lpina650

hello all, im new here and looking to buy a used 2003 e55 amg with 117k for $12,500. the car seems to run good however i noticed only the bottom hose on the heat exchanger is hooked up and not the upper hose. is this normal? it seemed to concern me a bit.

SPatykAMG

No that is not normal. I would also take that as a sign of neglect and be sure to really check the car over.

lpina650

What kind of issues can this cause?

And any reason why someone would do this?

HeissRod

Seems to me that all of your coolant could exit the system. Any signs of coolant leaking?

lpina650

There was no coolant leaking at all. No oil leaks either. Temperature gauge seemed normal. It was in the middle.

It looked aftermarket. It was aluminum and sort of big. The owner said it was upgraded but couldn't explain the one hose only.

lpina650

Would this be split cooling?

E55Freak

usually split cooling has another tank somewhere for the coolant to pass through and provide additional cooling of the system....

Can you get a pic??

lpina650

I just texted em for a pic. Waiting for it to come through. But the hose inlets on the heat exchanger are on the passenger side with only the bottom one hooked up. The top one is just open. Not even capped off.

HeissRod

Is the damn HE bypassed? Does the car have a trunk tank?

cij911

I would not touch this car....

lpina650

Not sure if it has one. But here's a pic of what im talking about.

SPatykAMG

+1 sounds like some hack job work has been done and even more concerning the owner knows nothing about it.

HeissRod

I'm clueless. The car should not drive long with that detached?

Any link to an online For Sale ad?

cij911

STAY AWAY...If the car has been driven this way, there is absolutely NO COOLANT in the S/C circuit....Most likely the car has been abused, seen massive IATs and knock, and the S/C may be damaged.

If you decide to move forward with the car, take it to a very knowledgeable shop for a complete pre-purchase inspection.

lpina650

Dam. I really wanted this car too. Thanks guys. Would these cars with a supercharger pulley swap, tune, exhaust and drag radials run in the 11.40s?

Heres link to the add http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/cto/4484050726.html

rockthemullet

What in the world...

The only way this really works is if the system is split and, as stated above, there's no coolant on the SC side. If the system wasn't split, the radiator and expansion tank would also be dry.

HeissRod

Where is the lower grill in the bumper? Why is it gone?

Why do none of the pictures in the ad show a shot of the entire front end?

E55Greasemonkey

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot.

Maybe someone stole his IC pump? lol wtf

£ C43 £ AMG £

Well at least you found a good reason not to buy the car.


"ITS BEEN PUT TOGETHER WRONGLY"

austingtir

That is pretty random..