Has anyone experienced the replacement of the waterpump on this engine?
The shop wants 900 $$$$ for their expertise. Is this a repair I could carry out? I have moderate skills. Any special tools?

thanks

Best special tool you can have is the Mercedes service CD or DVD for your car.

At your dealer or call 1.800.for.merc or check Fastlane.

__________________
Kent Christensen
Albuquerque
'07 GL320CDI, '10 CL550. '01 Porsche Boxster
Two BMW motorcycles

Suggest you do a search on this topic. Search is on the menu. Maybe use terms like
M103 Waterpump or M104 Waterpump or 300E Waterpump.

Quite a bit written about this. Really a pain of a job, as I understand.

Steve

Factory flat rate shows 3-4 hrs dependant on year & model....

Again dependant on year & model the water pump lists for $200-300..

ANTIFREEZE IS $20....add that up + Uncle Sam approx $500-700

__________________
MERCEDES Benz Master Guild Technician (6 TIMES)
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Retired Moderator

I recently changed the water pump on my wife's '95 E320 wagon. Her car has the late style serpentine belt tensioner which is easier to work with...overall, it wasn't too bad of a job even though I managed to strip out the lower left allen-head bolt on disassembly! I was able to drill it out without too much effort so not too much time lost. Total time was about 4 hours.

If you do it yourself, get 4 new bolts and check the condition of all hoses and clamps before you start.

__________________
Glen Tokuhara
Beauty & the Beast and the wagon that could!

I've done this job a couple of times. There's much tedious disassembly to access the water pump, but none of it is rocket science. All tools required are available at your local tool emporium. The unusual tools I recall are the locking tool for the fan clutch (made my own from 1/4" steel rod purchased at H.D.), an 8mm allen key for the fan clutch hub (some like the special stubby socket, but I use a regular old allen key without problem), a 10mm allen key socket for the belt tensioner, and a 6mm allen key and/or socket for the water pump bolts.

There are enough discussions and step-by-step guides here on the forum that I wouldn't avoid this job due to lack of a service manual.

The vendor I use shows a price of $175-$195 for the water pump, depending on engine number and manufacturer.

- JimY

Buy a quality new pump as opposed to a re-manufactured one. That way you get a new casting. The old castings can get very corroded from the antifreeze and the re-builders clean them (and probably glass bead them) and fill the holes with epoxy. The corrosion generally goes very deep and can continue to eat away at the casting and loosen the filler.