Does anyone have a copy of this TSB? my worst nightmare might come true. I have a Aug '03 E320. And its jurking....I have my car scheduled with MB tomorrow, and need to get educated on this ASAP.

Does anyone have TSB:P-B-27.55/50a FEB05 or DTB P-B-27.55/50g MAR08

Regards

JM

 

Check your email.

 

Sounds odd if a 2003 car had the bad radiator but hasn't been fixed yet. Hopefully it only needs oil flushed.

Did you already check if it is a Valeo radiator?

 

Thats why I need to get educated. Im starting to get some jerking at low speeds. Then i read about this problem last week. It may have been fixed, i have to check tonight when I get home. Thanks to Dan, i have the documents.

I have had ALL service done at the same dealer, so they might have done this already..I will verify the make of my radiator, and crimp tonight. But my car falls within the criteria, (Aug 03 Build)

I will keep everyone posted...

JM

 

Diesel,

Are you implicating that you think if the radiator has not failed by now you might be in the clear? Mine is an 03' and i have yet to replace the radiator... I am sending a sample of my transmission fluid to blackstone next week for testing- "just to be on the safe side"...

 

I also understand MB will test it for $130. How much does blackstone charge?

JM

 

$22.50 + 1.85 shipping
http://blackstone-labs.com/transmiss..._analysis.html

 

With everyones help. I verified i have the Bher assy, and not the Valeo.

Its not easy to verify, but i found the identification of the passenger side of the radiator. The name "Bher" was molded into the plastic.

Thanks again

JM

 

jmorgis: I tried to look on mine but everything is so cramped I can't see it. Can you tell me a more exact location of the stamp? Thanks

 

I would like to know the exact location as well. I have an '03 e320 and have some concerns since the transmission hasn't been particularly smooth.

 

I will try to post a pic later today, when i pickup my car from MB. Get a flashlight, and scan down the left edge (passenger side) of the radiator located about half way down. You need to look around and behind hoses/brackets. It there, molded on that side. Look from inside the hood, not from the front of the rad.

JM

 

I don't believe the markings for the Valeo radiator are located in the same place.......so, when you guys look on the right side (passenger side) as suggested, you might find the Behr markings but if it's not there, I wouldn't assume it's a Valeo......which is marked on the top of the radiator I recall. I couldn't verify mine.......had my dealer do it.

 

My 03 E500's valeo sticker is on the top under the shrowd. BTW, 51k & checked by the dealer; all good. $29 for a glycol test. A new radiator is in the plans, but so far so good. I wonder what the percentage of total cars sold have failed?

 

This post was in another forum but there are some good pictures that identify the Valeo and Behr crimping style from the radiator tank to the cooling fins. The wavy crimping is good. The crimping that resembles lack o lantern teeth is bad (Valeo)







https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...placement.html

 

My 03 E320 has a sticker on top of the radiator underneath the rubber shroud also. It doesn't say Behr on my car, but instead has a capital letter B with a circle around it. This rubber shroud is just in front (towards the front of the car) of the plastic radiator fan shrould.

 

Interesting reading..... Our 04 with a build date of feb 04 seems to have this faulty radiator as identified with the dental tooth type crimping (I looked)... All info I have read on the subject says all cars built after 9-03 has the updated Behr unit. Am I missing something????? Can someone help me decipher the Vin numbers I've read in other posts to help verify if I need to take action... B.T.W... The car has about 60,000 carefree miles.

 

I'm in the same boat as you guys I have the Valeo with 52+K miles and no probs. Can anyone confirm if some of these radiators turned out ok or am I wishfully-thinking and should make the upgrade? Who out here has an 03 that falls into the doomed range that hasn't had a prob that has 50-60+K miles on their cars?

 

I've pasted in a portion of the TSB for the radiator/transmission issue which has the vehicles listed that it applies to......pictures won't show. My radiator failed at 38,800 miles in April 2007 but I immediately noticed some acceleration problem with the vehicle and took it to my MB dealer that same day..........they only had to put in the modified-design replacement radiator and the torque converter, not the transmission, but a year later they did put in a new Transmission ECU.......all covered under my CPO warranty. The cost would have been several thousands of dollars if my warranty hadn't covered it. If I had been aware of the potential problem with these Valeo radiators, I would probably have requested they put in the replacement radiator as a preventive maintenance measure and that's what I'd recommend to anyone who has a vehicle listed on the TSB unless they still have warranty coverage. It can't be that expensive to pay for the labor and the replacement radiator install: For my 2003 E500, replacement radiator part #A2115003102 replaces the original installed Valeo part #A2115000202.

DTB
Date:
March 6, 2008
Order No.:
P-B-27.55/50g
Supersedes:
P-B-27.55/50f dated March 24, 2006
Group:
27
Revision History
Revision
Date
Purpose
g
3/6/08
Note Pertaining to Warranty Information Added to Page 4
f
3/24/06
“Perform Repair Based on Test Result” – Procedure Updated / Warranty Info. Updated
e
3/6/06
“Perform Repair Based on Test Result” – Procedure Updated
d
8/29/05
Warranty Information Updated
c
8/18/05
“Perform Repair Based on Test Result” – Step 2 Revised / Warranty Info. Updated
b
4/6/05
Addition of Note After Step 3 Pertaining to AMG Model Vehicles
a
2/17/05
Additional Applicable Models, Parts and Warranty Information Updated
-
01/27/05
Initial issue
SUBJECT:
Model 203.040/061/064/065/081/084/261/264/281/284/740/747/764
Model 209.365/375/376/465/475
Model 211.065/070/076/083/265/283
Up to Production Date 09/2003
Harsh Engagement Possibly Followed by Droning/Buzzing Noises During Light Acceleration Between Engine Speed of 1200 – 2500 RPM
If you receive customer reports in the above model vehicles of humming/buzzing noises or noticeable harsh engagement during gentle acceleration between engine speed of 1200 – 2500 rpm; this may be caused by incomplete adaptation of the torque converter, the transmission (EGS) ECU software or glycol contamination of the automatic transmission fluid. Follow the below repair procedures to resolve. Note: The condition is not intermittent and can be reproduced at all times. Note: The Glycol test must be performed only if:
a. the vehicle was produced before 09/2003,
b. the radiator is manufactured by “Valeo”, refer to Figure 1 for identification,
c. old crimping method used to assemble the radiator end tanks resembles Figure 2.
Figure 1 P-B-27.55/50
This bulletin has been created and maintained in accordance with MBUSA-SLP S423QH001, Document and Data Control, and
MBUSA-SLP S424HH001, Control of Quality Records.
© 2008 Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC. All rights reserved. Reproduction or translation in whole
Mercedes-Benz Canada, Inc. or in part is not permitted without authorization from the
Dealer Workshop Services publisher. Printed in U.S.A.
www.MBUSA.com 1-800-FOR-MERCedes
www.startekinfo.com
Figure 2 P-B-27.55/50
Old Crimping Method Figure 3 P-B-27.55/50
New Crimping Method

 

Thanks for your info.... Can you or anyone else explain why the verbiage in the TSB says "up to production date 09/2003" (my car was built 02/2004) and how do you read the following model codes above ie 211.065....etc..... Are these number ranges according to your Vin????? What numbers in the vin do you check these against???? Thanks

 

Im not sure, but my 03 E320 was build 07/03 and it has the Behr...I am the origional owner.

JM

 

You have a 211.070 (e500). PM your email address and I will forward a copy of the DTB. Review page 2 for crimping comparison to verify if you have a Valeo radiator. The DTB may suggest 9/03 production however, it is common practice on the assembly line to exhaust old supply before installing new, reason why 04 models after the cutoff are requiring replacement.

 

Just one more piece of the puzzle. The "peeking under the rubber trim" method is not fool proof. I stuck a broom straw behind the aluminum coils (with a "B" on top) and looked inside the fan shroud to spot the straw. Not visible, which logically means that the first set of coils is the AC. So spotting the trademark may not be the final word. The crimping is pretty easy to see and so far as I know, is fool proof. By the way. My car was 39 months old when I acquired it and even though it has the wavy crimp indicating Behr, it has a Valeo "tube" that looks like some kind of A-C dryer. Lays horizontal at the bottom /front inside the grill. This would lead one to think the radiator had been replaced?

 

I have a 2006 E350 4Matic and I seem to have been affected by this same problem. I'm told that I have a Valeo radiator and that it has been leaking coolant into my transmission and transmission oil into my radiator for nearly a year.

I've contacted Mercedes and naturally the first words out of their mouths was, "but you're out of warranty". Catch is I've taken my car to 3 different MB Dealerships while the car was under warranty complaining about it jerking. Each time being told that the problem could not be reproduced. I had to pull my service record out and I read an interesting line: "Contaminant in coolant possibly oil.", but nothing further. No test of where the oil came from or rather coolant had gotten into the connected transmission...

We'll see where this goes, but it seems to me that MB owes me a radiator, transmission, and a torque converter (which IS making the buzzing sound I'm told is mentioned in that TSB I'm hoping to get my hands on)

If any of you still have that TSB please forward it to me, I think my car is excluded, but since it presents all of the symptoms mentioned, the problem should have been identified and fixed long ago.

 

PM your email address to me and I'll send you the TSB. But since you have a 2006 model it would appear your problem is not the faulty Valeo radiator but something else that would cause the contamination.

 

I've seen owners claim that the modified/improved Valeo radiators fail too, just a lot less frequently. I have no personal experience though.