Need help with ID'ing a hose on a 300E
 

Here's the background: On the way home from work tonight my low coolant light came on about 2 miles from home. I kept my eye on the gages and lights after that....temperature gage stayed constant at about 83 degrees. Just as I turned onto my block, the temperature started to climb, so I immediately killed the motor and coasted home, up into my driveway. The temperature never got into the red band, I killed it just as soon as I saw the rising trend. (Lucky!) Got the car into the garage and there is a steam leak near the rear of the motor, behind the air cleaner. Couldn't ID the source of the leak with all the steam flying, so I waited for it to cool, fearing the worst.

I have found the leak to be a split hose. It is at the rear of the motor, coming out on the driver's side (left), of the head, then takes a 90 degree skyward, then a 90 degree bend to the left, where there is a T junction with a much smaller hose, then another bend and through the wall that separates the fuse box compartment from the engine bay, connecting to a metal pipe that goes through the firewall on the driver's side - center.

I'm assuming that this is a heater hose, but looks specialized with that T junction in it to that smaller hose (what's that?). Oh, never mind, it connects to a metal pipe that routes to the heating coil inside the windshield washer fluid resevoir.

My car is a U.S. 1991 300E with a M103 motor, auto trans, climate control, blah blah. The problem I'm having is that I can't readily ID it on the Fastlane parts finder. On heater hoses it asks what chasis range my car belongs to:

-A 289309
-A-283309
-B 527022

??? Where do I find that? Also, none of the hoses pictured look like mine with the T junction in it.

TIA
Jeff

Hi Jeff
I had a similar leak on my 92 300TE about a year ago. Since the leak was close to the engine block, I could stop it by just cutting off the end of the hose and reattaching it. You may try this part number from Fastlane: R3030-37178. BTW the small hose indeed serves to heat the windshield washer fluid.
Good luck, Bruno

Excellent! That is the exact hose I need. Good looking out. $57??? :eek:

I should probably look to replace the other hose on the other side of the heater going into the aux pump, and the other little hoses on the other side of the windshield washer resevoir heater coil, although those are not as hot as the one that broke, and thus shouldn't wear as fast....hopefully they'll last until this summer, when I plan to replace the radiator.

Thanks.