Leaking Antifreeze

n1ml · 12-22-2008, 10:47 PM

My buddy has a S500, 2001 sedan. It is leaking antifreeze but no-one can find out where it's going. He brought it to a Mercedes Dealer and they could not find it. He drove 600 miles and it was down 2 quarts. The vehicle has 50,000 miles. They did a pressure check and also checked the radiator overflow cap. Has anyone ever heard of a problem like this? He's in North Carolina now and I'm in South Florida. He's heading home in a few days. He has a gallon with him but there must be an answer to this. Any ideas?
Thanks
Mark

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m4xm1l10n · 12-22-2008, 11:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by n1ml

My buddy has a S500, 2001 sedan. It is leaking antifreeze but no-one can find out where it's going. He brought it to a Mercedes Dealer and they could not find it. He drove 600 miles and it was down 2 quarts. The vehicle has 50,000 miles. They did a pressure check and also checked the radiator overflow cap. Has anyone ever heard of a problem like this? He's in North Carolina now and I'm in South Florida. He's heading home in a few days. He has a gallon with him but there must be an answer to this. Any ideas?
Thanks
Mark

Wow!!!!! hard to tell if even the dealer can't find the problem. they do burn some oil but not that much, or maybe he is driving it hard . i go 5000 miles between oil change on my S500 since 20k miles now i have 82k miles and never had to add oil. so something is up for sure what kind of oil is he using MOBILE 1 right?

DrJfrmLA · 12-22-2008, 11:14 PM

Now I'm confused. Are you losing coolant or engine oil? If you're losing coolant and it's not visibly leaking from somewhere or evaporating because of a leak in the pressure system, then it must be leaking into the engine. This will happen if you have a bad head gasket that allows coolant into the oil passages. Has he checked the dipstick for a white, frothy looking residue? If it's there, you got coolant in the lubricant. That's bad. If not, is the car running rough when it's cold? Heat would swell everything up and minimize coolant in the combustion process. That's bad. All that's speculation. If it's not leaking outside the engine, it's leaking inside the engine. QED. Good luck.

If you're losing lubricant, why would the dealer pressure check the cooling system?

n1ml · 12-23-2008, 12:28 AM

He was down 2 quarts of antifreeze, not oil. The dealer looked at the dipstick a few times, probabally looking for what you described. There is no white smoke coming out the exhaust. I was hoping someone out there had a similar problem, sorry, but it would help figure this out.

m4xm1l10n · 12-23-2008, 02:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by n1ml

He was down 2 quarts of antifreeze, not oil. The dealer looked at the dipstick a few times, probabally looking for what you described. There is no white smoke coming out the exhaust. I was hoping someone out there had a similar problem, sorry, but it would help figure this out.

ops!!!!! sorry i mist understood you !!!when you mention 2 quarts it ticked me off lol

.

donsanti · 12-28-2008, 11:43 PM

i had the same problem on my 02 S500, leaked alot of antifreeze! problem solved after i used a heavy duty antifreeze. I guess the light (yellowish) antifreeze was to light.

n1ml · 12-29-2008, 01:43 PM

Do you have any idea where the antifreeze went? Also, what BRAND NAME of antifreeze did you use?

DrJfrmLA · 12-29-2008, 07:48 PM

Ah. As most of us are aware, MB is VERY particular about fluids for the W220. There are only one or two brands and types within brands of coolant that are recommended. I wanted to top up my catch tank when I bought mine and it took a lengthy search to find the aftermarket coolant specified (my dealership is an hour away), and it cost $17 or so for a gallon. If your friend is using the OTC stuff sold at Wal-Mart or AutoZone, that may be the problem, but I would have thought the dealership would have questioned him about the coolant he was using. It's still a mystery to me even at that.

donsanti · 12-31-2008, 07:47 PM

i used the heavy duty dark green antifreeze. purchased at pep boys

n1ml · 01-01-2009, 01:13 PM

They found the trouble. It was a bad thermostat that caused the top hose to leak. It was a real small leak and it took an overnite pressure test to find it.

12-22-2008, 11:14 PM	#3
DrJfrmLA Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Alabama gulf coast, formerly Charlottesville, Virginia Posts: 75 Drives: 2004 W220 (S430), 2001 R129 (SL500 Sport)	Now I'm confused. Are you losing coolant or engine oil? If you're losing coolant and it's not visibly leaking from somewhere or evaporating because of a leak in the pressure system, then it must be leaking into the engine. This will happen if you have a bad head gasket that allows coolant into the oil passages. Has he checked the dipstick for a white, frothy looking residue? If it's there, you got coolant in the lubricant. That's bad. If not, is the car running rough when it's cold? Heat would swell everything up and minimize coolant in the combustion process. That's bad. All that's speculation. If it's not leaking outside the engine, it's leaking inside the engine. QED. Good luck. If you're losing lubricant, why would the dealer pressure check the cooling system? __________________ "Don't pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he'll just kill you."--John Steinbeck

12-29-2008, 01:43 PM	#7
n1ml Newbie Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 7	Do you have any idea where the antifreeze went? Also, what BRAND NAME of antifreeze did you use? Last edited by n1ml; 12-29-2008 at 04:10 PM.

12-29-2008, 07:48 PM	#8
DrJfrmLA Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Alabama gulf coast, formerly Charlottesville, Virginia Posts: 75 Drives: 2004 W220 (S430), 2001 R129 (SL500 Sport)	Ah. As most of us are aware, MB is VERY particular about fluids for the W220. There are only one or two brands and types within brands of coolant that are recommended. I wanted to top up my catch tank when I bought mine and it took a lengthy search to find the aftermarket coolant specified (my dealership is an hour away), and it cost $17 or so for a gallon. If your friend is using the OTC stuff sold at Wal-Mart or AutoZone, that may be the problem, but I would have thought the dealership would have questioned him about the coolant he was using. It's still a mystery to me even at that. __________________ "Don't pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he'll just kill you."--John Steinbeck

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12-23-2008, 12:28 AM	#4
n1ml Newbie Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 7	He was down 2 quarts of antifreeze, not oil. The dealer looked at the dipstick a few times, probabally looking for what you described. There is no white smoke coming out the exhaust. I was hoping someone out there had a similar problem, sorry, but it would help figure this out.

12-28-2008, 11:43 PM	#6
donsanti Newbie Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 2	i had the same problem on my 02 S500, leaked alot of antifreeze! problem solved after i used a heavy duty antifreeze. I guess the light (yellowish) antifreeze was to light.

12-31-2008, 07:47 PM	#9
donsanti Newbie Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 2	i used the heavy duty dark green antifreeze. purchased at pep boys

01-01-2009, 01:13 PM	#10
n1ml Newbie Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 7	They found the trouble. It was a bad thermostat that caused the top hose to leak. It was a real small leak and it took an overnite pressure test to find it.

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