Here, check this out guys. Im going to buy one next week.



http://www.radcapproducts.com/radcap.html

A few friends have it and I figured it share it with everyone because corrosion can be a problem with our older cars.

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1983 300DT 284k miles. :-) "The Benzo"
1998 Mustang GT Custom 4.9 L engine.
1997 Dodge ram Pickup 5.9L

It's a radiator cap with a magnesium anode on a string.....

It needs to be in the main flow to work. There is no flow through the expansion bottle.

Don't waste $20.

so it should work on my 240D ? i dont have a expansion tank.

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06 VW Jetta TDI

all the New MB's use something similar to maintain the coolant properties. they have something like 10 year coolant change recommendations. it's not in the cap though.
John

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John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
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My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
1987 300TD
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

Why would one need an anode in a closed cooling system? We use them on boats in the salt water side, but not the fresh. But yeah you need flow, they are usualy in the heat exchangers and passages in the block.

My last radiator was about 20 years old and not corroded, I don't see a reason. Spend the money on Mercedes coolant and change it every 2-3 years.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

Snake Oil..... The idea of using a sacrafical anode has been arround for some time, but the anode has to be in contact with the block,

Basically on boats, the anode is attached directly to the motor, or directly to the hull of steel boats, Just dangling in the rad tank will do nothing.

Im an engineer and a sailor, and I would not buy this product. my 2 cents.

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1984 Euro 300SDC, (4spd standard)
1986 Toyota Landcruiser Diesel HJ60 5spd X2

Gone but not forgotten (some sold, some stripped)
1983 300 SD, 1985 300 SD, 1983 240D, 1986 300 SDL, 1985 300 SDL, 1983 300 D, 1984 300 D, 1985 300SD, 1987 300 SDL, 1983 300 SD, 1985 300 TD Euro, 1983 380SEC, 1990 300 D, 1987 300D, 1982 300D, 1982 300D, 1994 E420, 1987 300 TD, 1987 300 D, 1984 300 D

Correct, it needs to be screwed into the block or radiator. There would be no contact with just a radiator cap.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

we put anodes in oil coolers too on the boats but still the premise is correct the rad cap in an expansion tank does nothing

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commercial fisherman diesel in my blood in my boats trucks and Dear old Dad has had me drivin them since i got my first license in 1968
1986 300 SDL 427654
1999 Chevy Crew Cab Dually 225423
1986 300 SDL 287000 Dad's
1987 190 Turbo 158000 Mom's (my inheritance)

On a boat...the corrosion fallout off the anode get's washed away.....where's it gonna go in the cooling system? ...supposing it would work.

There's something missing????......Oh yeah....AS SEEN ON TV.




.

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On the boat the anodes still on a closed system with coolant salt water cools the coolant thru a cooler Or on my boat I have Keel pipes attached to the hull Ocean water cools the engine coolant inside the pipes zinc anodes attached to the pipes as sacrifice to the sea

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commercial fisherman diesel in my blood in my boats trucks and Dear old Dad has had me drivin them since i got my first license in 1968
1986 300 SDL 427654
1999 Chevy Crew Cab Dually 225423
1986 300 SDL 287000 Dad's
1987 190 Turbo 158000 Mom's (my inheritance)

To work, the magnesium needs to react with something. What's it going to react with? It will be installed in a closed system, but all their testing was done on a system open to the atmosphere, and with used coolant which probably isn't very similar to what is in your MB.
What chemical compound is created? They don't say. As the Mg reacts, it creates some new compound. Often the result will be an oxide. Some oxides, like aluminium oxide, are very abrasive (that's why they make sandpaper with it). Is whatever Mg compound created bad for the system?

You might want to get these questions answered before trying it. If you're going to flush the system every year, it probably doesn't matter, but if you intend to leave it for ten years, it probably does.

Of course, you could just try it and see. I can't see it's likely to cause much damage. Particles will most likely settle in the radiator where they'll do little harm, corrosion protection will be supplied by the Mg, and if it has any negative effects on the coolant performance, well, I would like to think they would have noticed in their testing and not brought the product to market.

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'83 300DTurbo http://badges.fuelly.com/images/smallsig-us/318559.png

Broadband: more lies faster.

Hmmm, I just checked Nigel Calders book on marine bonding systems and sacrificial anodes. A sacrificial anode does not necessarily need to be in the "flow" just in the same solution as the other metals it is protecting. Marine engine zincs are in the raw water side of the cooling circuit, usually in the heat exchangers. Exterior zincs are simply bolted to the outside of the hull immersed in sea water. Think of a "zinc fish" commonly hung over the sides of boats for a little extra protection.

The common thing here is that the sacrificial anodes have to be bonded or electrically connected to the other metals to work! The engine zincs are "connected" because they are screwed into the engine parts. Shaft zincs and bolted to the shaft. Transom and hull zincs are connected to the bonding system in the boat that is attached to all the other metal bits of the boat, engine, thru-hulls, etc. Zinc fish are attached to the engine block with an alligator clip.

The radiator cap anode system would have to be connected to the engine block to work correctly. If installed in a metal radiator then it may be electrically connected to the chassis and therefore the engine block. On an MB there would have to be a wire to connect it to the chassis or block as the plastic expansion tank would isolate it.

Does it work? Dunno. Coolant already has additive to deal with the galvanic corrosion issues in cooling systems due to dissimilar metals being mixed in a common system. A cooling system that has proper maintenance should not need an anode. I'm betting however that if plain water was being used for coolant then this product may be beneficial.

RT

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84' Mercedes Benz 300D Anthracite/black, 171K
03' Volkswagen Jetta TDI blue/black, 93K
93' Chevrolet C2500HD ExCab 6.5TD, Two-tone blue, 252K

PH leaning towards acid or base is what does the most damage IMO. Maintaining fresh coolant in the proper ratio is the best defense.

I had to replace the radiator on my 1981 300D. The radiator was leaking between the core and the top plastic end cap. Also the hose tube on the same end cap was broken which I believe was cause by the material weakening as the result of incorrect coolant. Beside these issues the core was in great shape. I replaced the radiator with a used one that had an excellent core.