radiator - replace or re-core
As I have mentioned elsewhere, my 1991 300 GES tends to overheat if sat still for a while, or if working really hard ( 75mph on the A1 into a headwind :roll: ) .
As soon as I get decent airflow through the radiator the temp levels out again. I can keep the car at the correct temp pretty easilly by 'driving' around the problem.
When I have 'felt' my radiator only the right hand side is hot to the touch, the lefthand side is really cold ( this is more than 1/2 the radiator , maybe even 2/3rds is cold).
So what would be best , a re-core or a new radiator?
My garage has recommended initially running a chemical through that disolves any blockages ( only costs £10) to see if that works.
Any advice?
Try all the chemical and garden hose techniques first and when they don't work go for a re-core (spent ages thinking I had done some good and maybe opened up a few more % of the rad only to overheat as soon as the going gets tough in the summer)
As usual I stand to be corrected but I believe that the aluminium radiator of the W463 cannot be recored.
Only a new replacement will definitely cure the problem.
Thankfully Behr has now been purchased by Hella (I believe) and it is now possible to source the original radiator cheaper than by MB.
i have had ali cored/plastic tanked rads recored before without any problems including for a 560sel, which is definitely a hot running engine.
the bit that gets crimped is the ali core, they just reuse the original header tanks with it then pressure test it.
I've got the same vintage G as yours hot66, after recoring the rad, the guy that did it told me he wasn't too happy with the result, and if it leaked, he would take what I paid for the recore towards the price of a new one. His contact only found one in stock anyway.
Fortunately it did not leak at all and goes strong to this day.
The new core was sourced from somewhere up north.
Reason he was not too happy with the repair was that the people that do the recore normally send out new seals (for the header tanks) but this one came without, as it was a custom core, so he had to reuse the old ones, but fortunately that original rad was only maybe 3 years old anyway so the seals were not too bad.
After that, playing it safe, I flushed the system and filled it with KFM Typ30 coolant, as recommended by MB for "aluminium corrosion in cooling circuit".
If you like your peace of mind do not re-core. Renew.
Always use correct cooling fluid if you wish to avoid electrolytic corrosion.
You're lucky, i found the bill quickly! It was ~217 for the recore (should take only 3 days return) and around 400 for the new one, that's the best price my local rad specialist could do.
I found this place in germany that does them (new) and after some correspondence, got a quotation from them to the uk, i think it was around €525, if you're interested I can dig it up as well?
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just as a guide, how much did a re-core cost? comapred to the price of a new rad ?