I wasn't sure whether I should put this post in the Diesel Discussion or Tech Help section. Please let me know if this is the wrong place.

While doing another repair today, I bumped the large coolant hose at the top of the radiator, and it came detached. I looked closer and noticed that part of the cylindrical nipple on the radiator had broken off with the hose (i.e., the part that the hose is normally clamped onto). There's still about half an inch of this fitting left. (In case it's unclear, this is the top attachment point, on the driver's side of the radiator, about 1.25" in diameter.) I think this plastic fitting must have become brittle somehow.

What I'm wondering is, can I clamp the hose back onto the remaining stub of the radiator fitting, or would that just be asking for trouble? Or is there any way I can "rebuild" this fitting?

I'd like to avoid the expense of putting in a whole new radiator right now, but I also have a 1200-mile round-trip to make in the car next week, so I need to know I can count on it. Any suggestions?

Matthias

P.S. Attached are pictures of the radiator, highlighting the broken part, and of the broken-off bits. Sorry for the poor night-time focus.

Attached Thumbnails

 

This is a relatively common failure on the Behr radiators although, the nipple usually remains intact, breaking off in one piece.

Use the forum's handy search feature and you will find a lot on this subject and the repairs (some successful, some not) that have been made.

Here's a couple to get you started:
Broken Rad 1
Broken Rad 2

Good luck!

__________________
Never a dull moment at Berry Hill Farm.

Matthias.

Just take a look at this link:

http://www.**************.com/alerts.html#alert4

He sells this kit but you can just get the same
stuff at the home depot or the likes and
fix without buying his kit.

He has good parts and stuff but if your in a
hurry then he's not the right person to order
from.
Shipping tends to be a bit slow.

Louis.

Thanks for your quick responses. I thought my problem was unique, but searching the boards has also turned up a lot of insights.

It looks like the previous owner has not been treating the cooling system that well, and the radiator is getting old anyway, so I decided it would probably be best just to go ahead and replace it now, to get some peace of mind on my trip. I found a good price from www.radiator.com and they're willing to deliver in one day, so I'll install the new radiator tomorrow.

Thanks again!

I have an OEM Behr radiator top for the 300D or 300SD. You need to have a radiator shop uncrimp the old top with the broken neck and crimp on the NEW top with the good neck. You can have the radiator top for $30 which includes shipping. This will save you $200!

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Hi, edge,

I didn't realize the top could be separated from the rest of the radiator. I was getting worried about starting my road trip as planned on Wednesday, so I ended up ordering a whole radiator from the first company with a reasonable price who said they could deliver it today. Sounds like I could have saved some money if I'd known.

Thanks.

Matthias

P.S. There seems to be a lot of rust floating around in the cooling system, so maybe the old radiator was on its way out anyway? (I hope this doesn't bode ill for the engine block. They don't get eaten away by corrosion, do they?)

Not generally, but it does sound like you need to do a citric acid flush to remove that scale and anything else in there tah has the potential of clogging that new radiator.

__________________
Never a dull moment at Berry Hill Farm.

And when you're done, PLEASE use the Mercedes anti-freeze, or Zerex G-05 which is the same thing, but available at most McPart store for ~$8/gallon. The MB "yellow" stuff really is different and this is one of the reasons - it helps prevent the plastic tanks from turning brittle. Don't use green, blue, orange, or any other antifreeze. It's just not worth it.

__________________
Dave
Boise, ID
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