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I've been meaning to post about my recent acquisition. I stumbled across an ‘02 C32 w/ 65k miles in SC a few months back. The owner pretty much had all of the records and the body was pristine. I had it inspected prior to purchasing and everything checked out. I thoroughly enjoyed the spirited drive back to VA, I had the original plugs and wires swapped out immediately. In addition to valve cover gaskets and Mobil 1 (synthetic). I owned quite a few MB’s in that past. A few of the 210 and 208 55s. I also had the pleasure of owning and fixing up a couple 124 500e’s. I’m kicking myself for selling those a few yrs back!
I currently own the C32, ‘95 C36, ‘02 CLK 55 w/ Kleemann SC, and 996TT. I plan on selling my beloved 996 this yr after 12 yrs of ownership and the CLK. I’m at a point in life where I need to focus more on other things. Also, the area i live in has become so congested i find it hard to enjoy driving the manual. The CLK is simply a thriller, but needs to go.
The C32 is so different from my other cars I cannot explain. I’m on the road quite a bit and recently started a new job which requires a good amount of travel. Almost the perfect car for someone like me who has to deal w/ a good amount of traffic, but at some point hit that open patch of road where I finally get the chance to depress the accelerator. The trans does act funny at times in low gears which is apparently a symptom of the differential. I have a svc record of the 2nd owner swapping to a Behr radiator @ 45-50k and changing fluids as preventative maintenance. It sounded like there was a contamination issue on some of the cars. I’m considering replacing the IC pump to an upgraded model. Bluetooth would also be nice! I’m not sure if there is anything available to integrate w/ the stock Nav system? I’m currently utilizing the aux input to play music.. Overall i really like the C32!! I had lower expectations at first, so far it never ceases to put a smile on my face. I look forward to being a part of this section!!
I appreciate the comments guys! I’m interested in finding out how many of you still have the stock IC pump installed. What is the main advantage of an upgraded pump vs. stock? Lastly, is it generally apparent when the stock fails?
I still have the stock IC pump in mine (99k miles on the car), but the PO replaced it about 15k miles ago. I'm curious myself to know if there are any real cooling advantages to using a higher flow one. When/if I have to replace it again, it would be good to know if some of the alternatives (such as the pump from a Ford Lightning) offer longer life than the stock Bosch pump.
EDIT: To clarify regarding "any real cooling advantages"... it seems to me that although higher flow rate would move coolant more quickly, it would also necessarily spend less time in the heat exchanger, and so there would be a specific flow rate that would be better than anything lower OR higher. Has anyone monitored temps with higher flow rate pumps versus the stock pump?
02-28-2019, 09:36 PM
