Radiator life

[Charles Morgan]

Just as a matter of interest, the relatively hot running of my 1990 190 2.5 (compared to my 2.0 190E) leads me to wonder at what age you would think about replacing or re-coring the radiator (for the price of the parts, I suspect a new one is in order)?

23 years and 140,000 miles strikes me as a decent life.

 

[johnsco]

23 years and 140,000 miles strikes me as a decent life.

It seems a very good life compared with my experiences.
I've gone thru a whole load of rads in my time ... Most of them with less service than that.

My previous E300TD had two replacement rads before its write-off crash at 150,000 miles.
Present E300TD is doing very well ... 197,000 miles (January 1999 car) ... on what looks like the original rad.
I bought it with 126,000 miles on it.

The E430 has 145,000 miles, but looks like it has a replacement rad.

When I ran the 1974 Chevy, that car went thru two replacement rads while I owned it between 70,000 and 200,000 miles.

 

[John Jones Jr]

It's not the age or the mileage on the radiator that should be of concern as such, it's the condition of the engine coolant over that period of time/mileage. No harm in changing the rad if you are concerned about the cooling system but why stop here? May as well do the thermostat (fit the metal cover, if the plastic one's still in place), all the hoses, heater matrix (they tend to leak more than rad's) and also the water pump too, throw in a new rad cap while your at it. Don't forget the fan clutch either & temp switch.

When it comes to hot running I'd be more concerned that the oil cooler thermostat is operating.

Before you do anything, check out what the correct spec is for engine temp, every 2.5-16 I've come across seem to run very hot, but in actual fact are running perfectly normal.

What I would do is, back flush the rad, block and importantly the heater matrix and do the thermostat modification (metal cover) if required.

 

[kth286]

Achieved 185,000 (ish) on my first change of rad on my 124.

 

[wemorgan]

My 25yr 100,000 mile MX5 radiator was original. Temps were all normal, but many of the fins were bent. With the track use the car got and with stories of the plastic end caps leaking I bought a new all aluminium one for ~£100. It felt like a sensible precaution and certainly cheaper than a head-gasket repair.

 

[Charles Morgan]

Inspection today reveals the rad is past it, and the thermo switch for the auxiliary fan is u/s. So both will be done and that should stop the cooling issues.

 

[Sp!ke]

Does yours look as bad as mine did?

http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/general-discussion/61510-did-few-jobs-car-morning.html

 

[Charles Morgan]

We could see the coolant seepage, but the rad is not yet out. I'll get a photo.

 

[grober]

As above internally almost totally dependant on the condition of the coolant anti-corrosion inhibitors over the years. Externally they are very much in the firing line for road muck/debris and that inevitably takes its toll. The "biggie" to be wary of is the built in heat exchanger for the automatic transmission which is effectively hidden from view. To my mind this makes the routine replacement of radiators with this set up say after 10 years common sense if there is any doubt about the coolant history of the car.

 

[John Jones Jr]

We could see the coolant seepage, but the rad is not yet out. I'll get a photo.

Oh, it's actually leaking, didn't realise that from your first post. Time for a rad so. Check out Nissens, I've heard good reports. But, do back flush the heater matrix. If the matrix goes & they do, it's complete dash out time.