1994 E320 cooling problem

[demagod]

I was driving home today when the coolant level light lit up and when I got home steam was blowing out my grill, so I popped the bonnet and the thin pipe on the radiator had come off. I am going to top it up with coolant, but I bought the car 2 days ao and everything was running nice and this worries me. The mileage is high 212000 but is there anything I should be looking to replace that would cause this problem, or is it bossible the hose was loose for a few days and I didnt notice? Could the hose have blown off under pressure? the heat gauge doesnt show the car to be overheating in any way.... just the coolant meter today.

thanks,

Alex.

 

[television]

Hi Alex, the 320 is a good engine without many head issues.

Put the pipe on gain and top up and try it. Do not scold yourself but you could let the engine run, and remove the radiator cap before it gets too hot, and see if water blows out at say 2000 RPM from the filler cap

 

[mr rosher]

I was driving home today when the coolant level light lit up and when I got home steam was blowing out my grill, so I popped the bonnet and the thin pipe on the radiator had come off. I am going to top it up with coolant, but I bought the car 2 days ao and everything was running nice and this worries me. The mileage is high 212000 but is there anything I should be looking to replace that would cause this problem, or is it bossible the hose was loose for a few days and I didnt notice? Could the hose have blown off under pressure? the heat gauge doesnt show the car to be overheating in any way.... just the coolant meter today.

thanks,

Alex.

hi, alex you can try what malcolm said, but the same thing happened to me about 18 months ago and as you, i thought that pipe had just come off, so refitted it filled up and carried on, within minutes the temp went through the roof, called RAC and confirmed head gasket had gone, blowing the exhuast fumes back through the water chamber, if im right in thinking your engine and the set up is like my E280 1993, double over head cam 24v six cylinder, i hope im wrong as its not an easy repair,

rod

 

[demagod]

thanks for both reply's, The oil pressure is good, so I am hoping its not the gasket, but its kind of weird, The pressure is at 3 when I drive it but when I am sitting at lights it dips down to 2, but then back up to 3 when I drive again. I will check the oil cap to see if it has that mustard on it.

 

[wireman]

Unfortunatly mustard (AKA mayonase or oil+water I presume) is not the only indicator of duff head gaskets, the gasket keeps lubricating oil, cooling "water" and cylinder gasses seperated any pair of which can become joined (if only slightly) by gasket failiure, it may be that yours has a gas to water leak and this has overpressurised your cooling system leading to the probably already tired hose to blow off.

I would fit a new radiator cap as a mater of good practice, regardless of the apparent condition of the old one, it probably wont be the cure you seek but it wont cost much.
I have known the caps rubber seal to go goey and stick to (or jam in) the seat of the filler neck cause colling system over pressurisation.

You may be able to find a garage with a suitable test set to determine if the head is blowing gas into the water, do the check for gas bubbles when the engine is both hot and cold. If the engine gets up to operating temperature very rapidly its almost certain that there is a gas to water leak.
Gas to water leaks also can some times (if left long enough) cause the antifreeze component of the coolant to seperate into sludge and turn the coolant a rusty brown shade. The brown sludge is not rust, it was the antifreeze.

The oil pressure is OK, it should always be at 3 when the engine speed gets much over 1500 RPM, on a realy hot day after a good M6 thrash mine falls to about 1.5 at tick over and needs to turn at 900 to get 3 Bar of oil pressure (a Bar is about 1 atmosphere or 15Psi).

 

[Bolide]

Are we talking about the pipe from the top RHS of the rad, from the plastic 90-degree connector? These an and do blow out and can be replaced with a new part from your MB dealer

As to why it blew out... old age or a blown CHG, in my opinion. 2 days after you bought it and 212k? Not that encouraging, I'm afraid, but let us know how you get on

If it blows water out of the filler cap when you rev it, as Television suggests, then I'd take it straight back to whoever you bought it from and have a word

Nick Froome
www.w124.co.uk

 

[demagod]

A lot for me to check, but I will do it tomorrow. I drove it 100 miles or so today and no problems at all, and I kept checking it. It does heat up quite quick, but I dont know how long it normally takes for these cars to heat up. I will get a new cap and check the oil cap tomorrow to see if there is any sludge on it. I tried to get the oil cap off today but it was pretty stuck on. It was just a quick try though...

Thanks for all the suggestions...

A.