Oil Cooler

[tel76]

In the bottom of the box of parts I received with this car there is a Behr ALUMINIUM oil cooler with the part # 108 180 07 65, it looks like the steel version.
Does anyone know what it would have been fitted to?

[mBdrvr]

Using EPC says that it will fit a W108 280S, 280SE or 280SEL

[ja17]

Yes the aluminum cooler was used on some V-8 versions of the W108 and W109.  There are some notable differences besides the aluminum metal. They are mounted on the opposite side of the radiator on the V-8 sedans. The drain plug is on the opposite end. The oil coolers on the 6cylinder W108 sedans are basically the same as the W113 cars. They are made of steel and are mounted on the same side.

[tel76]

Joe,
The aluminium oil cooler is identical to the one fitted to the Pagoda (including the drain plug).
It does beg the question why MB would fit an aluminium cooler to a large sedan. was it possible that these were offered for competition.
If anyone wants to save weight for competition purposes this would be a good starting point.

[Benz Dr.]

All of the 123 diesel oil coolers are aluminium as far as I know, so I doubt it's a weight saving notion. More likely to be linked to better cooling properties.

[dseretakis]

Can a W108 6 cylinder oil cooler be used in a pagoda?

[ja17]

Yes a 6cyl W108 will work fine.

[dseretakis]

Thanks.

[Benz Dr.]

The mounting is different on the side of this cooler as 108's use a rubber insert that slides into place between the rad cradle and the oil cooler. They are similar but not the same.

Pay special attention to rust on the cooler tubes. Heavy rust is often an indication of impending failure and they can leak a lot of oil in very short order. Usually they'll seep first before they really start to leak so you should always keep an eye on them. If you have a nice clean one you shouldn't have to worry.

Once they rust through and start to leak they're just about impossible to repair if the leaking isn't on the outer tubes. In fact, I wouldn't bother.

[ja17]

Yes these steel oil coolers are brazed together unlike a radiator which is soldered together. Repairs on a rust one is nearly impossible. In an emergency, the oil cooler can be by-passed by connecting the two hoses together.

[dseretakis]

So will a w108 six cylinder sedan oil cooler require any modification to be used on a pagoda?
Also are the exhaust manifolds the same as on sedan?

[ja17]

I have used sedan oil coolers on pagodas with no modification. They have to be from 6 cylinder cars. The location of the oil drain plug is sometimes in a slightly different position with no consequence. The exhaust manifolds on the fuel injected six cylinder W108 sedans are exactly the same (250 SE, 280 SE, SEL)  Six cylinder engines only are the same.

[dseretakis]

Thank you! My friend has a 280SEL that he's parting out so I wanted to know what parts are shared.