First off, thanks to everyone for all of the help on this forum; absolutely couldn't own this vehicle without it! It's been a great help with rear axles, sway bar links, valve adjustment, etc...! Now it's time to rectify the next two issues.

I drained the coolant and replaced the upper/lower radiator hoses, expansion tank and cap, and thermostat. I followed (as closely as possible) the proper techniques espoused on this forum for purging air from the system, and used Mercedes coolant/distilled H2O. However, my temperature now seems to settle (and remain thankfully steady) around 83-86*C, or 3-6*C higher than pre-changes. The thermostat was marked 80*C. My nervousness comes from the fact that it's only been about 60-70*F since these changes, and summer's still coming. What to do...let an apparently sleeping dog lie, or fight to reclaim the ~5*C I lost?

Also, my door seals appear original and are hard and cracked. I get a lot of wind noise from them, as well, because the seals (bilaterally) only extend to within about 3cm of the rear quarter windows, leaving a large gap thru which air flows at highway speeds (and H2O in the car wash!). However, they both appear OEM, and I'd hate to order new seals only to find I have the same problem. Suggestions?

Thanks again for all the wisdom found here.

-Chris
1985 300 CD (California-version)

Your temperature sounds perfect.

If all is healthy, the temperature will stay there, whether cold or hot out. An 80C thermostat I believe starts to open at 80C, and the throttling range is something like 8degrees so 88C wouldn't be abnormal for full-open of the thermostat.

Also, I have had very good results using RedLine's Water Wetter product to enhance the thermal transmissivity of the coolant, helps keep a marginal cooling system working (godsend for british cars).

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Gone to the dark side

- Jeff

not exactly following your issue here.
can you take pictures of the problem and post them?
if the door seal is missing a section, I would replace it. CD door seals are not as simple to find as D... try to email Phil or whunter at the fastlane link above.
John

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John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
1987 300TD
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

I agree it could just be the temperature spread between the old and new thermostat. As the weather gets really warm the car will let you know if there is a problem. I tend to think all is well at this point.

Jeff & Barry--Thanks for the replies, I think I'll take your advice and see what happens, especially since the coolant temperature/level are stable.


John S.--here's a photo (sorry for the quality). The gap between the door seal (coming in from center left) and the seal over the dr.-side quarter window (entering the pic from center-right) is a good 3-4cm or so. As you can see, the window (in its full-up pos. in photo) meets the seal and then leaves a gap where the seal is absent. This seems to be the spot from which most of the wind noise is originating, although twisting that far around (in the 2-door) and trying to find the problem at highway speeds seems to yield momentary controllability problems.... The other side looks exactly the same, which is what leaves me wondering. Perhaps I'll have to call Phil as you suggested--need another CA-specific coolant hose anyway.


Thanks again, guys!


Chris

Attached Thumbnails

 

ChrisC,

I have door seals on order right now and need to do the same thing. You will need some plastic clips which Phil/Roy can get you in addition to the seal itself. I have been warned time and time and time again to only go with Mercedes OE seals...which I did do. They cost me ~$75 each. I have to search again myself on tips for installing them.

dd

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'85 300D, 'Lance',250k, ... winter beater (100k on franken-Frybrid 3 Valve Kit)
'82 300D, 'Tex', 228k body / 170k engine ... summer car
'83 300TD Cali Wagon 210k, wife's car

Maybe somebody got sedan seals and cut them so they would fit?

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1979 240D- 316K miles - VGT Turbo, Intercooler, Stick Shift, Many Other Mods - Daily Driver

1982 300SD - 232K miles - Wife's Daily Driver

1986 560SL - Wife's red speed machine

Sometimes the coupe trim shrinks with age. And, if it was removed and not properly reinstalled, torn, whatever, it can get worse.

There is just one plastic rivit at the very front, IIRC. I was just careful and used my old ones.

I think to remove them, you just need to roll down your windows and pull them out their track. The rear horizontal ourside scraper pins the rear portion in, so you will need to loosen that chrome piece so you can access it. You don't want to remove the aluminum trim from the car completely, just loosen the horizontal bit under the window so you can access the rubber scraper on it.

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1982 300CD Petrol/Black Leather

Where did you order your seals from?

I have the same issue with the gap on my CD....I took some roofing black caulk and made a bead across the gap. It looks decent, and blocks out the rain and wind.... Not the best option, but only cost $4.

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85 300CD Turbo "Das Polluter" 230K sold for $3,000

98 BMW 323is