I just purchased a 05 Limited a couple days ago, and I notice that it has a coolant leak.

a large puddle under the car after its been parked for a bit.

I see where it is leaking from, one of the larger hoses coming off the rad. it appears to be right at or near the connection of the hose.

my question is, where is the best place to get this fixed as i am no mechanic and that is a tight space for my big hands to work in.

thanks much

 

Be sure it is not the water pump. (common) A leaking or weeping water pump will sometimes allow the coolant to run down the radiator hose looking like a bad or loose hose.

 

thanks for response, im not sure where the water pump is located or what it looks like, im not very knowledgeable when it comes to car problems and such.

here is am image to look at:

c76AQap.png


the bottom arrow is pointing to the source of the leak, the diagonal arrow is pointing strait down (even though it does not appear this way in the image, its from an angle) showing the small leakage in my bottom cover whatever that is called.

 

That is the "upper" radiator hose.
I assume you have already tried tightening the clamp.
You could drain some of the coolant into a clean container by twisting the petcock at the bottom below that hose.
Then disconnect that hose and using tin snips or such, trim about 3/4" off the end and reconnect it.
Put the coolant back in.
Might fix it, might not.
If not, then look for a 2003 MB slk32 upper radiator hose.

 

ive not tried tightening that yet, ill go do it now and report back tomorrow with my findings. thanks for the tips ala

 

Sooo. The picture is upside down, and you have a leak from the top hose that drips down ( up in the picture) to some surface below. That is clearly a hose leaking at that point. Try remounting it with a trim or replacing it if that doesn't do the trick. It shouldn't be hard to find ( DO NOT GO TO A CHRYSLER DEALRSHIP!!!!!!!!)

Replacing the hose should be easy. The water pump ( which this does not look like at all )is time consuming and a moderate to easy job, BUT if you are not mechanically inclined, Hire an independent mercedes mechanic to replace it for you. Below are some water pump links.

Water Pump Replacement - CrossfireForum.org
Water Pump - Stressed - CrossfireForum.org
water pump torque spec - CrossfireForum.org
Need a new Water Pump? - CrossfireForum.org

 

thanks for all the replys thus far, the flathead screw was a little loose on the hose clamp, i have tightened it up with a good 6 or so rotations so that its nice and snug now.

if it leaks tonight while im at work, i will know and report back tomorrow, and see where i go from there, (replacing or triming the hose and re-clamping it.

 

that isn't a standard clamp...I would have loosened the clamp, slid the hose up a little more and then retightened the clamp until snug. Don't over tighten that screw clamp... Good luck, but the hose looks to be new, and the clamp is aftermarket, so I will say the clamp and hose just came loose.

 

Hoses are cheap and easy to change.
If you bought it from a auto lot you could go back and I bet they would change it for free.
Or if another member is close most would be happy to help you.
Just learning the little things like changing a radiator hose or changing brakes saves alot of $$$ later.

 

I have to take exception to the statement "hoses are cheap".
Ever try finding/buying THAT top hose ?
It has the little overflow hose that goes to the tank permanently attached to it, it is very hard to find
and costs like $70 or so :
http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/110925060328?lpid=82

 

OK on any other vechicle besides a MB.
Me I would remove the clamps and go to napa and match up the two pieces I need from something else and reclamp the two pieces back to the overflow fitting.

 

Good point. I'll add that to my shade tree manual.

 

reporting the findings on the tighter clamp:

well, the puddle is still there, but no where near the size it was before, and it doesnt even really look fresh (wet look).

so from nearly a bath tub sized wetter puddle, to an oversized dinner plate sized dryer puddle. I will give this another day, to see if the puddle ceases, i cant be sure at this time that its still leaking do to the fact the undercover may have been the source the current puddle (if that makes any sense). I purposefully parked my car on a slight side hill last night so the puddle would run off in a certain direction, it did not run any further than the edge of my tire after sitting 10 hours.

tomorrow, if there still is a puddle of any size, i will try loosening up the clamp, and see if i can move the hose further up and then re-tighten the clamp for a better fit.

 

there you go.....I am sure it slid down a bit being loose....

 

You could always pick up another clamp and double clamp it.
Best time to check the leak is when the car is warmed up and the system is pressureized.
With pressure in the cooling system the boiling point of antifreeze is increased.

 

Take the belly pan off until you get this resolved.
( 4 bolts, one plastic push-pin thingey )

 

id like too, but i can't get under the car without jacking it up lol, ill see what i can do.


as for the problem itself:

i tried the loosening and sliding it up as much as i could method, that seemed to make it worse than it was when it was just solo tightened.

back to square one.

next step is hose replacement, i will have my brother in law check it out, he is a mechanic of sorts.

 

A trick we use here in Alabama is to drive the car parallel over a ditch ( hopefully a dry one ) - you can then safely shinny under and do the needful.

 

Or two wheels on a tall curb or I once changed a clutch on a big oak tree root.

 

There is nothing that cannot be fixed if you have a chain hoist and a big oak tree.