Brian - I rephrased my statement - thanks.

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Jim

md21722,

You mean they did not flush? They just topped off?

I also had them flush brake fluid (required every 2 years).

The price for these flushes was not small.

I have no idea what the shop did because I did not see them do the work. However, I suspect they drained your coolant and refilled with the green stuff since that's what you had in there already. I think that qualifies as 'changing the coolant'.

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Brian Toscano

I called the independent. Below is what he said.
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The MB coolant is almost clear. In my car, it looks green because of the plastic reservoir color and some remnants of old coolant in other area.
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It is true that MB coolant has light color.
I poored MB coolant and Shellzone (green) on each transparent plastic cup. Half filled.
I can read the newspaper underneath the cup through the MB coolant, while I cannot read through the Shellzone.

I did not know that old coolant is left after flush (flush is different from drain).

It sounds like he should have said "drain and replace" instead of "flush".

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95 E320 Cabriolet, 140K

The standard MB dealer procedure is a drain & refill. They charge a lot more to actually FLUSH the system before refilling. At least that's what I was told when I interrogated the service advisors at the dealer about exactly what I'd get for my money.

BTW - the MB coolant is identical to Zerex G-05, and both are a light yellow/amber color. I've stopped calling it "orange" because the GM DexCool (aka DeathCool) and some other "long life" antifreeze products are a neon Halloween orange, and the MB stuff looks nothing like that. MB coolant looks more like light beer.

Oh and I very strongly recommend using the correct MB/G-05 stuff in an MB, it's easily available, and the cost difference is negligible.

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Dave M.
Boise, ID
1997 E420 - 155kmi (Bugeyes)
1994 E420 - 145kmi (Blondie)
1993 500E - 193kmi (Lollipop)
1992 400E - 189kmi (Stinky Dirty)
Check out my website photos, documents, and movies!

These are some pics from ebay.

Some have non-green coolant expansion tank.

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Some have green coolant.

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.

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They likely just drained and filled, mine had orange, so my g-05 has a little orange tint. Stick your finger in it and see just how green it really is, should be pretty light shade if this is the case.

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One more Radar Lover gone...
1982 VW Caddy diesel 402K 1.9L AAZ
1994 E320 175K

dwest,
I tried but I could not see drain plug. Must I remove the undershield plastic to access drain plug from underside the car? If this is the case, it is difficult for me.

According to a post, it takes 6 hours to drain coolant. Does it really take so long?

According to some posts, I need to remove thermostat to drain old coolant better. Should I do that?



wolf_walker
It is light green. Lighter than Shell's green antifreeze.
The indi who did the coolant change charges a little more than a dealer in my town. I wish they flush the old fluid more thoroughly at that price.

The above ebay pictures are all Mercedes'.

Remove the filler cap & then open the drain valve on the passenger side of the radiator. If your radiator doesn't have one (all of my do but I only have 86-87 models) then remove the lower radiator hose from the radiator. You can then close the valve or put the radiator hose back on and refill the system. Note how much you took out (collect it in a pan) and put that much back in. Do that a few times and you should get the MB coolant color you want.

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Brian Toscano