hey guys. after 3 weeks i FINALLY have my car back from the shop.


one thing i have never been able to figure out is the normal operating temperature for the engine.


cars a 1992 190E 2.3 8v. engine seems to run between 85 and 100 degrees Celsius. 85 on the freeway and 100 in traffic.




is this normal?

sounds normal to me...

alright.


just seems strange to me though.

before i got it fixed it would operate at 80 no matter what.

it would maybe go to 85 going up a hill ( i live up a long windy hill)


what could cause this to change?


the cooling system did have a lot of work done to it when it was in.


-new overflow tank
-coolant flush
-new coolant (blue type)
-new engine temp sensor



could those affect operating temp in any way?

I would say that's a pretty normal running temperature for your vehicle. My 190E typically runs just slightly over 80 degrees Celcius. On an 80+ degree day in heavy stop-and-go traffic it might climb a little bit higher than that.

Of the items you have listed the only thing I can think of that would have any impact would be the engine temperature sensor. I don't know what temperature you typically run the vehicle in, so it may not be unusual for the engine to reach 100 degrees Celcius when you are driving in hot weather and heavy traffic.

It's interesting that you say the vehicle has blue coolant in it. It's typically recommended to only use the gold-colored MB brand coolant.

ahh well i live in southern california. lately it hasnt been too bad out here. around 85 or so at most.


but one night it climbed to 105 and stayed there. i was in a jack in the box drive thru at midnight.





yeah i didnt know there even was a blue coolant. but thats what my indie put in there after i got the engine fixed.


why does it matter what type of coolant you put in? from what i have been reading on here it seems like the green prestone kind is a big no no.

I always use the MB brand coolant just because it's not that expensive. It's about $19 a gallon at my local dealer, so I basically do it for peace-of-mind. Since MB engines contain aluminum parts it's important to use a coolant that is compatible with such parts to prevent corrosion.

It's also important that the ph stays within spec because if the coolant gets too acidic it will cause the plastic radiator components to become brittle. The plastic neck that the upper radiator hose connects to is often the part that breaks, and that will leave you stranded.

I'm sure there are other coolants that work fine in MB engines, but since it's only flushed every three years the few extra dollars for the MB coolant is negligible.

ahhh well thats good to know.


i do trust my indie mercedes specialist to use a coolant that will do my engine no harm at all but next time i get a flush ill ask him to use the mercedes coolant.


i like peace at mind especially with that car... haha