Need help with green vs mercedes coolant
 

Hello everyone:

Well, the fiasco with my car continues. I got my 93 190e back from the body shop on Friday. Drove it Friday and Saturday with no problems. On Sunday, I was driving to church and saw that my temp gauge was about ready to red-line!! I pulled off the road and shut the engine down, and immediately, all of my coolant splashed all over the ground - I lost EVERYTHING.

I can't take it to the body shop that had done the original work because they're 100 miles away. They advised me to have it looked at locally and they would pay the bill to have whatever is wrong fixed.

My main question is:

THey put the green coolant in there when they re-filled the fluids, and I was not happy with that. All I have in the trunk of my car is the original MB coolant. I want to try and fill it up to at least get it to the mechanic which is like a mile up the road. Can I put the MB coolant in even though it started off with green coolant?

What a pain!!

Michael.

The green stuff has been blamed for many problems, but sudden cataclysmic overheating in the middle of winter isn't one of them.

If it were me, I would add a 50-50 mix of water and green stuff and drive it to the mechanic.

Yeah, and have the green stuff flushed and replaced with regular MB coolant.

I know this coolant thing is about as hotly debated as synthetic vs. dino oil, but Stu Ritter in the Star Magazine is pretty sanguine that MB coolant should only be used in Mercedes engines. It has a neutral ph, which green coolant does not. MB coolant also has conditioners in it that keep the seals in your water pump and the hoses in your car healthy.

I should have added "and have your mechanic add the coolant of your choice, flushing if needed."

From what I understand, mixing the green stuff and MB coolant is not good. You have to flush with some acidic flush before changing back to the MB coolant.

The MB and Green coolant will do the same job. However, MB coolant is-phosphate free-which is what corrodes aluminum found in your radiator, heater core, ..etc. Drain that junk green stuff, flush good, and add MB coolant (50/50). You could also use BMW antifreeze which is also phosphate free (blue in color).

Thanks for everyone's reply. I got my car up to the mechanic without problems. It turns out that the body shop put some of the radiator hoses on BACKWARDS, and that's what caused the problem. Unbelieveable.

The mechanic drained the green crap, flushed it good, and put in the MB stuff. My car is happy and has a nice clear coolant tank again!! :) Thanks for everyone's help.

Take care-
Michael.

Ok, after reading this post, I have to ask....what color is genuine MB coolant? I drained just the radiator in my car from working on it....and the crap was green!! I guess this obviously means the wrong crap has been in my car for who knows how long?? I got the car from my dad probably about 2 years ago, but was only driven about 6 months or so thereafter and has since been in storage. I started it and let it warm up and even drove it a few times up and down the road a few months after that, but has been sitting now for about....maybe a little less than a year or right around there. So I am guessing he had some idiot work on it when he had it and therefore has green coolant in it. I don't know how long it was in there before I acquired the car. A good while I am guessing.

What damage could this prolonged use of green coolant have done to my car, and how can I tell?

While I had the radiator drained, I took it out and had it flushed. I still need to have the rest of the system flushed right?? As soon I get the car ready to run again, it is being trailered to a shop to have a few more things done, like coolant flush/replacement. I'm just wondering if I might have sustained any damage that I may need to pay attention to. Thanks!

Good morning:

What I have been told is that Mercedes coolant will help to protect the radiator and lubricate the radiator hoses to prevent them from getting cracked or dry.

The color of MB coolant is a light orange color. It should appear that kind of color when you look at your coolant tank.

My mechanic said that you wouldn't destroy the radiator by having the green stuff in it, but the MB stuff is so much better.

Hope this is kinda helpful. :)

Take care!
Michael.

Thanks! I fully intend on replacing it with MB, I'm just worried about any damage. Your words are encouraging.

I have 4 MB's. Three of them have the MB coolant. The fourth a 1984 300SD has had the green stuff since new. I just replaced the radiator after 350,000 miles and never had overheating problem. I could have had the upper tank gasket replaced since the core. upper and lower tanks including the necks were perfect.
I felt I got my moneys worth and installed a new one. According to my indy with 35 years dealer experience he feels the green stuff is overhyped. As for the green stuff cracking the plastic neck. In every case where the neck was cracked he said it was because the clamp was over tourqued.
Who knows what the real truth is.
John

John:

There's a well-known MB salvage facility somewhere in Georgia - I think Atlanta. The fellow who runs it has torn apart a kazillion MB engines. In addition he holds a degree in chemistry. I cannot remember the name of this place, but have seen a discussion on the WEB back when that he participated in regarding the green vs. MB stuff.

His belief mirrors yours and mine. Pure bunk. The neck is made of plastic. Extremely corrosive chemicals, far more corrosive than any coolant are shipped in plastic containers far less durable than the plastic in an MB neck. He too said that it was overtightening that killed the necks.

I use MB coolant, more for overall internal protection; not because I fear the green stuff will break the upper radiator neck.

I agree. Rads are relatively cheap and last quite along time (years ro decades) but cylinder heads are expensive. The MB coolant is designed to work with aluminum parts, and that's really the protection I want. Ancedotally, the MB stuff might promote longer rad life as we have used it in our 626, and replaced the first plactic rad at 13 years of age and 250K. The Mazda mechanics had never known a plastic rad to last so long. I attributed it to the MB coolant, but more likely it's luck...

Mike
I think you are referring to Dave Quay at Atlanta Stuttgart. Since sold to Potomac German Auto Parts. I have replaced the radiator and refilled with MB coolant. The price differential is insignificant. My only comment was that Though I am not a chemist I felt the green stuff appears to be overplayed. Is the ph content put in the same category as cancer causing substances that have to be consumed in huge quantities to cause cancer in rats and in even huger quantities in humans. Dont know. Often wonder. Just a little Sunday morning observation.
John

I have posted this before but in the UK the current MB coolant is dark blue, at least it was when I bought a few pints from MB in West London about 9 months ago.
So anyone in the UK - don't panic if you don't have orange or red coolant!
But I do agree with previous posters, use the correct MB stuff for your region. Cylinder heads are expensive and a damaged one could ruin your whole day!:(

1994 E200 Wagon 115k miles