When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Our 2013 has a small coolant leak or seepage as shown. I can also see it on the upper mounting bolt of what I think is the thermostat housing--seems to be all around the mount. Is this the t-stat housing? Any way to tell if it's the housing or just the gasket (given that the housing is $160) Either way it sounds like an R&R--anyone have a procedure, or at least know the torque to hold it to the engine? Do I need any other gaskets?
Thank you!
You can take a slim brush or a plastic pick and some brake clean then try to clean it up to see if there are any visible cracks in the housing. If none visible, take it for a ride or 2 and check it to see if you tell where it’s leaking.
As for the repair, if you can’t determine where the leak is coming from, order the housing and the gasket (make sure you can return the housing if it’s not needed) and then you’ll have all the necessary parts, just in case.
Fixed a coolant leak on my C207 last weekend. Mine was coming from the thermostat gasket, not sure how some little pebbles got in there. There was another user in the W212 section that had the same problem.
Clean it off and see if it's coming from there.
As the OP requested, torque settings for the various bolts & nuts would be really appreciated! I have the same leak and I would like to tackle, but my OCD won't leave me alone if I don't torque stuff down to spec... :-)
I did not use a torque wrench, just nice and snug without stressing. Working fine.
BTW, I'm pretty sure it was the gasket, but I did the whole assembly while I was in there. The toughest part was getting the unbolted housing out from behind the intake valve assembly, etc.
The toughest part was getting the unbolted housing out from behind the intake valve assembly, etc.
Do you mean to say that this step was actually quite difficult? or did you just mean that the job was so easy that the only part which required any type of effort was maneuvering the housing around other stuff?
Sorry, that was ambiguous. Overall, the job is straightforward if you're used to moderate car work and have a selection of sockets, extensions, Torx bits, etc. I put the car on ramps to drain the coolant and raise the work area to a more comfortable height. The housing itself is held on by 3 bolts and they can all be reached (socket wrench, extension or not, Torx bit) standing in front of the car with nothing else removed except the top plastic engine cover. Except for the hangup, it's an hour job, and I'm slow and deliberate--others might say less.
The hang up is that you can't (2013 W204 Lux anyway) pull the t-stat housing directly. My wife has the car now so I can't look at the exact parts, but if I recall it interferes with the inlet air valve motor. I tried a bunch of things, but what worked was to disconnect the electrical connectors (for room) and to loosen the 4 Torx screws that hold the valve into the next part of the inlet--don't recall if that's the manifold or another tubing segment. A couple of these are easy, but one is down and under the duct and a challenge. They are all in some sort of thread lock, so it's a slow and careful backing off. No need to remove them--just get a half inch/ 1 cm of slop so you can wiggle the motor free and then pull the housing out enough to clear the obstructions on the block, rotate it, and remove.
It's a typical German over-complicated housing, with multiple connections, sensors, etc. (~$150!!). Made me long for the cars I've had (e.g., Volvo 850) where it's a simple 2-bolt, 1-hose metal hemisphere right on top of the intake manifold.
11-26-2019, 09:01 PM
