Is someone able to tell me what the part in the picture is and how to find it? I have been unable to identify the part or whether this is a part worth fixing. The part runs through the wall at the back of the engine.

By the way, it is a 1997 E320.

This is another view of the part that shows how it is damaged. As you can see, the rubber is split just before it goes through the body of the car.

That's a heater hose bulkhead fitting.

One end of this hose comes from the drivers side of the cylinder head, behind the oil filter housing. This goes to the plastic fitting that passes through the front fire wall then to a hose that leads to the heater core if it follows the convention of my 97 C 280 and 97 SL 320. This does not enter the passenger compartment as these cars have a first firewall that leads to the HVAC duct , master cylinder / wipers.

It sort of looks like a universal plastic fitting was installed and some black sealer used to prevent rub through or a broken fitting was glued back on.

in any event, the parts are not expensive to buy. Have a look at the sponsor of this site, Peach Parts. If they do not sell the parts, they are reasonably priced at a MB dealer.

Looks like air or vacuum with that type of fitting .Not liquid

Thanks for the responses. As stated, I have not been able to indentify the specific part. However, I do know that coolant leaks from the hole in the rubber shown in the picture. It is a REALLY bad leak.

Thanks for your help.

Does anyone know the difficulty of installing the part? I have been unable to find any instructions on the internet. So, I am left decidng whether I should take my car to the shop for repair or attempt a DIY.

Any assistance with instruction or level of difficulty would be greatly appreciated.

There are only a few mentions of some simple things here =>

Mercedes-Benz W210 Technical Articles – E300 E300TD E320 E420 E430 E55 - Pelican Parts

So that doesn't help.

There is this though on the old wikki =>

PeachPartsWiki: Replacing the A/C Evaporator Coil

Does that help?

I would expect this to be an expensive job to pay someone to do as I assume it is a dashboard out job. Lots of man hours involved.

I wouldn't expect it to be a difficult job to do just time consuming. A big chance you'll break something else which will also push the costs up.

__________________
1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

Before this gets further out of hand, someone please post a EPC pic of the driver side ( USA ) heater hose from the back of the head , to the bulkhead fitting and to the heater core. Also on this bulkhead fitting is a small hose that I think runs to the heated washer fluid bottle.

I just looked at my 97 E320 parts car ( in the dark and rain. ) This is not a dash out job as the part in question does not go into the passenger compartment. It is a bit tight for space and likely requires the plastic at the base of the windshield be removed.

Be sure to order a heater hose that goes from the cylinder head to bulk head fitting , bulk head fitting. The hose from bulk head to heater and the small hose that runs to the heated washer fluid likely can be off the roll straight hose.

In any event this isn't an expensive repair even if a competent shop does it. I'd peg it at 2 HR tops.