Hi there, Ive been noticing leaking coolant coming from the little nozzle that sticks out from the plastic radiator head and leads the hose to the overflow /fill container. If its on there it only slowly leaks but leaks nonetheless, Theres a metal tube insert in the plastic nozzle that keeps in relatively tight but I know its only going to get worse.

I thought about epoxy resin or perhaps even fiberglass but I wonder if they will withstand the heat and pressure from the coolant?

Anything special made for this? Or is it a lost cause and I might as well get a new radiator. I Imagine you simply replace that plastic head part. It looks crimped on there permanently, but I may be wrong...

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I would call it a lost cause.

Fastlane: Radiator
http://catalog.peachparts.com/item.wws?sku=W0133-1599235





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1985 300SD
1983 300D
2003 Volvo V70

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Lost cause really? It seems a shame to have to replace the whole thing when its just this little part thats broken.

There must be some kind of serious epoxy or glue that you can plaster all around the whole thing no?

I feel i must try. Someone must have come across this problem before.

Radiator Neck Fix/Preventive Maintenance
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/tech-help/36961-radiator-neck-fix-preventive-maintenance.html#post207715

Get a brass 1/8 NPT 5/16 hose barb, cut broken nipple off, drill and tap 1/8 NPT thread in rad. Epoxy a tight fitting washer onto shoulder of hose barb NPT thread and use an o-ring so that as you tighten the barb fitting the o-ring also provide an additional seal in addition to the NPT. That's what I have on mine for last 3 years.

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85 300D turbo pristine w 157k when purchased 161K now
83 300 D turbo 297K runs great. SOLD!
83 240D 4 spd manual- parted out then junked

Whom "Speced" out these PLASTICO Radiator Tanks is first on my Prayer list
for being diagnosed with Terminal Prostate Cancer!!!

You can Fiddle around with that Radiator,BUT the REST of the Plastic is just
as Old,Brittle and Subject to stress fracture as the Nipple.

Get A New Radiator.

__________________
'84 300SD sold
124.128

I have successfully used the plastic epoxy from napa

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John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 560SL convertible
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
2005 Dodge Sprinter 2500 158"WB
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

X2
I went through the practice of patching. Worked for a while but then it gave up & the tank cracked in another spot. A new top tank & never looked back. Dont know if you can still get them.
That was with my old 300D about 10 years ago. When I got a hole in the radiator of my second 300D, I used the radiator out of the old one. Still going strong.

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1967 230-6 auto parts car. rust bucket.
1980 300D now parts car 800k miles
1984 300D 500k miles
1987 250td 160k miles English import
2001 jeep turbo diesel 130k miles
1998 jeep tdi ~ followed me home. Needs a turbo.
1968 Ford F750 truck. 6-354 diesel conversion.
Other toys ~J.D.,Cat & GM ~ mainly earth moving

The rest of the plastic on my radiator is fine. The nipple is too long and not supported or protected= a bad design. I leaned on it when I didn't know any better and cracked it. I wasn't about to spend 300 on a new radiator.

__________________
85 300D turbo pristine w 157k when purchased 161K now
83 300 D turbo 297K runs great. SOLD!
83 240D 4 spd manual- parted out then junked

I'm surprised nobody has yet said, the green coolant is probably what caused the crack.

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Cheers!
Scott McPhee

1987 300D

What an incredible thing to say.

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I choose to be happy, even when the Mercedes is being awkward, lol

I Like the sound of this fix. Im going to give it a try now. I just have to find (or purchase) a tap set. Im wondering how much plastic is there available to tap into threads? It looks a little thin. But perhaps its thicker on the inside. How did you turn the tap in straight. theres so little room to work with on that space. Did you take apart your radiator?

Also, its the first I heard of green radiator coolant being bad. What is recommended?

it has been said that the plastic in the tanks is not compatible with the green coolant, it's also been said that this is bunk... the green coolant is standard spec for the pre 86 cars... I do not know which is correct. I like the gold MB coolant, and that's what I'm going to use. ZEREX G05 is the same formula as the MB.

__________________
John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 560SL convertible
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
2005 Dodge Sprinter 2500 158"WB
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

It's a couple of years ago when I did this and I may not have drilled and tapped the hole as I said earlier. The hole that's already there is about the right size for 1/8 NPT. What I did was put the brass fitting into a 1/4 drive socket on a ratchet, heat the NPT thread with a torch to about 250F and use the hit fitting to tap direct into the plastic. You want to heat the fitting just enough to soften the plastic, not melt it out of shape. Don't forget you need the o-ring seal so you need a smooth seating surface on the tank for the o-ring to sit against. I used a file to sand the flat surface. You can also heat up a butter knife and use that to creat a flat surface.

__________________
85 300D turbo pristine w 157k when purchased 161K now
83 300 D turbo 297K runs great. SOLD!
83 240D 4 spd manual- parted out then junked