does 100c hurt the motor? - Page 3 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

BodhiBenz1987 · #31 04-16-2006, 04:29 PM

Sometimes it pays to shoot it with a temp gun when it gets hot and see how accurate your temp guage is. From my current (and constantly changing) interpretation of the wiring diagrams, the wire that feeds input to the dash gauge runs right in front of the crank case and can easily get knawed up in the fan (mine is basically cut in half). As such, the temp gauge often reads inaccurately. Mine is off, as I said. I'm considering sodering in replacement wire in hopes of gaining a functional reading, because I would feel more comfortable if I knew what temps I was running. The fan clutch and aux fans do engage as they should, so I feel fairly safe, but still ...

dieseldiehard · #32 04-16-2006, 04:56 PM

Just an observation while on the subject of cooling 603 engines.
While my AC condensor is out I have driven that '87 and compared it to another '87 300Dt with everything in place, both have new radiators, WP, etc. I believe I can see lower temps on the car without the condensor coils in front esp uphill on a long route I take occasionally (CA 92). I believe the condensor somewhat reduces air flow across the radiator fins. Enough to see a few degrees difference (granted the sensors might be off a bit too) on the temp gauge.

As we know the radiator is marginal in these cars on really hot days. But I am planning on reinstaling the condensor when I repair the AC this Spring so sadly I won't be able to compare further when the weather gets hotter - it never gets really HOT here but I have to drive to So Cal and the Grapevine in summer is a real test for any cooling system! I would NOT drive a car without AC on that trip unless at night and never in the late summer. Several miles of a 3 to 5% grade is a real test for older cars, there are always some vehicles stopped alongside the road with the hood up and blowing steam! That's where I keep an eye on my temp gauge on the 603. With the 617 turbodiesel I never worry even with AC full on it stays nice and cool

I sure wish the 603 would run that cool!

pawoSD · #33 04-16-2006, 04:57 PM

I just found a website with "OEM" radiators, (radiatorbarn.com) they have the typical aluminum/plastic tank radiators...however, they offer lifetime warranty, free shipping, and 1-2 day delivery and have been in business almost 50 years. a 300SD radiator from them comes out at $185! sounds good! Maybe I'll try one of theirs.....$100 off is a good deal to me! This looks like what I'll try....especially with warranty coverage like that.

Hatterasguy · #34 04-16-2006, 08:33 PM

I put a Behr in the SDL because they are the only company that makes them. Fyi if you were to buy a radiator from the dealer it would be a Behr, the only difference is on the Behr's not sold through the dealer they grind the star off.

Whatever you buy make sure it has the metal sleeve in the neck, seems like a great way to reduce the risk of snapping.

Price one out from Autozone, they offer a lifetime warranty and you don't have to pay shipping to make a claim.

pawoSD · #35 04-16-2006, 09:13 PM

Do the new behr or nissens radiators come with the metal insert in the neck? My current 19/20 year old behr radiator has no metal insert in the neck and its been fine....

One of my biggest concerns if I were to try to clean my existing one, is will there be a problem disconnecting and reconnecting the transmission cooler hoses? how much tranny fluid is in there?? I was thinking I could take it out, get it all drained out, then bring it to the self serve carwash and blast the fins out with high pressure soap/high pressure rinse/engine degreaser (get it sopping with it) let it sit a few mins, then blast it out with high pressure water again. Would that clean it out? I could even stick the nozzle of the gun into the inlet/outlet ports and blast some water through it to try to get rid of anything inside it. Is this a bad or good idea?

The whole process including some new tranny fluid to makeup for whats lost and a fresh fill of coolant mix would be less than $15 or so....so I like the idea of trying that.

pawoSD · #36 04-16-2006, 10:53 PM

Well, I waved goodbye to my money as after much deliberation I went with a behr radiator and two spring wrapped tranny cooling hoses. My dad's '83 had a new behr radiator put in by the previous owner 4 months before we bought it from him. (he paid $450 for it

) And we've now had the car nearly 1.75 years, and it runs at 82C like a stone, in the hottest of outside temps and under the highest loads.....so I believe those are a good radiator. I hope to have the same results when I install mine in a few days....probably on wednesday....till then I will be paranoid. It will be so nice not having to worry about that anymore....plus I paid a lot less than that guy did....only $294, not too bad for oem.

Brian Carlton · #37 04-16-2006, 11:26 PM

Make sure you follow up on this thread with some data on the new radiator.

Be excellent to have a back to back comparison.

peragro · #38 04-17-2006, 01:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian Carlton

Make sure you follow up on this thread with some data on the new radiator.

Be excellent to have a back to back comparison.

I second that suggestion.

BTW, I'm running an 87SDL out west where the ambient temp in the summer is ~115-120F. I live in the Sierra Nevadas and as such have had much experience with steep grades; sometimes over 20 miles or so on the way up. I've driven the car all over Ca and Western NV and through Death Valley several times. I do watch the thermostat like a hawk and on occasion slow down on the uphill to keep the temps down. I've seen over 100C on many occasions.

I am interested to see what happens to your temps with the new radiator though.

pawoSD · #39 04-17-2006, 01:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian Carlton

Make sure you follow up on this thread with some data on the new radiator.

Be excellent to have a back to back comparison.

Oh I will, I plan on taking it out and putting it under load a bit once I've got it all installed and working properly....to get an idea of how it affects my temps....I hope it sits at 82C like a rock like our '83, that'd be awesome.

It will be a while before my area see's much above 70-74F though, probably another 2-3 weeks at least before we exceed 75 is my guess, July we could see 90+

Considering I was running somewhere between 105C and 110C on my trip friday for 65 miles......and it was only about 70ish outside, I don't even want to think of how hot it would have been at an outside temp of 100F+

peragro · #40 04-17-2006, 02:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pawoSD

Oh I will, I plan on taking it out and putting it under load a bit once I've got it all installed and working properly....to get an idea of how it affects my temps....I hope it sits at 82 like a rock like our '83, that'd be awesome.

It will be a while before my area see's much above 70-74F though, probably another 2-3 weeks at least before we exceed 75 is my guess, July we could see 90+

Don't forget to "burp" the thing. I had a hell of a time getting all the antifreeze into the thing that it would take. Rather than just filling the reservoir I started with filling the block through the top radiator hose - bottom one connected and then filling the reservior. It still took about 2 to 3 weeks driving before I could finally stop topping off the reservoir. I'd wait to jamb on it until you're sure it's full. Of course, that just may be my car's particular idiosyncracies.

BTW, I think that a new reservoir cap is slightly higher pressure than the old one if I remember right... For what that's worth.

pawoSD · #41 04-17-2006, 02:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by peragro

Don't forget to "burp" the thing. I had a hell of a time getting all the antifreeze into the thing that it would take. Rather than just filling the reservoir I started with filling the block through the top radiator hose - bottom one connected and then filling the reservior. It still took about 2 to 3 weeks driving before I could finally stop topping off the reservoir. I'd wait to jamb on it until you're sure it's full. Of course, that just may be my car's particular idiosyncracies.

BTW, I think that a new reservoir cap is slightly higher pressure than the old one if I remember right... For what that's worth.

Yep, when I had the '83 torn apart I drained everything, and had to refill it that way to stop it from overheating. Once I filled it through the upper hose it worked great though. Mine does the same thing. I have a new radiator cap and expansion tank and lower hose+heater and upper hose all within the past 7-8 months

I also changed out the water pump about 22k ago. So my cooling system will have cost me about $475 in that amount of time.

At least its all brand new now....

pawoSD · #42 04-18-2006, 07:19 PM

Fancy Behr Radiator came today....but of course the small package with the tranny cooling lines did not. They will be here tomorrow.....so tomorrow is the day for cooling system overhaul........hopefully it will be successful.

Hatterasguy · #43 04-18-2006, 08:23 PM

Cool, how recent are your radiator hoses?

Also dump the stock MB hose clamps, get a pair of generic ones with wider bands.

pawoSD · #44 04-18-2006, 08:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hatterasguy

Cool, how recent are your radiator hoses?

Also dump the stock MB hose clamps, get a pair of generic ones with wider bands.

Upper hose is less than a month old, lower was replaced last October when I put in the combo lower-hose-heater + new hose. The one coming from the expansion tank is original.

The generic clamps seem to cut into the hose more than the Euro-Style ones....I've never had any probs with the originals, so I will probably just be cheap and use those.

dieseldiehard · #45 04-18-2006, 08:42 PM

I always fill the 617 engines thru the "S"-shaped heater those that comes off the block at the left side and goes to the firewall. Use a funnel that fits it when you put antifreeze then the rest H2O. when it starts to fill into the reservoir stop and reattach it at the firewall, then fill the rest into the reservoir. I've not had any burping problems using that technique.

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