190E 2.3 '91 hose relacement questions...

[sbourg]

Due to a split in the upper radiator hose, I recently replaced all the hoses in the engine compartment, and the thermostat. The hose from the heater core to the engine passes through a firewall grommet. All the engine compartment hoses AND the part of this hose in that area were 'sweating', the reason I replaced them - probably originals.

However, the part of this hose 'between' the firewalls appeared ok, though I replaced it , of course. For this reason though, I did NOT replace the two hoses that connect to the water valve, also in this area, as they appeared ok too. My assumption is that the reduced heat entering this area allows longer hose life - but I don't want to be fooled by external appearance. There is no visible sign of distress on these two small, hard-to-access hoses. Are they likely ok?

Also, I put in Prestone coolant, and am not satisfied that I properly flushed the old coolant (with a lot of remaining brown crud) what is the proper procedure for completely draining the system. My radiator - replaced in the past - appears to have no draincock.

Steve

[sbourg]

Sorry for the sloppy post - my last paragraph is supposed to be a question(?)!

Steve

[sbourg]

Anyone know the answer? Unfortunately, my only service info is for an older model - with the tanks located differently and a draincock. The procedure for flushing in the manual would not work for our setup. Thanks.

Steve

Steve,
What I do is take radiator out of car and to a
radiator shop and have him flush it out with hot
water and pressure. It can then be pressure tested then by the shop. Last time it cost me about
fifteen dollars. I feel it does the best
job. I do this after running the garden hose in
it after draining the Antifreeze.

Hope this helps,
Gary

[sbourg]

Gary, I'm not so much concerned with the radiator - it is pretty new. Mostly I want the technique for flushing the rest of the system.

The manual I have is for an older model, and it says to remove the thermostat, and run the engine with water and the heater full on. Drain the system using the block plug and radiator drain, then refill and repeat until the water runs clear. I just want to run water thru the system with the engine off, and I'm sure there is a way to do it, but I don't know what that is.

I'm hoping someone has an easy trick.

Steve

Hi Steve,
Have you tried a flush and fill kit by Prestone?
You should be able to tap into the heater hose
connection with the tee. The tee is available
separately, and it has a garden hose connection
under the cap. You put in what ever cleaner
in the cooling system after removing the thermostat and run car for at least fifteen minutes. MBZ has some kind of cleaner. It has
been posted before. Should be in search. The
traditional way the flush and fill kit works is
to exit out of the radiator opening. You could
remove the hose from thethermostat housing and allow that as your exit.
The hose screws into the tee forces water
out of the thermostat housing (remember you
have removed thermostat and have put cover back on
previously) to allow maximum out flow
of water and gunk.) Be sure to use a neutralizer
if you have any type of acid flush cleaner.

Hope this helps,
Gary

[sbourg]

Thanks for the tip, Gary, I'll look for the kit.

What still bothers me, though, is being certain I have completely DRAINED the system before adding pre-mixed coolant. I don't want to dilute with several quarts of residual water, and my normal method of adding concentrated antifreeze to the 1/2 capacity point - then finishing with the pre-mix - didn't work on this car. Apparently quite a bit of water remains in the block and heater system. I did not remove the block drain plug - maybe that would help - and I made no attempt to get the climate control to open the heater valve.

Steve