BetterDaze

They discovered another leak at the bottom of the radiator itself near the transmission cooler lines so I might have to replace my radiator while stored this winter. Any brand recommendations for that and the hoses/lines.

190Efan

If your car still has the original MB radiator, Kienle in Germany now refurbishes them. They started this about 6 months after I had to replace my original MB radiator. UGH! Behr is the OEM for the MB radiator. I found one at www.adsitco.com. They had 3 at the time I bought mine. That was almost 2 years ago. Adsitgo is supposed to have hard to find MB parts. They might have a radiator and they'll likely have any hoses that you'll need. The MB OEM radiator has been NLA for more than a decade now.

355190e26

As mentioned above, see if you can source a Behr for your 2.3. Unfortunately, they are harder to find now, I grabbed one off ebay a couple years ago.
The other alternative is Nissens, I've installed them in several cars and they fit perfectly. However, they didn't have the reinforced neck that the Behr has.
Hoses-get OEM Mercedes ones. The rubber stays much more pliable and soft in the long run vs those aftermarket Rein and Elaplast hoses. I ran the aftermarket ones for 10 yrs, they worked fine, but when I did the radiator replacement I switched to OEM.

dolucasi

On the reinforcing of the neck, I had watched a video from Kent Bergsma of mercedessource that he inserted a thin copper pipe it there prior to installation. I think he has a kit for that. Not sure if that is a good choice for cheaper aftermarket parts. The late 124's had a weak plastic neck, not sure about the W201.

355190e26

I remember that video as well. A number of years ago, I measured the diameter and went to Home Depot and actually found a copper pipe sleeve that fit the radiator perfectly. I did the sleeve reinforcement trick on a 20 yr old Behr radiator that was working perfectly just as peace of mind. I think it also had the reinforced neck as well, but having twice as much reinforcement didn't hurt.

BetterDaze

Looks like Nissen is the only radiator option but I would very much like to keep my original radiator.

I like the idea of refurbishing, would it be unwise to take it to an industrial radiator repair place locally? I tend to keep all my OE parts that can be rebuilt

I also need transmission cooler and power steering pump feed lines, seem easy enough but are there any warnings you might have

190Efan

I wouldn't recommend an industrial radiator repair place. A car radiator is very different from an industrial radiator for a building. I guess that Kienle in Germany is your option. I guess you can email them to see what the process would involve and how much it would cost. I don't know if there's anyone in the U.S. refurbishing MB radiators or not. Try www.adsitco.com for the transmission cooler and power steering pump feed lines.

355190e26

I wouldn't try and repair the radiator either, mainly because it has plastic end tanks. If were an aluminum or metal one then you can definitely redo it. They're actually making aluminum ones for the 16V and R129 now because of the end tank issue.
If you need the car to be reliable in the long run, then the Nissen is going to be the best option.

dolucasi

I agree with 355. The radiator will not last forever even with repairs. You can keep it for potential future use if you have the space but when mine goes, I will just replace with a NISSEN. I have not seen a radiator replacement bill in my very large stack of maintenance/repair records, so I assume it is still the original. The cooling system never had any sign of rust/sediment whatsoever when I did my flushes, but there could be a leak some day in the not so distant future.

BetterDaze

Thanks guys the company is industrial but they state they specialize in automotive radiator repairs too, I will not entertain that idea anymore though.

i officially put the car away for winter yesterday they started salting the roads. I will take it out one last time to wash it and cover it before putting in the garage with stabil and the battery maintainer

I’ll order the nissen radiator soon, reinforce the neck and have it installed by spring.

also would like to say I appreciate all of you! And wish you a happy and successful new year! Despite getting the car in 2019….2023 was the first year I drove the car all the way through with no major problems or stalls

190Efan

I never repaired my original radiator either. I got very lucky and I found a Behr radiator at www.adsitco.com a couple of years ago..

190Efan

Happy and successful new year to you too Betterdaze. You're much appreciated as well. You're making progress with your car. When you put your car away for the winter, make sure your tires have plenty of air. I typically do 34 pounds for both front and rear in this particular case because the engine puts so much more weight on the tires in an effort to try to help with flat spotting. Your tires will lose air during the storage period. Then when you take it out in the summer, be sure to check your tire pressures again and add 29psi for the front and 34 psi for the rear. Make sure when you put the Stabil in that you run your car for at least 5 minutes to be sure that the Stabil properly mixes in with the fuel..

355190e26

The original Behr are quite robust. On one of my cars, it has a Behr from the yr 2000 that's holding strong.
The other car had radiator neck failure 3 yrs ago and I managed to find a leftover Behr on ebay. I've put several Nissens in friend's cars and the fit is OEM quality