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VALEO radiator (glycol) found in Transmission Fluid. Would like Feedback...
This post will be a bit long but hopefully it will answer any questions.
Some history of what is going on and my plan to fix the problem.
1. supposedly, only some MB radiators from 2000-2003 have this problem.
2. My radiator does not appear to be valeo and my car is a 99 clk320 (w208)
3. Glycol tests appears to confirm glycol (anti-freeze) in my transmission fluid.
My car's background, I purchased it for $4000 in Greenville, South Carolina. it looked well cared for and i wanted one with extensive service records. this car seemed to fill the bill. it had a few little issues that i fixed quickly and the (almost) white interior is flawless so i knew it was was well cared for. It had 110k miles when i bought it.
With that said, i drive about 120 miles round trip to work. 80% is highway. i work from home 2-3 days a week so the miles are good ones that seem to maximize the life of a car.
After having the car for about a year and logging about 20k miles, the low coolant light came on. i pulled the car over immediately and noticed no leaks. i have done 2 oil changes at this point and never noticed any water leaks. so i check the dipstick and there was no milky looking oil. I also checked for possible heater core leaks. no sign or smell of water. i put de-ionized water in the reservoir, only about 8 ounces to get it above the low water line.
i immediately parked the car in the garage. Water has to go somewhere and so i figured it must have gone into the transmission cooler somehow. i use AllDataDIY.com for all my vehicles and so i check and found some TSB's but none were for my year/make/model. i bought an at home Glycol test kit that's specific to transmission fluid. here is the link... http://www.acustrip.com/cgi-bin/prod...gi?s=ACU711254
my model is the "sealed for life" transmission so i had to remove the top radiator banjo fitting to get a good drip of fluid. After testing, it seemed to be off the chart with Glycol. So i used another strip to test my Suburbans transmission fluid. its fluid has about 20k miles on the fluid change and i flushed it when i serviced it last. The strip came back clean and matched with 0% glycol range.
so now it seems that even though my radiator should not be affected, it still is showing classic issues related to the valeo problems. i researched the correct design by Behr and found a reasonably priced one on Amazon. i also had to weed out the good and bad advice for fluid. i found that shell ATF 134 is approved on mercedes website so i bought 18 quarts. i also picked up an ATP filter and gasket kit from amazon as well. Also got a good price on a dipstick with the 3 different measurements for filling the transmission after service. The final few things was the replacement red dipstick tube locks and i picked up a replace idler and tensioner pulley because one of them was starting to make a slight noise. i'll put links below for all this in case someone else needs to do the same service. BTW, nothing came close to the right parts and at a fair price. The pulleys may end up being junk but they are easy enough to replace.
Tensioner pulley -->
so i have emptied the pan and replaced the filter and gasket with no issue. The fluid did not resemble any transmission fluid i have ever seen. it was horrendous. Keep in mind, the transmission has always shifted the same way since i purchased it. its my first mercedes but i am very detailed oriented. in my opinion, the 1st to 2nd shift was quick but not very smooth. newer cars seem to match the revs when shifting so they are smoother but its quick and decisive and that seemed appropriate. Now, every other gear change is smooth and silky. The transmission always seems to be in the right gear and even with the extra gear, it seems to never hunt gears. i can tell that the rear gearing is much more aggressive then cars that i am accustomed to so this may have helped keep all the torque readily available. With that said, i was very happy with the programming and the basic algorithms that mercedes used in this car.
so back to my transmission purge process. after replaceing gasket and filter, i replaced the radiator with no problems. the Behr seemed perfect because it is an OE manufacturer. The drive belt is off at this point because i am waiting on my pulleys so i cannot complete the job just yet but i can start the car and cycle out the bad fluid that was not in the pan. to this end, i followed the instructions by mercedes in my AllDataDIY.com account for the car (the online manuals make car maintenance much easier). The instructions say to replace empty the pan, change the filter and re-install pan as normal. Then it says to put in 6 liters. it assumes that you are not replacing the radiator so it says to take the right side transmission line loose at the transmission. because i had the front removed along with the electric fans, i simply put the top radiator hose that attaches in the radiator and stuck it in a gallon jug with a line marking 3 liters.
Start the car, when 3 liters are pushed out, stop the car. put 3 liters back in and do it 2 more times. When completed, i put 6 quarts (close enough for this step and easier to measure) in initially, then purged 3 quarts. another 3 back in and 3 more quarts purged. Now i have alot of old fluid removed. so i tried my glycol test and here is the pictures of it. the left side was the first test from the bottom of the transmission pan, the right side is from the last purged sample.
After seeing the before and after, i feel so much better.
Next step is to wait until 2/16 for my pulleys to come in. i'll attach them, along with the electric fans and all the shrouds (20 minutes max). Then i will be using this wonderful process that was posted in MBWorld to fill the transmission back up correctly.
i'm hoping this will fix all the radiator issues. i am worried that my radiator should not have been a problem in the first place but all i know is that Glycol was found in the transmission fluid and now, it appears to be eliminated. i am hoping beyond hope that the transmission has no issues. i know it was great when i parked it about 30 days ago so i am hoping i caught the issue in time.
i will reply to anyone who has questions. Also, i will post back when i have completed the fill up and the first trip or 2. all my friends know that i love german engineering and the way the car feels. i love driving great vehicles, i recently wrecked my 2013 Triumph Speed Triple R and i came very close to losing my leg and almost my life. This car is a much safer alternative but it still makes me look forward to driving every time i get to hop in it. Any one wanting to lose their appetite can ask for pictures of my de-gloved right leg and completely crushed wrists from the motorcycle wreck. somewhere, 4 missing carpals from my wrist are on the side of the road, please send them to me if you find them
i hope this post helps. i also hope that anyone else that has had or having the same problem with this model to reply back.
one last photo of the old fluid that i purged in the process above.
Yep, the short story is the transmission cooler section of the radiator has failed-----replace the radiator and flush the transmission and clean the heater section well and you will be in good shape----do it quickly
Had the same issue with my w211 e500, same Valeo radiator contaminated my tranny. Glycol destroyed clutch packs and torque converter. I noticed it too late. Replaced radiator with Behr, rebuilt torque converter, and replaced clutch packs. So my only advice to people with Valeo radiators in1998-2003 to keep an eye on it, its a time bomb. This flaw was the reason Benz stoped their contract with Valeo and switched to Behr
Because ATF contamination issues caused $$$$ repairs, I did a lot of research regarding the Valeo radiator issues.
Long story short.....W208 production did not use the Valeo radiators. The issue appeared in early production ( MY 2003 - 2005) of the next vintage W209, W203 and W211.
02-11-2018, 11:16 PM
