Hi... i have the tranny jerk around 1500 to 2100 rpm.... if i were to change the rad... would you suggest having the transmission fluid changed also???... also how does the rad leak into the transmission???? any advice appreciated....

 

Hi.... what is the TCU?? thanks..... i have the tranny jerk... Arggh its soooo annoying!!!!!

 

About to hit 125K miles on my 02 C32, no problems with the original valeo radiator.

 

tcu = transmission control unit.

i would change the tranny fluid while your at it since you have to break the tranny seal anyways when swapping out the radiator to refill the tranny.

 

2002 C32 original radiator at 91K. no problems so far.

 

I'm at 63K on the original (Valeo) radiator. No issues.

 

I never had any problems with my OEM... but i replaced it during my 60k tune up.

 

yeah i had the oem until 82k and just replaced it for piece of mind.

 

Old thread I know but I picked up an 03 CLK500...with 28000miles. Shows the radiator replaced at the dealer at 20,000. I just assumed it was the Bahr but just checked and its a Valeo production date 10/20/2005. Is this safe? The car was only driven about 1500 miles in the last 3 years because the owner quit driving. All the fluids were changed according to the maintenance history at MB, including transmission fluid, coolant etc.

 

If all the fluids were recently changed, you should be good. I always get the two mixed up, but I think it's brake fluid every 2 years and coolant flush every 3 years (might be the other way around). Tranny fluid and differential oil are more based on actual use than time. The radiator should be fine if the car hasn't been driven a lot. I would also just check out some of the hoses and seals if the car has been sitting around a lot.

 

I was told that the Valeos are fine after 2003

 

Thanks...looking at the MB service records the transmission has been flushed twice, the coolant flushed at the radiator change and at about 23K, the oil changed every year regardless of miles (1st one at 6K, then 12k, then 20k, then every year after that). Its been driven by the son in law every so often and all the belts, hoses , etc look fine...no leaks anywhere.

 

That's what I was hoping. I may check with MB just to be sure. Thanks.

 

Looks like you should be in pretty good shape. I'd do a coolant flush and brake fluid flush so you know you're fresh there and good for a couple years, but everything sounds good from what you're saying

 

is anybody making upgraded radiators for these cars? it seems like a thicker/more efficient radiator would help the car and if we have to replace the factory one anyway, might as well upgrade.

 

I did preventative using Behr. $130 on eBay, brand new as the updated supplied to MB in later production years. It's an easy DIY.

 

2002 c32 with original valeo rad and 119k miles on her..

Had major issues with the transmission last year and the first thing I did was get it glyco tested,which came back clear..

Will be replacing rad soon as a precautionary measure