Mon when I get a chance, but it seems like it would be the water pump ....

But the thing doesn't overheat, and still hasn't lost much fluid, maybe a finger-width on the reservoir...and today, I again, I was stop / go , idling with a/c on , etc... maybe like 30 miles or so today, yesterday like 100 miles...

I definitely want to fix the problem b4 it leaves me stranded, seems it could be unpredictable , any minute, now that I narrowed down that it is leaking .

Should it be the water pump, I thought they lasted 130K +. I only have 104K ...

Financially speaking this will skew my numbers... it would have been ONE year I have the car mid May... if I can get past mid may, then I don't have to include this expense in the first year's maintainance / repair costs .... and just put it in as second year expenses, LOL... going to have to not drive it for two weeks ...ha ha...

Anyway..... I don't have the facility to do the job probably....Just did a search and saw "labor extensive" ... also found one of my own posts, two months ago asking " how long they should last?" The lowest # I got was 130K! ... yet I am at 104K! :
W124 Water Pump?

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1995 E320 smoke silver / parchment

My 1995 E320 with 86K was doing the same thing. It was the water pump and it cost $800.00 to have it fixed at the dealer. I also had the oil and filter done. You don’t always see the water right away because it gets trapped on top of the lower engine cover. You may have a little puddle on the cover that leaks out when you are driving. Once it started, mine got worse rather quickly. Don’t risk having your car overheat. I would get it fixed immediately.

Be sure to ask that they replace all of the hoses and flush your system when they do the repair. I was told that there is one hose that can only be replaced by removing the pump, so don’t even think about using the old hoses.

I don’t like the sound of having “green” liquid on the floor. Everyone seems to think that the proper fluid should be red or something similar. It should not be green.

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I just couldn't give up on my 1995 E320.

I think it might be like always going back to that same bad relationship with an ex girlfriend.
You feel you love them too much, or you are just too stupid to know any better.



Flickr slideshow of my 1995 E320
http://www.flickr.com/photos/24145497@N06/sets/72157616572140057/

My water pump lasted about 130,000 miles, fwiw.

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Paul S.

2001 E430, Bourdeaux Red, Oyster interior.
79,200 miles.

1973 280SE 4.5, 170,000 miles. 568 Signal Red, Black MB Tex. "The Red Baron".

I think it might be good to consider the age and the mileage. Your 1995 is 10 years old, even though it "only" has 104K. If you notice, suginami’s 2000 W210 is only 5 years old.

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I just couldn't give up on my 1995 E320.

I think it might be like always going back to that same bad relationship with an ex girlfriend.
You feel you love them too much, or you are just too stupid to know any better.



Flickr slideshow of my 1995 E320
http://www.flickr.com/photos/24145497@N06/sets/72157616572140057/

No, I think he means on his prior W124. So how many hours does the book say it should charge? I need this info b4 I send it in... and at the rate we're going, it will be tommorrow or the next day .

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1995 E320 smoke silver / parchment

I lost my coolant pump on my W124 at just around 100K...coolant loss occurred when engine was off.

$750 at the dealer when I had it done (prior to joining MBShop). Still, it's labor intensive because you have to remove a lot of stuff before you can get to the pump.

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2009 ML350 (106K) - Family vehicle
2001 CLK430 Cabriolet (80K) - Wife's car
2005 BMW 645CI (138K) - My daily driver
2016 Mustang (32K) - Daughter's car

Yeah, I was referring to my 1993 300E (3.2) "E320".

Age is as hard on things like water pumps just as much as mileage. I think 104K and 10+ years is pretty normal.

Also, you mentioned you can now see green coolant leaking, which might be part of your problem.

It has been debated to death on this forum, but Mercedes emphatically rejects the green fluids for these engines. Green fluid is not compatible. The ph level is completely wrong. MB fluid is a pale yellow color, and is ph neutral. The green stuff is not ph neutral.

There are compatible fluids that are made in the aftermarket, but they are not green.

MB fluid also contains a lot of silicates, which keeps your water pump lubricated. They also claim it keeps your hoses lasting longer.

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Paul S.

2001 E430, Bourdeaux Red, Oyster interior.
79,200 miles.

1973 280SE 4.5, 170,000 miles. 568 Signal Red, Black MB Tex. "The Red Baron".

Great, so they put wrong fluid at a MB indy last year when I had the fluids change ... You know what... who knows??

Damn, one person said $750 the other $800... ... If they piece itself is like $200+ then that's a lot of hours labor, even at $75/hour How many hrs could that be?

note I am am aware of the costs of these cars, just have to kick and rant, since its comig out of my pocket

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1995 E320 smoke silver / parchment

That's it, I had it changed today. Got a Laso, upper / lower radiator hoses, and that third hose someone said I should change, thermostat, and MB coolant for about 650..

Come to think of it, I should have just changed the belt as well! How many miles can one of these belts last?

Well, hopefully, I will have the car around the next 100K miles + for the next water pump

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1995 E320 smoke silver / parchment