Its been close to a week now and my engine has started reporting Temps of or close to 120F. Its a '95 E320, the Aux Fans come on and stay on, but the Temp sits teasingly close to 120. WHen I hit the Freeway, it cools down to 80, but gets right back up when I hit the Streets. I've got an appt with the "Stealer" tomorrow, but wanted some input from you guys first.

What could it be? Bad Coolant Sensor? Bad Radiator? I haven't done a flush of the Coolant fluid in some time so I don't know if it might be deposits in the radiator. But would that explain why the Aux Fans stay on. HELP!!!

Rene

 

don't panic!

120F (degrees farenheit) is only 49C (degrees celsius).

nothing is wrong with it.

 

anyway, if it is overheating, the first thing you got to check is the coolant thermostat.

at the end of upper radiator hose connecting to the engine is the thermostat housing. remove the 3 bolts and take it out. put it in hot water and see if it opens.

 

[:@] i have the same problem i cant satan it.. if i'm idle at a light or at a drive through the car runs hot.. i have to drive fast to keep the car below 80...one time i was at a car wash and went the car was done it started smoking...a top hose popped of i had to put it back on...a friend thinks that it maybe a fan clutch......he took the big white fan off and the bolt that turns the fan was moving...its not the thermostate because i get heat but i have no ac.......i symphathize with you...dont want to spent money on everything to find out what it is...car has cost me enough money....i've been redused to driving only to work and the grocery store...i hate it....if you find the problem with your car can your let me know...thank you

 

According to my owner's manual, the cooling system is rated all the way up to the 120 C mark, I made sure of that before driving mine through the desert. You did read your owners' manual? They discuss things like this.

The most I've ever seen mine go to is 95 C, however, and I'm sure that while it'll run at 120C, it's probably better for the car long-term if it doesn't. If it went too much over 100 and stayed there, I'd get it seen to. I suspect the 120C is extra capacity that's not really meant to be used, except to make sure the car doesn't get immediately damaged.

Definitely if the needle touches any of the red zone, shut the car off immediately and let it cool down.

An old trick I used with another car (harder to do with those automatic climate control systems in these MB's) is to turn on the heater - it runs off the same cooling system (it's basically a miniature radiator), and helps to cool the car down. I drove through the desert with a marginal cooling system by running the heater full blast, and the temp gauge stayed in the white. I hope I never have to do that again!