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Photoman
Date registered: Apr 2006
Location: New Zealand
Vehicle(s): 280GE, ML500, 280SE 3.5
| Temp on a 280
The 280GE that I just bought seems to run rather hot. The chap that I bought it off says that the temp is normal. It use to run a lot colder until he had the thermostat changed and now it runs hotter. But it runs a lot better than it did with the older thermostat in when it was running colder. And I must say that it does go really well! I tested it offroad and on the highway. It run really well and didn't overheat but did run high on the temp gauge. The temp gauge runs at 3/4s and gets to the edge of the red on a hot day.
He was told by a mechanic that this is normal for a G Wagon. I really can't see why MB would do that.
What temp does everyone elses Gs run at? Any help would be great.
Thanks. |
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DUTCH
Administrator Doppelgänger
Date registered: Apr 2006
Location: US, GA, Atlanta
Vehicle(s): 2015 Audi Q7 3.0 TDI,2018 Sprinter
Posts: 9963
| RE: Temp on a 280
Photoman - 10/14/2006 6:06 AM
He was told by a mechanic that this is normal for a G Wagon. I really can't see why MB would do that.
What temp does everyone elses Gs run at? Any help would be great.
Thanks.
Not really normal. I wonder if it has an MB or an aftermarket thermostat in it.
For 111,000 miles mine ran pretty much dead center or a tick to the right. Under very heavy loads on hot days in slow traffic it might go to 3/4. Never approached red, even with the A/C on.
Try changing the thermostat to an MB branded one of the proper P/N. |
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Photoman
Date registered: Apr 2006
Location: New Zealand
Vehicle(s): 280GE, ML500, 280SE 3.5
| RE: Temp on a 280
DUTCH - 10/14/2006 10:18 PM
Photoman - 10/14/2006 6:06 AM
He was told by a mechanic that this is normal for a G Wagon. I really can't see why MB would do that.
What temp does everyone elses Gs run at? Any help would be great.
Thanks.
Not really normal. I wonder if it has an MB or an aftermarket thermostat in it.
For 111,000 miles mine ran pretty much dead center or a tick to the right. Under very heavy loads on hot days in slow traffic it might go to 3/4. Never approached red, even with the A/C on.
Try changing the thermostat to an MB branded one of the proper P/N.
He reckons it has the correct MB thermostat in it. But to be safe I reckon I'll get a new one anyway. On the highway it runs just below 3/4 so it will be fine for my trip home.
Thanks DUTCH |
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Photoman
Date registered: Apr 2006
Location: New Zealand
Vehicle(s): 280GE, ML500, 280SE 3.5
| Re: Temp on a 280
Just a thought. He thought it was an '84 280. I did a VIN check and it's an '83. Since it's a higher compression engine would it run a different thermostat to the '84 engine? I don't really think it would but you never know. |
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DUTCH
Administrator Doppelgänger
Date registered: Apr 2006
Location: US, GA, Atlanta
Vehicle(s): 2015 Audi Q7 3.0 TDI,2018 Sprinter
Posts: 9963
| RE: Temp on a 280
Photoman - 10/14/2006 6:23 AM
He reckons it has the correct MB thermostat in it. But to be safe I reckon I'll get a new one anyway. On the highway it runs just below 3/4 so it will be fine for my trip home.
Thanks DUTCH
One other thought is the ground points on the truck. It has been quite common on the older G's for the temperature gauge to read high, even though the actual engine temperature is OK. This is noticeable when you turn on the headlights or otherwise increase the electrical load. The temperature gauge will actually jump to a higher temperature when the lights are turned on. The fuel gauge will usually also flicker in the same manner.
Remedy of this requires going through the entire truck and cleaning and tightening all grounding/earthing points - especially the big ones in the engine compartment between the battery and the body, the chassis and the engine.
Just another thought.
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DUTCH
Administrator Doppelgänger
Date registered: Apr 2006
Location: US, GA, Atlanta
Vehicle(s): 2015 Audi Q7 3.0 TDI,2018 Sprinter
Posts: 9963
| Re: Temp on a 280
Photoman - 10/14/2006 6:32 AM
Just a thought. He thought it was an '84 280. I did a VIN check and it's an '83. Since it's a higher compression engine would it run a different thermostat to the '84 engine? I don't really think it would but you never know.
If it's a G engine (110.994), the compression was the same (low) on both years. |
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Photoman
Date registered: Apr 2006
Location: New Zealand
Vehicle(s): 280GE, ML500, 280SE 3.5
| Re: Temp on a 280
DUTCH - 10/14/2006 10:37 PM
Photoman - 10/14/2006 6:32 AM
Just a thought. He thought it was an '84 280. I did a VIN check and it's an '83. Since it's a higher compression engine would it run a different thermostat to the '84 engine? I don't really think it would but you never know.
If it's a G engine (110.994 ), the compression was the same (low ) on both years.
Ah true. I didn't know that. For some reason I thought the early Gs had a higher compression ratio that the post '84s.
I'll check out the earths as well.
Thanks again DUTCH  |
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w.james
Veteran
Date registered: Jun 2006
Location: New Jersey
Vehicle(s): 84 280 GE 617A 5sp getrag
Posts: 239
| Re: Temp on a 280
Mine started to run hot when it needed a water pump. How many miles are on the pump? I think the G Wagen Thermostat is colder than the ones for sedans. The one I bought years ago from Europa had a colder temp on the rating on the box, I changed to the sedan Thermostat to get more heat in the winter. as to the ground, when i turned on he head light you could see marked increase in the Temp gauge. I found the bad ground on the back of the gauge with a loose solder conn
Good Luck
Will |
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Brent
Expert
Date registered: Apr 2006
Location: SW Colorado USA
Vehicle(s): '13 Wolfsburg GTI
Posts: 1754
| RE: Temp on a 280
Will is right, the 280 sedan thermostat is a higher temp rating than the one for the G. That is what I have in mine (long story) and it does normally run close to the 3/4 mark, though I haven't seen it get close to the red zone. My outside temps are likely lower than your though.
I would check the grounds and replace the t-stat with the G specific version. Does anybody have that part number? |
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Steve D
Veteran
Date registered: Apr 2006
Location: Denver, CO
Vehicle(s): 1984 280GE cabrio; 2011 Ford Expedition
Posts: 112
| RE: Temp on a 280
I am going to buy one of these caps and try it out. http://www.jegs.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?catal... . |
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Photoman
Date registered: Apr 2006
Location: New Zealand
Vehicle(s): 280GE, ML500, 280SE 3.5
| Re: Temp on a 280
Might just be earthing as DUTCH said or even a faulty temp gauge. Mechanic check out the temp and it is all ok even when the gauge hits the red.
When I get it home I'll send it to my own Merc mechanic who's a G expert to make sure. In fact he's going to give it the big once over. |
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roughneck
Expert
Date registered: Apr 2006
Location: UK, Germany & USA
Vehicle(s): 270 cdi.300 GD 300 GE.lwb 300 GE.swb. Disco 2
Posts: 4398
| Re: Temp on a 280
Check out your ignition timing, it is a practice to advance the timing slightly to give a little more power, but the engine runs hotter, retard the timing a couple of degrees and see if that helps, if it doesnt you can allways advance it again. |
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