recore or new radiator

[fruitcakesa]

Well, you start going on one of these MB's and it becomes a treasure hunt.
Yesterday I was bolting the rt frt fender back down after body repair and paint and I began eyeballing the whole inner wheel area for issues and noticed the major rust and rot along the under bumper apron/valance strip.
That of course led across to the left frt fender and the same rust rot condition.
So I removed fender liners and bumper end rubbers which exposed the rusting bumper rubber brackets.
I spent the rest of the day doing rustoration with POR 15 products.
Today, I began body and final paint work and noticed a puddle of antifreeze beneath the rad.
I think my demo and prep of the rust may have shaken or somehow moved and stressed something in the rad and opened a small crack or hole.
Which leads to my question.
Should I just buy new or is a local recore a good option?

much easier and cheaper to replace.

[cmbdiesel]

I would replace with a Behr radiator. Lot of the aftermarket radiators look good until you try to fit them in. Maybe even a used one that has been pressure tested.

[fruitcakesa]

There are local shops that take the rad end tanks, clean and recore them.
I know a friend has had this done on his heavy equipment
But being Saturday PM I can't call around to find out prices and the like.

[fruitcakesa]

The radiator had green coolant in it and I bet it has had green for many years judging by the rest of the PO service.
Would that have eaten away the core?

[cmbdiesel]

What's wrong with green coolant?
It's the Dex-Cool yellow that eats stuff.

[tangofox007]

Originally Posted by cmbdiesel

What's wrong with green coolant?

Depends on how long it's been in service.

[tangofox007]

Originally Posted by fruitcakesa

There are local shops that take the rad end tanks, clean and recore them.

Statistically speaking, I would bet that the plastic tanks on the MB radiatiors are more problematic than the cores.

[Jeremy5848]

I don't think you can rebuild a Mercedes radiator with plastic ends. It takes a special process to bond plastic to metal; the rebuilders use a soldering process on metal tanks, which are all brass, I think.

[fruitcakesa]

My car has a manual trans and does not have auto trans line fittings on the lower tank. It is the original Behr rad.
The new Behrs I have seen for sale all have the AT fittings.
Is there a manual trans rad or do they just use the same one for both trans?
What is the thread size of those fittings and where would I get caps to plug them?

[KAdams4458]

Originally Posted by fruitcakesa

My car has a manual trans and does not have auto trans line fittings on the lower tank. It is the original Behr rad.
The new Behrs I have seen for sale all have the AT fittings.
Is there a manual trans rad or do they just use the same one for both trans?
What is the thread size of those fittings and where would I get caps to plug them?

I can't speak for Merc radiators, but every other manual car replacement radiator I have dealt with tends to be available only in the auto versions. There is almost always some little plastic plugs in the transmission cooler fittings, and they can just be left there.

I wouldn't count the radiator out just yet. many a small hole in the core can be fixed by old-fashioned radiator shops. Radiator repair is a dying art, and if you still have such a shop near by, I'd let them have a crack at a core leak.

Even a crack in the plastic tanks on a Merc radiator are not always a death sentence, as M-B has a repair kit just for fixing them. Somewhere out there, I have even seen a metal repair collar that takes care of cracked plastic radiator necks for Mercs.

[oldsinner111]

Buy a nissens,the behr usally break at the necks.

[tangofox007]

Originally Posted by fruitcakesa

What is the thread size of those fittings and where would I get caps to plug them?

There is no real need to plug them.

[compress ignite]

I'd start contacting shops (and online) there may be an aftermarket all metal
['much more desirable than the "Plastic Tanks" Nightmare.]
They're ReCoreable and ReBuildable.

[Diesel911]

With Aftermarkets is there a choice between Aluminum and Brass/Copper cores?