Re the thermostat. I think the pin you are talking about is the temp sensor for the aux fans. You may be putting the gasket and thermostat in the wrong order. It should go thermostat, then o-ring, then housing.

Re the fumes. I think that's a vent line. It may be cracked.

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Chuck Taylor
Falls Church VA
'66 200, '66 230SL, '96 SL500. Sold: '81 380SL, '86 300E, '72 250C, '95 C220, 3 '84 280SL's '90 420SEL, '72 280SE, '73 280C, '78 280SE, '70 280SL, '77 450SL, '85 380SL, '87 560SL, '85 380SL, '72 350SL, '96 S500 Coupe

Ok problem is still as before' thermostat is too high can't be for this car' my dad left it up on a shelf before he passed and i could of swore it had to be for this mercedes because of all the blue gasket sealer that was on the thermostat that matched what was on the housing, because he did not use the o ring. it even says made in germany on it so i thought it was the original 1 , maybe he purchased it and realized it did not fit and left it out. Now what can i get for it from a regular part store because i already know they wont find this 82 280se in the book because it is european' Does it cross refrence with another vehicke that has the same engine and thermostat' Alex

Not to worry.

The P/N for your thermostat is 110 200 05 15. This is the same number for the US 280E. This is an 87 degree unit. You can get it from a dealer or our beloved sponsor Fastlane - click on "Buy Parts" above. If you use a local source, tell 'em you want a thermostat and o-ring for a 1981 280E.

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Chuck Taylor
Falls Church VA
'66 200, '66 230SL, '96 SL500. Sold: '81 380SL, '86 300E, '72 250C, '95 C220, 3 '84 280SL's '90 420SEL, '72 280SE, '73 280C, '78 280SE, '70 280SL, '77 450SL, '85 380SL, '87 560SL, '85 380SL, '72 350SL, '96 S500 Coupe

I picked up the thermostat and its the same what i have, The hight is the same and it dont fit, i mean it fits everywhere else, it drops in to place but when top of the housing is put on it, it wont go down to where it would be flush with the housing unit where it needs to be, unless i am a complete idiot and i dont think that i am. If i cant push it close to being flush with where it has to be, i am sure if i put the screws in and tighten it something would crack. There has to be another type of thermostat for this 280se

The PN I gave you is right out of the Mercedes catalog for a 126 280SE.

You are assembling it with thermostat, o-ring, housing?

If so, you may have a non-standard temp sensor or housing. Does that piece have a PN on it? Does the housing have a PN on it?

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Chuck Taylor
Falls Church VA
'66 200, '66 230SL, '96 SL500. Sold: '81 380SL, '86 300E, '72 250C, '95 C220, 3 '84 280SL's '90 420SEL, '72 280SE, '73 280C, '78 280SE, '70 280SL, '77 450SL, '85 380SL, '87 560SL, '85 380SL, '72 350SL, '96 S500 Coupe

YES i am using the ruber o ring. I have 2 of them cause i got an exra 1 just in case before when i tried this same thing. When i did not have any luck before either i just put the o ring in place and closed it up. I even called the dealer he came up with some unit where the thermostat is built in the housing for 175 bucks which i know can't be it cause i have the housing open other option he said is the 280e as you said' did the paper and pencil trick on the top piece of the housing numers are R 110 203 0574

I never seen nothing like this in my life' If those pin numbers on this housing are the numbers for this thermostat, there is no such number anywhere that matches with any thermostat in the usa or in europe as far as i see on line. Its like if this car was never made. My father had a habit of throwing things away that would be important and keeping the ones that were not so important. This thermostat being 1 of them. The numbers# R 110 203 0574 DOES NOT COME UP ANYWHERE'

Yes it does. The problem is it's A 110 203 0574. It's used in just about every 110 engine that I have ever heard of, including the 989 and 987, which I think is what you have.

I am now thinking that the problem is that the sensor may be wrong - too long.

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Chuck Taylor
Falls Church VA
'66 200, '66 230SL, '96 SL500. Sold: '81 380SL, '86 300E, '72 250C, '95 C220, 3 '84 280SL's '90 420SEL, '72 280SE, '73 280C, '78 280SE, '70 280SL, '77 450SL, '85 380SL, '87 560SL, '85 380SL, '72 350SL, '96 S500 Coupe

Actualy it only gets near the sensor when i place it in upside down, i only tried that because i realized that right side up it would not go down far enough for the cap to go back on it. thats why i believe my original thought was it has to go in reverse but it wont work either way ' If the bottom circle on it was a litle smaller that would drop it near where it has to be in order to close it up. Is it posible if that part # can be located it might be just a litle bit diferent and it would be a perfect fit? I cant locate that part number so i have no way to compare it.

Sign up for a free EPC subscription here:

https://epc.startekinfo.com/epc/home.jsp

You need to put in a credit card number but it is only used for address validation.

Then you have the same tool as a Mercedes dealer. You can find the 126 280SE and find the part number, or use the Search function to find all the engines that it fits.

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Chuck Taylor
Falls Church VA
'66 200, '66 230SL, '96 SL500. Sold: '81 380SL, '86 300E, '72 250C, '95 C220, 3 '84 280SL's '90 420SEL, '72 280SE, '73 280C, '78 280SE, '70 280SL, '77 450SL, '85 380SL, '87 560SL, '85 380SL, '72 350SL, '96 S500 Coupe

Thanks for your help and Happy Easter to ya. I will check in to it and see what more i can find out about it. The gas fumes , i think i will start by making a better seal on the gas cap for thats the only place i can detect an odor. Thanks Alex'

Do the numbers on top of the valve covers help recognize what mottor is in this car? Alex'

No. The engine number is on the block, just under the cylinder head, by the distributor.

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Chuck Taylor
Falls Church VA
'66 200, '66 230SL, '96 SL500. Sold: '81 380SL, '86 300E, '72 250C, '95 C220, 3 '84 280SL's '90 420SEL, '72 280SE, '73 280C, '78 280SE, '70 280SL, '77 450SL, '85 380SL, '87 560SL, '85 380SL, '72 350SL, '96 S500 Coupe

I was able to find a thermostat that matched up with the housing# My buddy in europe also came up with the same # in europe for it #110-200-0515 With that# they were able to find it here at the part store and was ordered, should be in today. I will see how this 1 works out. Strange thing is even in europe this vin# would not come up for this car almost as if it was never made. My father always thought something was strange about the vehicke after he purchased it there in Germany and brought it in to the states . I am just wondering if it was obtained from some sort of chopshop kind of place where nothing matches up. The title says 1982 280 se with that vin# why is it it dont show up anywhere in the world as showing vin# coming back to that car? Ane idea? Alex'

What happens when you put the VIN in the EPC?

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Chuck Taylor
Falls Church VA
'66 200, '66 230SL, '96 SL500. Sold: '81 380SL, '86 300E, '72 250C, '95 C220, 3 '84 280SL's '90 420SEL, '72 280SE, '73 280C, '78 280SE, '70 280SL, '77 450SL, '85 380SL, '87 560SL, '85 380SL, '72 350SL, '96 S500 Coupe