Hello,

There was a huge traffic jam while I was on the freeway this morning. Traffic was snail-paced and outside ambient temperature was around 68F according to my car thermometer. Well, my car running temperature is usually 80-85F but most of the time it's near the 80's mark. But today, because of the stop and go traffic, my temperature rose to 90F, (I think it's 90F; it's the white bar between the 80bar and the 120bar). Is 90F considered a safe operating temperature? And is this normal for a 1990 190E 2.6 to operate at this temperature range? By the way, once traffic cleared up, car temperature returned to around 80F.

Also, regarding the coolant, if I add water, my questiona are:

1. What kind of water (e.g., tap, distilled?)

2. Do I pour it in the coolant resevoir?

Thanks.

cossie,

You don't have a problem. Summer is upon us and temperatures in stop and go traffic will increase some. 90 degrees Centigrade is nothing to worry about unless you're losing coolant for some reason.

I believe that good, clean tapwater and antifreeze mixed 50-50 is a safe bet.

Good luck,

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Larry Bible
'84 Euro 240D, 516K miles
'88 300E 5 Speed
'81 300D Daughter's Car
Over 800,000 miles in
Mercedes automobiles

Larry is correct. BTW did you know that your thermostat opens at 88 C. If you are running at 80, then you are ahead of the curve. Pour it in the expansion tank.

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Jeff L
1987 300e
1989 300e
1987 BMW 325

[This message has been edited by jeffsr (edited 06-02-2000).]

BTW the gauge is calibrated in degrees centigrade not farenheit.

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Jeff L
1987 300e
1989 300e
1987 BMW 325