M271 EVO thermostat swap
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Jul 2015
Posts: 59
Likes: 10
E55
M271 EVO thermostat swap
Hello
I just wanted to post a warning following a slight failure on my behalf.
I have a 2011 C180 CGI with the turbocharged M271 engine.
I think it is identical to the C200/220 or whatever that was sold in USA with the only difference that those have more boost dialed in. The C180 is supposedly the european budget version.
Anyway, my coolant temperature has been hovering around 60°C (about unicorn cheese purple in imperial units) so I figured I should replace the thermostat.
On the supercharged M271 this is supposedly dead simple - the thermostat is housed behind a hose bracket at the front of the engine, held by two screws.
It turns out that on the CGI version of the engine, that bracket is rather a big plastic blotch, a preposterous manifold of pipes and sensors and things that is held by five screws, one of which is hidden behind a hose that seems more or less pernanently mounted. You need special tools to get it loose, and the blotch looks like it requires a special gasket.
Also, the air intake pipe routs otside it and disappears down into the engine bay. The upper end can be easily detached, the lower end resides in the abyss of Hades. So you can't really remove it, making access to the other items an exercise in double-jointed hand agility and skin scarring.
I am dismayed.
I just wanted to post a warning following a slight failure on my behalf.
I have a 2011 C180 CGI with the turbocharged M271 engine.
I think it is identical to the C200/220 or whatever that was sold in USA with the only difference that those have more boost dialed in. The C180 is supposedly the european budget version.
Anyway, my coolant temperature has been hovering around 60°C (about unicorn cheese purple in imperial units) so I figured I should replace the thermostat.
On the supercharged M271 this is supposedly dead simple - the thermostat is housed behind a hose bracket at the front of the engine, held by two screws.
It turns out that on the CGI version of the engine, that bracket is rather a big plastic blotch, a preposterous manifold of pipes and sensors and things that is held by five screws, one of which is hidden behind a hose that seems more or less pernanently mounted. You need special tools to get it loose, and the blotch looks like it requires a special gasket.
Also, the air intake pipe routs otside it and disappears down into the engine bay. The upper end can be easily detached, the lower end resides in the abyss of Hades. So you can't really remove it, making access to the other items an exercise in double-jointed hand agility and skin scarring.
I am dismayed.
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Jul 2015
Posts: 59
Likes: 10
E55
A year passed, and come the winter and cold I again began to get annoyed by the fact that it would take 17 km of highway for the temperature to reach 80°C.
So I ordered a new thermostat and proceeded to swap it myself. It was difficult. Lots of hoses and pipes in the way of five fastening screws, no space for tools, electric connectors with invisible securing tabs, stuff that could not be removed, etc. Two hours and a lot of scraped knuckles and prayers to various deities later, I had managed to replace the thermostat.
And there is no difference! The car still takes ages and ages to reach operating temperature!
Anyway, the difference is that now I know that this is normal, instead of driving around with a grueling feeling in the pit of my stomach that something may be broken.
So I ordered a new thermostat and proceeded to swap it myself. It was difficult. Lots of hoses and pipes in the way of five fastening screws, no space for tools, electric connectors with invisible securing tabs, stuff that could not be removed, etc. Two hours and a lot of scraped knuckles and prayers to various deities later, I had managed to replace the thermostat.
And there is no difference! The car still takes ages and ages to reach operating temperature!
Anyway, the difference is that now I know that this is normal, instead of driving around with a grueling feeling in the pit of my stomach that something may be broken.
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Joined: May 2015
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From: Miami, FL
2003 CL 600
As long as it will actually reach 80C, it should be fine. If it was only hitting 60C then the thermostat wasn't closing completely. I'd say you fixed it, but it's just cold and the car takes a while to warm up.
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Jul 2015
Posts: 59
Likes: 10
E55
Well, before it did reach 80°C eventually, it just took an inordinate amount of time that I haven't seen in any other car I have owned.
After changing the thermostat, I like to think that it does heat up slightly faster. Still unusually slow, but less slow. I guess that can be attributed to different manufacturing tolerances in the thermostats.
After changing the thermostat, I like to think that it does heat up slightly faster. Still unusually slow, but less slow. I guess that can be attributed to different manufacturing tolerances in the thermostats.
