If I have the dreaded green coolant... - Page 2 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

LUVMBDiesels · #16 08-29-2007, 02:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lonewolftek

My coolant is... kinda rust-colored.

LUVMBDiesels, what did you do to dispose of the old coolant/flush water?

Umm gravel driveway...

Once you get the initial green stuff out of the system the rest of the fluids are not toxic. The problem is that when you open the block drain plug, the stuff is going to come out and sort of rain down onto the ground. It would be very hard to collect it into a container. Just flush the area down with clean water and you should be OK.

LUVMBDiesels · #17 08-29-2007, 02:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheDon

careful with the petcock valve... mine kinda broke in the threads.. it doesn't leak but not draining the radiator requires the lower hose coming off..

This is why I don't even bother with the drain. It is easier (on the 300SD) to simply pull off the expansion tank hose.

LUVMBDiesels · #18 08-29-2007, 02:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vstech

and it is quite important to do the entire procedure. properly done this takes over 1.5 weeks... and LOTS AND LOTS of flushes.

Exactly! I would suggest that anybody who is thinking of doing this get it done as soon as possible. It would be a real PITA to do this when it is cold outside.

I ran the car with the citric acid solution for about 350-400 miles.

I got the stuff on ebay.

Oh and one more thing... This would be the perfect time to replace any cooling system components that are old.

I did all the hoses, including the short one on the thermostat neck (Thanks to Phil for having this in stock!) as well as the thermostat and water pump.

During the citric acid phase, the radiator sprung a leak so that got replaced as well. (200 bucks at radiator.com and a 1/2 hour procedure.)

If your radiator is over 20 years old, you might want to just replace it.

This way I kind of zero timed the entire system. The biggest heartbreak would have been to get the new Zerex into the car only to have the water pump or radiator go.

Zerex is straw or golden colored. Anything else, or if you don't know what a PO put in must be flushed.

Both the green stuff and DexCool will eat the plastic in your radiator as well as damage the hoses.

777funk · #19 08-31-2007, 09:36 AM

Awesome steps. What about the old mechanics/radiator shop special? I know they have flushing equipment. How well does that work? Is it worth the $$$

dieseldan44 · #20 08-31-2007, 10:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 777funk

Awesome steps. What about the old mechanics/radiator shop special? I know they have flushing equipment. How well does that work? Is it worth the $$$

I love DIYing, but for $100 Id have a shop do this....but, they wouldnt do it fully like I would. We have family cats around, and cats love antifreeze...so I have to be really careful getting it on the ground.

LuvMB, can you post a picture of your backflushing rig? Im not quite sure I understand how you hooked up a hose to the block drain.

777funk · #21 08-31-2007, 11:03 AM

My cats walk on my w124's hood, windshield and roof. They leave footprints all over that car. They climb the car too with sharp nails... The scratch our front house door and they get ticks on my 3 and under kids. We live in the country.

When I changed my antifreeze last time I wasn't overly protective of those cats

LUVMBDiesels · #22 08-31-2007, 12:29 PM

[quote=dieseldan44;1607317

LuvMB, can you post a picture of your backflushing rig? Im not quite sure I understand how you hooked up a hose to the block drain.[/quote]

Here is a link to the pictures: http://share.shutterfly.com/action/pictures?a=67b0de21b35084ec2558&sid=1FbM2LVixdQ

The way to install this rig is to get the small nipple and the elbow into the hole in the block. Then you can thread the rest of it on. It is a pain, but it works really well. The valve was a later addition so that I could run her up to temperature without removing the rig. I then open the valve to flush. When I wanted to drain, I uncoupled the clear hose from the garden hose and let the stuff drain out the clear hose. I wish they had put something like this on the block at the factory...

Good luck.

captainmonk · #23 08-31-2007, 04:22 PM

gawd u mean the green coolant in my car is killing it @ 410000 miles mabe it will only last to 500000

dieseldiehard · #24 09-04-2007, 01:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by captainmonk

gawd u mean the green coolant in my car is killing it @ 410000 miles mabe it will only last to 500000

Is there an original (#14) head on that SDL? Nice achievement regardless

FWIW, a friend I know works at the local MB dealership. They see aluminum heads fail regularly, not only on the diesels. He attributes the failures to a lack of regular coolant maintenance. Antifreeze using ethylene glycols turns to corrosive mixture after thermal breakdown over time when the inhibitors wear out. If you add just an inhibitor it reduces electrolysis and prevents the aluminum from giving up material to the solution. Ford sells an inhibitor that was necessary to a diesel engine but it may have had some cavitation going on (no liners?)

I think the green stuff has a bad rap and I'm not suggesting it or otherwise but if its replaced annually it probably isn't bad, its when one neglects the antifreeze maintenance and added to that has scale built-up in the radiator that makes an engine run hotter than normal then maybe an electric cooling fan goes out and isn't noticed until the driver sees the engine temps in the red, keeps on driving even with the AC on all the time in the Summer, that is when the damage is done. Its a compound thing that can wind up giving a warped head or blown headgasket.
I know several people that run green goo in the 617's with no problems at all (flame suit on!)

Cr from Texas · #25 10-21-2008, 11:05 PM

My radiator neck broke off two years ago and I didn't have time to do the work myself. Apparrently the indy put in the green stuff coolant. I now see some sludge etc. but no cooling issues. Looks like I need to do the complete deoil, citric acid treatment.
I've been searching and reading posts for about an hour and this one makes the most sense.

Agreed?

My biggest concern is the possibility of one of those left side freeze plugs developing a leak. Looks easy on the right side and a real PIA on the left.

Suggestions?

Quote:

Originally Posted by LUVMBDiesels

To convert from the green stuff to the proper Zerex G05 coolant is a time consuming process, but well worth it.

This is what I did...

First I drained the radiator and block. I pull off the small hose that leads to the expansion tank to drain the radiator. If you don't have an expansion tank, pull off the lower radiator hose. Once the radiator is drained replace the hose. The block drain is located on the right side of the block in front of the starter. It takes a 19mm socket. You must remove this as most of the old coolant is still in the block and will not come out via the radiator.
It helps to put the car up on ramps.

Next I removed the thermostat, but left the rubber ring in place.

Then I flushed the system with hose water by attaching a 1/4 inch galvanized pipe nipple approximately 3 inches long to the engine block drain. I then threaded an elbow and a six inch pipe nipple to the one in the block. I cut off some old garden hose and clamped it to the six inch nipple. This way I can back flush the system.

Once I had this set up, I started the engine and turned on the defroster. With the hose running, I flushed the block until the water coming from the expansion tank was clear.

Next comes the flushing steps to remove any rust and grease in the system.

Put the block drain back in.
Fill the system with water by removing the top radiator hose from the radiator and filling it until there is water at the top of the hose, replace it and fill the rest of the way from the expansion tank.

Next put in a cup of Tide detergent. Start the car and run it with the defroster on for about 1/2 hour. Let it cool down then repeat the water flush steps until the water is no longer soapy.

Replace the thermostat. You can reuse your old one if, when you put it in a pan of boiling water it opens fully. I went with a 75 degree one when I replaced mine. It is normally for a 1970's vintage 450, but it works fine in a OM617 engine.

Next you want to do the citric acid flush. drain the system and fill it with a mixture of two gallons water with 2 pounds of citric acid dissolved in the water. (it helps to use very hot tap water to dissolve the acid powder)

Run the car with this as the coolant for a week.

Repeat the steps to flush with water. You will be amazed at the garbage and rust that comes out when you back flush the system. I flush with water at least three times, letting the car cool down between flushes. (don't want to burn yourself )

When the water is clear and does not feel 'slippery' the acid is gone.

Now you can fill the system with 50% Zerex and 50% distilled water.

If you always use the fill from the hose method, you should not have air bubbles in the system.

To purge out any air in the system during any of these steps, put the car on ramps or at least point it uphill. Remove the expansion or radiator cap. Start her up and get her up to operating temperature. Turn on the defroster. Rev her up to 3000RPM a few times. The air should come out of the system.

I know it is a lot of work to do these steps, but you will thank yourself for it when you see how dirty the acid flush water gets. Remember, if you use the correct coolant, you will not have to do this again

AlexCole · #26 10-22-2008, 08:29 AM

Can't you just flush the system and then add non-toxic antifreeze? The non-toxic stuff uses propylene glycol rather than ethylene glycol, and is safe for today's modern cars. I know that we are not talking about "today's modern cars" on this forum, but a large number of them have aluminum heads, and that IS what we're talking about. So you put in that stuff, and don't have to worry about your heads, or your cats.

rocky raccoon · #27 10-22-2008, 09:52 AM

Calm down, y'all.

It is true that MB or Zerex is the better stuff to use. If the car is not overheating I would not go to the time/trouble to scour the engine's insides before changing coolant. Removing and replacing hoses and gaskets unecessarily is likely to cause more problems than fixes.

If the car is cooling as it should, I would recommend draining and refilling only the radiator with the MB-spec coolant. Do this every year for 3 years and the green will be fully replaced with yellow/orange. The MB spec coolant is compatible with the Prestone-type and will cause no damage when mixed. Obviously the green stuff has been in there for years and in most cases, nothing has exploded.

KCM · #28 10-22-2008, 11:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rocky raccoon

Calm down, y'all.

It is true that MB or Zerex is the better stuff to use. If the car is not overheating I would not go to the time/trouble to scour the engine's insides before changing coolant. Removing and replacing hoses and gaskets unecessarily is likely to cause more problems than fixes.

If the car is cooling as it should, I would recommend draining and refilling only the radiator with the MB-spec coolant. Do this every year for 3 years and the green will be fully replaced with yellow/orange. The MB spec coolant is compatible with the Prestone-type and will cause no damage when mixed. Obviously the green stuff has been in there for years and in most cases, nothing has exploded.

I agree with your rocky raccoon. I don't understand why people get so worked up about the green coolant in these old cast iron head/block engines. If it is the aluminum people worry about, there is very little aluminum on these engines that would be affected by any effects the green stuff will have on it. These engines are not any different as far as material goes than all of the American cars made in the 1960's, 1970's, and 1980's, when the green stuff was used in everything. Heck, many American cars used aluminum water pump housings. And as far as plastic parts such as radiators, American cars also used them in the 1980's with the green coolant.

If it makes someone feel better, go ahead and drain as much of the green stuff as possible and use the new non-green stuff. I've used the green stuff in all my MB diesels (pre-1985) and American cars (pre-1990) for decades with no problems what-so-ever related to the coolant. I would say draining and replacing the antifreeze on a regular basis (which I do get lazy about) will be a bigger benefit than using the non-green stuff. If you use antifreeze that meets the specifications from the owner's manual then that will be adequate no matter what color you use.

cphilip · #29 10-22-2008, 11:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 777funk

What about the old mechanics/radiator shop special? I know they have flushing equipment. How well does that work? Is it worth the $$$

I actually did this. I have a local quick lube place that I have learned I can trust. I talked to the owner and he had such a suck and blow system. So we decided to give it a try. He did not stock G-05 so I went and obtained it. Then I obtained about 12 gallons of Deionized Distilled water as well.

This thing will both suck out the old while injecting what ever you want it to. We used the recover tank and its hose as our access point. Car was up to full temp and running all the time we did this.

First we withdrew the Green stuff while putting in tap water (our water here is soft and mineral low) until we had no color showing. This took a couple of tanks of his recovery device to do. It holds, I would estimate, 10 gallons. The first one was Green of course. The second one was clear. We went until it was such and must have started occurring near the end of the first load I imagine. As soon as we saw that was the case we started sucking in DD water for a bit. About four gallons I imagine. Then we simply mixed the G-05 to a 50:50 mix with the DD water and pushed it in while drawing the clear DD water out again. Until we saw some yellow coming into the recovery tank.

This all took about an hour. They charged me $30 and they got rid of the Green coolant and all the rest of the effluent for me. No mess to get rid of for me.

I think it worked well. Not sure they didn't give me a break on the price as they had quoted it to me before hand and stuck with it. The owner knows me fairly well because I use them to change the oil in my 7.3L Power Stroke so he probably figured he was making the money off me already. That thing takes 15 quarts of oil. But heck... even then a change with a filter has been only $40. I used to change it myself but it got to where I was only saving $8-10 each time and yet still having to haul off the oil to recycle. So I said the heck with it.

Phil · #30 10-22-2008, 11:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dwoloz

...would a full on flush be the best action or could I get away with just draining from the bottom of the radiator and from the thermostat housing?

I'm not too clear on the whole flush process so if I can avoid it I think I'd be better off. I really just need to replace my coolant lines that run to the trunk but figured since I'd have to drain the system to do that I might as well change to the proper stuff (green stuff was the PO's work) and also change the t-stat while I'm there.

What coolant lines run to the trunk? I got some of the correct coolant and I just add it as needed but I never flushed out all the green stuff. I have had to replace the stat and a hose so I just started adding the right stuff at that time.