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How did you remove the plastic hose clamp? Thank you!
Originally Posted by snobrrdr
tl;dr = What’s the triangle-shaped extra bit that came with my replacement Oil Cooler Water Pipe (A-271-200-13-52)?
SO thankful for this post. You guys saved me a lot of frustration & money spent on topping up coolant all the time.
I wanted to remove the part & double-check the P/N, but I was afraid of all the other components people said they had to remove in order to get to this pipe. I’m either lucky or stupid, but I decided to just go for it & try to remove the pipe without removing anything else.
I had a pretty easy time getting my hand wiggled between the other hoses that make getting to this pipe difficult. My palm-sized articulating ratchet slipped right into the correct space, and made getting the ONE BOLT that holds this thing on easy to remove. (If MB would’ve added another bolt 180° opposite, I’m sure these wouldn’t fail as often)
Total time = 10 min. (+15 min spent looking for something to catch the leaking coolant under the car)
Like many of you, I found I did have a cracked pipe at the o-ring (which was stretched out)...BUT...mine was so brittle I couldn’t put it back on after I removed it. This little Merc is my daily, so I was in a bad place.
I used some Gasket Maker (sold at all the local parts stores) to create a stop-gap solution while I waited for the new part I ordered to arrive. It worked! For about a month, actually....but I’m now experiencing coolant leakage just like before, so it’s time to put the new part in.
BUT!... I don’t know what this extra triangle-shaped boy is for. I’m sure it’s staring me in the face & super obvious, but I’m just not seeing it. A little help?
Also: I’m reusing the hose clip. It’s easy to swap onto the new part: Just pop the inner rod out using an awl/screwdriver/nail, or, in my case: a letter-opener.
Not sure where you're experiencing problems. The plastic clip spins in the hole. Pop the hose out first by prying the tab on the clamp part. Look carefully at the shape of the plastic in the photos. To remove the entire clip out of the hole, pop out the pin (also in the photos). The pin keeps the "Christmas tree" hooks spread.
I'm trying to separate that pliable hose from the plastic clamp. See yellow circle in attached photo. I can't seem to open the clamp because the two halves attaches at the bottom and i can't seem get to the tab. If it was facing up then i can easily separate it.
In your case the tab was at the top when looking from the top of the engine? My tab was facing the other direction (down). I hope I'm not confusing you.
Thanks!
Gary
Originally Posted by slammer111
Not sure where you're experiencing problems. The plastic clip spins in the hole. Pop the hose out first by prying the tab on the clamp part. Look carefully at the shape of the plastic in the photos. To remove the entire clip out of the hole, pop out the pin (also in the photos). The pin keeps the "Christmas tree" hooks spread.
Last edited by garyhgaryh; 10-30-2020 at 04:13 PM.
In this pic the tab is up. Easy peasy. My tab is facing down, 180 degrees. My fat fingers can't get to it. Frustrating. I'm thinking of just cutting it and buying a new one for $3 plus $5 shipping. Tab is up
In this pic the tab is up. Easy peasy. My tab is facing down, 180 degrees. My fat fingers can't get to it. Frustrating. I'm thinking of just cutting it and buying a new one for $3 plus $5 shipping.
I can reach in there and touch the bottom of the clip. Guess it depends how slim your hands are. There should be enough room to put a screwdriver. Try approaching from the R (passenger) side of the car.
With that said, nothing wrong with snipping off the clip if you're desperate. Like you mention, a replacement is only a few bucks.
Thanks for your help. My hands are normal size but i still could not unlatch the clip with any tools or my fingers (even though I can touch it at the bottom there is just no way I could unclip it - it has to slide off laterally between itself or be squeezed together which isn't happening) so i decided to strategically break it off so it can be reused. I don't care about the old pipe so i broke the bracket to free the pliable hose. From that point on everything fell into place. I now had enough room to put my e10 socket on the torx bolt. I used a full size ratchet too since i couldn't find my stubby ratchet and it fit with room to spare. I was also able to pull out the hose connected to the pipe with ease but i did it before the removal of the e10 bolt.
No surprise the pipe broke at the o-ring seat since a bunch of you had the same problem. Now i have to clean up the remnants of the old pipe and o-ring.
I hope this $10 pipe replacement is good enough. I got it since jasonMB used the same part. I got the extra O-rings just in case (he had issue with the O-ring being too thick).
Originally Posted by slammer111
I can reach in there and touch the bottom of the clip. Guess it depends how slim your hands are. There should be enough room to put a screwdriver. Try approaching from the R (passenger) side of the car.
With that said, nothing wrong with snipping off the clip if you're desperate. Like you mention, a replacement is only a few bucks.
Last edited by garyhgaryh; 11-03-2020 at 06:58 PM.
Reason: Fix typo; add title; add more photos
Are there any markings on the new pipe you ordered? Wondering if they changed the material (which they did for the OEM part).
Now that you mention it I realize I have a pix of the front side but not the backside of the arm. If you look closely at the part it look like the markings are shaved off on my part. Weird. Wonder if that implies anything? Like perhaps I have an older part.
I should have deburred the inside of the pipe where the restriction was. Anyways, the car is running great now with no leaks. Putting it all together took only a few minutes. That hose strap took so much of my time I could have done several cars if those car has the release tab facing up. Breaking the bracket that holds the strap to the coolant pipe tool a few minutes. Should have done that instead.
I'm glad i found this thread and thanks to you slammer, jasonMB, and the rest of you for an informative thread. Buying that extra o-ring set was a blessing as I had to use a smaller/thinner o-ring. It was labelled R2 on my container. I hope that info helps someone in the future reading this. That's my contribution to this thread . Done!
Last edited by garyhgaryh; 11-03-2020 at 09:52 PM.
All aftermarket parts will have any official MB PNs shaved off for legal reasons. The more important question is whether the aftermarket supplier is legit (either a reputable OEM or the same OE supplier that supplies the dealership) or not.
Sounds like you used a lower quality knockoff part for the replacement. If the part was identical to the genuine article, the o-ring would not have had any fitment problems. Also, there is no way to tell if the knockoff used a newer (ie improved) material like the genuine updated part. In any case, time will tell if the part holds up. Glad you got everything fixed.
All aftermarket parts will have any official MB PNs shaved off for legal reasons. The more important question is whether the aftermarket supplier is legit (either a reputable OEM or the same OE supplier that supplies the dealership) or not.
Sounds like you used a lower quality knockoff part for the replacement. If the part was identical to the genuine article, the o-ring would not have had any fitment problems. Also, there is no way to tell if the knockoff used a newer (ie improved) material like the genuine updated part. In any case, time will tell if the part holds up. Glad you got everything fixed.
Makes sense. I knew going in I was getting a lower quality knock off part as it was only $9.97. Since JasonMB used it I figured why not and he also linked to the o-ring set. The thing I remember him saying was that it would have been a 15 minute job if he just swapped o-rings to begin with so after about five minutes I decided to swap to a similar size o-ring that was thinner instead of wasting my time since someone else shared their experience so why relive it. I'll keep ya all up to date if this pipe fails. I did hear someone else on this thread use a knock off and it failed soon after. I'll have to wait and see.
Now I have to work on a 535i with a similar problem - coolant leak from back of engine. I know the turbo coolant line in the back are common issues so I'm sure it's that. Dealer wants $3k to fix it as it involves dropping the subframe.. ... Onto my next project.
Last edited by garyhgaryh; 11-03-2020 at 10:51 PM.
5 years later and people are still saving money on this DIY. Very grateful!
The placement of the pipe makes it painful to do. I had to remove the pesky vacuum tube and motor mount to have more space. Would have been quicker if I didn't drop the ratchet - had to lift the car, remove the splash guards hoping to find the tool but nope! It's stuck there by transmission, LOL
Probably best to use a magnetic pickup tool to reach the ratchet.
Yeah, couldn't find where it was prior to lifting the car even with use of mirrors. I tried blindingly sticking a magnetic pick up tool in different places hoping to snag it but no success. On the bright side, I can clean all the coolant drips on the transmission
Any ideas where I should start looking, before I throw more parts at the car? And MB is supposed to be over-engineered..
In this diagram, the hose that goes closest to the leak isn't shown. It's right where the number 124 is (ie connects to the "lower branch" of 130). Anyone have the diagram that would show that hose?
Response to the first post, hose below the number 124 (ie connects to the "lower branch" of 130) is a hose connector to the heater inside the cabin. The part number is 2098300096, also another possible failure at the plastic elbow insert into the firewall. Refer to item 10 in the diagram Heater Hose Part no. 2098300093
Just know that after 8 years from the original post, this is still helping people. Mine started leaking coolant when cold and I could not find anything. All the symptoms and traces of coolant are the same as many people have mentioned. Looks like I have a weekend project ahead of me.
My biggest worry is going to be the piece broken inside. IT not that I wont be able to get it, it that my old *** is going to be sore trying to get this out LOL
I had been smelling coolant in the car on an intermittent basis. At first, I was concerned that it might be the heater core. I only smelled the coolant when I was idling after driving for at least 10 minutes. I had been opening the hood on a regular basis and couldn't see a leak. One day, I took a longer than usual drive and saw this:
Coolant on bell housing
I had previously replaced the coolant pipe above the exhaust manifold and the one leading to the water pump. Fortunately, I recalled reading Slammer's thread at that time, and I was able to find it again with a search. (I probably should have replaced the pipe that is leaking now at the same time. I looked at it but decided it would be painful to do the job and hoped for the best.) I can't confirm whether the coolant pipe is the source of the leak, but it does appear my symptoms are similar to those of everyone who posted on this thread.
I ordered the OEM Mercedes pipe from AutohausAZ. (There are less expensive non-OEM options, but I decided not to save a few bucks at the expense of having to do this job twice.)
I am planning to replace the pipe this weekend and I was taking a look at the situation in my engine compartment. I did notice one oddity: Hose clip not engaged in the hose.
It looks like the hose clip that holds the coolant pipe to the hose is not engaged properly around the hose. I can't tell whether it is broken or whether someone who previously worked on the car didn't reinstall it correctly. Based on one of the earlier posts in this thread, it appears that the part number for the clip is 209-546-02-43. I may go to the dealer and buy a clip next week just in case I need to replace it. This would delay my work a few days, but I would rather have the clip available and do the job right the first time.
Thanks to everyone who contributed to this thread and to Slammer for initiating the discussion. If anyone thinks I'm on the wrong track, please don't hesitate to speak up.
Last edited by KevinH2000; 03-22-2024 at 08:16 PM.
10-29-2020, 11:48 PM
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... Onto my next project.
