losing coolant, 2007 GL450
11-25-2023 | 09:39 AM
#26
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 2,657
Likes: 594
From: Emmett, ID, USA
2007 GL450
Why spend $6000 to fix a $5000 car sounds like a poignant question. But it often not the relevant question.
If you enjoy your vehicle and like what it offers, the real question is $6000 versus $30000 - $65000 for a newer/new one to replace it.
Sure, you could replace it with another one of a similar age for $5000 (though not where I live), but the odds are pretty good you'll still be facing material repair bills in short order.
If driving what you have is still enjoyable it's probably worth the repair. But if you begin to look at it with distrust or distain, then that $5000 value becomes a whole lot more relevant.
If you enjoy your vehicle and like what it offers, the real question is $6000 versus $30000 - $65000 for a newer/new one to replace it.
Sure, you could replace it with another one of a similar age for $5000 (though not where I live), but the odds are pretty good you'll still be facing material repair bills in short order.
If driving what you have is still enjoyable it's probably worth the repair. But if you begin to look at it with distrust or distain, then that $5000 value becomes a whole lot more relevant.
If accidental loss were not a risk, I would be far more inclined to work toward making my GL perfect, as I am happy with driving it and could easily see myself driving it until I die.
The following users liked this post:
funkypost (12-16-2023)
11-25-2023 | 09:57 AM
#27
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 2,657
Likes: 594
From: Emmett, ID, USA
2007 GL450
Cascading failures, e.g. leaking air springs consuming the compressor, are certainly a complication.
Doing multiple repairs simultaneously is not a free ride, either. The more repairs you do at once, the more likely you will screw up one of them. It is like twin engine planes: Yes, you have engine redundancy, but you also have twice as many engines to experience a failure!
There are no easy answers here. All you can do is look at the problem from multiple angles and try to develop an intuition to help you decide. I have numerous front suspension parts sitting on my garage floor and still cannot make up my mind regarding how many I should replace at once! Let's see ... combined labor savings, extended downtime, are the components really at EOL ... it is maddening.
The following users liked this post:
texas008 (11-27-2023)
11-25-2023 | 09:58 AM
#28
Senior Member
Joined: Apr 2023
Posts: 257
Likes: 25
Mercedes gl450
The point is not that the vehicle is an investment, but rather that if you drop cash into it, you will not recover a penny of that from insurance should a rock fall from the sky.
If accidental loss were not a risk, I would be far more inclined to work toward making my GL perfect, as I am happy with driving it and could easily see myself driving it until I die.
If accidental loss were not a risk, I would be far more inclined to work toward making my GL perfect, as I am happy with driving it and could easily see myself driving it until I die.
11-26-2023 | 04:05 AM
#29
Super Member
Joined: Jun 2014
Posts: 736
Likes: 311
From: Melbourne, Australia
2010 ML550 VIN WDC1641722A564750, 2010 B180
The W164 forum has plenty of posts that show the plastic tanks on the sides of the radiator cracking. Same setup as X164. Only fix is to replace. Good time to replace hoses and thermostat as well. Water pumps dont seem to be a problem on 6 and V8s.
11-26-2023 | 08:37 AM
#30
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 2,657
Likes: 594
From: Emmett, ID, USA
2007 GL450
One more factor in the preventive maintenance decision: Criticality. The coolant system is one that will take down the motor if its failure is not promptly addressed. In that light, I would replace the radiator and at least upper hose on a preventive basis every 150K miles.
The following 2 users liked this post by eric_in_sd:
BlackML550 (11-26-2023),
texas008 (11-27-2023)
11-27-2023 | 07:25 AM
#31
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: Apr 2014
Posts: 282
Likes: 62
2007 GL450
Last edited by texas008; 11-27-2023 at 08:02 AM.
11-27-2023 | 07:45 AM
#32
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: Apr 2014
Posts: 282
Likes: 62
2007 GL450
There is no easy answer. Certainly, with Airmatic and the primary electrical system one is well advised to spare no expense and keep a close eye on the system status, as slow failure of one part degrades the others.
If it were an aircraft, the whole engine would be rebuilt on a schedule designed to eliminate virtually all in-flight failures. But this is not an aircraft. Component failure leads to you pulling off to the side of the road and calling AAA, not desperately hoping for a safe place to land.
If I could re-do my radiator replacement, I first would have been more diligent about finding the source of the leaks (it turned out it was power steering fluid and coolant leaking from a lower radiator hose). If I went ahead with the radiator replacement, I would have changed the power steering pump and reservoir, and low pressure hoses, and the upper and lower radiator hoses, and lower heater hose while I was in there.
There are two risks in doing any work. One is disrupting a stable situation; for example, if you change the thermostat, you may find the upper radiator hose o-ring cannot be reused. It was sealing fine; now it does not anymore. The other is installing imperfect parts; I removed a probably good radiator and replaced with one on which the drain petcock promptly failed and the inlet pipe had to be polished to make a good seal. A friend of mine laboriously installed a fuel pump only to find out much later that the one he installed was bad. It is no longer a world in which parts quality can be relied upon.
If you are willing to have a risky vehicle, change parts on an as-needed basis. This is cheaper but costs you in gray hairs. If you want as-new aircraft level reliability, do complete rebuilds of subunits, but understand this will be expensive (cost you will not recover if a rock falls from the sky) and still may cost you gray hairs.
If it were an aircraft, the whole engine would be rebuilt on a schedule designed to eliminate virtually all in-flight failures. But this is not an aircraft. Component failure leads to you pulling off to the side of the road and calling AAA, not desperately hoping for a safe place to land.
If I could re-do my radiator replacement, I first would have been more diligent about finding the source of the leaks (it turned out it was power steering fluid and coolant leaking from a lower radiator hose). If I went ahead with the radiator replacement, I would have changed the power steering pump and reservoir, and low pressure hoses, and the upper and lower radiator hoses, and lower heater hose while I was in there.
There are two risks in doing any work. One is disrupting a stable situation; for example, if you change the thermostat, you may find the upper radiator hose o-ring cannot be reused. It was sealing fine; now it does not anymore. The other is installing imperfect parts; I removed a probably good radiator and replaced with one on which the drain petcock promptly failed and the inlet pipe had to be polished to make a good seal. A friend of mine laboriously installed a fuel pump only to find out much later that the one he installed was bad. It is no longer a world in which parts quality can be relied upon.
If you are willing to have a risky vehicle, change parts on an as-needed basis. This is cheaper but costs you in gray hairs. If you want as-new aircraft level reliability, do complete rebuilds of subunits, but understand this will be expensive (cost you will not recover if a rock falls from the sky) and still may cost you gray hairs.
In my case there is a slow oil leak dripping from power steering pump area onto the AC compressor. seems three possibilities here for the oil leak:
1. Engine oil filter housing gasket and engine oil cooler gasket, not likely in my case since both gasket were replaced 2 years ago
2. Power steering fluid leaking from the O-ring or from the PS pump, maybe not likely in my case, since there is no loss of PS fluid in the reservoir when i checked. but it doesn't hurt to replace the PS pump
3. Engine oil leaking from camshaft sensors / magnets, But oil dripping was not seen around this same symmetric location (around the other sets of camshaft sensors / magnets) on the passenger side.
probably need to replace the PS pump and related hoses (as you've mentioned), and camshaft sensors/magnets (really dirty covered with oil and dirt) for long term peace of mind.
11-27-2023 | 07:51 AM
#33
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 2,657
Likes: 594
From: Emmett, ID, USA
2007 GL450
I used a jig saw, but it's just plastic - most anything will cut it.
What "plastic protusions / feets" are you talking about?
11-27-2023 | 08:07 AM
#34
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: Apr 2014
Posts: 282
Likes: 62
2007 GL450
Eek, no, I am not talking about trimming off anything that holds the fan in place! I meant the bottom left and right corners; the overall shape is a rectangle, with a curved shape holding the fan and a rectangular flange to mate to the radiator. The bottom corners of that flange reduce clearance as you wiggle rotate the fan back and forth to lift it out. They bump into the transmission and power steering fluid lines.
I used a jig saw, but it's just plastic - most anything will cut it.
What "plastic protusions / feets" are you talking about?
I used a jig saw, but it's just plastic - most anything will cut it.
What "plastic protusions / feets" are you talking about?
The following users liked this post:
texas008 (11-28-2023)
01-09-2024 | 10:26 AM
#36
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: Apr 2014
Posts: 282
Likes: 62
2007 GL450
I did the same using a hand saw, takes 30 seconds and made a big difference putting the fan assembly back.
and no impact on the structural integrity of the fan box.
The following users liked this post:
eric_in_sd (01-09-2024)
01-09-2024 | 11:06 AM
#37
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 2,657
Likes: 594
From: Emmett, ID, USA
2007 GL450
Super glad to be of assistance. Too bad MBWorld is saving on disk space, deleting photos. For future reference, the picture showed the bottom corners of the fan shroud trimmed off. Those corners bump into the fluid lines.
