I don't remember there being anything holding the radiator after you remove the hood support bracket. It just comes straight out after you remove the 4 bolts holding condenser to the radiator.

Also the bolts holding the PS cooling line (if equipped) and ABC cooling line (if equipped).

 

Four bolts...? I found only two at the top, plus the two for the PS cooling line. There are two others that I missed?

 

Depends on the car. My W210 has 4, to secure the condenser. W220 may have three or two, depending on configuration.

Is the condenser freely moving separately?

 

No, not quite, but it will be by this evening if I have anything to say about it. It's got to come out anyway now. That means the radiator will be coming with it.

 

I always remove the whole lot as "Radiator Pack", then build in the new Coolant Rad on the bench and re install as a pack, it is very often cheaper / quicker in the long run

To be fair, on cars this age fitting a new Condenser is no bad idea anyways. I have used many a Nissens btw, never had an issue, yeah yeah I get the Chinesium bit, but isn't everything these days
Nissens seem to be better quality control than most of the Hop Sing Lotus Flower tat

 

Well, that's good to hear about the Nissens condensers, and I've used other parts from them before with success, but still, they should've avoided Red Freakin' China. Taiwan, Thailand, Japan, or South Korea, I could've dealt with (Thailand makes some good stuff), but Red China...that's a tougher pill to swallow if there are other options, and in this case, there are.

From what I understand, the Genuine-MB one is a Behr unit, and Behr condensers are made in France. The Rein dryer is German-made. So, not everything's Hop Sing Lotus Flower just yet. If they wanted the factory in Asia, they should've gone to Japan. The only ones who can match the Japanese for quality are the Swiss, and the Japanese do it large-scale.

I do know that Nissens makes some of their radiators in Slovakia and some other parts in Switzerland. Their radiator fan for the early pre-facelift W220's (the one that uses the belt-drive) is made in Taiwan and one of those is on the wife's 2000 S500. Those items, I will continue to buy.

 

Yes, the A/C condenser now has a hole in it. Damn it....

So, now a new condenser (Genuine MB) and new A/C dryer (Rein, made in Deutschland) are on the way as of tonight. Do you all know that A/C condensers are not cheap? Well, THEY AREN'T! That sonofa-you-know-what cost me $415, and that's the discounted price! I know I could've gotten a Chinesium one for a lot less (Nissens A/C condensers, I learned, are made in China), but you all know how I feel about Chinesium going onto Da Benz. It just ain't gonna happen.

I see I am not the only one that feels this way.👍

 

As I've been detailing in another thread, I've been working on the 2003 S430's slight "ticking" sound from what sounds like Cylinder #8. Dropped the lower oil pan, made sure the oil pickup/strainer was clean (both pan and strainer were, as it happens--this is a good thing!), and bolted it back together. Problem: the job quickly became rather larger.

First, removing the radiator fan. The two bolts that hold the radiator fan to the radiator rusted up, and so when I went to remove them, the 10mm heads snapped right off. Attempting to get those out resulted in breaking the radiator.

OK, I got a new radiator. I've done these before, right? Should be a piece o' cake, right?

FAMOUS LAST WORDS!!

Removed the two bolts at the top front that hold the air conditioning condenser to the radiator. On the car's bottom right hand side, it tilted loose just fine. Not so on the car's bottom left side. Something's latched or caught on there somehow, even though I don't see a screw. Thinking it might be as simple as gently moving the two apart with a screwdriver, I attempted this, from the bottom.

PSSSSSHHHHH!!!!!

Yes, the A/C condenser now has a hole in it. Damn it....

So, now a new condenser (Genuine MB) and new A/C dryer (Rein, made in Deutschland) are on the way as of tonight. Do you all know that A/C condensers are not cheap? Well, THEY AREN'T! That sonofa-you-know-what cost me $415, and that's the discounted price! I know I could've gotten a Chinesium one for a lot less (Nissens A/C condensers, I learned, are made in China), but you all know how I feel about Chinesium going onto Da Benz. It just ain't gonna happen. Why not get the Behr one? Because that one was $514! So, $415 for Genuine-MB it was, courtesy of eEuroParts.com. Ouch.

Geez...and I thought I was gonna have this done tonight...now I've gotta vacuum the A/C along with it.

This job just keeps getting bigger and bigger. It's a good thing for this car that I'm as meticulous as I am with keeping it in top running condition, because some other people would've given up. I guess that's when you know you're a car guy, though, eh?

And I STILL need to figure out how to get the doggone radiator out! Clearly, there's something different on the post-facelift cars that way vs. the pre-facelift ones, 'cause when I did the wife's car and Dad's car (both 2000 models), those went relatively smoothly.

Apart from those minor details, is everything ok with the car..? 🤪

 

Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the theatre?

Actually, the car really is in very good shape, apart from what I'm working on and what I myself have caused. Generally, this thing's been Honda-reliable and is an example of what a W220 can be when properly maintained. Once I get these two things ship-shape, then I'm going to do the fuel injectors and the Engine Cleaner. And when that's done...the car should mechanically be really close to being like brand-new, and pretty close to it cosmetically as well.

 

OK, got the radiator and the condenser out. Turns out that yes, there was one more 10mm bolt. On the car's left side of the radiator, at the bottom, there's a bolt holding the A/C pipes--more specifically, a stainless steel bracket that itself holds the A/C pipes--to the radiator. That bolt needs to be removed. Then things come loose. Since I was also removing the condenser, then you've also got to loosen up the 10mm nut holding the pipes together. That nut is on a stud. Comes off relatively easily, then you can work the pipes apart.

So, now the radiator and the condenser are out. A little progress. I'm guessing that the new condenser and dryer should be here by either Wednesday or Thursday.

 

The engine cleaner isn’t going to fix your low oil pressure

Sorry to hear this ticking and low oil pressure issue has ballooned into such a huge project , there was an extremely simple fix of just using Lucas (and 10,000 Amazon reviews that back me up ) but I’m going to bow out of giving suggestions as you decided not to take mine , which was the simplest solution and would have eliminated all this work for $10

 

Lucas is band aid fix. Ticking means there is a physical problem, as evidenced by other 113 engines that dont make noise.

Sure, minor annoyance and can be ignored, but why?

 

I get you, Dave. If you say Nissens Chinese parts have been good in your experience...then I will consider them in the future. That might be one of the few exceptions that's actually decent.

My default for Chinesium remains, "no", generally.

 

For the most part, as long as it's a static, not moving part that's composed of a single material, even the Chinese can't screw thar up....too much, anyway.

Cars have been using the same radiator and condenser design for more than 70 years, so if they screw up that they don't deserve to be in business.

I still don't trust them with sensors, plastic molded parts or complex design parts though...

 

I still don't trust them with sensors, plastic molded parts or complex design parts though...

Ditto

Couldn't agree more

 

Well, turns out that eEuroParts.com emailed me today to inform me that they actually do not have the Genuine-MB A/C condenser after all. They must've sold their last one previously, and since they're no longer available from MB...they offered me the Nissens part, with refund for the price difference. I said sure. So, it appears that Chinesium is going on Da Benz after all, this time....

On a somewhat related tangent, I'm about to replace the A/C compressor on our just-recently-acquired 2006 S350 with the 3.7L M112 engine. The compressor died, and the seller told me about it before, up-front. Got a new compressor directly from Denso on the way...along with a Nissens condenser, per Dave's advice, and a new drier. So, we'll give the Nissens Chinesium a shot on that car as well.

 

So, we'll give the Nissens Chinesium a shot on that car as well.

The only issue I ever had with a Nissens was one (a coolant radiator) that arrived damaged, a small stub on plastic tank was broken, and another was sent out pronto by the supplier, so just check it very carefully especially if the box has a slight ding upon arrival

I'm sure ya wont be disappointed

 

OK, everything's back together, and the engine has fresh oil and a new filter. Coolant is back in. Still need to evacuate and refill the A/C system, but at least the car's driveable again. I used the Nissens condenser, and yes, it does fit. Needed to bend the A/C pipes on the condenser a little bit for perfect fit, but that part wasn't difficult.

NOTE: for the S600, Mahle makes the radiator in Germany. Therefore, I figured, Mahle's the OEM now, so I'll order that.

Well, guess what? The Mahle/Behr radiator for the S430/S500's is CHINESIUM! Yes, true. Here's the proof (thumbnail is clickable). Both the Mahle and Behr names are clearly vislble, as is "Made In China".

Real shame, Mahle, running over to Red China. Didn't discover that until I got the part. But now we know.

Anyway, will update the original thread with the continuing progress on the engine tick.

Thanks to everyone for the tips on this.

 

Real shame, Mahle, running over to Red China. Didn't discover that until I got the part. But now we know.

Makes the Nissens parts all the more appealing, but, they could well both be coming outta the same factory 🤣

 

Some questions just occurred to me...

Auto AC oil circulates with the refrigerant. The W220 AC compressor is not clutched, so you can't keep it from running with the engine. Will enough oil stay in the compressor to make it live? Or, does the oil not move, since there is no refrigerant circulating? Does the HVAC controller leave the compressor swash-plate at neutral when it sees no refrigerant?

Lots of questions...

 

Oooh...hadn't thought of that. I'd better drive one of the other cars until I can get this A/C evacuated and filled up. Some oil did come out when I poked that hole in the original condenser. Not all, I believe, but some.

I got both oil and R134a, and the evac/refill will be happening probably Monday evening after work.

 

OK, the A/C evacuation started during lunch hour (I'm working from home today) and went a couple of hours. Shut off the pump and waited another couple of hours to see if the vacuum would hold. It did, as shown by the gauge, staying rock solid at very close to -30 inches Hg for the entire time. Good deal.

Added a bit of oil that got lost last week when I popped that hole in the condenser. Next, added some R134A to about 40 PSI per the gauge, started the car, hit the A/C on max, and finished filling it up. It was very nice seeing "AUTO MAXCOOL" show up again on the display. A/C feels nice 'n' cold, just like it should.

Engine temperature doesn't go past 95 Celsius max when idling. When driving on the highway, it stays just above 80 Celsius. This is as it should be.

This bit of maintenance was an adventure, for sure. But I always learn something during episodes like this.

Oh, BTW, yes, I did replace the rubber O-rings for the A/C hose connections that I had taken apart. Everything I've read said that doing so was a good idea.