2001 CLK55 AMG

[Drgsxr750]

Hello and Merry Christmas! I am interested in a 2001 CLK55 with 90xxx and would like to know a little more about the dreaded valeo problem. I understand the problem but have been unable to find how many cars it actually affects. I plan on having a PPI (do they test for glycol contamination with that?) and I'm pretty handy with a wrench in case anything should anything happen. I guess I just want to make sure I don't buy the car and need a new tranny/torque converter which would be near the price of the car. Thanks for all the info and I sincerely appreciate this forum!! Additonally, I've read that the subtle drone is a symptom but what else would you notice with a suspect tranny/torque converter? Regards, Brian

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[MarcusF]

2001's are W208s and they don't have the radiator issue. Only some W209s do.

[Drgsxr750]

Thanks for the reply Marcus. How sure are you that 208's are unaffected by the leaky rads? Everything I've read says that they are affected as well.

[Jons95c36amg]

w208 clk55s have the Behr radiator. Not affected.

[Nachtsturm]

Originally Posted by Jons95c36amg

w208 clk55s have the Behr radiator. Not affected.

^^^^This.

[MarcusF]

Originally Posted by Drgsxr750

Thanks for the reply Marcus. How sure are you that 208's are unaffected by the leaky rads? Everything I've read says that they are affected as well.

It's a fair question, and my answer is - a couple of things lead me to feel fairly confident:

A W208 radiator drain plug is a simple $5 part. When you look up the part, only one is available. It's Mercedes-Benz part number 0005000185 and it's a Behr. Vivid Racing also sells W208 drain plugs. They're also Behr units. It's doubtful that Behr drain plugs fit Valeo radiators, but maybe they do. Alternatively, maybe Valeos are drained by simply dropping a hose, although that procedure isn't listed in the WIS. The WIS says to use the drain plug.

The radiator for a V8 powered W208 CLK is Mercedes-Benz part number 2025007803 and it's a Behr. Autohaus AZ sells OE CLKW208 radiators. Those are Behr too. Autohaus AZ doesn't offer a Valeo alternative.

Looking at the two, the W208 and W209 radiators are very different parts. That is evident by the price difference. The W208 part has a dealer list of $268, versus the W209 which is $338. Thinking this through logically - The design flaw for the Valeo W209 radiator would have to have also existed in a prior design (the W208) and that flaw would have had to have been overlooked/not fixed when doing the complete redesign for the W209 model.

None of these are absolute proof that there is no such thing as a W208 Valeo radiator and if it does exist, that there isn't a flaw. W208 Valeo radiators may be out there, but I don't know anything about them.

Caveat: there is a lot that I don't know anything about

[Drgsxr750]

Thanks Marcus! Excellent detective work. Since my research seems to be shoddy at best, what else should I look out for with a 208 55? Are there any issues I should pay special attn to?

[MarcusF]

This web page may be of some help.

This is another one that I thought would be better than the first. I haven’t published it because I’m too lazy. It covers everything that *I think* should be inspected. Especially if you pay a dealer a couple of hundred bucks. Still, I think I must have left a thing or three off the list.

This is yet another one. I really like the upside-down Benz in the cover photo. Hard to believe I wrote this ages ago and I’m STILL too lazy to put the work in to make it more “reader friendly”. I think it’s more humorous than the first, but there are times when I read it, it sounds more preachy than funny. Other times I read it and it sounds OK.

Hmm . . . . . . . . . I see a pattern. Start a page, get 90% through it, and get sidetracked. At any rate, I hope these are of some help.

[AMG_BENZ]

Originally Posted by MarcusF

This web page may be of some help.

This is another one that I thought would be better than the first. I haven’t published it because I’m too lazy. It covers everything that *I think* should be inspected. Especially if you pay a dealer a couple of hundred bucks. Still, I think I must have left a thing or three off the list.

This is yet another one. I really like the upside-down Benz in the cover photo. Hard to believe I wrote this ages ago and I’m STILL too lazy to put the work in to make it more “reader friendly”. I think it’s more humorous than the first, but there are times when I read it, it sounds more preachy than funny. Other times I read it and it sounds OK.

Hmm . . . . . . . . . I see a pattern. Start a page, get 90% through it, and get sidetracked. At any rate, I hope these are of some help.

Now, I'm glad to read more of your textbooks.

[neilbo75]

Between Marcus and the inherent solidity of the 208 it's hard to go wrong.

On a French general interest website today was featured a 208 CLK owner who bought his w208 (a 200 - the buzzy four cylinder basic model) at 170000 km (about 105K miles) a few years back and procceded to put another 200000 km on the odometer. He reports no problems at all aside from failure of the windshield wiper.

[Drgsxr750]

Thanks again Marcus! I stumbled across both of those websites before since I had them bookmarked lol. Very well written! I am a a decent mechanic with a full compliment of tools but since I'm a med student time comes at a premium. I need a car that will get me from point a to b in style with a little bit of performance so I hope I'm making a wise choice. Thanks again for everyone's help!

[MarcusF]

I believe you’ll find Mercedes-Benz to be in the upper echelon of auto manufacturers.

Nothing at all like these guys, who somehow managed to forget to install brake pads, yet still sell the car.

Go ahead. Click the link. You can't make this kind of stuff up. No one would believe it. I'm still not sure I believe it. And it took 'warranty service on a rental' to discover a car didn't have pads? How does a manufacturer . . . . . . . . isn't there some point on the assembly line . . . . . . . didn't the guy loading the transporter . . . . . . . . . . . nevermind . . . . . . . this one is beyond crazy.