Changed Water Pump, Now Overheating! Please Help Experts!
Member
Joined: Aug 2016
Posts: 130
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'11 E350 4Matic Sport
Reason I ask is if you are a notch or two above 80 ("normal") it could possibly be normal operation. Our cars have electronically controlled thermostats that will run the engine hotter during the right conditions (light load, low RPM cruising) for emissions and fuel economy purposes then cooler during heavy loads. My departed '09 C300 and my current '11 E350 will range anywhere from sitting right @ 80C to up to 2 notches above during normal operation and will fluctuate between the two.
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Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 5,141
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From: Southern US
2010 E550, 273 Engine: 2012 S550, 278 Engine
Thats gives me alot to think about thank you so much for the insight. Im praying its not the heater core but all right now is pointing at the radiator, i will also look into the cooling fan relay and see if that has anything to do with it, however now that i come to think of it, i dont believe this shop did a complete flush of the cooling system, i dont know if its a mandatory step but ive read alot about always doing it , i dont believe the folks at the shop did a full flush of the system and im starting to think if they did perhaps i wouldnt be in this situation as this is the second pump install and now today also a thermostat boy im praying its some blockage in the rad which may have also caused the initial pump failure to begin with but who knows i just pray its the rad and clearing the blockage will resolve the problem ill be sure to post more updates. Thanks for your repies.
This leaves two options (after pump and thermostat changes).
1. Your radiator has build- up in the internal surfaces so bad it cannot transfer heat well enough to keep the engine cool. I do not believe this is the case because you had no issues with overheating at all before the first pump change. Radiator was working fine before pump change and nothing in the pump change job would cause sudden build-up inside the radiator.
2. The other option is your cooling system has not been filled correctly. If they filled it thru the expansion tank I guarantee the system is not even close to be filled correctly. I had a Chevy Tahoe in the past and experienced this issue with the reservoir at good level between min and max markings but the radiator was empty. Took almost two gallons to fill it up.
In your first post you mention the engine temp gaugre goes up and down and I understand this happened fast. This can only happen when the temperature sensor is not covered under coolant at all times. Real engine temperature cannot change up and down that fast.
I looked at at my car and for a big surprise the radiator does not have the normal fill cap on top of it so MB had again come up with the system that requires special tools and procedure to fill the cooling system properly. It probably has a fill port somewhere at low point of the system and air then escapes thru the reservoir. This closed system cannot be filled (in my car at least) thru the reservoir as air cannot get out.
Go to MB service and ask them to correctly fill your cooling system.
Or perhaps konigsteiger has instructions for this?
Member
Joined: Jun 2017
Posts: 127
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E550
@@ishpatel03 - If it has air in the system, it will clear out after driving it for a week and your fluctuations (if they're significant ones at the moment) will reduce. It doesn't take very long for the air to work its way out of the system although there is a 'correct' way to fill it. You may also notice the heat coming into the cabin fluctuate hot/cold if the cooling system still has a significant amount of air in it. It would be nice to see exactly how your temperature gauge is reacting.
If the behavior doesn't change after a week of driving, you can rule out air in the system.
Last edited by - Mover -; Jan 31, 2019 at 11:42 AM. Reason: - Mover -
MBWorld Fanatic!
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2011 E-350 4Matic Sport
I read your initial post and it seems that if heater core or radiator were clogged, you would have seen the overheating initially. All you had was a leak. So I'm going back to the work done that is causing heating indication. Has the car been driven while on a scanner to get further into operating parameters? I agree that air pocket could be present but it seems that's a long time by now to be trapped .
I also see my car having small temp fluctuation depending on driving conditions but only a few degrees.
I hope you find the final solution.
I also see my car having small temp fluctuation depending on driving conditions but only a few degrees.
I hope you find the final solution.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 5,141
Likes: 1,293
From: Southern US
2010 E550, 273 Engine: 2012 S550, 278 Engine
I read your initial post and it seems that if heater core or radiator were clogged, you would have seen the overheating initially. All you had was a leak. So I'm going back to the work done that is causing heating indication. Has the car been driven while on a scanner to get further into operating parameters? I agree that air pocket could be present but it seems that's a long time by now to be trapped .
I also see my car having small temp fluctuation depending on driving conditions but only a few degrees.
I hope you find the final solution.
I also see my car having small temp fluctuation depending on driving conditions but only a few degrees.
I hope you find the final solution.
I don’t know how Mercedes builds the radiators but a typical for the cars has heat exchange tubes running horizontally between the sides of the radiator where all tubes connect to the same space. This means coolant flow is parallel flow thru the tubes. If the radiator is not filled correctly you will have coolant flowing only thru the tubes at the bottom of the radiator as the hot coolant returning from the engine drops down to the bottom of the partially filled radiator. Air inside the radiator stays in the radiator unless enough pressure builds up to push it in the expansion tank.
With a lot of air the air removal can be impossible as the large volume of air allows for a “long spring” that reaches pressure enough to just purge a small amount of air but then maintains enough pressure at cooling that no new coolant or very small amount of it is pulled in from the expansion tank. To pull new coolant in also needs a small vacuum in the system and the “long spring” could prevent enough vacuum from building up.
This kind of systems are designed to work totally air free and they do very well that as with liquid the volume runs in and out of the expansion tank as the volume changes.
In OP’s case I’m almost 100% sure his coolant is very low, so low that the level does not reach high enough in the radiator to do hardly any cooling. This is why his inside heater core does a better job as the water pump pumps the coolant from the bottom of the radiator thru the heater core where the fan takes the heat out. Nothing can fill the radiator in front of the car other than filling it up correctly.
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Joined: Jun 2017
Posts: 127
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E550
The “air pocket” that I am trying to explain will not clear out from the system. If radiator is only half filled or even less the air just sits in the top of the radiator.
I don’t know how Mercedes builds the radiators but a typical for the cars has heat exchange tubes running horizontally between the sides of the radiator where all tubes connect to the same space. This means coolant flow is parallel flow thru the tubes. If the radiator is not filled correctly you will have coolant flowing only thru the tubes at the bottom of the radiator as the hot coolant returning from the engine drops down to the bottom of the partially filled radiator. Air inside the radiator stays in the radiator unless enough pressure builds up to push it in the expansion tank.
With a lot of air the air removal can be impossible as the large volume of air allows for a “long spring” that reaches pressure enough to just purge a small amount of air but then maintains enough pressure at cooling that no new coolant or very small amount of it is pulled in from the expansion tank. To pull new coolant in also needs a small vacuum in the system and the “long spring” could prevent enough vacuum from building up.
I understand what you are saying concerning 'long spring', however,
1) Mercedes placed the expansion tank higher up than the rad. Its designed like this for a reason.
2) There is a vent tube at the top of the rad leading to the top of the expansion tank.
Even filling the engine cold thru the expansion tank will fill the rad. The air pockets are caught up in the block and other areas initially. As you drive, with coolant flow, they move around.
Even if the top of the rad was filled with air, the expansion tank will empty out of coolant due to
1) the feed of expansion tank coolant into the rad and
2) the top vent hose located at the top of the rad and
3) the expansion tank being placed higher than the rad.
If you find yourself with little to no coolant in the expansion tank at any time, then keep topping up.
Ask me how I know this.
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MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 5,141
Likes: 1,293
From: Southern US
2010 E550, 273 Engine: 2012 S550, 278 Engine
I understand what you are saying concerning 'long spring', however,
1) Mercedes placed the expansion tank higher up than the rad. Its designed like this for a reason.
2) There is a vent tube at the top of the rad leading to the top of the expansion tank.
Even filling the engine cold thru the expansion tank will fill the rad. The air pockets are caught up in the block and other areas initially. As you drive, with coolant flow, they move around.
Even if the top of the rad was filled with air, the expansion tank will empty out of coolant due to
1) the feed of expansion tank coolant into the rad and
2) the top vent hose located at the top of the rad and
3) the expansion tank being placed higher than the rad.
If you find yourself with little to no coolant in the expansion tank at any time, then keep topping up.
Ask me how I know this.
1) Mercedes placed the expansion tank higher up than the rad. Its designed like this for a reason.
2) There is a vent tube at the top of the rad leading to the top of the expansion tank.
Even filling the engine cold thru the expansion tank will fill the rad. The air pockets are caught up in the block and other areas initially. As you drive, with coolant flow, they move around.
Even if the top of the rad was filled with air, the expansion tank will empty out of coolant due to
1) the feed of expansion tank coolant into the rad and
2) the top vent hose located at the top of the rad and
3) the expansion tank being placed higher than the rad.
If you find yourself with little to no coolant in the expansion tank at any time, then keep topping up.
Ask me how I know this.
But for the OP I recommend filling the radiator to the top..
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 5,141
Likes: 1,293
From: Southern US
2010 E550, 273 Engine: 2012 S550, 278 Engine
So what happened to this urgent case? No replies and many people wanted to help.
Would be at least polite to tell if the issue was fixed and how.
Would be at least polite to tell if the issue was fixed and how.
Newbie
Joined: Apr 2017
Posts: 7
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2010 E350 sports
e350 running cool
I recently had to change my upper radiator hose do to the overflow hose hanging and getting cut by fan. I put the new hose on and topped off with fluid that I purchased from MB and was fine for a day. Yesterday I get an engine light and the code from my reader says the thermostat is stuck open. I ordered a new thermostat but my question is. Do I need to bleed the system, could not bleeding it after the change of the hose cause this code? Also, anyone know of how to bleed the system in a 2010 E350 4dr base?
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