Hah! Update on 190e revival. Mo problems

Recently I've been trying to revive my 1987 190e 2.6 that I left for dead eight months ago. I have put on a new distributor cap, plugs, had a minor tune up, replaced the catalytic converter assembly and also put on new brakes and rotors.

I went to pick up the car today, drove it around for probably less than two minutes in the parking lot and then parked it while I went to settle my bill ($1200 by the way) when I came back I noticed the car was dripping coolant fluid. Now I parked this car in front of my house for eight months and the only thing it dripped was oil and according to the mechanic it didn't drip coolant at all, everything seemed fine until I drove it for two minutes. They did some kind of pressure test on the car to make sure it wasn't a loose hose, the mechanic's guess for now is a water pump but he won't be able to tell me for sure till tommorow.

The dripping which is about every 30 seconds is coming from underneath the car right about in the middle.

At this point I'm a little frustrated, I don't want to sink any more money in the car and I'm considering selling it based on the mechanic's diagnosis.

Any ideas on what the leak might be, from where the water pump is located I can tell it's gonna be expensive to replace it.

Thanks for your advice, I love the car, only stranded me once in five years.

[haasman]

Well .... if it is the water pump, these things tend to go about any time ... It could be related to just sitting for that long a time and its seals getting dry.

My opinion: Whether you keep it or sell it, ask the mech what the water pump replacement deal is? If they say $450, make them an offer. You just paid them good money for good work. I bet they'd work with you.

What you want is a "negotiated situation"- that is ….

-You just picked up your car and now the water pump is leaking …
-It probably doesn't have anything to do with what they just did to the car … the car sat for 8 months getting all dried up ….
-You are disappointed that you now have to put MORE money into it …
-You do want the car to continue to run properly, whether keeping or selling it …
…. You have another car that will need service ….
……….ask them to help you out. "Make me a deal on the water pump…"
-No matter what they quote, counter with a reasonable offer.

You may be surprised.

My 2 cents .... Haasman

[jay123]

Are you sure its not the A/C drain?
Also, if the car has the encaspsulation panels unde the engine, it could be water that is moving from the front of the car to the back. Maybe water pump or heater hoses...

Hello haasman, the mech informed me today that it was the water pump and his price was about $500 plus(including a discount). I shopped around and found somewhere that can do it for $420. I'm undecided on what to do now, but thanks for the advice.


Hello Jay, the AC has not worked in about three years, I noticed today that the coolant wasn't dripping so fast but it might have been the angle the car was parked, I will ask mech to check this but he's sure it's the waterpump and you know how mechs are.

[joe p]

QUOTE]Hello Jay, the AC has not worked in about three years, I noticed today that the coolant wasn't dripping so fast but it might have been the angle the car was parked, I will ask mech to check this but he's sure it's the waterpump and you know how mechs are.[/QUOTE]


LOL, nice thing to say in a forum where DIY'er ask for help from professional techs.

Odds are the seals dried out in the pump, drive it for a couple days, watching the coolant level and see if it stops. It just might, which will save you a few bucks on the short haul. Watch having it fixed by the lowest bidder, there are a lot of hacks out there.


Joe

Hello Jay, I didn't mean any thing negative about mechs, it's just that from the ones I've taken my car to, once they make a diagnosis, they won't change their minds. I guess they know about fixing the car more than I do since this is their occupation and I don't really blame them. This is the same situation with doctors, teachers e.t.c, most people don't like second opinions especially from someone outside their field.

Of course this does not apply to all mechs.

Good idea, i'll keep my eye on the coolant level and temp gauge and see what happens. Thanks

[BobK]

I did a water pump on my wife's '86 190E 2.3 and it was not much of a problem. Is there some reason the 2.6 is tough to do? How expensive is the pump?

The pump is about $150, the labor is what makes it cost so much, from what I remember the mech said something about taking out the fan, intake manifold e.t.c

[stevebfl]

The 190 application of the 103 motor, has to be the hardest waterpump of the bunch. No room.

Labor is about 5 hours. The pump can be had for $109 list from a proper selling MB dealer (rebuilt).

Well I've had the car for two days now, driven it in traffic, high speeds, everything and I have seen no coolant leaks under the engine and the coolant light does not come on, so maybe everything is fine with the waterpump.

Is there any kind of preventive maintenance that can be done for the waterpump, I've never had to change it and I've owned the car for about five years. Based on the cost I want to make it last as long as I can.

On the other hand, I still have my trusty old oil leak, after about an hour of driving the light came on. How I missed that light.

I plan on switching the seats on my 190 with another junked 190 I saw, is this a complex operation, I plan to take out the entire seat including the back and elbow rest and put the replacement in, the most I've done on this car by myself is change the sparkplugs, will this be more difficult than that.

Thanks for any advice you can give.