So my indie says I have a leaking heater core on my '90 190E when I took my car in last week. The tech showed me a slight drip near the passenger-side tranny pan. To my horror it was GREEN! I thought I told them last time I had the radiator changed to put in M-B coolant and even provided a bottle of it! Grrrrrrrr! Maybe they did put in the M-B coolant, but the core still contained the GREEN stuff from the first radiator service I had in which the upper and lower rad. hoses were replaced. Anyhow, I was advised to change the heater core as soon as possible. He said if the drip continues it will flood the heater core and overflow out onto the interior footwells. I didn't actually see the coolant drip down, but just a small "pool" of GREEN coolant near or on the edge of the tranny pan. The thing is I've never seen any coolant drips/puddles on the ground. I checked all floor areas and they are dry. I was told the heater core is prone to leakage after ten-plus years. Could this GREEN coolant have anything to do with expediating the heater core leak? The quote I was given is--gulp--around $800+, and that's excluding other things they might find that may need changing. I'm a bit disappointed with the shop regarding the GREEN fluid issue.

i would be upset too especially if i told them what to use.

the main reason for concern about the correct coolant/ antifreeze is the head, i beleive, but the heater core is probably aluminum too. so perhaps it might be a problem for that too.

are you sure it is not a leaking hose?

tom w

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

from the 5 or so 190E heater cores i have seen leaking (have fixed 2) the leak was most obvious inside the car, the way the core is positioned it will usually leak inside before it will even show in the evaporator drains, have you lifted any of the floormats to look for coolant? are you and the tech sure it isn't dye from the a/c system leaking at the evaporator drains? it may also be the heater valve that is leaking, since the valve is under the winshield grill, if it leaks the coolant has to go somewhere, it will come out of the drains under the car, take a flashlight and look through the plastic grill behind the battery area at the windshiel bottom, you should see the valve there, see if there is coolant around it, if there isn't coolant inside i would suspect that first.
as to if they used the mb coolant, it is very likely they did, when i bought my 230TE it had green coolant in it, i hate the green coolant!!! in orger to get it all out i had to disconnect many hoses and completely flush the system several times to get rid of the green tint. so a typical coolant flush will not completely remove all coolant, even if you drain the radiator and block there is still enough there too keep the green color alive.

i would expect the heater leak to show inside the cabin, too.

tom w

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

Thank you, all, for the replies. Yeah, I have checked all the footwells inside the car and they are dry, including the paper I have placed under the mats to detect moisture .

The first time they put in the green stuff was when my upper radiator hose blew out and started to leak coolant. Thinking that since this is a M-B shop they would automatically add M-B coolant. They didn't and I had to buy my own M-B coolant and had them change the coolant at no charge. Fair enough. Then my upper radiator plastic neck busted and I had to get a new radiator. This time I explicitly told them M-B coolant is to be put in. I really don't know if they even put in M-B coolant as the resevoir appeared greenish when I checked it after the radiator job. I didn't make a big fuss over it because the shop gave me a decent deal on an OEM radiator. And now with this (what appears to be a) leak and seeing the GREEN stuff, and then reading what you guys had to say about this issue, I'm a bit annoyed. Grrrrr. I've given them some shiny pennies, and they know how much I care about my car. Am I being played for a fool?

Thanks again!

Not all the MB coolant is that clear/orange color anymore. I have seen cars come filled from the factory with a blueish/green colored coolant. I haven't bought MB coolant in a couple of years, so I don't know what color you get in the bottle.

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Ali Al-Chalabi

2001 CLK55
1999 Dodge Ram 2500 Cummins Diesel
2002 Harley-Davidson Fatboy
Merlin Extralight w/ Campy Record

the new from factory is dark blue. not sure why the use that color at the factory. all the coolant mercedes currently sells is amber in color, does anyone else thinks it smells like bleach or is it just me? i use it in all my cars, even my wife's BMW

be sure to let us know what you find, did you look at the heater valve?

The heater core on my '91 190E 2.6 let loose dramatically one day on the freeway. There was a huge cloud of steam out of the center vent and a deluge on the carpet on the passenger side. After a $100 tow back to my mechanic I was quoted about $700 to replace it. Since I live in the desert and normally don't drive this car in the evenings, I put the repairs off for the last couple of years. Now I am selling the car to my granddaughter who lives in a cold part of the state. I ordered the core from Fastlane ($129) and my new mechanic will install for $500 The car had about 130000 miles on it at the time.

My Supra's heater core got a pinhole leak and the symptom was BAD FOGGING of the windshield. Bad as in A LOT. As in no amount of defrost would do anything about it (especially since the defrost air was going through the same bad core!) Some people have mentioned a crayon smell of the OE coolant. If you don't have any of these symptoms then maybe it is a valve or other cause as mentioned in previous posts. If it was me I might sample some coolant out of the radiator just to make sure it is the same color. You trust your mechanic right?

Mike

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1998 C230 330,000 miles (currently dead of second failed EIS, yours will fail too, turning you into the dealer's personal human cash machine)
1988 F150 144,000 miles (leaks all the colors of the rainbow)
Previous stars: 1981 Brava 210,000 miles, 1978 128 150,000 miles, 1977 B200 Van 175,000 miles, 1972 Vega (great, if rusty, car), 1972 Celica, 1986.5 Supra

No, I haven't checked the heater valve. I tried a few days ago, but I didn't know where to look other than somewhere near the firewall and by the windshield. Then from this post I learned it's on the battery side and underneath the plastic "grill" thing where leaves and debris always collect (that spot). But I still don't know what to look for :|

Anziani, I was quoted about $500+ for a heater core. This shop doesn't accept customers bringing in their own parts. Did you get any warning signs priot to the core "exploding" coolant out into your interior?

here is a picture that shows the area, disregard this car being a right hand drive only 190 i could find with a good shot, you need to look in the circled area in the passengerside on your car

Frosty,
Had no warning at all. No smell, fog or anything. In fact when it lt loose, my first thought was a fire and smoke, not steam. Luckily it was steam.
$129 is a fair price for a core but $700 is also fair for a core plus installation. I had a Ford Taurus as a company car years ago and it cost $1200 to replace that heater core.
Anziani

Frosty,
I'm sorry. Was that $500 TOTAL for the core and installation? If so, that is a deal. If it is for the core only, find another mechanic.
Anziani