Radiator Leak
 

Hey i was out admiring my MB engine and recalled that the mechanic said i had a radiator leak so i searched around for it and i came across a pipe/rubber tube connecting to the top of it, and i could see a little bit of green coolent coming out. Should i replace the tube, grease the endings, or take it in and say i found it?

Thanks for your advice ahead of time :D

Is your radiator original?

On the 300E models, the original OEM radiators over time would crack at the plastic inlet neck (where the rubber hose from the coolant pump meets the radiator).

It may be time for a new radiator!:eek:

New OEM ones go for about $300 and is a DIY job that can be performed in an evening. The new ones have a reinforced metal sleeve that prevents future failures in that area!

Check the hose for a loose clamp or other signs of hose deterioration first...otherwise, the cracked neck is probably what has occurred...:(

Nooooo, i was afraid of that, i knew that was it i just didn't want to belive it....ahh there goes more money meant for performance parts:( ....Hey do you know if there are any aluminum radiators for the 300E to keep down the weight??:confused:

Thanks for your input :)

my impression is that the OEM MB 300e rads are very very lightweight already

although...if you can find some way to reduce 500lbs or more from the car while maintaining its integrity- then maybe it will feel a slight tinge quicker?


-fad

I agree that you will need a new radiator, however, I couldn't help but notice that you said you saw green coolant leaking.

The green stuff is not the recommended MB coolant and may not contain the proper neutral ph balance for your car's cooling system. After you change the coolant, be sure to go with the proper orange MB coolant.

I cannot, cannot, cannot, cannot believe that anything other than MB coolant is in anyway harmful to the cooling systems components.

BTW... when I bought my current MB, it was maintained by a dealership in Atlanta. I had a coolant leak on the side of the radiator, where aluminum meets plastic, and it was leaking green.

Let's just deal with the radiator problem, okay?

Otherwise this will turn into just another pink vs green, dino vs synthetic, Zaino vs Zymol thread!

But use MB coolant anyway!!!:D

As an aside, I bought 4.5 litres of coolant yesterday from my local M-B dealer in London, and the concentrate was blue!
My original ( 2 years old) is orange/yellow so I queried the colour.

The parts guy told me that all the coolant coming out of M-B in Germany now was blue (may go greener when mixed with 50-50 water, but it's a real deep blue now).

Each 1.5 litre bottle part number is A000 989 08 25.
Hope this helps

Bazzman
Surrey England
W124 E200 Wagon 94 103,000 miles.

I have the green coolant but I have my mechanic check the PH at oil change. As long as it is within MB specs. I don't change it.

That's an easy test. What is the spec?

Don't know the exact PH spec. My mechanic has test strips that he dips in the coolant. The color scale and MB requirements are on the side of the plastic strip container. Quick & easy, he doesn't charge me anything for this. You can probably pick-up a kit at your dealer.

Hey one more question, G-Benz you mentioned it was a DIY job, but i went and talked to my dad and he said something about the radiator compression and that we don't have the right stuff to do it. For some reason i think he dosn't know what hes talking about, so if someone could clarify this that be great.

Thank All for helping :D :D

I took my 560SEL in to get the top tank replaced but upon inspection the core was in need of replacement so they fitted a new radiator. Normally I would do this myself as it's not a hard job. No special tools are needed, the shop that performed this work took a total of 2 hours to remove, replace, refill and test etc. My top tank started leaking around the little return hose at the top of the radiator. This hose runs back to the tank with the radiator cap on it. I removed the hose from the radiator end and the plastic stem that it slides over had disintergrated. I had about 6mm left so I put the hose back on as far down as I could and that stopped the leak in the short term until I could get it fixed. Here is a link to a write up in the DIY section here.

http://www.a-p-group.com/ashman/radiator.html

Matt.

I saw that in the DIY section of this site and i never saw him use any special tools for compression, so i'll prolly just do it myself.

Thanks :D :D

Easy Fix and it's less than $4.00
 

Greetings Chris,

Seems like you have a forming crack in your radiator neck and unless it is severe I think I'd opt to get the most miles out of the current radiator I already have. Besides the $300 you don't want to spend on the new cooler, JB weld will fix your problem most likely for years to come. I've used this great goo epoxy on everything from metal to waste water holding tanks and everything I've used it on is still in operation today. Unless you just like spending money on engineered defects, I'd go with the JB Weld and correct the problem instead of buying another that will fail the same way.

Charles