Is that the right mixture? Man that sounds like a lot of detergent!

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LRG
1987 300D Turbo 175K
2006 Toyota Prius, efficent but no soul
1985 300 TDT(130K miles of trouble free motoring)now sold

I haven't done this operation yet, but I was ALWAYS told not to use the sudsy dish liquid because it takes forever and a day to rinse out. The threads I've read always mentioned dishwasher detergent, or even laundry detergent because of the low suds.

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1982 300CD Petrol/Black Leather

I used TIDE when I did it.

Engine bay smelled like lilacs for a few days

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"I have no convictions ... I blow with the wind, and the prevailing wind happens to be from Vichy"

Current
Monika '74 450 SL
BrownHilda '79 280SL
FoxyCleopatra '99 Chevy Suburban
Scarlett 2014 Jeep Cherokee
Krystal 2004 Volvo S60
Gone
'74 Jeep CJ5
'97 Jeep ZJ Laredo
Rudolf ‘86 300SDL
Bruno '81 300SD
Fritzi '84 BMW
'92 Subaru
'96 Impala SS
'71 Buick GS conv
'67 GTO conv
'63 Corvair conv
'57 Nomad

I used way too much... The proper mixture, I realized later, is 12 oz (Dawn) dishwashing detergent to two gallons of distilled water. It took 3 flushes after the detergent, 3 flushes after the citric acid, and 3 flushes after the baking soda to completely get rid of the soapy bubbles...

But I am now happy to announce that my cooling system is finally bubble-free and the problem with the excessive pressure and leaking radiator hoses is now gone...
I have become so proficient at draining the radiator and block that I can now do a complete flush with my eyes closed under 15 minutes...

Thank you ALL for the great help you have provided here, and thank you LUVMBDiesels for the tip on running on just distilled water for a week. I'm doing that, just in case, and I'll finally completely drain + refill with 50/50 Zerex G-05 and distilled water next week.

[BTW, after putting back the thermostat, operating temperature is now just fine.]

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1979 240D, W123, 105K miles, stick, white w/ tan interior.

Aren't you supposed to add something to inhibit rust if you run for an extended time on water without coolant?

__________________

Current Mercedes
1979 maple yellow 240D 4-speed

Gone and fondly remembered:
1980 orient red 240D 4-speed

Gone and NOT fondly remembered:
1982 Chna Blue 300TD

Other car in the stable:
2013 VW Jetta Sportwagen TDI / 6-speed MT

I don't know... When LUVMBDiesels suggested to run it for a week with just distilled water in the cooling system it seemed like a good idea. Now you've made think of it...

Anyone??

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1979 240D, W123, 105K miles, stick, white w/ tan interior.

I don't think a week will hurt. if you were to run it all summer on just water, I would be worried.

__________________
"I have no convictions ... I blow with the wind, and the prevailing wind happens to be from Vichy"

Current
Monika '74 450 SL
BrownHilda '79 280SL
FoxyCleopatra '99 Chevy Suburban
Scarlett 2014 Jeep Cherokee
Krystal 2004 Volvo S60
Gone
'74 Jeep CJ5
'97 Jeep ZJ Laredo
Rudolf ‘86 300SDL
Bruno '81 300SD
Fritzi '84 BMW
'92 Subaru
'96 Impala SS
'71 Buick GS conv
'67 GTO conv
'63 Corvair conv
'57 Nomad

This is what my FSM says (second paragraph):

Attached Thumbnails

 

__________________

Current Mercedes
1979 maple yellow 240D 4-speed

Gone and fondly remembered:
1980 orient red 240D 4-speed

Gone and NOT fondly remembered:
1982 Chna Blue 300TD

Other car in the stable:
2013 VW Jetta Sportwagen TDI / 6-speed MT

I MIGHT be tempted to throw some WW (RedLine) or even better Royal Purple's
"Purple Ice" product in for the Week ...If I weren't so Cheap.

The FSM is, I am sure,talking long term usage.

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'84 300SD sold
124.128

I would not run just water, not for longer than a few hrs, I would certainly recommend add a rust inhibitor/anti-boil additive if you do choose to go this route.

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Cheers,
Robert

I wouldn't worry about it too much a=on an om617., especially not short term.

from my understanding, water will cool better than coolant, but for obvious reasons it is not suitable long term. all the local dirt track racers can only use water. no coolant allowed. no need to clean up water after a crash.

Water wetter will help the water "bond" to the cast block, which will help with temps even more. may be nice if you get stuck on the freeway on a 90+ day w/ the AC cranked.

but if your sudsy issues are gone, just fill w/ 50/50 and be done with it.

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1984 123.193 372,xxx miles, room for Seven.

1999 Dodge Durango Cummins 4BTAA 47RE 5k lb 4x4 getting 25+mpgs, room for Seven.

Again, thanks for all your feedback... I could never have achieved what I have without your expert advice and this truly WONDERFUL FORUM.

I've drained the distilled water tonight and refilled with 50/50 Zerex G-05 and distilled water. So, job completed. And there are no longer issues with excessive pressure in the cooling system hoses/leaking...

Rino

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1979 240D, W123, 105K miles, stick, white w/ tan interior.

Don't it feel good to have finished a project such as this! Nice job.
Now take pictures of the next project you tackle!!

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Jimmy L.
'05 Acura TL 6MT
2001 ML430 My Spare

Gone:
'95 E300 188K "Batmobile" Texas Unfriendly Black
'85 300TD 235K "The Wagon" Texas Friendly White
'80 240D 154K "China" Scar engine installed
'81 300TD 240K "Smash"
'80 240D 230K "The Squash"
'81 240D 293K"Scar" Rear ended harder than Elton John

You would also be missing an additive designed to lubricate the water pump if you ran water only.
Not a good idea!

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Charles
1983 300D, bought new, 215k+ miles, donated to Purple Hearts veterans charity but I have parts for sale: http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/mercedes-benz-cars-sale/296386-fs-1-owner-83-mb-300d-turbo-rebuild-parts.html

Any issues with using water wetter? I bought a case last year and have some left over. Shawn