PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum - W124 '88 260E Coolant overflow drain hose

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W124 '88 260E Coolant overflow drain hose

Just did an early spring service on this warhorse (about to turn 300,000 miles) and managed to break the drain hose coming from the coolant reservoir. From the looks of it this must be the original hose from 19+ years ago! It has been "fossilized" (hard as a rock - no flexibility at all) from all the heating and cooling under the hood over the years and literally broke off right at the fitting on the reservoir tank.

I've got replacement hose but I don't know how to get the old hose out from the drain hole in the fender well where it goes through a large grommet and dumps any coolant that overflows out a drain hole in the bottom of the front fender panel. No amount of pulling will budge the thing - is it attached to the drain hole fitting coming out of the bottom? And it seems the Mercedes engineers kept this drain separate from the water drain that goes out just below the battery. I guess they wanted to be careful where any radiator coolant went and what it might touch along the way.

I searched on a number of terms and didn't find anything elsewhere on the board. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.

hello,

If I am not wrong you have to remove the plastic cover in the wheel space.
good luck

cc260E is right. There is another overflow bottle behind that plastic panel that the hose is attached to.

Thanks for the info - I'll remove the liner and go from there.

more importantly...congratulations on your milestone.

you are in a very rare crowd having a 124 with 300k

Rare crowd? My 87 300D has 262,000 and my mother's TE now has 220,000 - sneaking up fast!

Peter

Got the liner out and removed the old hose from the tank behind the fender. Needed a little lube on the fitting to get the new hose on but it only took a few minutes. Putting the lining back on took longer than replacing the hose!

Thanks for the advice and the mileage kudos. I still think that the W124 series was so seriously over engineered that you can keep a good one as long as there are still parts available for the car - as long as you keep up a good maintenance schedule. My mechanic has often heard me say this, but if the 260E was a 5-speed I don't think I would ever get rid of it.

Again, thanks for the solid advice.

Rick,

You didn't by chance take any pictures, did you?

My overflow hose was brittle as well. When I blew on it, I could hear that the other end was submerged in water. At first I was afraid that there was a pool of water trapped somewhere inside of the fender, but thanks to your post, I now know different.

-Larry

Larry,

No pictures - sorry. I probably should have at least taken some re: taking out/putting in the liner and to show what things look like where the hose attaches to that hidden tank.

If the weather is as good next weekend as is was this one, maybe I'll just take the liner off and snap a few pix to post.

It's a good idea to put a dab of grease around the studs that the plastic nuts screw onto before putting the liner back to prevent rust. The studs are welded to the body, destroying the galvanizing. The liner sandwiches dirt, moisture and in the north, salt that will eventually eat through.

Thanks for the suggestion. The weather looks fab for this weekend so I'll probably pull the liner and take some pix and put the goop on the studs. Per the earlier request, I'll post the pix next week.

Here are some pics from when I replaced my hose.

Woman in need of parts advice (Radiator Overflow hose?)

Ok Guys,
I am a girlie-girl and have no mechanical experience at all so bare with me.

I have an 89 300E. I noticed that the plastic tank that sits above the front passenger fender has a broken hose. The hose is about the size of a dime in diameter. It looks like thread on the outside. I think it's the radiator overflow tank because it has a cap on it that says not to open if hot. (Like the one on the radiator).

I need to find the price of a replacement part but I don't even know what it's called. Does anyone know what part I am talking about?

Hi itsreen,

If I understand correctly, the hose you are talking about is the one going from overflow tank to the small reservoir in passenger side fender.
the pictures above show that hose (on left pic missing, on right in place).

it is just normal hose.

good luck