I only have G12 here at the moment could I remove the thermostat and flush the old clear one out and replace it with red one?

I need to replace a few hoses/radiator with this coolant change.

Does red coolant do any harm to an old car?

I find this colour obsession confusing - may be in the US of A the colours are strictly adhered to but here in Europe more often than not they are not.

Look for the MB 325 (?) specification on the product information sheet. Using the wrong coolant can accelerate corrosion and cause damage. Mixing different coolant types can also cause sludge build up (so I have been told)

__________________
1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

I am not a fan of G05/ XL as it causes more rust.

so has somebody tried to run g12 in their om617? No experiences here?

it depends on what kind of red you have, e.g. Chrysler red coolant was bascially zerex G05 with a red dye, while Ford was plain and simple GM dexcool.

In no case should you mix dexcool with oldschool type silicated stuff. Unless you like to see gel blobs in the coolant. - Zerex G05 is very common to buy easily.


I believe VW G12 coolant wont mix well with mercedes G05, it may create gel blobs. I have not run G12 in a benz but I have used G48 (blue) and peak final charge (red) and peak global (yellow) in mercedes. - But not as top up, only as complete change.

__________________
2012 BMW X5 (Beef + Granite suspension model)

1995 E300D - The original humming machine (consumed by Flood 2017)
2000 E320 - The evolution (consumed by flood 2017)

What??!? G-05 is beyond tested and proven. All my systems are original running this.


OP, I’ve seen a lot of people use fleet charge and similar diesel ELC coolants. They are generally dark orange/red.

__________________
Current Diesels:
1981 240D (73K)
1982 300CD (169k)
1985 190D (169k)
1991 350SD (113k)
1991 350SD (206k)
1991 300D (228k)
1993 300SD (291k)
1993 300D 2.5T (338k)
1996 Dodge Ram CTD (442k)
1996 Dodge Ram CTD (265k)

Past Diesels:
1983 300D (228K)
1985 300D (233K)

Thanks all. I was wondering if I flush the whole system with clean water and then put in red coolant g12.

I wouldn't expect the system to be clear of the old coolant by flushing with water - even using some sort of flush in a bottle as well as water might not shift all of the old coolant.


I realise coolant is seriously expensive here in Holland but you might end up making a lot of trouble for yourself if you're not lucky.

__________________
1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

will flush with water a few times to dilute the old coolant and rust out of the system. Red coolant G12 is cheaper than the G05 here.

The old G05 has been in my w123 for idk long time. Could be twenty years easily. I see rust in the coolant.

I can't fathom why you would want to put g12 in there. G-05 is ubiquitous, it works great, it was the MB OE application, and so there's no reason to use anything else..

Is g-12 that much cheaper there??

__________________
Current Diesels:
1981 240D (73K)
1982 300CD (169k)
1985 190D (169k)
1991 350SD (113k)
1991 350SD (206k)
1991 300D (228k)
1993 300SD (291k)
1993 300D 2.5T (338k)
1996 Dodge Ram CTD (442k)
1996 Dodge Ram CTD (265k)

Past Diesels:
1983 300D (228K)
1985 300D (233K)

If you can see rust in the coolant then there might be trouble ahead - so be warned.

You've really got to get the grotty coolant out of the system and do some sort of flush - the flush / cleaning stuff might "cause" leaks if the rust has really gotten hold.

If I were you I'd buy two cans of something like Wynns radiator flush and put one in the existing system - follow the instructions on the tin of what ever you buy and then pop down to the Kruidvat and buy enough demineralised water to refill the system.and do the flush (second tin) a second time.

If you can find the correct grade anti-freeze (old fashioned I know) then that works out to be cheaper to dilute with the Kruidvat demineralised water than most ready mixed coolants.

Kroon SP11 coolant costs about 19 euros for 5 litres - I think you need 11 litres...


@JHZR2 - virtually everything in the Netherlands is expensive especially when it comes to automotive fluids - sometimes it is cheaper to buy stuff online in Germany and have it sent

__________________
1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

In big packaging G12 (20L) is cheaper than G05 as it is more common. Thanks all will try with it.





here are the specifications:

ASTM D3306/D4656/D4985