Colin G

I need to replace some leaky cam sensor seals and of course the power steering reservoir and the oil cooler have to be removed to get at the leaky ones.


a DIY I looked at on the Pelican Parts site mentions I have to drain the radiator. Since the oil cooler is at a high point, I was hoping to just stuff an old bath towel under the cooler, loosen the bolts and let the coolant caught in the oil cooler drain into the old bath towel ect.


I really don't want to drain and flush my radiator. I don't own a proper jack yet so doing it while laying on my back will be a real pain in the ***.


I managed to get the front underside cover off last night with no lift.
I dropped one of my Torx sockets while replacing one of the cam seals on the driver's side not in the way of the cooler or power steering reservoir. Of course I dropped a socket.


At first I thought WTF! How will I get that socket outta there with no lift?


I then reached under, loosened the front most under engine tray and banged on it till my socket rolled forward enough to grab it. Taking off the front engine tray with no lift or jack is possible but I think draining and flushing my rad with only about 6" of ground clearance will be a bit of a ****t-show.


Also, having no lift means I can't access the block drain plug for the coolant. All I can do is drain what is in the radiator.


So, do I need to drain it all or not? I am starting this job tonight as I need to make a road trip on Sunday.

Colin G

Anyone? I will be yanking the oil cooler of tonight.


I booked a rad flush at the dealer for next Wednesday just in case. These systems have no bleeder and I can't get under the car to drain the coolant from the block so I booked an appointment in case I run into trouble and need the system flushed to get air out.


Power steering reservoir was relatively easy to remove except for that damn circlip holding the reservoir onto the power steering pump. I am unsure how I managed to get it off without dropping it into the engine bay.


My only worry is getting it back on. Worst case is I get the reservoir bolted on and have the dealer replace the circlip for me when they do a rad flush. Only if I can't get it back on of course which I am sure I can do. I have small hands so I should be ok.


I don't know how anyone with large hands can work on these cars. I have small hands and still manage to get them full of cuts and scrapes working on this car.

Colin G

Well I ended up not draining the coolant. I did fail to realize till it was too late that the reservoir is higher than the cooler so its contents pretty much poured out of the cooler. Good thing I stuffed a ton of blue shop paper towels in there and used an old bath towel so no coolant got on the motor or belt and most absorbed into the towels so a messy floor was avoided somewhat.


Removing the power steering fluid reservoir was easier than I thought as was the oil cooler. What I thought would be a huge pain in the ***; the installation of the steering fluid reservoir c-clip when putting it all back was quite easy.


I honestly thought I'd be there for an hour trying not to drop the clip into the engine compartment or that it would be very difficult to snap back on the back of the reservoir but it took maybe 30 seconds to find the slot and it clicked right in there.


Easy peasy.


So far cooling system is working fine with no issues but I will get the dealership to flush and fill with new coolant in a couple days. I just don't have the tools to perform that right now. (No jack, ect ect)


Cam magnets and sensors are all replaced now and the old grungy oil that was left from the previous seals leaking is all cleaned up. Surprising to me that the MB dealership didn't do a cleaner job when they replaced the cam sensor wires on recall. Looks like they just left the oily mess and slapped new parts on.


The car seems to idle smoother now since all the sensors have been replaced but that could just be my imagination. Kind of like the way your car seems to drive better once you wash it.


I will thank the Pelican parts DIY tech pages as they helped a lot for this job.