OK, I ordered my new radiator too! I'll race you getting it in...

__________________
-Evan


Benz Fleet:
1968 UNIMOG 404.114
1998 E300
2008 E63


Non-Benz Fleet:
1992 Aerostar
1993 MR2
2000 F250

So, I should go ahead and order the proper cap too? It sounds like from what I have been reading now that it should be the 120.

Cool..... Literally! I guess now is better than 1 or 2 months from now when it is REALLY HOT and it rains every afternoon! I hope it goes well for you. I always get paranoid ordering anything this fragile. It seems like fins always get bent or corners get dinged. Maybe we will get lucky.

I still cannot find that fat little short hose beneath the thermostat housing. It looks pretty bad too. I guess I will wait until I have the rad out, then take it in and size it up for replacement.

__________________
AJ

1985 300D (SOLD)

Yes thats fine 100 is better than 120. It means that the cooling system has to build up 100 before it opens to allow coolant to overflow.

100 caps are hard to find, most people just use the 120.

__________________
1985 300TD Turbo Euro-wagon
1979 280CE 225,200 miles
1985 300D Turbo 264,000 miles
1976 240D 190,000 miles
1979 300TD 220,000

GONE but not forgotten
1976 300D 195,300 miles
1983 300D Turbo 175,000 miles

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...e485-1-2-1.jpg

I don't think that's right at all... 100 PSI would blow a cooling system apart. Cap pressures are in BAR as Jeremy stated and should open at the rated pressures he stated above.

__________________
-Evan


Benz Fleet:
1968 UNIMOG 404.114
1998 E300
2008 E63


Non-Benz Fleet:
1992 Aerostar
1993 MR2
2000 F250

Your correct. I meant to say bar instead of PSI. Sorry... I'll edit my post. Brain fart...

__________________
1985 300TD Turbo Euro-wagon
1979 280CE 225,200 miles
1985 300D Turbo 264,000 miles
1976 240D 190,000 miles
1979 300TD 220,000

GONE but not forgotten
1976 300D 195,300 miles
1983 300D Turbo 175,000 miles

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...e485-1-2-1.jpg

Thanks again for the input guys. I got the idea. Basically I should stick with cap I got and just get it tested.

__________________
AJ

1985 300D (SOLD)

One more question. I was reading somewhere about using Zerex in the Gold bottle? I just went to 2 different auto parts stores. Neither had it and the nearest NAPA is over 30 miles away. Is there another brand or type that I can use?

Are there going to be any surprises removing and replacing this particular radiator?

__________________
AJ

1985 300D (SOLD)

Thinking that our injectors pop at 135 bar, I googled and it says 1 bar = 14.5037738 pounds per square inch, so 100 bar would be ~1450psi.

Edit: well, if I had bothered to actually read the whole thread I would have understood.

And btw, I'm right there with you guys. The JB weld the PO put on mine has started to weep.

__________________
1984 300D Light Blue/Blue
2006 C280 Silver/Black

NAPA is the only place I have seen that actually has it. You could buy it at the dealer for $25 a gallon if you want.....

Rad replacement is a fairly straight forward procedure. Just remember to have a little tranny fluid on hand. Don't go muscle man on those tranny cooler lines either, just snug them down a little, if they leak then tighten them some more.

__________________
1985 300TD Turbo Euro-wagon
1979 280CE 225,200 miles
1985 300D Turbo 264,000 miles
1976 240D 190,000 miles
1979 300TD 220,000

GONE but not forgotten
1976 300D 195,300 miles
1983 300D Turbo 175,000 miles

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...e485-1-2-1.jpg

the cap might be original and need of a change.


Mercedes has the coolant lol.. But its expensive. Glad Hatty gave me two gallons of the stuff.

Pierre put this particular cap on the car at the GTG. It had the wrong cap on it and the seal was shot.

I'm thinking that since the old cap was shot, when Pierre put the new one on it has been pressurizing normally for the past few days. Then the old radiator just "gave up the ghost". It does look like the original radiator.

__________________
AJ

1985 300D (SOLD)

I got the new rad. in. $177 shipped. It looks to be of pretty good quality, but time will tell. It looks like it is a good 1/4" narrower than the BEHR. The BEHR was original and had 85 stamped on it.

The swap was amazingly easy. The only headaches I had were removing all the hoses a couple times during the flush. Then flushing and back flushing everything a couple times. Removing the hose on the side of the head was a PITA because of the throttle linkage, hard fuel lines and glow plug wiring harness. Then I lost the damn crush washer for the block drain (gravel driveway). So, I had to get a new crush washer.

It does run a few degrees cooler than before. It was running around 85 before. Now it runs around 81-82.

It took 2.5 gallons to fill it to the line on the resovoir.

Thanks for everyone's input and tips!!

__________________
AJ

1985 300D (SOLD)

You win... I got mine shipped in on Saturday but I've been too lazy to put it in...

__________________
-Evan


Benz Fleet:
1968 UNIMOG 404.114
1998 E300
2008 E63


Non-Benz Fleet:
1992 Aerostar
1993 MR2
2000 F250

Man.... It was hot out there too! I started in the morning. By the time I was done I was covered in sweat and coolant.

Getting that block drain out and then getting out of the way before it comes splashing out is a trick let me tell ya.

__________________
AJ

1985 300D (SOLD)

I read in this post about U needing a tubing line under the thermostat housing. If it is the one that is connected to the Water Pump housing it is what is called a pump vent.

The tubing is steel and it has banjo bolts on both ends. It is about 3 inches long.

Well I got a new one from Phil about 3 months ago as mine had a tiny leak.

When I pulled to old one off the tubing was real thin in an area you could not see.

Glad I did mine. It cost like $13 or $30 bucks I forget but worth it.

__________________
1982 300SD