southernwake

Hello,

New to the Mercedes world, parents each have one and I fell in love with them.
I bought a 2002 C32 yesterday afternoon. Has just over 87K on the odometer. I looked at the maintenance records and the previous owner took it in like clockwork every three months to have it checked. Car has been cared for.

I am curious to know if there is anything that I should pay attention to in regards to the S/C as well as any other known issues with these cars. I am aware of the intercooler water pump failure. I am assuming that when it fails your S/C will work intermittently or not at all, again I am assuming.

My car feels stout and strong, very quick! However I did notice something that kind of threw up a flag. I noticed this today driving back to my place from my parents( 3 hr trip one way) If I punched the gas pedal at interstate speeds (60+) the car seemed to bog down, it would get a little speed up and stay that way. It was as if it was either losing the S/C or not kicking down properly. But immediately after if I tried easing on the pedal it had plenty of power and accelerated great. Seemed to accelerate from a slow roll and stop as well once I got of the interstate, I could feel the S/C engage. I wouldnt think this "bogging down" is normal, am I looking at possibly losing the intercooler water pump?

Sorry for the rather lengthy first post but I wanted to get it all out of the way at once.

Thanks, Andrew

moosejaw

Symptoms of the intercooler pump failing......
exact same thing happened when i picked up mine and i had a 3 hour drive home.

But search here for some threads here first, many discovered it was a fuse
In the search box above type in Bosch CM30

southernwake

Thanks,

I will check the fuse first to eliminate that and if it isn't that looks like I will be ordering a new pump from eurocharged tomorrow.

loudandheard

Welcome and make sure that you do not have a valero radiator, you want to have a behr. You can check by checking on the driver side right by the fan. There should be a sticker close around there with the brand.

c32kompressor

dont know if this is common, but my throttle actuator blew under a heavy load, i was at palm beach international raceway racing on the 1/4 mile, the car would rev to 3500rpm in park and would have to shut the car off, had to get it towed to the nearest benz and get it fixed. the stealership told me that was a common problem with the 02 c32. so i guess watch for that, some symptoms for that are high revs in park and a higher idle. i really dont think that is common though

southernwake

loudandheard, I am assuming that the Valero is no good, but what exactly are some issues with it. I have not had a chance to check to see what kind it is yet.

c32kompressor, I have not had that problem, it idles fine. sometimes I can tell when the supercharger isnt working. But I will at least know what might be the issue if I have that problem you experienced.

Now that I have read up on the Bosch CM30 and its issue I definitely notice the S/C being intermittent. I am checking the fuse tonight when I get off work and if it is ok I will be ordering the Johnson CM30 pump this weekend and installing the following weekend.

I will say this, I had the chance to do some in town driving in this car today running errands and going to class ( and aside from being a head turner) this car is a blast!! I love it, definitely see why people hang on to them, I looked for a few months and only found a handful for sale around here.

I attached some photos of her.

moosejaw

Valero is a weak radiator and it leaks coolant into the tranny causing Glycol Contamination. I forsee a good use of the search button in your future.

Mr.Benzo

I am also a new 02 c32 owner Southerwake! I have had mine for a little over two weeks and it looks just like yours tint and all

W203Ramos

welcome to the forum!!! FYI if ur installing the pump urself, you will need a small c clamp to remove the PIA OEM hose clamps from the POS Bosch ic pump. GL

southernwake

Mr. Benzo, I love mine. I wasnt really a big fan of black until I saw it in person and then I was sold!

W203Ramos, I am already aware of the the hose clamps, I read a writeup that made the same point you have. haha. I have a tool for those hose clamps compliments of my brother a UTI graduate, he hates those clamps!! Thanks for the heads up.

I took your advice moosejaw and used that search button and did a lot of research last night. I researched the IC pump as well as the Valero radiator issue.

I checked the IC pump fuse in the trunk and it was good so now I know I need a pump, that is on its way, so hopefully next weekend I can run it to my friends shop and get that bad boy changed out.

I also checked around the fan for a sticker denoting the brand of the radiator and did not see one, I was using a flashlight after I got of work at 230 am so I may have missed it... However it did occur to me that before I bough the car I read the carfax and it listed that the car was in a very minor accident involving the front end in 2003. The car was taken to the same Mercedes dealership it was purchased from for the collision repair. So there is a chance that the Valero radiator may have been replaced for the more favored Behr however I am still going to investigate just to be in the safe side. If I can not find the sticker is there any other sign to differentiate between the two brands?

Thanks,
Andrew

southernwake

Checked the radiator this morning and to my disappointment I have Valeo radiator, so that will be removed within the next couple weeks.

loudandheard

I have heard so many horror stories about the valero radiator leaking coolant in to the transmission and it can be fixed relatively easy and cheaply. Good luck and searching this forum and the benzworld.org forums will help you a lot. You can also try the regular 203 section on this site, they also have lot of pertinent info to our vehicles.

southernwake

Its unfortunate I have that radiator but as cheap as it is to replace its worth it! I have been wearing that search button out, researching everything from common issues to audio to cosmetic changes. Been learning a lot! I greatly appreciate you pointing out the fact about the radiator though, there might have been that off chance I discovered it the hard way.

loudandheard

That's out customary way of welcoming every C32 especially a 2002er.

southernwake

SO THAT'S WHAT A C32 IS SUPPOSED TO FEEL LIKE!!!

Installed the Johnson CM30 IC pump Friday, made a big difference. She runs like a top now, next weekend I will be swapping out the Valeo radiator for a Behr unit.

southernwake

Checked my Valeo radiator part number and this is what I got (it was located under a barcode).
A2035000703

I did some research and found that the part number A2115000202 was the faulty radiator and the redesigned one was A2115003102.

I researched my PN on google and found 4 sites and it references that it is a radiator for a CLK 500 2002-2005


So my question is will this one work or is it a faulty one? I did a search on this site for that PN and returned zero matches.. any information on this would be great before I start on the radiator swap

Thanks,
Andrew

gt4awd

Welcome to the forum. My 2002 has the Valeo radiator, and it has never leaked going on 105k miles. Not all were faulty, but it is a good idea to replace to be on the safe side. I tend to have a glycol test done on the transmission fluid every 10k miles or so to be on the safe side. At that rate you might as well just swap out the Valeo for a Behr as it will pay for itself in the long run. My air charge pump was also shot when purchased. Very disappointing 600 mile trip back home!

southernwake

I have already replaced the IC pump and it is running a lot better.

I have already purchased a Behr radiator to do the swap but if this series of radiator is not prone to leaking since it supposedly goes on a CLK500 I would like to continue to run this radiator until I have a unrushed weekend to swap radiators. I just can not find anything on this radiator that I currently have in my car...

I have already bought a blackstone labs test kit and I will be getting a sample of the transmission fluid tested just to be safe.

stmort

Mercedes purposely has never informed any owners of Valeo Radiator problems. Mercedes knew by 2006 (maybe earlier) that the Radiator was prone to failure and therefore prone to causing damage to the transmission and torque converter.

I am an attorney who bought one of the affected vehicles for my wife seven years ago. I just had a radiator failure and the Valeo radiator crimping issue was JUST revealed to me after a VERY expensive repair.

I am looking for people who have also experienced this failure as I am looking at filing a lawsuit against Mercedes for its deceptive practices and breach of duties.

moosejaw

I saw you are on the E55 forums as well
Have you cjhecked the thread " Urgent notice. 03-06 E55's that were involved in the fuel sender recall are bombs. "
https://mbworld.org/forums/w211-amg/...all-bombs.html