I found a Crossfire at a Lincoln-Mercury dealer in Orlando with reasonably low miles (30,000) and at a great price ($14,250) and in a color that matches my wife's eyes (aero blue). However, during the test the a/c would only blow cold when cruising down the road - at a stoplight it would blow cool, not cold, and you could feel that it wasn't removing the humidity. The car drove great, no nicks or scratches, very clean.

I returned to the dealer and explained the a/c needs servicing and if they want to consummate the deal that must be fixed. Salesguy said no problem, Monday we will fix. Completed all paperwork, told him I will bring it back Monday, and drove one block and noticed the temp gauge was pegged at the *hot* end. Went back,told him what was happening, and left the car for the techs to diagnose and fix on Monday.

Question - what would cause the a/c to act like this, and what might cause the overheating? I have to assume the a/c problem is linked to the overheating issue.

BTW, the car is frackin' awesome to drive! Just wish it was sitting in my driveway right now......

 

water pump, headgasket(s), bad thermostat, clogged radiator, bad radiator fan.

 

Could be all of the above or just a bad temp sensor. Hopefully they will find and repair it.

 

Most likely the cooling fan motor could be the cause of both problems. Chrysler had a recall on these. You can go to the chrysler website and enter your VIN to check whether or not the recall was performed.

 

Way to go towards worst case.
Come on - warm AC and engine getting warm when standing still (no prob when moving.... it is the fan not turning on.

 

Coolant fan, start there. I had the 50 amp fuse go bad. Easy fix even if it is the fan. Here's my problem---How long has this been going on? If it was driven hot for a while----watch out!!!!! You do not want to go into this motor out of your pocket. It is not worth it---Have it checked out hard, and you may want to think TWICE on this one. ALL the parts could have been stressed due to the heat. Not even the dealer can not tell you how long this has been going on---Hell, they did not even know about!!!! BE CAREFUL!!!!!

 

Might just be why it was a good deal....never seen one that cheap on a car lot...usually they are way over priced...

 

"never seen one that cheap on a car lot.."

I've been watching this listing over the last few weeks, and they were asking $16k for the car. Knowing that the longer a car is on the dealer's lot the more willing they will be to negotiate I emailed them asking what price they would drop down to. Through some haggling I got them down to the $14,250 mark.

BTW, if you google "Crossfire SRT6 for sale" you will find quite a few in the $16k to $18k range. These cars are incredible for the price.

 

Agreed. There was one in NY I was looking at the beginning of the year that was going for $17,250. I offered $16000, they said no. I saw they still had it about a month ago listed for $14,250!

 

Still be careful with the overheating---nothing to mess around with here. It's not worth it!!!

 

Well that begs the question(s)- does having the engine get warm, for a very brief period due to a failed fan, constitute a potentially damaged engine? Is there any type of built-in feature that would shut the engine down if a too-hot condition occurred to protect it? I have to assume that with the level of engineering at Mercedes/AMG they take into account certain negative situations and engineer these engines accordingly. Am I wrong?

 

Congrats on your impending purchase!!

This engine is built to take it...It holds eight and a half quarts of oil and is only a 3.2 liter, after all...But, that said, make sure everything is kosher before taking delivery.

I recently bough my 2005 SRT6 Roadster in Melbourne...About, what, fifty miles from where you are, for $16,000 with a little over 15,000 on the clock(I got a good deal, I admit). So if you are uncertain take heart there's more to had.

 

The only reason the sump holds that much oil is because mercedes was trying to combat the heat problem these motors have.
More oil = more cooling potential

 

then why did m/b have this for the slk320 in 2001? no s/c or heat issues and built before the s/c version in 2002

 

I believe it is more of a euro thing and to increase change intervals.
If cooling was the real issue a oil cooler would be a better answer. (yes the SRT has one)

 

Kenek I hope everything works out for you and maybe we could put together a xfire GTG in Orlando.

 

All cars can be ran too hot and do major damage. I had a repair shop for 10 plus years and saw it ALL the time. It was in South FL and I worked on MBs, BMWs, etc. all the time---that's why I bought a SRT6. People would say "I'll make it to the next exit" or "it was dark"---then they would come to me for a new motor. I put in many motors due to driver error. The 8.5 qts of oil does help but do not count on that to save your a$$. Three or so extra quarts can not stop aluminum from cracking, melting, or warping.

You said "warm for a very brief period", but your first post you said "pegged"---Well, it was hot enough--long enough that the computer shut down the A/C---that was your warning. The car will not cut "off" because you could be on the highway or in a turn, and you would loose power steering, power brakes, etc. Engineers "assume" that the driver will watch the gauges/lights that they put in the cars, and like I said, the cutting of the A/C was a MAJOR warning that the car was in an overheating situation. Do not "assume" that the car will save itself. The DRIVER is the one responsible not the engineer.

It could be ok---but here's my question again---How long has this been going on? The dealer did not catch it which worries me---it should scare the hell out of you. Real hot then cool down---real hot then cool down. That metal will be fatigued if that has been going on for a while. Just take a coat hanger and bend it back and forth---once or twice ok, but do it a few more times, and it will break.

My professional advice which comes from a master tech with a L1 cert---get out of the deal---too many good cars out there. I just bought mine with 917 miles for $19,655. It was at the very top of the range, but like I said, I worked on these ALL the time, and I did not want to to have any questions about the car. This one has a lot of questions---How many times has this happened---is my first one!!!! If you really want to take a chance---MAKE them put a powertrain warranty on for at least a year, and tell them it is the "stupid tax" for not catching the problem. If you will not, I will for you---really I will. They had a car on their lot for sale that would overheat on test drives for crying out loud---that is stupid. They did not check this car out very well did they?

 

Just be careful---You got your warning when the A/C cut off!!!!

 

i gotta tell you i shredded my serpentine on the highway one day. within a couple minutes i was in the red. pulled off and let it cool 25 miles from home. for the next 1.5 hrs i tried to crawl home and got less than 2 miles with the temps going red. i thought "you moron this engine is 36k$ new!! to replace!!) call AAA and tow it home. these engines take no time at all to get very hot. maybe the members on here have a valid point and you should continue to search.

 

I have NEVER had either of my SRT-6s get above half on the temp gauge...if it was "pegged" at hot...there is a problem. Hopefully they can fix it, but that's not good on the car.