symtoms glycol contamination

[Alpha]

Hi Guys,
I have been reading a lot on the glycol contamination issues for the w203/209/211 up to 9/2003 on this forum.
I myself have recently imported a w209 production date 03/2003 from Germany (I reside in NL) with about 40k mileage.
It drives very smooth and i dont seem to have any probs.

However whenever i feel vibration or any weird noise I immediately think about the glycol issue.
Could anyone give a clear description what the symptoms are from the contamination?

I hear people about a droning/humming noice, vibrations etc.
But how clearly noticeable are these symptoms? Are they hardly noticeable by a non-mechanic, or even clearly noticeable by anyone?

Thanks a lot,

 

[dog68]

I think your worrying needlessly, there is a test that can be done to rule it out, if driving smooth, don't worry, happy Xmas

 

[tagnut]

Hi Guys,
I have been reading a lot on the glycol contamination issues for the w203/209/211 up to 9/2003 on this forum.
I myself have recently imported a w209 production date 03/2003 from Germany (I reside in NL) with about 40k mileage.
It drives very smooth and i dont seem to have any probs.

However whenever i feel vibration or any weird noise I immediately think about the glycol issue.
Could anyone give a clear description what the symptoms are from the contamination?

I hear people about a droning/humming noice, vibrations etc.
But how clearly noticeable are these symptoms? Are they hardly noticeable by a non-mechanic, or even clearly noticeable by anyone?

Thanks a lot,

I haven't experienced the symptoms myself but because I was aware of the issue I recently took my car in for an ATF change and asked my indy to send a sample away to test for Glycol contamination.

In the end there was no need as you could see globules of coolant in the ATF (I saw them too when I picked the car up). I was planning to change the radiator at some point anyway as preventative maintenance but this meant I had to do it sooner than planned. I was lucky this was picked up before it had caused any issues. If you have the Valeo radiator in your car I would recommend that you swap this out regardless of whether it has failed yet or not. It may never fail but an awful lot have so it's worth doing in my view.

 

[Alpha]

yeah I was thinking in the new year to go to MB dealer and ask for a glycol test in 2011, that is when I have established I have a Valeo rad.

I am tham opting to keep the rad, but install a seperat tranny oil cooler, I heard some good stories about this in NL, and at the same time flush out the tranny.

Than I can be sure I will never have the risk of getting Glycol in the tranny.

But I guess that the symptoms are really noticeable and I do not need to worry yet that I am making more damage to my converter and gearbox in the meanwhile

 

[pdd]

Symptoms are a droning and vibration at about 1200-2000rpm on gentle to moderate throttle as the torque convertor tries to lock up. Rather like driving over a cattle grid.

Of course, once the car is doing this then at least the torque convertor has had it so is the long term result, rather than an early indication.

Only way to check for sure before that happens is test the ATF.

 

[philepo]

humming TC

Just reading some scary valeo stoies. I have a c270 (2004) and although I am sure it doesn't have a valeo rad the g/box does very very slightly hum between 1200-1300 rpm (a very short band of rpm). Is this something I should be conserved about? The ATF was changed a few weeks ago and I was not made aware of any untoward look about it.
cheers

 

[Auto-mobile]

It's more than a hum, it's a vibration through the whole car, plus if you have just had a ATF change it's even less likely to do it.

 

[philepo]

Thanks, i obviously just have bat-like hearing and some paranoia (and apologies for the terrible spellings above)