AMGV6K

as the topic says, it's been confirmed that the dreaded valeo on board...although no leaks has been found yet i think it's a ticking time bomb as my car reaching 50k miles on board

should i go ahead and replace it with a Behr radiator? pros/cons? where to find a good condition used Behr? for a peace of mind and avoid costly gearbox disaster

c32 build on september 2002, any chance of it having an updated Valeo?

gkstar

My car's production date is about the same, I have a Valeo and a coolant loss. Car is going to the dealer this Thursday and I will post the result.

I am not sure if the rad leak is as sure thing as the I/C pump failure, but I would wait until I see some coolant loss and then replace rad and transmission fluid. That is if I did not have the extended warranty. I will leave it to the dealer in my case but will also provide all stats that I have gathered on this forum and then pray

Fifth Ring

I have a Valeo and so far, so good. But I intend to change the transmission fluid soon.

Would it be possible to have a dealer run the glycol test on transmission fluid if they do not do the fluid change? (I'm out of warranty.)

PS: I'm told that the radiator swap is not that big a job.

AMGV6K

they need 1 litre of oil to test for glycol (meas in mg/l) so i think yes you do need refill the oil in the tranny

leaking valeos seemed to be a common problems too...so for peace of mind i need to get Behr rads as soon as possible before the tranny disaster

TJ_Andrews

I just replaced my Radiator / Coolant / Transmission fluid, I bought this radiator:

http://replacement.autopartswarehous...diator&dp=true

Should be the first one on that page, the Behr, for $221. I shipped it overnight and it was very fast from that website. From all the horror stories, it's best to just get it done with if you have a 2002 C32. I just got mine and couldn't be happier so far :-) Just got my new grill too, but too bad the headlights I orderred were messed up upon arrival.

itsmeek

how long did it take u to install the new radiator?

TJ_Andrews

I actually got a friend that's an MB Tech do it. Doesn't seem like too hard of a job though, I just didn't want to mess with a tranny flush myself, and figured he would do a better job anyway. Although, if you buy your own radiator, you can't take it to mercedes and have them do it I don't believe, they won't install any aftermarket stuff.

moorfan

Don't look for a used Behr. Its like looking for used underwear on Ebay. The new radiator by Behr is in the low to mid $200 range.

I got rid of my dreaded valeo also. My service advisor insisted that if I had coolant contamination that I would see transmission oil in the coolant reservoir, but oh well. I didn't have any evidence of contamination that I could see. If you could see it with the naked eye there wouldn't be a glycol test now would there?

I did the job myself. I would estimate that the job would take between 4-6 hours for the non-MB tech type (me). However, I did many things at once, such as:
cleaning all associated parts (fan, shrouds, etc)
replace intercooler pump
replace thermostat
replace hoses
replace belt
thoroughly flush out old stupid green coolant and replace with M-B original.

All of this took me about 2.5 days. No major snags during the process, other than reaching that damn crankcase coolant drain plug.

regards,
Pete

crystal_ice

May i ask what's the milage on your car right now? I have a 2002 C32 with a production date of Feb 2002. I have no leaks yet but i want to replace the radiator before it leaks