1973 450se overheating

hi:
this is a very fine old car but with a highspeed overheat problem. i have had the car since may and i have always felt the gage was reading a bit high and at high speed it would move almost to the red line. this weekend it blew out the overfill tank(the cap was new) and tossed the coolant all over the road. i was doing high speed. i put two gallons of water in and drove on slower and it was fine.
do i have a blown headgasket?
i live in a rural area with no shop nearby.

[Aaron]

Mike,

Well, could be a number of things. Sticking thermostat, blocked radiator, bad water pump, etc...450s did tend to get a little warm when pushed hard, but remember this car is now quite aged so you musn't expect it to perform as a new car. I would start with the t-stat. See if the bottom radiator hose gets hot after the engine has been running for a while. Check this out and let me know!



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Rgds,
Aaron Greenberg
MB technician
Mercedes-Benz of Cincinnati
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