mogulman

I had a low coolant warning a few months ago. First time since I owned the 2013 GLK350 from 2015. Figured it was just natural evaporation. Added some more. Had another light this past week. Add some more coolant. I checked around the radiator and don't see any leaks. None of the hoses seem to be leaking either.

Not sure what to do. Monitoring it again. Made sure the cap is tight.

Really slow leak somewhere that I can't see? Head gasket? But I don't see a lot of white smoke? Nothing on the Garage floor or that I can see inside the engine compartment.

Any ideas on what to check?

calder-cay

So, that comment implies you see SOME white smoke .... is that the case ??

Mmr1

Does the coolant look milky. ,does the motor oil look milky ? I just replaced leaking hoses on my 13, did you remove the bottom tray and look? If you can’t find it get an Ultra Violet dye test kit . If oil or coolant look milky fix it don’t drive it.

mogulman

Doesn't seem like there is any white smoke.

mogulman

Seems like a very slow leak, if there is one. I drove about 60 miles today. Let the car cool down and checked the reservoir. Still looks like the same level.

mogulman

The coolant reservoir doesn't look milky. I'll check the oil in the AM.

I'll try removing the bottom tray. I have a bad back, so may be hard for me to get down there. I was just looking from the top/front. Didn't seem any crust or leaks. Also, no stains on the garage floor.

Mmr1

Uv and a head gasket test kit are not expe


nsive

John CC

Does the 350 have a vacuum controlled water pump like the 250? If so, check the vacuum line from the pump for moisture.

mogulman

So had a local service place do a pressure test. They said it was a pinhole or smaller leak in the head gasket. They put in some coolant leak liquid in there for now. We'll see if it helps. The leak is very small. Quarter cup every month or two.

If it ends up getting worse, they said I could have someone torque the bolts a little tighter. Or head gasket replacement. Both sound expensive. Anyone have any experience with these (non dealer). Is it even worthwhile to do either on a 2013 GLK 350 with 166k miles?

Should I look at getting a new car now? Wanted to do a road trip later in the year, so wondering if this will hold up. Also, maybe getting rid of it if there is a better than average chance of it getting worse.

​​​​​​

calder-cay

Did they show proof of the leak?

Mmr1

If it was a cylinder head gasket, a Block Leak tester is used. They are about 15$, otherwise it’s more likely a hose or radiator . I posted photos here about a month ago

Mmr1

Before a head gasket panic , which I hear is not to hear !!!
Think hose or radiator. Your going the wrong way

NYCGLK

Coolant can leak and evaporate in many places.
Have water pump and thermostat been replaced?

Like said above, a simple gas tester can determine if it's headgasket. It tests for for combustion gases in you coolant system. Pretty easy test.

If it's indeed head gasket, torquing head bolts is not gonna solve anything and replacing headgasket will be prohibitively expensive to do it right.

mogulman

They just said on the report that there was staining down the right cylinder head.

Odd Piggy

In all honesty, I would probably ignore a leak that size, but I understand your concern about taking a long trip in a vehicle with 166k miles starting to show some issues.

All pin hole leaks behave the way yours is doing. A head gasket is probably the least likely place. My C250 had a pin hole leak that behaved just like this - ten okay trips, then 2 or 3 where I needed about 6 ounces of coolant. This went on for half a year until I was under the hood with the engine running one day and saw a tiny spray from a pin hole in the water distribution tube.

Your leak could be similar. It will probably get a bit worse until it makes the cause obvious. In 50+ years of working on engines, I have never seen re-tightening a head bolt fix anything. The most likely outcome is that will cause problems that weren’t there before. Some of those could be catastrophic.

Mmr1

If it was me I would put in UV dye, do the test, and do a gas leak test, then put in new fluid. I don’t trust what your mechanic said . And no you don’t retorque heads.

mogulman

Ok. So I brought the car to a place I trust down in the city, who has worked on my car for years. They found a leak in the radiator.

So now the question is, do I fix it?
They say that these are the most immediate:
They have radiator, with hot water valve and firewall elbox at $1600.

There is also play in my ball joints and they want to replace the lower control arm for $1000.

​​​​​​Things they said could wait:
the front differential is seaping oil. That would be another $1600. They say I could wait on this.

Also, one of my camshaft adjusters is making noise. Others could start making noise or eventually need to be replaced. If I did this it would $6600.

I think if I did everything I'd be better off getting rid of the car. The question is, do I fix some of it now. Radiator and maybe control arm?

Car has 167000 miles. I like it, but don't want to sink more into it then it's worth. I can afford to buy another car. Do I just leave it and look for a new car? Trade in or something?

calder-cay

So, the one shop said a leaking head gasket, now a trusted shop says it's the radiator. (?)

That's really a personal decision. Some folks would fix all of it (and first argue the quoted cost) ... and some folks would do the minimal to sell it, then move on.

We have a 2001 Wrangler with 133k miles on it with minimal "major" replacement (I've done a radiator replacement $300 and torque converter sensor myself ($50) - keeping it). GLK, now 91k, nothing major (yet).

Prior to our 350, my wife had an e320 with over 300k miles with zero major issues (though I did swap out the radiator just before 300k, and did motor and tranny mounts about 275k).

It's all about what it's worth to you (and family?).

Mmr1

Your prices given are aa prime rib , I wouldn’t pay that and don’t , or owning mb would be bankruptcy. . No I don’t agree with the needed work , but that’s me

Mmr1

Did you see the leak ?. Once I fixed a leak with jb weld on a plastic piece and it did not fail ever on the plastic
my last leak on my Glk was a bad hose ,

hoses leak , water pump gaskets leak . And fcp euro has the best products with forever . Autochrome sells crap rebuilt a joke
As a joke

Odd Piggy

If you are convinced that it's the radiator, then that would be worth fixing. I'm a bit concerned because you have 2 different diagnoses, although I was skeptical of the head gasket. But why not just replace the radiator if all those other components are old but still working? As far as the other ones, no, including the control arm. You weren't complaining about play in the steering.

All that work together is worth more than the GLK if you were to trade it. Just my opinion, but if you trade it for another used car, you don't really know why the owner got rid of it. You know what you have.

The Beverly Hillbilly solution with a small radiator leak and needing to take trip, would be to just throw in a tube of alumaseal, keep a couple of gallon jugs of water in the back, and hope for the best. I would do that traveling by myself, but not with family.😎

NYCGLK

On a 10+ year old car many things will need replacing, fixing and maintaining. You have 3 options:
1) DIY repair and extra maintenance.
2) Buy a new car that doesn't need this but will depreciate
3) Find a mechanic who can do things right and give you right options/advice ....aka a unicorn..

It's that simple. IMO opinion, if you can't do some work on the car, you should not own 10+ year old car.
Have you replaced waterpump, pulley, front shaft, transfer case bearings, fluids in diffs...etc etc.

Btw...radiator and lower control arms are 600 on FCP. So if you can do yourself you save 2k and keep your car.

mogulman

I have metal rods in my back and can't get down to fix things like I used to. Also, live ina townhome without adequate garage space to do work. Appreciate the suggestions though.

Here is a video they attached showing the control arm. Doesn't look that bad to me, but I'm no mechanic.

angryartichoke

There is play in that control arm so any mechanic would recommend replacing it.

Those prices you are quoted are ridiculous, but that's kinda the name of the game when you own an older Mercedes and can't work on it yourself. I'd recommend moving on, you don't seem to be in love with the car.

mogulman

Went to the repair shop. They showed me the leak. The also showed me the CAM adjuster specs. They are still within max tolerance but are making a little noise on startup. So going to just monitor that.

For now just getting the radiator and control arm fixed. Pricy but I guess that's what I get for not being able to do it myself.

Looks like parts are similar to what I could find online. $600 for two control arms. $392 for radiator and $119 for feed line.

Labor is 5.5 hours including drain and fill. @$175 for radiator

Control arm about 2 hours @ same rate.