OK, I started this narrative and then dropped it due to distractions.
I noticed during the summer a reddish contaminant is smaller quantities in my coolant overflow tank. Thought it might be rust, and so after watching it for a while had the coolant drained and flushed. But it wasn’t rust! It was transmission fluid, leaking in from a separate tank located on the bottom of the radiator. Ouch! First I thought of replacing the radiator with a cheap Chinese version available via Amazon.
But I had to get the old radiator -- the original -- out of the car. No problem my Pelican Parts DIY online guide stated. Well it was a hell of a problem, even after spraying soap solution first and then WD-40 along the sides of the radiator where there are rubber insulators. Finally with he help of Brock (my mechanic) we got the radiator out, but later I learned the radiator was damaged in the process.
So I ordered a radiator from Amazon. It seemed to fit, and after it was placed in, Brock took off wand went home, I was a heap looking thing, but what caused a major problem it was a bit too high and so the hood would not close! Har har!
Out came the Amazon radiator and sent back where it belongs. It looked terrible in an otherwise pristine original engine bay anyway.
So not the original M-B radiator assent to a funky radiator shop -- Woody’s -- located in Fairborn, Ohio. In business since 1955, Woody was great, but not cheap. And he got the job done right. Radiator back in, new hoses put on with some pain, and the job done.
But the story was not quite over. I used new hoses but old clamps, and once it got a bit cold, one of the clamps leaked. Thankful, Bob Ross M-B in Centerville Parts Department guy just gave me a few OEM clamps, and I could close this rather harrowing chapter.
Even a supposedly one wrench job can take it out of you.
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