The Stern Garage radiators are on pre-order --- I think the ad says 8-10 weeks out.
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FYI Behr, OE, and Denso Radiators for the W124.036/.034 are all NLA
- Thread starter 195910
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Then that's the silverlining
Not sure I understand your comment. This is a made to order part that is in production. How would anyone “hoard” that?
Let’s maybe keep the panic level to a reasonable minimum
Not my intention to keep everyone in panic, but you may notice how sales of parts happen to be unnecessary in bulk these days? That hint alone indicates something.
I think I noticed that those headlight wipers had a large bulk order, but I haven’t noticed that other parts are being purchased in bulk. Maybe I am not paying close enough attention.
Well headlights wipers was just a start, but my aim was more of a prediction. I might be wrong.
The radiator situation is relatively of low concern, because there are multiple shops capable of fabricating custom all-aluminum radiators, probably worldwide. This is a common thing in the world of motorsports. So even if there's not an off-the-shelf 036-specific solution like SG, it could be done with minimal hassle - send the custom fabrication shop your old radiator and a stack of Benjamins, get a shiny new radiator a few weeks later. Yeah, it will cost a bunch more than the Behr did, but you can get something equal or better than original. And it can be done as a 1-off, no need for a group buy with a MOQ (minimum order quantity). Of course it's a big hassle and expensive, but totally doable. (Also, at the moment, we can still get Nissens.)
Now, with stuff like late LCA's... or 036 Euro headlight lenses... or cruise/combination switches... that stuff is almost impossible to replicate/duplicate via aftermarket. And if a production run was commissioned, there could be a MOQ involved. And the aftermarket products available are either unreliable (off-brand LCA's) or not functionally equivalent (lenses) or of questionable quality (Meyle/etc cruise/combo switches).
Now, with stuff like late LCA's... or 036 Euro headlight lenses... or cruise/combination switches... that stuff is almost impossible to replicate/duplicate via aftermarket. And if a production run was commissioned, there could be a MOQ involved. And the aftermarket products available are either unreliable (off-brand LCA's) or not functionally equivalent (lenses) or of questionable quality (Meyle/etc cruise/combo switches).
Never heard of this brand...what do you think?
www.autohausaz.com
Mahle Behr 1245001402, 70826327 Radiator - Mercedes | 1245000302 376712271 376712273 376712274
Find Mahle Behr, 70826327 Radiator 1245001402 at discount prices in our extensive Mercedes auto parts catalog. AutohausAZ offers a large selection of Mahle Behr parts online. 1 per car. Fits Mercedes E500, E420, 400E, 500E. 1245000302 376712271 376712273 376712274 70826327 CR283000S W0133-1598786
www.autohausaz.com
That's the low-cost India Behr, which had been documented on the forum in the past. It's about half the price of the South African "Premium Line" Behr.Never heard of this brand...what do you think?
Mahle Behr 1245001402, 70826327 Radiator - Mercedes | 1245000302 376712271 376712273 376712274
Find Mahle Behr, 70826327 Radiator 1245001402 at discount prices in our extensive Mercedes auto parts catalog. AutohausAZ offers a large selection of Mahle Behr parts online. 1 per car. Fits Mercedes E500, E420, 400E, 500E. 1245000302 376712271 376712273 376712274 70826327 CR283000S W0133-1598786
Note that AHAZ doesn't appear to have it in stock, and there may not be any available... would either have to place an order, or contact AHAZ and have them check with their supplier.
Gentlemen the country of manufacturing is not an issue anymore, its the quality and availability!
"OE Made in Germany" is almost non-existing now.
As long as someone can make the parts in the same quality level to keep the cars on the road, then I have no issues.
"OE Made in Germany" is almost non-existing now.
As long as someone can make the parts in the same quality level to keep the cars on the road, then I have no issues.
I ordered a new radiator for my 400e from mboemparts. 124-500-14-02
Behr made in Germany, Arrived on Monday. It is available.
Yep. And the fact that MB Classic Parts says that it is available, I believe they will continue to be produced and made available - likely in small numbers, but they will remain available for the foreseeable future.
When every other 124 radiator has gone NLA, there's little chance MB will only keep the V8 radiators alive. The aftermarket supply has also vanished, indicating the OEM (Mahle/Behr) has stopped production.
As stated earlier, the MB Classic Parts website does not update in real time... I expect by early 2024 it will have been updated to "NLA".
Agreed, radiators for w123 and w201 are also NLA. Honestly I have had decent luck with the nissens radiator in my 190e. It’s certainly not OEM quality but it is not junk either. It’s held up good for many years. I would use one again in a daily driver quality car.
I grabbed (hopefully) one of these last radiators, and also recently got some sportline LCAs and front shocks before they went NLA. My car has 250k mi and I drive it a few hundred mi per month. My rad was last done 20+ years ago at 150k mi but I'd seen the cooling performance deterioirate somewhat recently and I wanted to replace it, I just kept forgetting to order one so I was grateful for the alert from this community. The same goes for my shocks and LCAs - both are original to the car and while they are generally durable, nothing lasts forever and at my cars age/mileage it's prudent to have replacements available. That said, I do strongly agree with the anti hoarding for the sake of hoarding sentiment, but my sense is it's not really an issue here as much as it is in say, Porsche circles. People use our cars a lot and while they don't wear hard it is nice to have parts should something go wrong.
If only the top is slightly bent and it doesn't leak, it may still be functional... just not pretty.
Agreed, you should be able to bend that back with some pliers (carefully).
I learned this AM that the one I thought I had from Naperville.....I did not have. They went to order but it didn't get filled as it was 'gone' from the CA warehouse. Grrrr.
I learned this AM that the one I thought I had from Naperville.....I did not have. They went to order but it didn't get filled as it was 'gone' from the CA warehouse. Grrrr.
Nope, I did not order it.
With some additional investigation, I have been informed that someone called the Boise MB dealership directly, on Friday, late morning Mountain Time, from out of state, and paid for the radiators they had on the spot with a credit card. It was no question someone on this forum.
Nobody needs two spare E500E radiators unless you are @jhodg5ck, @Trae or the @gsxr, so I am strongly assuming we will see one or more NOS radiators posted for sale here at some time in the future by someone other than them (unless one of them purchased the units from MB Boise).
Nobody needs two spare E500E radiators unless you are @jhodg5ck, @Trae or the @gsxr, so I am strongly assuming we will see one or more NOS radiators posted for sale here at some time in the future by someone other than them (unless one of them purchased the units from MB Boise).
Its aluminum so if they try to bend the frame back in shape it might tear. The edge is bent flat, I don't know how that might have happened inside the packaging.If only the top is slightly bent and it doesn't leak, it may still be functional... just not pretty.
Stay tuned lets see what happens by tomorrow.
The edge can be bent vertical again with minimal stress against the top row/tube. If the top row/tube is pushed down a bit, just leave it alone... there's a plastic cover over the top of the radiator anyway, it won't be visible when installed.
Also, if one or two rows/tubes are damaged (holes or cracks), the plastic tanks can be removed and those rows/tubes sealed off. That's a last resort of course, but would be worth the effort since they are NLA now.
I hope we have good news tomorrow. Radiators are often replaced several time in a car's life cycle, and 30k cars is not a small number of cars NOT to have a radiator for.
^^^ This is what makes no sense as to why the diesel and M103/M104 radiators went NLA. There are many hundreds of thousands (possibly over 1 million?) cars out there with those engines, and those radiators are all NLA. My thought process was, if MB didn't care enough to keep them in production with 1M+ vehicles that could use them (ok, half that still on the road today, 500k?)... it's even less likely with ~30k M119's.
Assuming this is on purpose without plans to commission another production run, one wonders if it's related to the agenda to switch to EV's...
We'll know in days or weeks if the radiators will continue to be available, or not, per the MB Classic Parts web site. My guess/instinct is that they will become available again in the near future, sort of like the 124 windshields.
Now if they would just do another production run of the late 124 front lower control arms....
Now if they would just do another production run of the late 124 front lower control arms....
I was thinking the same thing. I know there’s a long string on EVs, but with all the recent NLAs, it’s becoming increasingly possible that there is a causal link between EV plans and NLAs. It sounds like we will know soon enough.
It is frustrating to say the least, and particularly hypocritical when MB's official youtube channel continues to push out "Life with my classic" videos of cars that they no longer support. Anyhoo - I recently managed to pick up a NOS radiator on my last trip to Germany at probably 2x the original sticker price but at least I have a spare.
What are the odds that someday MB will restart production of currently nla .036 parts?
Take the following loosely cause it's hearsay, but I hear you can get still get Gullwing parts. Is that true? Are they new OEM parts?
Take the following loosely cause it's hearsay, but I hear you can get still get Gullwing parts. Is that true? Are they new OEM parts?
MB has a combination of NOS and new manufacture parts. They have quite a surprising number of parts in stock for the Gullwing. But remember, those cars' overall part count is also much smaller than say, a W124.
MB Classic also commissions small batches of parts to be manufactured for rare and valuable cars like the Gullwing on an as-needed basis if they don’t have the part in stock.
Unfortunately the E500E hasn’t reached that same status as the Gullwing.
MB Classic also commissions small batches of parts to be manufactured for rare and valuable cars like the Gullwing on an as-needed basis if they don’t have the part in stock.
Unfortunately the E500E hasn’t reached that same status as the Gullwing.
At this point I think Mercedes execs are probably wondering how they’re even going to survive without massive government subsidies in exchange for pretending EVs are the way to a viable future. More parts for our cars is probably not even on their radar screen. Hopefully they have more NOS than we think.
Interesting point. There are currently NO options aside from a custom radiator for a W123 240D. Even the aftermarket has dried up. The only other option is to retrofit one from a Turbodiesel model with the expansion tank.
I know a guy who has a Ferrari 599 in Dubai. Used replacement radiators were over $5000 so as he works with a lot of people in China, he sent his old radiator to a company who remade it in aluminum and it cost him about $300. Not bad for a one off job.
People are going to need to get creative. I just found out that the blower motor regulators on my E320 CDI which is also the same as on my SL55 and other models up to 2012 is now NLA.
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This begs the question, would a low mileage example be less surpceptible to having issues with the radiator? I guess the only other option now for a high-quality radiator would be $2500.
@Mercedes>BMW, why $2,500? What radiator are you talking about?
I know it’s disheartening to find out another OEM part is or might becoming NLA but fortunately aftermarket still supports the vehicle. Most if not all the cars i service now have radiators made in China. Honestly the failure rate is pretty low given how inexpensive they are to OE replacements. Most vehicle manufacturers (at least prior to the pandemic) have switched production to China to produce their OEM parts. So unless your V8 W124 is a low mileage show car these radiators will probably perform just fine for the daily driver.
if anything I’m more concerned about the quality of replacement parts post pandemic. I have been seeing lousy quality in both dealer and aftermarket suppliers to manufacturers post pandemic. In addition I have been seeing parts warranties with aftermarket suppliers being cut to 12 months and sometimes less. Independent shops typically warranty their work for 12/12 So any aftermarket part with less than a 12 month warranty is now part of the independent shops liability. Denso which is a brand I have always trusted has let me down a couple times in the past year.
if anything I’m more concerned about the quality of replacement parts post pandemic. I have been seeing lousy quality in both dealer and aftermarket suppliers to manufacturers post pandemic. In addition I have been seeing parts warranties with aftermarket suppliers being cut to 12 months and sometimes less. Independent shops typically warranty their work for 12/12 So any aftermarket part with less than a 12 month warranty is now part of the independent shops liability. Denso which is a brand I have always trusted has let me down a couple times in the past year.
^ These custom made radiators are what I was talking about.
Seems like there may be more solutions out there but I will wait to see how things pan out.
Awright, folx, it's semi-official... it took a full 6 weeks, maybe a bit longer, but MBCC is now showing the 034 radiator (124-500-14-02) as NLA. Link and screenshot below.
The 036 radiator which is mostly or completely identical (124-500-03-02) has been NLA for months, as discussed earlier.
https://partssearch.mercedes-benz-classic.com/parts/A1245001402?tt=automatic
The 036 radiator which is mostly or completely identical (124-500-03-02) has been NLA for months, as discussed earlier.
https://partssearch.mercedes-benz-classic.com/parts/A1245001402?tt=automatic
Oh no. Color me surprised... I really started to hate MB for what they are doing. Making all of those stupid videos about #LifeWithClassic while making absolutely 100% sure that none of this cars will be able to keep driving in the upcoming years because of parts availability. This is just pathetic... But hey! At least we can buy a brand new, recently made grill emblem with paint that will last ONE wash... I knew deep inside that parts availability would not last forever, but I recently saw a guy on YT that bought Renault Clio V6 and he was missing front trunk plastic. He called Renault and they dug out the mold for it and made one of part just for HIM, no questions asked. Price? $200. Meanwhile here we are with crucial parts going NLA and absolutely zero response from MB... That's how #LifeWithClassic is I guess?
Also, my friend needed to order custom-made connecting rod bearings for the M113K engine because they are NLA from MB!!! What a clown fest.
Rant over...
Also, my friend needed to order custom-made connecting rod bearings for the M113K engine because they are NLA from MB!!! What a clown fest.
Rant over...
NLA radiators already showing up for sale at ridiculous prices... 
For this amount of money (€790) I would rather buy custom aluminum radiator.
www.kleinanzeigen.de
For this amount of money (€790) I would rather buy custom aluminum radiator.
Gebrauchte Autoteile günstig | kleinanzeigen.de
Kleinanzeigen: Gebrauchte Autoteile günstig kaufen - Jetzt in Baden-Baden finden oder inserieren! - kleinanzeigen.de
Crazy price (€850) but the only one I have seen for sale anywhere (no affiliation)
www.kleinanzeigen.de
Gebrauchte Autoteile günstig | kleinanzeigen.de
Kleinanzeigen: Gebrauchte Autoteile günstig kaufen - Jetzt in Baden-Baden finden oder inserieren! - kleinanzeigen.de
Description
Item description:
Original Mercedes-Benz W124 V8 water cooler for all W124 500E, E500 and E60 AMG models, i.e. model 124.036 (year of construction 1990-1995) suitable for:
W124 500E, year of construction 1990-1993
W124 500E AMG 6.0, year of construction 1990-1993
W124 E 500 , year of construction 1993-1995
W124 E60 AMG, year of construction 1993-1995
Absolute rarity as it is in absolutely new condition including original Mercedes packaging!
Not available from Mercedes for a long time!!
And that's still the good old quality from the manufacturer BEHR!!
Condition: NEW and unused!!
Defects: None, as it is absolutely NEW
Original Mercedes part number: A124 500 03 02
The following is delivered: 1x original Mercedes-Benz W124 V8 water cooler in original Mercedes packaging as well as an invoice with VAT shown.
Shipping costs within Germany: 20 euros as a higher insured package (abroad to Inquiry)
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For what it is worth I’ve had a nissens radiator in my w201 for years and it has been fine. Not the same fit and finish as OE but it is acceptable for a daily driver. No leaks or anything
