Guys or Gals, I've got a 1989 190E 2.6 that has a ruptured rubber hose that's on top of the engine between the thermostat housing / water pump assembly and the top of the engine..... I called my dealership and they said it was about a $480 job to fix a stinking
3-inch piece of rubber hose ??? They said you have to remove the water pump assembly and the fan housing and other stuff with about 4-6 hrs. labor for a $1 part ???
What am I missing here ??? I removed the ruptured hose and see where it covers about an eighth of an inch gap ? !!!
There's got to be a better way to do this ? I was thinking about sawing thru an inch and a half of the pipe coming from the engine and maybe another half inch from the water pump / thermostat housing assembly and then sliding an over lenghted piece of rubber hose over the one end towards the engine and then slipping it back over the thermostat housing end ???
If anyone has had this problem and some resolution other than $480 bucks for a $1 piece of rubber,... please, PLEASE let me know the next step(s).
Thanks a bunch for any help.

 

pseverin,

Your idea would probably work, but I would remove the water pump and replace the hose with the correct replacement from Mercedes. You will probably spend less time doing it right and have peace of mind when driving the car. Removing and replacing the water pump is easier than cutting off a small section of each hose connector. I'm sure this is not what you wanted to hear, but I do all of my own Mercedes repairs and doing the job right is the best way to correctly maintain these cars.

Good luck either way,

Dave

 

Hey Dave,
Thank you so much for helping me NOT take the easy way out,....
Could you tell me any specifics I might need to remove the water pump to get this done ?
1. Special tools ?
2. What needs to be removed to get to the pump,.. serpentine belt (hope not),
power steering pump,...etc. ?
3. Will any piece of radiator hose work for a replacement or is there something special
about a Mercedes hose ?
Thanks so much for your help.

 

the way you do is good for next water pump replace.we do saw out a lot of car already ..every car working fine ......think about good job ...is a fast and easy way = lazy job....but it done .....
do you hear a story about us put a million to make a ball pen writing upward? but russian use 10 cents pencil

 

pseverin,

The only tools you should need is a metric socket set, metric wrenches, and basic hand tools (sockets, wrenches, screwdrivers, etc.) Yes, you have to remove the serpentine belt since it goes over the water pump pulley. Be sure to follow the serpentine belt tensioner instructions when removing and re-installing the belt. You may want to replace the serpentine belt anyway.
As far as the hose manufacturer, I always buy the correct parts for my MB's, either from the dealer or a friend of mine that owns a Mercedes repair/parts shop. I believe the quality is better and they last longer. If you go NAPA and they carry Gates hoses for your car, then that would be okay.
After you remove the serpentine belt, fan blade, water pump pulley, then you should have access to the water pump bolts. You may also want to consider replacing the water pump during this operation, since that is what you are basically doing. If you don't, be sure to get a new water pump seal/gasket when you re-install the old water pump.
If you don't have a repair manual for your car, then go to the public library and check their reference section for your car. You should find the R&R water pump instructions there.

Good Luck,

Dave

 

pseverin,

I see that porkface (Chuck) replied to your question on the bentleypublishers web site. He's right, remove the head or the water pump. Believe me, if porkface said it, then it is the gospel truth. He has helped me on couple of difficult repairs and gave me the exact instructions to resolve my problems.

Dave

 

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