the gasket was going anyway. so now i gotta go to a shop and get an estimate on how much itll cost me, i hope what ruudje said is the price that they give me, well if they mess it up, ill be back there telling them to fix it!
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Oh how did I do it, I got right in, it was like liquid fluid.
Vehicle: Mercedes 190E 1.8 litres 30,000 miles - knackered differential.
Location: Manchester, England
Posts: 188
There is a saying which goes something like this:
'If you want a job doing properly then do it yourself'.
'Nuff said ?
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Kepla
1993 190E - 31130 miles - knackered differential.
1.8 litres of blazing German horsepower !
Who says oil and water don't mix ? Mine do !
Vehicle: Mercedes 190E 1.8 litres 30,000 miles - knackered differential.
Location: Manchester, England
Posts: 188
If you're not too sure about doing a job yourself you can always get an experienced friend to help you, invest in a workshop manual, and even ask for help on internet forums !
With most garages, and even some 'stealerships', time is money - so it is in their interest to do the job as quickly as possible rather than as well as possible. You hear stories of these places making all sorts of mistakes, and often the problem isn't discovered untill it is costing the poor owner even more money. I've even heard of one place using the wrong sort of coolant !
I was told that you shouldnt put the green coolant ( of any brand) into MB's they told me that it eats awway at the headgaskets, thats why its recommended to use MB coolant, which is clearish
So, besides the MB coolant, what other choices do we have? It seems like the standard green (like Prestone) is not the right one.
So, besides the MB coolant, what other choices do we have? It seems like the standard green (like Prestone) is not the right one.
I've been driving and buying cars since 1966 and have only replaced the head gasket on 2 cars, a 1960 Chevy Biscayne 235 6 cyl., and a 1975 Audi 100LS 4 cyl.
Not sure why the Chevy head gasket went out, but no big deal...just remove the head and install new head gasket. The Audi on the other hand, overheated and blew the head gasket...again, no big deal, just remove the head and install new head gasket.
My point is, I've been using good quality Prestone in my cars for a long time and never heard of it eating head gaskets. I have it in my '93 190 2.3; I bought the car new and replaced the water pump about 10 years ago.
I could be wrong, but I'm going to research this further when I return from Portugal and the Caribbean. Maybe I'll buy a Mercedes head gasket and soak it in Prestone coolant and see what happens.
Okay, back to packing for my trip!
Dave
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If it ain't broke, BREAK IT.....and make it better.
well either the mechanic was BSin me or he doesnt know what hes talking about.
I went out and got about 4 gallons of MB coolant so it wouldnt cost me more money to pay the guy.
So ive had my coolant flushed and they put the wrong one in, i called them up and the boss was so pissed that they messed up on it. A MB mechanic told me that the green coolant eats away at headgaskets. So today im driving and my coolant light comes on. I get angry because i know what the problem is. I need to get my head gasket changed but dont know what a good price is. Anyone ever have theres changed? how much did you pay?
Oh Crap - I also have green coolant!! How bad is it?
you should not go over US 300 incl labor at an indie workshop. The gasket itself is pretty cheap, the labor costs are the main chunk of your expenses.
So i started to check out prices and to see how much it would cost me to get this fixed, one place was chargin me 850 for it and i said have a nice day and hung up, dam things r expensive, tomorrow im going back to get the car checked from where i bought it, hopefully it isnt the gasket thats going. any other ways you could lose coolant?? i dont have any drips or anyhitng so im guessing its the gasket..
Vehicle: Mercedes 190E 1.8 litres 30,000 miles - knackered differential.
Location: Manchester, England
Posts: 188
If you are not too sure whether or not your head gasket has gone then there are a few simple things you can check before you start pull the motor to pieces.
If it ain't broke then don't fix it ! So make sure it is broke first.
Head gaskets can fail and start leaking in a number of ways. You have oil channels, water channels and cylinders under compression and gas or fluid can move from one to the other.
Probably the first thing to do is a compression test. If one cylinder is well down on compression relative to the others then it is a sign that there might be a head gasket leak. If the coolant is being lost but the temperature is not going sky-high then this might be due to cylinder pressure getting into the coolant. If there are signs of oil and water mixing then this is another sign of a likely head gasket leak. This can show up either as 'mayonnaise' inside the oil filler cap (water mixing into the oil) or as visible oil floating around on top of the coolant (oil mixing into the coolant).
Head gaskets don't need replacing as a matter of course unless you have a leak or the head needs removing anyway, so carefully check to make sure there really is a problem to be fixed. If it has been leaking and does need replacing then examine the mating surface of the cylinder head carefully to make sure it doesn't need skimming - or the new one will soon be leaking too.
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