Today, I was just driving home from work, and all the sudden I saw a spray of what looked like water all over my winshield. I then saw the hot engine light go on, and the temperature meter slowly rise. Eventually, it red-lined when I got about home. The coolant hose blew off the connection post. I bought antifreeze and followed the instructions and refilled it with antifreeze and water, and i took it for a little drive and its still overheating..What could possibly be wrong?
I had this happen to my 300E once, it was a stuck thermostat. I replaced the thermostat and it cured it. Wouldn't hurt to replace yours, try to use an OE one from the dealer or a reputable internet vendor like **********.com (my favorite).<br> <br> <br> Good luck!<br> <br> -Dave M.
Dave, thanks for the reply. I'm not quite sure if its anything to do with the thermostat, because my dad opened up the hood after i took it for a little spin after re-attaching the hose, and it was still feeling very hot. Strange thing is, when the hose blew off, the 'hot engine' light came on, and the second time when i drove it around, it did not. But, it still was running very hot.<br> My dad thinks it could be the water pump...
The hose from the top of the radiator goes to the thermostat housing on top of the engine (86 300E). I just replaced the plastic housing with a metal one after it broke at the hose clamp. I replaced the thermostat at the same time. I think it broke from heat stress. Before this problem, I had started the car shortly after turning it off when it was hot and the temp guage hit red for a moment. The thermostat housing was broken shortly after that incident. A week later the hose coupling at the radiator was broken. Result: new radiator. Fortunately I was near my mechanic when all this happened but I still towed the car twice in a week on related problems. I think the couplings broke from a moment's heat stress. And, perhaps, from age. After all, the car is 16 years old! I recommend looking for leaks on those hoses every time you check the oil, which for me is about every 500 miles. btw: at 95 dollars per hour labor the thermostat job was about 175 and the radiator was around 450.
I can't do this stuff myself! And I'm not giving this car over to a driveway mechanic. Here's the bill: 1 sealing ring, 1 plug, 1 cover, 1 coolant, 1 thermostat, 1 oil (separate, but they checked at least): parts 48.78; labor 118.75 total US$171.55. I bring it in at nine am and have it back at 11:30am the same day. This service I will pay for. Too many of these knuckleheads drag you around for a few days. By the way, this is the SF Bay Area where a 2 bedroom stucco bungalow that needs foundation work (and this is not even termed a fixer-upper) goes for US$595,000. MBZ of Oakland gets US$110 p/hr. The guys I go to have the second cleanest shop I've seen in the bay area and they're 5 minutes down the hill from where I live. Here's the radiator (I looked through a repair manual on this and I can tell you it would take me a helluva lot longer than 2 hours to put it back together): 1 radiator 234, 1 coolant, 1 tophose (at my request), 2 clamps, parts = 258; labor 190 total $472. Again, in at 9, out at 11:30am.
Popwizz,<br> The 86 300E I asked about is in Fremont and I am in Castro Valley. Any suggestions on where to take her for a PPI?<br> <br> Thanks for the help,
I got my stuck thermostat changed and I told them to give it an oil change (Because it needed it anyway) at Zimbrick Mercedes (Madison, Wisconsin) for $73 bucks including labor. ...Runs great now! :)
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