Back in January 2006 I had the coolant in my 92 500E flushed. Last week, my radiator blew--the neck at the top of the radiator had snapped right at the point where the clamp is located. The car has 71,700 miles on it.

First question: I realize this is a common failure, but is it possible my tech made it worse when he tightened this clamp after the flush? Probably no way to prove definitively, but I am wondering.

Second question: Since I was so close to my office and had to get the car out of traffic anyway, I drove it ~0.15 miles to my parking lot, and the car ran for less than ten minutes after I dumped the coolant. I don't think the temp gauge maxed out, but the car did start to make a ticking sound at the end, like either premature ignition or something.

The shop just called and the car is ready to the tune of $1400. I had them replace all the hoses and the expansion tank--and the radiator, obviously.

I have been using this shop since August for my Miata; since taking the Benz in to them, I've spent about $2600 in repairs on it (O2 sensor, belt tensioner, and now this), all of which I know I needed, but it's still hard not to feel like I've got the word "sucker" pasted on my forehead everytime I walk in there. It is one of a handful of Bosch-authorized shops in the area, and came highly recommended, so I don't think they are clueless amateurs. But at these prices, I might as well go to the dealer--except the local dealer is worse, service-wise.

To be fair, I've owned the car since 11/2000 and these are the first major repairs I've had to do. It still sucks, because I just paid it off in March. It's as if the car knows!

Kirk
1992 500E
Pearl black/gray
Bone stock
71,700 miles