I created a list of items I wanted to address, with the first being the critical one.

• Occasional coolant leak after long drives
• Fix a transmission leak
• Windscreen washer not working
• Oil pressure gauge odd readings
• Slight noise from alternator
• Poor A/C performance
• Fit battery monitor

My 560SEL has 342,000km on the clock, but I use it quite a lot so it is in good mechanical shape.   Any older car can have an issue, but sorting that list out would give me confidence for the trip.  I also packed some spares with me, such as radiator hoses, fuses, the old alternator and the like.

Poor A/C Performance, Alternator & Transmission leak

I started with the A/C performance, largely because I hadn’t noticed the coolant leak at that time.   Late last year, the freon leaked out of the system, so it felt like a good opportunity to not only address that issue, but fit the same uprated condenser I have on my 560SEC.   I started this upgrade at roughly the same time as I upgraded the condenser on my 450SLC.

As with before, I got the kit from Klima Design works, and my mechanic fitted it for me.   There wasn’t any real issue fitting the kit, but the leak was found to me my compressor.   The compressor had been replaced by the previous owner about 10-12 years prior.   Based on the leaky compressor, we didn’t re-gas the system and I sourced a new compressor to be fitted on my next visit.

The transmission leak turned out to be the secondary transmission pump.   The seals were replaced, as well as the transmission cooler hoses.   At the time my mechanic noted it looked like the radiator had been leaking coolant.

I had heard some noise from the alternator, so had him replace it with a Bosch rebuilt unit.   After my experience last time, I figured the swap meant I would also have the old one as a spare before it failed.

A few months later I had the compressor changed and now had working A/C again.   It didn’t seem as cold as the 560SEC is, but it is a good improvement on what I had before.

Coolant Leak

I was only able to see the coolant leak after a long drive, and after that I would have a small puddle of coolant under the car.    The puddle was always under the middle of the car, but I could not see any evidence of leaks from the coolant hoses.

To try and narrow it down to see if it was the radiator or something else, I ran the car while up on the hoist.  I couldn’t get it to leak coolant and I checked carefully around the radiator and heater hoses.   I changed the oil pressure sender unit while the car was up in the air.

After leaving the car overnight, I had a small pool of coolant on the floor underneath where the starter was.  At least the oil pressure gauge was working correctly.

Since the leak was not conclusive, I took the car back to my mechanic so he could pressure test it.   Turns out the radiator would leak from the seams when under pressure.  I guess the coolant was running down the undershield, or being blown back onto the engine before leaking onto the ground.   A new Radiator fixed the problem.

Windscreen washer and battery monitor

Having a working windscreen washer is quite useful for country driving.  The first and most obvious test was that I had fluid in the tank, which I did.  I was also able to test the headlight washers, which did spray when the headlights were switched on.    The pumps from my parts car were really crusty.  I simply swapped the headlight and windcreen pumps over.  I now have a working windscreen washer at the expense of the headlight washer.   The headlight washer is really for snowy environments.

I also fitted a BM2 battery monitor, which I use for most of my cars.  Since Mercedes-Benz didn’t provide a voltage gauge, the battery monitor allows my phone to act as a voltage gauge.

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Firstly I decided to replace the coolant reservoir tank.  My current one is not leaking, but the plastic was quite discoloured and looked a bit white around the hose entry.  Genuine Mercedes coolant reservoirs are still quite inexpensive, and you never know how long that will continue.   Best to change it now.   I was already planning to replace the level sender as it never alerted me to my coolant leak.  It is a pretty simple job to move all the hardware over to the new tank.  Having a proper set of circlip pliers would have made changing the sender easier, but it wasn’t so bad with the a set of needle nose after the tank was out of the car.

The old one will be useful as a temporary spare if I ever have a problem in the other W126s.   I also replaced the coolant hose between the tank at the bottom of the radiator.  I ended up having to cut this hose removing the old radiator as it was so rusty.

It is easier to get the bottom radiator hose in place before installing the radiator.   I used a new hose here and new hose clamps.   I don’t know the age of the current one and hoses are not expensive and worth changing at the same time as the radiator.  The radiator slides in fairly easily, but the fan shroud must be in place first.

The clips that hold the radiator in place were a bit rusty so I purchased a new set.  I generally avoid Meyle parts unless there is no other alternative.   In my opinion they are poor quality.   I figured a simple clip would be fine, but I was proven wrong.   One of the clips snapped in two with just light pressure from my thumb.   The big challenge is that Meyle seem to be the only manufacturer of W126 transmission mounts that I can find.

The Nissens radiator that I have purchased does not have a drain plug like the IMI did.   I think the Behr radiators do, but I could not get one of those.   Other than that, installing a w126 radiator is the same regardless of brand.

The top hose is easy to install once the radiator is in place.  I also used a new one here.    While I was at it, I also replaced the clip that holds the small hose to the coolant reservoir tank against the front of the car near the headlight.

When I removed the radiator, the transmission cooler hoses were very crusty and I ended up cutting them.   They looked original and it was definitely worth replacing them.   The new hoses from Mercedes have metal spring protectors as they hang down quite low.

It is so much nicer installing new parts that screw together easily like those hoses than all the time it took to remove the rusty hoses and hose clamps.   Once these final hoses were installed it was now time to fill the coolant.  I used Penrite coolant, which is also to Mercedes spec.

At first all was well and I could see no coolant leaks.    However, after revving the engine a bit to get the water pump going and manually actuating the heater valve by sucking on the vacuum hose I started to get a bad leak from the heater hoses.   The puddle of coolant joined the puddle of transmission fluid under the car.   For some reason if I don’t use the SEC for about a month it dumps a big puddle of transmission fluid on the ground.   Its dry and then all of a sudden lake superior appears.   A problem to solve another time.

After removing and repositioning the hose clamp the leak seems to have stopped.  I have re-filled the reservoir and will check if it has gone down at all tomorrow.

If the car is now working properly without coolant leaks, the next step is to take it for a test drive to make sure everything working properly, and I am getting cold A/C.   As I have not yet installed the solenoid, the heater valve should remain shut and I should have no coolant flowing through the heater core.   Overall, installing a W126 radiator is pretty simple.   More simple than removing one that has been there for a while.

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Fist step is obviously draining the coolant, and there is a drain valve at the bottom of the radiator.     The coolant will drain must faster if the radiator cap is off.    I am really happy with how clean the coolant is, and how little residue there is in the cooling system.    A big contrast to my Citroen DS and the years it spent in South Australia.

At the top there are a couple of metal clips that are easily prized off.   Mine had gotten a bit rusty, so I will be replacing them.    There are clips that hold the radiator on, and that hold the fan shroud to the radiator.    The W126 radiator and fan shroud cannot be removed as a single unit.   The shroud must be pushed back a little so the radiator can be withdrawn and then the shroud removed separately.

There are six hoses that must be removed.   At the top there is the main hose to the motor and the small overflow hose.   They are removed in a matter of minutes with hose clamps.    As they are at the top and do not get moisture flicked up from the road they are generally in good condition.

The bottom is a different story.   There are two coolant hoses – the main hose to the engine and the smaller hose to the remote tank.   I found that my clamps had rusted in place.   For the main hose, I eventually got it free with some penetrating oil and using a socket on the hose clamp instead of a screwdriver.    In the end I had to cut the smaller hose.   I will be replacing the hoses, but was hoping to keep the current ones as spares.

The other two hoses are for the transmission oil cooler.   The end of my hoses looked really rusty and they were not wanting to move.   Given their age, I ordered some new ones and removed them at the other end which, thanks to oil leaks around the engine, were rust free.     As I was not going to keep the hoses, eventually I got the other end off after more persuasion.   Of course, removing the hoses at both ends means a big mess under the car as it is hard to catch all the oil drippage.   Cleaning up oil spills is a good use for Murdoch newspapers.

From there it was a simple matter of sliding the radiator out past the shroud.   The A/C condenser remains in place, so the freon does not need to be evacuated.      There is nothing obviously wrong with the old radiator, but the new one certainly looks much cleaner.

The radiator and shroud out of the way gives a little bit more room to replace the low pressure hydraulic hoses for the power steering and self leveling suspension.   They are both leaking and will be the subject of the next part in the series.

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I wanted to be able to use the car for D Day, an upcoming club event, so instead of spending months trying to do it myself, I took the car up to Jason Hantos.   He sent away my radiator and heater core to be looked and changed my water pump, radiator hoses and belts for me.   The old pump was in a bad way, and had been somewhat repaired at some point as well.

The new one looks much better, and more importantly does a much better job of cooling the car!  Having the radiator and heater core gone through doens’t hurt either.

My radiator was able to be flushed, but my heater core was too far gone, so I now have a renewed heater core.   My heater might actually work now – I have not yet tried it.   While Jason was in there, and the radiator and ducting was removed, the brake pads were also replaced as they were almost worn, and much easier to do while everything was out.  Driving home, the car stayed at a good temperature during stop and go traffic from Hornsby – so far so good.    Jason did mention my main pulley has been repaired in the past and is a bit noisy – but probably nothing needs to be done at this point.

This means I don’t need to carry all the water jugs when I use the car, and it will be ready for D Day on Sunday.

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My new thermostat is still on order (I ordered the 75c), so I took the car for a test drive (just using plain water) and it is better.    Instead of staying near the top of the normal range, the temperature gauge stayed at around 2/3, and when it did go high it was able to come down faster.   The radiator and top hose were also much cooler using the infrared thermometer.

Looking down into the radiator, the core seems more of a silt colour than bare metal, so I may consider another flush before I refill with distilled water & coolant.

the lesson from this is that using proper coolant with regular changes is important.   Rainwater will just end up with a lot of silt in the system.  The DS radiator is marginal in the hot Australian climate, so making sure that the system is clean is vital.

Update, 2019:  I have since added a supplementary electric fan like the Fuel Injected model.

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I was driving along Wakehurst Parkway from Mona Vale to Frenches Forest, and the temperature was sitting at the top part of the ‘white’ section of the temperature gauge.   However, on going up the final hill, it went into the red and the warning light and STOP! light went on.   Pulling over into the next side street, I waited for it to cool so I could add a bit more water and get the car home.  Only 28c today, so not overheating weather to say the last.

Given the overheating happened on the open road, cruising at 80km/h, my theory is that the radiator is partly blocked.   I may still need a new radiator, or at least a recore, but I figured it was worth trying a good flush of the current system.   I had heard of using diluted vinegar, so I figured it was worth a shot.   There is a bit of a downside, as disturbing the scale and deposits in the system can cause leaks etc, but at this point something needs to be done.

The system was pretty filthy.  The previous owner had been using rainwater as coolant, so there were plenty of deposits as can be seen below.    I have also ordered a new thermostat while I am at it.   Hopefully this fixes the problem and I won’t need a new radiator!

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