Hi there fellow forum members... I've had my 230CE (no A/C) for 18 months now I think I have two problems (possibly connected?) and I hope someone here can shed some light on them please;

1) Shortly after getting it I noticed that whatever setting I put the dial controlling air distribution to; floor only, floor & screen, screen only, the two center vents blow cold air. They have a lever which is, I assume, to block them off but nothing works with the result being that whatever setting I put the fan on and whatever temperature I roll the control wheels to I get two vents at about shoulder height blowing cold air into the car. I have blocked them with tissues for now which sort of works but can anyone tell me; Is there an off switch for these vents? What is normal operation? Are they supposed to blow cold air all the time? If I select floor only are they supposed to still blow air from them? Is this a vacuum control issue? Any help with possible solutions (other than ram more paper/block off with cardboard and gaffer tape) would be very much appreciated.

OK, on to problem 2...
2) If I select warm air and blow it into the car on full fan the air gradually gets colder and colder. If I blow it onto the screen it starts out quite hot then stays luke warm for a bit but eventually gets very cold. If I select floor that starts out luke warm and then gets colder quicker. If I leave the fan in first position I get a trickle of warm-ish air almost all the time.
Now having had a similar problem on a 190E I thought blocked heater core, until today. I was starting up my VW Fastback with jump leads and left the Merc attached and revving at 2000rpm for about 25 mins. I had inadvertantly left the fan on position 1 and when I opened the car it was like a Sauna (the dry kind not the steamy type!). I then whacked the fan on full and it gave me lovely warm air for 5 minutes no problem, the footwell air was cooler but still acceptably warm and better than I have had for a while. Over that 5 minutes of full operation I would have expected it to get much coooler but it didn't. Both inlet pipe and outlet pipe were too hot to hold indicating a good flow through the system. So I thought that whatever was causing the problem had sorted itself out (wishful thinking I know!)
I then drove back from where the VW is about 20 minutes away and at the end of the journey on A roads with the windows open and the foot down the temp gauge was sitting at the higher end of the normal operating range I put the fan on full and the heat started out good but then started to drop off again. The engine temp remains good, averaging 80c, runs smoothly and there is no coolant loss or oil pressure problems, no leaves blocking the inlet vents under the windscreen and the car has been looked after.
So now I am confused. What is it likely to be? Is there a fix?

Any suggestions for either problem right now would be appreciated as I have suffered driving about in a big coat and hat all winter and would obviously like to get the heater sorted for this wonderful British summer we all know and love Thanks people!

 

Problem now sorted - sort of. Brown sludge in water. HG Failure methinks.

 

hi zneb i have the same problem can you tell me how you fixed it please