Mystery Rad has been solved !

[S.Speed]

Hi All,
I have finally managed to find out what the Mystery Radiator on my C270 CDI is for.
A very, very big thank you to Ian B Walker off this forum for giving such invaluable help to me with this.
I went to his place of works today and had a long and very interesting chat with him over a cup of coffee.
Ian Restores / repairs Older mercs (and newer ones)..
Back to the subject of the mystery Rad..
He had a Partially dismantled C270 CDI in his workshop and so he could actually show me where the pipes and stuff went from the secondary Rad..
It is basically a Fuel Cooler / heater..
The pipes contain Engine coolant which goes via the pipes you can see to a sort of heat exchanger that cools or heats the fuel (depending on the climate the car is in.

I then asked him about the dreaded V A L E O question..

I am very chuffed to learn that my car does NOT have a radiator that is shared with the transmission fluid..
My car has a Radiator that is Engine coolant and nothing else..
Again Ian demonstrated this on the partially dismantled one he is working on..
I cant thank him enough for the time and patience he showed to my 101 questions.
His enthusiasm and knowledge are quite something to behold.

A very, very big thank you Ian..

My best regards,

 

[Rory]

Thanks - I too thought it had some connection with the fuel/induction system.

But, if the main radiator doesn't cool the ATF - where is the ATF cooler???

 

[Ian B Walker]

The atf cooler is integrated with the engine oil cooler situated behind the oil filter. Its the aluminium finned block.

 

[S.Speed]

Nice one Ian..
Thanks for your input..
I doubt I could have explained it as well as you have done.

 

[NJones59]

So, excuse my ignorance, but are all C270CDIs clear of the Valeo problem or should I still be having sleepless nights

 

[S.Speed]

NJones59..
I personally cannot say but I strongly suggest you PM Ian B Walker and ask this question..
I am reasonably certain he told me its not a "C" Class problem..
But please dont hold me to that..

 

[television]

It is unwise to say that the C is not affected, MB say that some are affected.

There is a CLK here, and if you car to do a search on all forums you will uncover at least 200 C class cars that have been affected

http://forums.mercedesclub.org.uk/showthread.php?t=18792&highlight=valeo