I have a 15' 63's and my trans temp was running very high. Going 60mph not even going above 2k rpms and the temp was at 210. I usually don't even get to 210 unless I'm driving hard in s+. I checked under the hood and the coolant tank near the turbos was dry. so i bled it and filled it but does anyone know why it went empty?

 

You have leak that is a result from a damaged radiator. See details here:
https://mbworld.org/forums/c63-c63s-...ad-debris.html
Welcome to the unfortunate club. It's not a cheap repair either.

 

^ Yup. Most likely culprit. MB really needs to address this issue bc there's really nothing to protect those two coolers in the front.

 

 

 

What blows me away is that there is no warning light or alarm alerting you to the fact that your system is dry.

 

Just got word from the dealer that my poorly protected secondary radiator has a hole in it and won't be covered under warranty. No word yet on cost.

 

So what's the best thing to do to protect the radiators?

 

This is a well known issue. The only fix is to put aftermarket metal mesh in front of the coolers, anything more substantial would block too much air flow. Tons of threads and pics and information on this forum about the subject.

 

What is the best material to use to protect the coolers? Does the front end have to come off to do this?

 

I believe you can add the FL screens to the heat exchangers if you have a PFL and are looking for more protection.

 

Any part number, installation tips?

 

Just got the price to replace the cooler. A measly $1700. Ouch. Someone direct me to the DIY mesh installation so I can avoid this in the future.

 

Since my $1600 expenditure (I got a little discount), I've been paying attention to what other radiators look like in other cars to determine whether I should be pissed off or just chalk it up to experience. From what I've seen over the past two weeks, the radiator design in these cars leaves the cooling jackets unnecessarily exposed. In most other vehicles I've looked at, the fins (the part in between the coolant filled jackets) protrude beyond the cooling jackets instead of being inset like they are on these radiators. That allows the fins to actually take the initial brunt of any object that might hit the radiator, thereby fending off some of the danger. Looking at the picture above, the cooling jackets are proud compared to the fins and will be the first thing contacted by debris. Thanks MB.

 

I think the issue is the strength of the material used for these heat exchangers.

Being that our cars are built for performance lite weight materials are used which in turn probably are the strongest.

Below are some photo of my customers fabricated ARE Cooling Heat Exchangers on my C63S after two and a half years. (A few bugs but no dents or bent fins)

Also a photo of one of the factory AMG parts, big difference.



ARE Cooling Heat Exchanger after two and a half years

Factory AMG Heat Exchanger

ARE Cooling vs AMG