Thanks. I did get new clamps from Advance auto parts as recommended, but I only removed the one on the side that was leaking. The hose is so short, I was not able to get another clamp on the end of the hose, so I had to remove that one.

It seems to have stopped... I will know more next time I drive it, but I am having rear brakes issues now, so not sure when I can drive it again. :(

The hose did seem to move up in the middle with the new clamp on... hopefully it wont burst.

If you do a search...
 

you will find that I did replace the hose without removing the water pump. It is NOT going to be easy but, it is possible. Keep in mind, as mentioned before, once you remove/cut the hose, you are committed to finish the job and yes, get the MB hose.
You decide. Either way, good luck!

Thanks for that tip! Well, its good to know that if this new clamp dont stop the leak, that I can replace it without removing the pump! :)
Yeah, the MB hose looks much thinner, but this hose is so old, it was very stiff. I would definitely have to cut it off... probably with a chain saw! :D

Thanks again

Mine started leaking this morning. After researching all the posts on replacement I was really dreading it.

Picked up a new hose from the Mercedes dealer this afternoon.

Old one was too far gone to try the tighten method.

After cutting it off I cleaned and soaked everything in PB blaster, including the new hose.

After wiping everything down I proceeded to fit the new one in the very small gap. I am sure this one had not been cut as there was just enough room to wedge it in.

Well, I have to say this was one of the easiest repairs I have ever done. Total time was approx. 5 mins. I did not have to stress the hose at all. Just some twisting and turning with a large pair of channel locks and it was in place. Added two new clamps ,test drove, and all is well again.

I found the OEM hose to be very flexible. Perhaps they have started making them thinner, I don't know.

I would advise anyone attempting this replacement to give this method a shot before tearing into removal of everything.


If it does fail in the near future I will be sure to post it here. I did buy two hoses just in case.

Good move! I'm hoping right along with you that it does the job. I've always thought that it should not have been designed so that replacing that short hose would require removing the water pump, but I've always been told that it does, including the FSM.

6 year later update... LOL. :)

I thought I would post an update, almost 6 years from when I originally posted this. ;)

We just replaced the hose today. Tightening those clamps (as suggested 6 years ago) stopped the leak for awhile, but there are times it would seep a little. There was a knot on the hose that got bigger and bigger. As some asked 6 years ago, why replace the hose... well as you can see it is very old and rotted. I am surprised it lasted 6 more years, but today I thought we would go ahead and change it before it popped. I had forgot about this thread and we chopped up the old hose getting it off and seen the small gap and wondered what we had done because we seen how close the pipes were. Did some searching and found this thread and thankfully were able to just cut the pipe and got the hose on... all is well now. So yes, these can be replaced without removing the water pump.

Thanks for the info 6 years ago! :)

This is the same car... same hose from 6 years ago that you see on the car in my original pic.

IMG]http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e172/Tennesseestorm/1988%20Mercedes%20300SEL%20W126/2015-01-11152552_zps3034a52d.jpg[/IMG]

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e1...ps7c7fce81.jpg

Old hose was shot!!

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e1...psab1fb72e.jpg

New hose (that I purchased here on Peachparts) was a thicker hose, unless the old one had shrunk down.

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e1...ps4c58b08c.jpg

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e1...psb6c8b01a.jpg

86560SEL, couldn't help noticing the URO wrapper in the last picture. In case you are unaware the consensus is that URO parts are poor quality ... best to buy OEM parts or genuine MB parts.

Thanks.

Yeah, I was reading that on another thread. It is a shame that this website sell them, as I bought it from Peach Parts / Pelican parts. I thought it would be a quality hose. I guess everything this website sells isn't high quality. :(

Well we were able to easily get it on, so a new hose would be easy to put back on since we cut away part of the pipe, opening the gap just so slightly.

I was just concerned that the original hose was going to pop. The other coolant hoses seem to be original (1988 stamped on them and has the Mercedes 3-star symbol), but still feel fine... I guess MB had some dang good hoses.

Thanks for the info.

My brother's 1980 300SD had some original fuel hoses on it that I replaced last year with high quality Gates fuel hose. The OEM stuff was still in good shape but I replaced it anyway figuring the Gates hose would still be safer.

I replaced the original brake lines in my 87 190D with 315K miles on it last year and they had some cracking on the outside but that was purely cosmetic damage, I cut one of them apart and the rubber and copper braided lining (which is probably just as good as stainless steel lines) looked new besides just the top of the outer layer. I think my brother's 300SD may still have the original brake hoses but I haven't checked.