Last time I told you all about my wrenching woes, I took a lot of flak. People told me I shouldn’t own German cars, and that I should be able to change a radiator in no time flat. People questioned whether I knew what I was doing in the slightest. But recently I realized why I was struggling so much.
This past weekend, I got my sweet vindication. Everything that went wrong was not my fault! Better still, I rose triumphant over my struggles.
But first, let’s get you back up to speed. Just as I’d finished fixing my BMW, my Mercedes sprung a coolant leak. It was hard to trace, but I eventually pinned it down to the radiator. Before I could replace it, I had to pull it out first, and that proved to be an almighty pain in my ass. It just wouldn’t come free!
What Aren’t You Telling Me?
Typically, pulling out a radiator is easy. First, you pull the hoses off and undo any mounting bolts, Then the radiator normally slides right out in the vertical direction. The Mercedes made it a little more complicated; I had to pull off a mounting panel first, and a bunch of other hardware, too. With all that gone, though, the radiator still wouldn’t come free. It had taken an hour or so of wrestling before I was able to wrench it out.
That confused me, but I didn’t think too much about it. I ordered a new radiator, and waited patiently for it to arrive. Thanks to some confusion about the right model, it took weeks before it showed up.
I was perplexed. I checked the measurements online one more time. I’d ordered the right one for sure. I checked the radiator in front of me. I checked the old radiator. All the outlets matched. And yet, the new radiator wouldn’t drop into place.
I was incredibly frustrated with the Mercedes at this point. I’ve swapped out radiators a million times, in Hondas, Mazdas, and Volvos. Normally it’s a straight swap that takes nary more than an hour. And yet, the Mercedes was fighting me all the way. At first, I figured this was just how the Germans did things. The battle I’d faced wrestling the radiator out was fresh in my mind, so I assumed it was just a tight squeeze and I’d have to get the angle just right.
After another useless bout with the front end, though, it was clear something wasn’t right. I measured the end tanks and noticed the new radiator was just over half an inch wider than the original part. That explained my issues to some degree, but I felt like this wasn’t the whole problem. This aftermarket radiator was built exactly for this application. I’d checked that three times by this point. It seemed like there was something else going on.
I peered into the engine bay once more and started playing with the old radiator. It was becoming obvious to me. The cradle that accepts the bottom of the radiator protruded on either side. If those protrusions weren’t there, the radiator would drop right in. I’d noticed these earlier and merely cursed the over-complicated German design. But the more I looked, the more it became obvious. The radiator support wasn’t supposed to look like that at all.
I got under the car and the problem became immediately obvious. The bottom radiator frame had been pushed back towards the rear of the car, and bent upwards in the process. This caused the sheet steel of the frame to bend where it was attached to the chassis, forming the protrusions that were stopping the new radiator from sliding into place. They were also what made the original radiator so hard to remove in the first place. Indeed, I suspect it was the bent frame rubbing on the radiator’s end tank that caused the leak in the first place.
My first assumption was that this car had some kind of front-on crash in the past. Weirdly, though, I’ve been unable to find corresponding damage to the rest of the front end. My leading theory is that perhaps a previous owner ran into some kind of low pole or bollard. This would have damaged the bumper and forced the radiator mount backward while leaving the fenders unscathed.
Alternatively, it’s plausible that the owner perhaps ran over a concrete stop or barrier at the end of a parking spot. However, as stock, the Mercedes sits high enough that this shouldn’t be a problem. Plus, it had a plastic undertray that would have fouled before the radiator support was bent.
seems like end tanks pic.twitter.com/EPlJY4toml
— Lewin S. Day (@rainbowdefault) February 12, 2024
Looking back at the videos I took in February, the problem was staring me right in the face. I suspect the bent radiator support is what creased the radiator end tank, causing the leak.
In any case, it’s clear something significant happened to bend the radiator support so badly out of shape. I can only assume it was a minor crash, given I had no idea until now. I’ve owned the car since 2021, and have done plenty of work on it over the years. I’ve swapped out the rear diff, serviced the automatic gearbox, and done numerous oil changes. And yet, at no point did I notice the radiator support was bent out of place. If I’d ever cast my gaze upon it, I just assumed it was supposed to sit like that. It was only once I had the radiator out that it became clear—the support had been bent so severely as to make it impossible to install a new radiator.
Despair and Deliverance
I found myself at an impasse. wanted to fix this car, badly. But try as I might, I couldn’t get the new radiator to fit. My biggest hammer wasn’t doing shit to knock the rad support back into shape. There was precious little room to swing it anyway. It seemed hopeless.
I quietly raged for a spell, muttering that I should just send the car to the junkyard and be done with it all. But I don’t give up that easily. Instead, I shared word of my trial with the car gang around—The Autopian slack channel!
While I had no trees and no space for a dynamic adjustment, the Brothers in Bodge nonetheless got my brain ticking over. A quick rifle through the garage turned up my ratchet straps, and I started eyeing off the roof support posts on my front porch.
My idea was simple. I’d wrap ratchet straps around the rad support and the post, and then tighten them up until they pulled the rad support back into place. I was a little worried about this course of action. If the straps failed, they could end up whipping around at high speed, potentially causing significant injuries. I intended to tread carefully during this ridiculous exercise.
With everything in place, I began to crank the straps tighter. Alas, it was to little result. Despite plenty of tension on the straps, the radiator mount had barely moved. But then, just before true despair could set in, inspiration shined.
I put my boot upon the tight ratchet strap and I forced my foot down, hard. The ratchet strap tugged hard on the rad support in turn, and bent it an inch closer to where it used to be. It was magic! I quickly retightened the straps and stomped hard once more, and the metal duly obeyed. This was working!
It's not super apparent here, but this worked really well to help straighten out the rad support. pic.twitter.com/9s2ttlRRke
— Lewin S. Day (@rainbowdefault) April 3, 2024
The strap-and-stomp method was working perfectly. I used the straps to tug at different parts of the radiator support until it was vaguely straightened up. This only took about half an hour. It hadn’t gotten the support back into its original position, but closer. It was straighter now, but the bottom of the support was still an inch higher than stock. Plus, the bracket was still bent enough that those protrusions wouldn’t let the new rad slide in just yet.
Ideally, I’d have had a winch and a pull point on the floor of the driveway. Then I could have tugged the bracket downwards to its original position. Instead, at this point, it was time to rely on Mr. Hammer. With the bracket sitting straighter in the chassis, I could hammer away at the protrusions to flatten them out. This forced the bracket back into something approximating its original shape.
After a few attempts, I was able to slide the new radiator in without too much trouble. I then spent the next hour trying to figure out the arrangement of the various plastic supports and guides that hold the radiator, engine fan shroud, and condenser together. Forcing the airbox intake scoop into place was probably the hardest part, but I got it all together.
Get this wrong and the fan will wear right through your power steering lines. pic.twitter.com/hs4bW9z2pr
— Lewin S. Day (@rainbowdefault) April 3, 2024
I did have to make some sacrifices along the way. Despite my best efforts, the new radiator was sitting about half an inch higher than a stock one would. This caused some issues with the power steering lines that sit in front of the electric radiator fans. With everything bolted down as Mercedes intended, the power steering lines rubbed on the radiator fans which would surely cause a leak down the road. Thankfully, I was able to make everything fit by adjusting the position of the mounting brackets to suit.
With everything in place, I simply topped up the radiator with fresh coolant and started the engine. Much to my joy, nothing leaked. Even better, after a good few minutes idling, the heater was blowing hot air and the coolant temperature was sitting right in the healthy region.
Spat In My Eye, One Last Time
So, all was well, right? I slammed the hood shut and went on a drive, and everyone smiled? Well, not quite.
I did slam the hood shut, just after topping off the coolant. I wanted to check all the latches lined up after I’d reinstalled the top rad support. The support uses the same bolts as the hood latches, and I wanted to make sure everything was still aligned.
And what do you know? The hood got stuck.
I tugged and I tugged at the hood release to no avail. The driver’s side latch would pop free, but the passenger side was stuck fast. Nothing I did worked. Once again, this car was testing me.
After plenty of swearing and nearly a few tears, I calmed down enough to reassess the situation. I was so close to success. Surely I wouldn’t have to cut the hood open or something ridiculous, right?
Heavens be blessed, it wasn’t so bad. The stuck latch was thankfully accessible from underneath the car. Reaching my arm up, I was just able to flick the right catch to release it from below. With the hood now open, I rushed to inspect the latches to figure out the problem. The Bowden cable for the latches had simply come out of its brackets at either end during the disassembly. Reseating it got the hood release working again.
To say this was a relief is an understatement.
My first drive was a joyous one. I’d come back from the precipice and got the Merc running and back on the road again. I was very pleased with the results of my hack job repair. I’ve never had to beat a chassis into submission like that before, but I’d feel a lot more prepared if I had to do so again.
The Mercedes won’t be with me forever. I need other cars—specifically, more manuals—in my life, and I’ve already sampled the motoring experience this car has to offer. Nonetheless, it’s serving me as an adequate daily once more. For that, I am cheering.
I’ll be sure to inspect whatever manual car I decide to buy next a little more closely. Because this hidden frame damage could have been so much worse.
Image credits: Lewin Day
Post-script: My BMW still runs and the torque-to-yield bolts have held up just fine over 1000 miles of driving. Pretty rad.
I used a similar method to ‘fix’ a Datsun 510 I bought for $50 for cheap transport while I fixed another. I got it cheap because it had the passenger side doors both bent inwards in an accident, which also bent in the B pillar. I had a spare set of good doors in the same colour, and I ‘fixed’ the bent pillar with a cable winch by hooking one end to the middle of the pillar and the other to a tree beside the car. I tightened the cable until the car was pulled up on 2 wheels, but the pillar stayed bent. So I opened a door on the other side, stood on the sill and jumped up and down until the impacts slowly yanked the pillar back almost perfectly straight. A handful of washers as shims under the hinges, and with the new doors it looked completely undamaged.
I’ve never done it, but isn’t toothpaste supposed to be able to deglaze headlights that look like that? Or is that just an urban myth…?
Works just fine (thumbs up emoji)
Nah. I tried it. Might work on very light hazing but didn’t do anything for these.
My experience is that heavier-duty equipment is required. Full wet sanding with multiple grades of sandpaper. Then, you need to follow up with a UV treatment to stop it immediately reglazing over.
If I did that ratchet strap to the front porch trick, my luck would have had the car pulling the house down.
I used to be a BMW tech in a previous life in Metro Melbourne and we saw a lot of 80s/90s vehicles with impact damage under the front end.
Plastic undertrays, sumps, oil coolers, transmission pans being the lowest parts of the car would get a hit from underneath from people hitting the end of driveways too hard or speed bumps especially once the front struts would soften up a little.
That may well explain how the support panel has been pushed back both nothing else seems damaged…. that and a non genuine radiator that someone had to ‘make fit’. It probably came from Repco.
Sometimes the lack of details around European car parts in our local Repco/Bursons would stun me hence why specialist Euro parts suppliers where always worth the effort to deal with.
I’d believe that. Great insight!
Rather than ratchet straps I used a come-along connected to the tow hook on my Suburban as an anchor to pull out the radiator support when my son wrecked his car. Doing that got things much closer to where they needed to be without doing additional damage. At that point we were able to replace the trashed radiator support and handle some of the adjacent sheet metal back into place.
nicely done!
Nice use of Dynamic Loading. Good job.
gotta get into that plastic deformation!
I think I’m going to make that my new name for my private parts. Lol!
When I got a hammock I was a little concerned about the way my studs were creaking when I hung it in the basement. After a little research I learned that when you put a vertical force on a line hung between two points you can put immense pressure on the mounting points. As a result I am 1) unsurprised this was enough to bend the radiator support back in place and 2) surprised you did not rip the porch post off the house. 🙂
That was my fear, porch collapsing. I was expecting photos.
I’ve never yanked a radiator support back into place, but I have built countless porches and roofs, and let me tell you, your concern should not have been breaking the strap, your concern should’ve been ripping the porch roof right off your house. You are very lucky!
That would have been very funny
Oh man, if nobody was hurt? HUGE clicks.
“How many clicks we get?”
“100,000 today! How much to fix the house?”
“$100,000 today.”
This was my exact thought. I’ve used a come along and some slings to help pull some bushes out of the front of a house before and the anchor point was the base of a trunk of an established tree about 200mm of diameter. Even then I still wounded that tree with the tension.
I once screwed a big eye bolt into the garage wall for a come-along. Then I forgot to release the parking brake and pulled my wall down.
D ‘ O H !
Please address the cloudy headlights, it’s driving me crazy. 🙂
i’d love to, but it would be hours of effort to add maybe $50 to the sale price
Hours? My dude! 1000 grit, 3000 grit, 5000, then polish. On that cursed Sonata the other weekend it took me an hour
Maybe add $50 of value, but it could easily add a thousand to the price. It’s literally the first thing we see. Do it and post a tutorial for me to do it to my old Ford.
Once you’ve done it once, it should be a 30-45 minute job, tops.
I bought an Eagle Talon with an undisclosed accident that I only discovered after a radiator leak. Instead of bending the vehicle back into it’s proper position, I had the radiator brazed
fair call! I’d considered patching the original rad with epoxy if I couldn’t get it to fit.
First, hell yeah on an awesome fix.
Second, did you consider heat? (This is not a tut-tut, it’s a real question.) For the number of times I’ve experienced metal work-hardening before giving out, I’d be anxious about correcting things like this purely mechanically, especially when you consider it’s already “worked” once towards the aft. With my luck I’d have snapped off the mount, torn down my porch or both.
I did not consider heat! But a good point, for sure. I’d be interested how a proper crash repairer would handle this.
Triumph: the feeling of using tools at hand and creative engineering to solve a problem. Well done, sir.
I don’t get spending this much time on roached base models. If this was an AMG or something, sure… but it’s not.
Must be read in JFKs voice:
“We choose to repair base models… We choose to repair base models and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard; because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one we intend to win”
I personally prefer Churchill’s speech about his time owning a british car.
We shall wrench on the beaches. We shall wrench in the driveways. We shall wrench in the fields, and in the streets, we shall wrench in the hills. We shall never surrender!
Did you know Shakespeare had a car? He was quite passionate about it.
This day is call’d the feast of Crispian.
He that fixes a shitbox this day, and comes safe home,
Will stand a tip-toe when this day is nam’d,
And rouse him at the name of Crispian.
He that shall live this day, and see old age,
Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours,
And say “To-morrow is Saint Crispian.”
Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars,
And say “These wounds I had wrenching Crispin’s day.”
Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot,
But he’ll remember, with advantages,
What feats he did that day.
This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispin Crispian shall ne’er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be rememberèd—
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that wrenches with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne’er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition;
And gentlemen at home, driving new cars with warranties,
Shall think themselves accurs’d they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That wrenched with us, upon Saint Crispin’s day.
You silly guy, Shakespeare didn’t have a car. He was writing about King Henry V’s car troubles. Shakespeare was more of a motorcycle guy.
uh, it’s my car and I need it to run
i can’t just be throwing away cars worth a few grand
I guess I don’t get why you purchased it in the first place. It’s just so easy to wind up underwater on base models.
I purchased it because I wanted a car.
I’ve spent maybe $3500 on this all up and it’s still worth most of what I paid for it three years later.
Far cheaper than running a more expensive high-strung model with worse fuel economy.
I damaged a radiator bracket in much the same way when I hit a kitchen sink that was sitting in the middle of the highway
Hope you didn’t get a sinkhole in your radiator.
It would have almost been worth it just for the pun.
Were you driving a beige Mercedes which you sold promptly thereafter by any chance? #ThePlotThickens
Blame Elon!
i’d believe something similarly hilarious happened here
All of your problems stem from not buying the OM606 equipped model. In diesel 2JZ we trust.
i’d love a diesel merc tbh
I have an ’86 300SDL. Not gonna lie, they’re pretty great.
You should celebrate and give that thing a nice wash!
Then by polishing the headlights!
That will really help the appearance.
I bet your front end is in alignment now too.
Glad you didn’t pull the porch down while you were at it.
Same thought. Not knowing how that porch pillar is attached, some are just relying on gravity, seems like a bad idea. I’ve used jacks to straighten supports before, and come-alongs to something of known security.
and put some blankets on the straps so that if they snap the energy can be absorbed/dissipated.
Nice tip!
I used to have a house with decorative porch pillars. They looked sturdy, but they were made out of soft pine that eventually rotted away at the bottom ends. When we redid the porch we had them removed and left everything open.
I see your rotten pine and I raise you lolly columns wrapped in cedar (to make it square) wrapped in aluminum. Of course the lolly columns are rusted to shit and aren’t actually holding anything.
Sometimes I wish the wind would just blow this whole goddamn house down. Barring that, I’m willing to wait for a big bad wolf (Wulfgang, if the wind happens to be MB/BMW/VAG).
thankfully these pillars are held megastout into the ground, but it would have been hilarious if that had happened
The kid from Adders
Fixed his frame matters
When he did the Strap and Stomp.
(Apologies to The Dovells)
Probably happened trying to get to the riverwalk.
I understood that reference!
Oh man, as a former house remodeler, I can completely commiserate with you Lewin. The amount of times we would be called in to find that a small issue was just the signal that there was a larger problem…about 50% of the time would be my guess.
“There is a wet spot on my ceiling” = major plumbing leak that has been ongoing for about 2 years.
Oh man this just reminded me. I had a friend who rented an apartment in college and there was a wet spot on the kitchen ceiling. This was a second story apartment of a two story building. So it’s got to be a leaky roof right? The slumlord never did anything about it even though they told him multiple times about it. Eventually it became a hole in the kitchen ceiling and he was like how could this have happened?! Negligence is how.
Bonus points if the slumlord then blamed your friend and refused to return his deposit when he moved out
I don’t know if he did but considering he ignored their calls to check on the issue I bet he did. I know they didn’t pay the last few months rent because they were graduating so it probably worked out for them in the end.
yeah, absolutely feel that. tip of the ugly iceberg stuff.