Locating a new oil cooler

[Kenneth Gear]

It appears I need an oil cooler.  Does anyone know of a good source for a reconditioned steel one as I understand the new ones are not only expensive but are also aluminum.



Ken G
1971 280 SL
Silver/red

[Sven]

Ken,

I'm in the same boat and have been looking for several months.  MB will sell you one for just under $1K. I haven't found any aftermarket suppliers.  Millers lists them, but when I called to inquire, the said they hadn't had one in some time and could get one from the German supplier for $900+ (i guess their German supplier is MB).  

Be careful of used ones.  I found a used one that had supposedly been pressure tested, only to find out after I installed it that it leaked as much as my original failing one.  I took my old one and the used one I had found to a local specialty welding/radiator shop and was told both cores were leaking (most likely due to corrosion) and could not be repaired.

Please, please, please, let me know if you find a source, and I will do the same.

sven

[Cees Klumper]

MB-specialized used parts suppliers should have these. I am not completely sure about this, but I would imagine they were used on other M130 engined cars so they would tend to be more plentiful. Maybe someone else can confirm whether the sedan-engined M130 oil coolers are the same as the SL ones; I have at least a couple of spare ones (from some of my 14 engines ...) around that I would be happy to send off to someone who really needs one.

Cees ("Case") Klumper in Amsterdam
'69 white 280 SL automatic

[mdsalemi]

An alternative to the $1,000 is to have one custom made.  I would guess if you sent the old one out to a custom shop they'd fabricate one w/o issue and at a reasonable cost.  Do a google search for "custom radiator" and or "custom oil coolers" and I bet you come up with enough sources to keep you busy for some time; places like www.wizardcooling.com or www.macsradiator.com or others like them.

My local mechanic, Motorwerks, shoehorned a massive Mercedes V12 into his W126 (http://www.squidcar.com/videos/SatishT.mov)which required all new custom radiator and oil cooler.  He had one fabricated locally (we are in the land of muscle cars and such) and though it does not resemble factory at all (100% aluminum construction) it works well and fit perfectly.

Michael Salemi
1969 280SL
Signal Red w/Black Leather
Restored

[Kenneth Gear]

Thanks, I will look into a custom one and keep my eyes open for a goo dused one as well.

Ken G
1971 280 SL
Silver/red

[glennard]

Might have one in the back of the garage??

[Kenneth Gear]

Thanks, but I ended up biting the bullet and getting a new one.

Ken G
1971 280 SL
Silver/red