Isn't this amazing? I called each of the two M-B dealers here as well as the independent parts center and none of them really knew what I was talking about. In fact, one guy went as far as to say, "all you have to do is drain the radiator." I ended up explaining that there's more coolant in the engine block than in the radiator to these morons. Needless to say, they obviously didn't have the drain plugs in stock and can't get them till next week. So, since I am fed up of putting off this task again and again, I went to Jiffy Lube and had them flush the system. They replaced the coolant with my own M-B coolant so that got me $20 off and I guess I just paid for the labor. Having heard of how these "quick service" places damage people's engines/transmissions/differentials etc, I was there as they performed the entire process. I kept my eyes on the temperature gauge to make sure it never exceeded 120 C. Actually, it never did exceed 100 C.
I'll still have to remove the old drain plugs since they are stripped and I'd like to perform my own coolant flush in two years' time (if I still have the car
). So, once I get the new plugs, I'll drill the old ones out and replace them.
Thanks for all your help.
