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Hi everyone, I had a pretty scary experience yesterday after replacing my radiator. After the install i ran the engine and everything looked good, no leaks. Took it for a drive and the transmission cooler lines started leaking heavily and I barely made it home in first gear. I don't know if I damaged the transmission but I'm going to disassemble everything. The lines are very rusted and were difficult to install in the new radiator but I was sure they were attached properly. I think the line itself broke and I will determine this once I have the car apart, but I need a part number check on the two lines. Various sites say they don't fit as my car is 4matic.
Upper line - 2112700527
Lower line - 2112700027
Last edited by Onyxthecat; Sep 2, 2022 at 07:57 AM.
It depends on which model you have. Some had the lines attach to the back side of the radiator some were front. I had the same thing happen when I upgraded to a V8 radiator and decided to simply by pass the stock cooler and got to a dedicated aftermarket cooler mounted in front of the condenser. Only you replace the radiator there's simply no way to reliably reattach the lines.
Thanks guys, the video was helpful and may have been the cause. The parts diagram shows the oil cooler lines but they do not look like mine. My lines attach from the front.
Good luck getting the parts. I had the same scenario back in May. Replaced the radiator and salvaged the lines carefully. Drove a few thousand miles before one split and pumped the trans dry. The dealership took 6 weeks to get parts and repair. Then the line popped off after a week and they blamed the clips that came with the radiator. It’s still at the dealership.
Last edited by HardmanGT; Sep 4, 2022 at 08:52 AM.
Damn man that sucks, hope you get you car back soon. Maybe the parts were special order? The clips that go onto the radiator do come off easily but they only fit one way. Maybe there's a way to just epoxy them in place? My clips did not blow off of the radiator when I inspected them so mine definitely cracked most likely in the extremely rusted area. I was able to remove the lines this morning (Very rusty) and I ordered the new ones from eEuroparts.com. Their website says these are only for the base E500 but they are an exact match to the 4Matic cars so idk why their site says that. I will update once the new lines arrive.
UPDATE: The car is fixed. I decided to install the lines onto the radiator first and quadruple check everything was seated and clipped properly. Tugged on the lines a bit and they were solid. Reinstalled everything and topped off the fluids and the car runs perfectly. I was worried I had damaged the transmission after losing so much fluid but the shifting is right on and no check engine light or codes. The only thing is that the new upper line did not come with the small bracket and fastener to attach the lines together, I just used a stainless steel zip tie to keep them from moving around. I did try to remove the old bracket but it crumbled away lol.
UPDATE: The trans lines popped off multiple times. Had to get towed home and re-evaluate. Turns out the small metal clips that hold the lines have a lower tolerance than OEM when pushed onto the plastic housing and they allow the lines to come off over time. I removed them and bent the clips past the normal amount and pushed them back on. I then made a simple bracket that I then epoxied to the radiator to physically hold the line on so it cannot move. It's a crude solution but so far it's been working. Nissen makes the radiator so I would suggest bending the clips for a tighter fit if you are doing this job.
UPDATE: Lines popped off again and I'm done with this radiator. Had to be towed home from South Brooklyn 20 miles back to my house in queens. This is being removed and returned to FCP Euro. Do not recommend this to anyone and I suggest going with the OEM part.
UPDATE: Lines popped off again and I'm done with this radiator. Had to be towed home from South Brooklyn 20 miles back to my house in queens. This is being removed and returned to FCP Euro. Do not recommend this to anyone and I suggest going with the OEM part.
It's not the radiator. It's the transmission cooler connection design. One time use garbage. This is why I bypassed the radiator and went to a completely separate transmission cooler.
Ok well, a bad trans cooler could explain why the fluid was boiling out of the radiator. I'm not able to do the bypass atm, so maybe just replacing the cooler itself?
Hi, I don't have part numbers for these. I used the ones that came with the OEM radiator that I eventually returned. I was mislabled from the factory and did not fit my car. I'm sure the number exists somehwere as I would like to have it as well.
Which line goes to the left side of the transmission?
Originally Posted by Onyxthecat
UPDATE: The car is fixed. I decided to install the lines onto the radiator first and quadruple check everything was seated and clipped properly. Tugged on the lines a bit and they were solid. Reinstalled everything and topped off the fluids and the car runs perfectly. I was worried I had damaged the transmission after losing so much fluid but the shifting is right on and no check engine light or codes. The only thing is that the new upper line did not come with the small bracket and fastener to attach the lines together, I just used a stainless steel zip tie to keep them from moving around. I did try to remove the old bracket but it crumbled away lol.
Hello,
In this picture which line goes to the left of the transmission and which one goes to the right side of the transmission?
2004 E 500 4MATIC Wagon; 2015 ML 350 4MATIC; †2003 C 240 4MATIC Wagon (2003-2022)
Originally Posted by Onyxthecat
Hi, I don't have part numbers for these. I used the ones that came with the OEM radiator that I eventually returned. I was mislabled from the factory and did not fit my car. I'm sure the number exists somehwere as I would like to have it as well.
So, I understand that you opted to stick with the Nissens radiator (rather than the OEM radiator), but you used these Genuine Mercedes cooler line sleeves to attach the lines to the fittings on the radiator, right? Has this worked successfully for you, or did you end up having to get the OE radiator or come up with a solution involving a separate transmission cooler?
I live in coastal northern New England, and I went through this with an earlier Mercedes of ours over 3 years ago. I replaced both the set of corroded transmission lines (which I had caught just as they started to slightly leak...looked just like yours) and the radiator with all Genuine Mercedes parts. This time, I have the same issue on our '04 E 500 4MATIC wagon and will replace the lines and radiator, but I am considering purchasing a Nissens aftermarket radiator (made in Slovakia). I have yet to hear anything negative anywhere about these radiators, and they are less than half the price of the Genuine Mercedes OE or Valeo OEM radiators (I'm not considering the Mahle Behr "OEM" radiators, which have shifted production once again...this time from China, where they didn't have particularly good reputations, to India several years ago...I don't want our car to be a QC testbed for their repeatedly-offshored radiators with integrated transmission coolers). If anyone else has experience with this, please let me know. Thanks.
Last edited by Œuvre; Sep 10, 2024 at 01:47 AM.
Reason: Added clarification...
2004 E 500 4MATIC Wagon; 2015 ML 350 4MATIC; †2003 C 240 4MATIC Wagon (2003-2022)
Posting photos of the corroded transmission cooler lines and of the upper transmission cooler line fitting at the front of the radiator. I will have to replace the upper and lower transmission cooler lines and bracket, as well as the cooler hose extension sections connecting them to the left and right transmission lines (and the radiator...). The right transmission cooler hose extension appears to be available (Mercedes part#: A 000-180-00-82), but the left section piece is no longer available (Mercedes part#: A 026-997-24-82). I'm curious to know what others did in this situation. Was there a part for another chassis close enough in length/specs that it could be used? Or did you buy two of the right transmission cooler hose extension sections (i.e., A 000-180-00-82) and use the end connectors from one of them to fabricate properly-sized hose extension piece to the left transmission line
I spoke to an independent shop in the area that has been working on these cars for years, and the owner thinks they might have what I need/or could use in stock, so I sent him the information via e-mail. We'll see...
As for the radiator, the owner of the shop seemed to still have a preference for the Mahle Behr (even the current ones manufactured in India) over the Nissens radiators, but he said that the Nissens radiators weren't bad... Anyone have experience with these newer Mahle Behr radiators?
I’m curious to the above as well. I’m replacing my radiator and hoses, but after reading this post, am considering the transmission cooler lines as well as mine have corrosion on them. I currently have the Mahle/Behr radiator and factory rad hoses, but nothing else. May consider getting factory trans cooler lines and replace these as well. I’m also doing a transmission service, including installing the Sonax (?) inserts and Transgo kit as my transmission is currently not working well. Any further info?
I MAY just do the transmission service first and then do the radiator replacement later as there is currently no issue, just figured I’d replace it since I’m doing a water pump (leaking) and T-stat (fault in DME) anyway, but this makes me hesitate.
2004 E 500 4MATIC Wagon; 2015 ML 350 4MATIC; †2003 C 240 4MATIC Wagon (2003-2022)
Originally Posted by Zaffer
I’m curious to the above as well. I’m replacing my radiator and hoses, but after reading this post, am considering the transmission cooler lines as well as mine have corrosion on them. I currently have the Mahle/Behr radiator and factory rad hoses, but nothing else. May consider getting factory trans cooler lines and replace these as well. I’m also doing a transmission service, including installing the Sonax (?) inserts and Transgo kit as my transmission is currently not working well. Any further info?
I MAY just do the transmission service first and then do the radiator replacement later as there is currently no issue, just figured I’d replace it since I’m doing a water pump (leaking) and T-stat (fault in DME) anyway, but this makes me hesitate.
The part numbers (and corresponding availability, of course) for these components differ across models within the W211/S211 chassis range, so you will have to verify what your E 350 requires with a Mercedes-Benz parts catalog, WIS docs, or your dealership's parts department. How bad is the corrosion? If it isn't that bad, you can spray an anti-corrosion oil undercoating product like Blaster Surface Shield, Fluid Film, NHOU, etc. on those parts and see how much longer they will hold up... In my experience, our older cars up here in coastal northern New England eventually had their transmission cooler lines rot in that area around this age and start leaking...but I managed to spot it myself just as they started dripping. Shops up here don't always bother checking these carefully during the routine, annual maintenance service multi-point inspections (you're lucky if they note cracked coil springs, slightly torn boots, corroded brake lines, and other corrosion problems) and making note of the condition... Mine are corroded enough that I will replace them and get it over with. Do note that this is what you could run into
, and it's what I have experienced in the past... If the condition of the fittings are more like mine (i.e., really corroded), then it probably wouldn't be advisable to attempt what he did in the video to get the ends of the transmission cooler lines out in order to reuse the transmission cooler integrated into the old radiator. If they're like mine, you'd likely just end up just installing that new radiator you have on-hand...or you could install an aftermarket transmission cooler and custom fabricated transmission lines.
I’m going to examine everything more closely tomorrow evening after work when I will do the above mentioned work and inspect the lines and radiator, the figure out where to go from there. In the meantime, I’ll price out the cooler lines from MB and check availability at the same time.
It's not the radiator. It's the transmission cooler connection design. One time use garbage. This is why I bypassed the radiator and went to a completely separate transmission cooler.
Hi,i just bought new transmission oil cooler pipes that go up to the radiator,but i can't get my intercooler back on for the higher pipe!!
I'm now going to do what i was going to do in the first place and fit an seperate oil cooler like you have,have you any further info on cooler you used?
Also i just read today that if you fit a seperate oil cooler that the fluid doesn't get a little heat from the radiator internals now,and fluid can be 'too' cool with a seperate cooler?
Have you had any issues?Thanks!
2004 E 500 4MATIC Wagon; 2015 ML 350 4MATIC; †2003 C 240 4MATIC Wagon (2003-2022)
I just wanted to provide a brief follow-up to this thread. It has been several months since I had the transmission lines (the entirety, from the radiator to the transmission), brackets, banjo bolts and crush washer seals, radiator, water pump, thermostat, coolant hoses, plastic lines, seals, clamps, expansion tank, coolant temperature sensor, coolant, power steering pump, copper crush washer seals and O-rings, and all of the rusty bolts replaced. So far, everything is functioning perfectly. Some notes:
I found out that the transmission cooler hose segment to the left transmission cooler line for the older W210 models (i.e., part #: 019-997-85-82) can be substituted for my E 500's NLA part and ordered it from the dealership. It will actually work on a large variety of different chassis models. For some reason, Mercedes-Benz's dealership parts inventory system and online ordering catalogs (including the one on MB USA's Classic Parts Store site) are no longer providing proper model fitment listings for this... It's basically the same as the original one on the W211 E 500 4MATIC, except that it is a little bit longer (and has a spring guard protecting the hose)...but it will still fit without modifications.
The hard transmission lines attached to the transmission do not have the black factory coating anymore... After they were installed, I had them coated with cosmoline (i.e., CRC's marine-grade Heavy Duty Corrosion Inhibitor). In Europe (or wherever it is available), one can use Dinitrol.
Be sure to use the OE/OEM-style clamp for the lower coolant hose... For some reason, the clamps for the lower and upper radiator hoses show part #s that are NLA in MB's catalogs and for which there are no listed supersessions in the dealerships' databases (I confirmed it early this year with our local MB dealership's Parts Specialist). I found another MB OE constant-tension clamp specified in other applications as a supersession for the NLA part #, which looks similar and is the same kind employing the semi-circle spring mechanisms as the last superseded clamp for the radiator hoses that is NLA... It works for the upper radiator hose...but it does NOT fit properly for the lower radiator hose. You will need to find an appropriate substitute clamp or pay extra for the NOS Genuine Mercedes clamp that is NLA, if you can still find it online (luckily, my local independent MB specialist shop had the proper OE clamp).
Don't forget about the auxiliary water pump hose. It also deteriorates with age (mine had to be replaced).
Be sure to check the O-ring seals between the front timing cover and engine block surrounding the coolant passages behind the water pump when it is out! Even though I have not experienced mixing of coolant and oil, I still made sure to inspect them, and they were not swollen or cracking, let alone dislodged. They were in excellent condition. I breathed a sigh of relief... Although this is not nearly as common a problem as on the older M112/M113 engines on earlier chassis models and on the AMG variants (including the newer M113K supercharged variant, which seems to degrade its seals over time...see Tasos Moschatos's YouTube channel for his AMG W211 E 55 M113K service check-up inspections), there have been a few reports of it in later M112 & M113 engines.
Lastly, I did end up installing the Mahle-Behr "OEM" radiator sold by FCP Euro after corresponding with another W211 owner (in hot Arizona) who had one installed in his vehicle a few years ago and has reported that it works well. In the months of driving it, I haven't experienced any issues. I did mention to Kyle Bascombe a few months ago that I was going to use the Genuine Mercedes transmission cooler sleeves rather than what comes with the radiator, and he agreed that this was the way to go. In fact, he mentioned that he had reached out to the aftermarket radiator manufacturers about this, since the sleeves that typically ship with their W211 radiators do not fit properly...a common issue reported by customers after installing them.
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Transmission cooler lines part check
