ND2020

Before I place an order for the pump....can I get a second opinion? Not discrediting you contact, I very much appreciate the help, just want to make sure replacing the pump is the only means of fixing this. I think I'm going to hold off on getting a new pulley and just using the one I have for now. Seems odd to have to replace an entire water pump for a pulley issue

Pcy, did you end up replacing yours? Did you do it yourself it did you take it somewhere to have it done?

jcmajewski

completely randomly, i decided to take my mom's '04 c320 out to pick up some milk. heard an odd noise, parked the car, popped the hood, and the water pump pulley was shaking like crazy.

Looks like one of the bearings is shot. Only 75k miles too, otherwise the car is flawless. I found a new water pump on genuinemercedespartsl.com for $420 and am planning to swap it out along with new seals next weekend.

Does anybody have any suggestions or diy PDF's that could make my life easier? Do I need to remove the radiator fan, or will the water pump have enough clearance?

BTW - thanks for all the great info in the previous posts. I'm a little annoyed that I can't just throw new bearings in, because the WP doesn't have any leaks, and $500 for an otherwise working part is a bit steep. Also, would you recommend I swap out the alternator while I'm in there? Can I toss new brushes on a MB alternator, or do I need to buy a the whole assembly?

Thanks ahead of time for any tips you can give me!!

samaritrey

That price is way to much go to Rmeuropean and get a laso or graf pump for like $140

jcmajewski

I've had good luck buying OEM parts from them.. pads, rotors, random things that break here and there. Is an aftermarket water pump just as good quality?

ND2020

John was kind enough to post the WIS documents found here:

https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...documents.html

I ended up using the Graf water pump from rmeuropean. It was changed last fall and so far so good, but obviously I can't comment on longevity.

I did not remove the fan and had plenty of room to change out the pump. I also have an '04 and it all went pretty smoothly. The only time consuming part was flushing out all of the old coolant.

jcmajewski

Awesome, thanks for the tips. Looks like I'll be ordering the Graf.

samaritrey

Just to verify it is the water pump pulley and not the idler pulley at the top right?

ND2020

It does not come with the pulley, but it is likely that there isn't anything wrong it. It's more or less just a cap so to speak that connects to the pump. What causes that pulley to wobble is the bearing gone bad, which resides on the pump. It 's just attached to the pump with the three or four screws on the face of the pulley. Hopefully that makes sense. I contemplated replacing it as a safety precaution, but ended up just reusing my old one.

C230 Sport Coup

$420 for a water pump? Sure it wasn't for a Ferrari?
Bought mine at the local indy MB guy back then for like 175.
It was Mercedes but he wanted the core.
Apparently even mercedes rebuilds them.

jcmajewski

haha.. I've made the mistake of buying aftermarket rotors and pads and had to drive on the NOISIEST brakes until it came time to swap them again. Granted, they were performance pads, whatever that means, but the grinding noise was terrible. Maybe if I had gotten them up to track temperatures the pads would have sounded less like i was dragging cinder blocks on pavement.

So it's worth my money to buy OEM pads and rotors, but for everything else, I took the forum's suggestions and went with the GRAF. $88 shipped, can't beat that!

C230 Sport Coup

Hmmm.... $96.26 for my car. What kind of number is that? Ha.
Well, last time I checked it was like $275, so good to know.
I should get one keep it around so I don't stuck waiting if and when it goes or paying out the nose in desperation.
185K on the original pump! She can't take much more of this cap'n!!

Whats up with the rm site? man you wait and wait...

Aftermarket pads and rotors?
Ha, I've had good luck with Akebono.
Not so sure about the expensive slotted and dimpled EBC rotors on the back.
Wouldn't buy them again.
I run stock C32 rotors on the front, with Akebono pads.
I've been running the same set of pads of 100K miles!!!

Have another set ready to install....but they still aren't worn out!

jcmajewski

Finished the water pump swap. I ended up using a Graf part, which looked IDENTICAL to the pump I pulled off the engine. I would be surprised if they used different molds because every mold injection point was the same, every burr and imperfection were identical between the Graf and the old pump.

While I was waiting for the Graf pump to arrive in the mail, I flushed the radiator with tap water using a garden hose. Then after the new pump was installed, I flushed the entire system with distilled water a few times. I couldn't get the engine warm enough just idling for the cabin heat to kick on, so I drove it a few times with just distilled water to purge the heater core from the old coolant. There were a few shavings in the system from where the old impeller was rubbing away the aluminum water pump's housing. So after a few flushings with just distilled water, I added about 5L of coolant.

No leaks. The engine runs beautifully. Total cost was under $200: $90 for the new water pump, about $60 for 2 gallons of coolant from the MB shop (none of the local auto parts stores stocked generic spec coolant), couple dollars for a hose clamp I snapped, and the unrelated cost of buying K&N filter recharging oil.

My only recommendations would be:

1) Either google for or take a photo of the serpantine belt, and then take it off completely because it is too annoying to work with floating around in the engine.

2) For the c320 I didn't need to take the radiator fan off - there was enough room to slide the water pump out, but in another thread someone mentions needing to buy special tools and removing the fan.

3) Make a printout of the water pump, ideally an engineering schematic. Then, after every screw you take out, label the screw head with a sharpie (1, 2, 3...) and label the hole it came out of on the printout. I didn't do this, and figuring out which screw went where was a pain in the a--. For the #10 torx, there were 2 short screws, 6 slightly longer screws.. not too bad. But for the #12 torx, there were 6 screws with 5 different lengths.

4) Total time could have been under 4 hours for a first time "i don't' know what i'm doing" swap. I took a little longer because, well, drinking a couple beers and making sure everything is perfectly adjusted and lubed is just sort of fun.

5) DO NOT over tighten the water pump screws. Hand tight plus a little. There's no need, and you can just feel how soft the engine's threads are, it would be very easy to strip the threads.

Hope those tips help the next person... and thanks for everyone's tips, I would have been lost without mbworld.org!

contact148

for step 3

I removed the bolts one at a time wiped them off then put then into the hole on the NEW pump.

Once i had the OLD pump off I swapped the bolts back to the OLD pump

then proceeded to install the new pump

ND2020

+1

I did the same. I think I flushed the system with distilled water 2 or 3 times with the heater on full blast which seemed to do the trick. Sounds like you had no trouble with the swap. My pump actually busted open somewhere the day I planned to swap so coolant was all over my belt. I had to set aside time to clean the belt off. Otherwise, pretty easy task.

I must also thank contact for his contributions to my swap. Your help was much appreciated.

contact148

your welcome thats what were all here for to help each other out. instead of getting raped at the dealer!!

GavinC

Hi I have a 2002 C320 with a failed water pump I have removed all the bolts ....... I think ??? !!!! But the pump wont budge. I'm afraid to force the issue incase I damage the housing Can any body give me any instructon manuals pictures or advice on how to get it off
Your Help Appreciated
Regards
Gavin

contact148

gavin to be SURE all bolts are off

take each bolt you removed and place it in the NEW waterpump if you have any holes without a bolt...you missed one! you may have to tap the pump with a mallet i use a plastic one rubber works too

remember TAP gently, NOT pound do NOT pry and make sure all hoses are off the pump too

GavinC

Hi
Thank you for getting back to me I discovered what the problem was
You have to remove the Jockey pulley as well The shoulder bolt for the jockey pulley goes through the water pump and into the casing
Once that was off the pump literally fell off Now All I need is another Jockey pulley ....... Its bearings are also shot ..... and Ill be A for away !!!

son ski

I did not map the bolts placement like I should have, and now I need help figuring out where the bolts go!!!

Halcyon

Hi,
I've noticed a similar thing happening to my car. 2001 C240 @ 104K miles. Did you end up changing the entire pump or just the pulley? My pump pulley wobbles occasionally (not a constant wobble). And I do not have any play when I try moving it with the belt on.

If you did get a new pump, which one did you get (can you recommend a reliable one?)

Thanks in advance!

son ski

I'd buy a pump from your local auto parts store. Mercedes only offers a 1 year warranty on refurbished pumps. You should get at least a 2 year warranty on a brand new pump from your local auto store.

***Make sure you map the bolts as you take them off, I recommend drawing a diagram of the pump and slipping the bolt on your template.***

Halcyon

Thanks!
A graf pump is good?

I do not need to replace the tensioner do I, just the belt?

jvakos

Great thread here on waterpump replacement as I imagine many of us w203 (C240 for me) are hitting high mileage and the pump is making noise or leaking. My 2004 C240 has a slight rattle coming from my water pump and when i removed the belt and spun the WP pullet it makes a whine sound and was the only pulley making noise that I tested so time to replace the WP.

If you have replaced your Water pump, which new pump did you go with? GRAF, MEYLE, MB OEM?

Seems many of you have done the GRAF pump which can be bought from RM European for like $60 bucks with 1 year warranty. FCP offers the MEYLE for around $85 with life time replacement warranty And MB OEM Parts site offers a remanufactured MB pump #112-200-05-01 for $147 plus $65 core charge with 1 year warranty. Am leaning towards the GRAF which many guys have used or MB remanufactured as I will be doing this job my self and dont care to replace it again in 2 years.

Here's some links to the different pumps and vendors... appreciate any feedback before I buy the new pump. thx john

https://www.rmeuropean.com/Products/...G52-V3546.aspx
https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/mer...p-1122001501my
https://www.mercedespartshub.com/oem...IFJlc3VsdHM%3D

jvakos

2004 c240 MB oem water pump part number a1122010601

Looks like my original MB water pump is still on the car at 125k miles. The part Number on the metal housing shows A 112-201-06-01 which you can find on eBay but Sites like RM european and FCP refer to the updates part number of 112-200-05-01 which must be identical as the replacement.

Halcyon

I went with a Graf pump. It's been on for 4 years now, still works good.