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Some Very Basic Coolant Change Questions
I have never changed my own coolant....but have faithfully had it changed by my tech every couple of years so I'm confident the system is pretty clean. But, this seems like something I should be able to do myself. I've read various threads, but I'm still unclear on a couple of things.
This is for a 1991 and 1992 300D. 1. Of the total system capacity, approximately how much comes out if I ONLY drain the radiator? How much comes out if I drain BOTH the radiator and the block? I ask this because I might opt not to mess with the block drain and simply drain the radiator a bit more frequently. But maybe this is a bad idea? 2. Once the radiator is drained and the plug screwed back in, do I fill it by disconnecting the upper radiator hose and finding some sort of L-shaped or bendable funnel to pour coolant in? I'm assuming I don't add by filling the expansion tank. 3. If I take this simplified approach (i.e. only draining the radiator), is it simply a matter of draining, filling, starting the engine, then burping with expansion cap off? Anything else I need to watch out for, attend to? Thanks for helping me out as I slowly but surely add to the number of things I'm able to do on my own!
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14 E250 Bluetec "Sinclair", Palladium Silver on Black, 153k miles 06 E320 CDI "Rutherford", Black on Tan, 171k mi, Stage 1 tune, tuned TCU 91 300D "Otis", Smoke Silver, 142k mi, wastegate conversion 19 Honda CR-V EX 61k mi Fourteen other MB's owned and sold 1961 Very Tolerant Wife |
#2
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you get about 1/3 of the coolant out by draining the radiator. and all the sediment remains in the block. not recommended. best is to pull the block drain, and flush with a hose the radiator, block, and heater core. 2nd choice would be to drain the radiator, put a flush kit into the heater hose, and flush with a garden hose the block and heater core...
just draining the radiator is not really a good idea.
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John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread "as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do! My drivers: 1987 190D 2.5Turbo 1987 190D 2.5Turbo 1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!! 1987 300TD 1987 300TD 1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere! |
#3
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as to filling it. the 602/03 block has a nice vent right in the top of the head, and it balances the fluid, so you can fill with just pouring into the expansion tank! go slowly, and don't fill above the small return hose, so air can escape easily.
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#4
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So, even though the radiator at that point is empty, I can start the engine and the system will suck coolant into the radiator from the expansion tank?
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14 E250 Bluetec "Sinclair", Palladium Silver on Black, 153k miles 06 E320 CDI "Rutherford", Black on Tan, 171k mi, Stage 1 tune, tuned TCU 91 300D "Otis", Smoke Silver, 142k mi, wastegate conversion 19 Honda CR-V EX 61k mi Fourteen other MB's owned and sold 1961 Very Tolerant Wife |
#5
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Quote:
don't start the car until all burping of the radiator/block is finished! make sure you have coolant exiting the vent line! the expansion tank is connected to the bottom of the radiator with a 1" line, and to the top of the block with a 1/4" line. so air is pushed out of the block perfectly. just make sure you get coolant there.
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John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread "as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do! My drivers: 1987 190D 2.5Turbo 1987 190D 2.5Turbo 1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!! 1987 300TD 1987 300TD 1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere! |
#6
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I got a great tip today, regarding coolant change!
First, you definitely want to drain both the radiator (drain plug at bottom of radiator), and the engine block (drain plug-19 mm-on side of block forward of block heater...reach in with long extension bar. This will completely drain coolant (except for little in the heater core).
The great tip was this: To refill the coolant (after plugs are re-installed!), first disconnect the end of the large radiator/coolant hose at the top of the radiator, and fill as much 50/50 mix as it will take by pouring into the hose. Note that this allows you to fill engine block "behind" thermostat. Then reconnect the hose, and then fill as much as you can into the radiator by pouring into the expansion tank...this fills in "front" of the thermostat. By doing this, you get coolant into the system on both sides of the thermostat, so you don't have the big air pocket, and the problem with running the car to over heating in order to get the thermostat to "release" and allow coolant to circulate. I got this tip from an indy mercedes repair shop I happened upon while on the road today...I stopped to buy coolant, and we got to talking, etc....
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1984 300TD Wagon, 407,800 mi (current daily driver) 1985 300DT Sedan, 330,000 mi (gone to that great autobahn in the sky) |
#7
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yes, this method is very important on the 617 N/A motors, and pretty important on the turbo versions, but not needed on the 601/2/3 equipped vehicles. slowly filling the radiator through the expansion tank, then SLOWLY filling the radiator until coolant spills out the bleed hose will fill the block perfectly. it's best if you park the car with the radiator higher than the block, park the nose of the car uphill, and it'll be faster, but it'll fill fine if you go slow.
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John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread "as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do! My drivers: 1987 190D 2.5Turbo 1987 190D 2.5Turbo 1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!! 1987 300TD 1987 300TD 1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere! |
#8
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On my 602.96 I removed the bottom radiator hose from the radiator and collected all the coolant in a bucket. Then I drained the block by removing the block plug over near the turbo. Then, after disconnecting the top hose, I took my garden hose and flushed the radiator and as much of the block as I could. Also used the garden hose to flush out the resovoir at the same time. Once all that fresh watrer stopped dripping I buttoned it all back together, added 1 gallon of Zerex G-05 (gives me a 40% mix) and the rest water. My 602 vents air pockets to the reservoir so I kept an eye on it for a 100 mile or so.
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1993 W124 300D 2.5L Turbo, OM602.962 2000 Chevrolet Cavalier, 2.4L DOHC 2002 Ford Explorer, 4.0L SOHC 2005 Toyota Prius, 1.5L http://www.fuelly.com/sig-us/40601.png |
#9
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bumping this up to the top, for the member.
can anybody post a link to a pictorial or similar to assist him in the change? thanks.
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John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread "as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do! My drivers: 1987 190D 2.5Turbo 1987 190D 2.5Turbo 1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!! 1987 300TD 1987 300TD 1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere! |
#10
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Quote:
Once you have filled it & started it & checked for leaks, take it for a run around the block (a mile or so) & check for leaks & the level of the coolant. Then after you drive the car for a regular short run, check it again. When you next fill with fuel, check it again. If at any point in the not to distant future, the temp goes up unexpectedly or the motor gives other signs of being hot, check the coolant level & for leaks. Its important to make sure that you have the heater operating when the car is first started to make sure it is filled with coolant.
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Grumpy Old Diesel Owners Club group I no longer question authority, I annoy authority. More effect, less effort.... 1967 230-6 auto parts car. rust bucket. 1980 300D now parts car 800k miles 1984 300D 500k miles 1987 250td 160k miles English import 2001 jeep turbo diesel 130k miles 1998 jeep tdi ~ followed me home. Needs a turbo. 1968 Ford F750 truck. 6-354 diesel conversion. Other toys ~J.D.,Cat & GM ~ mainly earth moving |
#11
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Quote:
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1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver 1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone 1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy! 1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits! |
#12
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Where EXACTLY on the 602 is the block drain?
I assume to do this I need ramps for front?
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14 E250 Bluetec "Sinclair", Palladium Silver on Black, 153k miles 06 E320 CDI "Rutherford", Black on Tan, 171k mi, Stage 1 tune, tuned TCU 91 300D "Otis", Smoke Silver, 142k mi, wastegate conversion 19 Honda CR-V EX 61k mi Fourteen other MB's owned and sold 1961 Very Tolerant Wife |
#13
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Quote:
Here is the factory procedure - the location of the OM60x block drain is shown on the last page: http://w124-zone.com/downloads/MB%20CD/W124/w124CD1/Program/Maintenance/My81/2080.pdf Ideally, you should drain block & radiator with a cold engine, then with the upper radiator hose and heater core inlet hose (near brake booster) disconnected, insert a garden hose (on low/medium flow) run through the radiator, block, and heater core with all drains open. This will flush ~99% of the old stuff out. Remove hose, wait for the water to stop flowing out the drains, then close everything up and re-fill with your preferred percentage of MB antifreesze or Zerex G-05. If you measured what drained out, you should be able to get that same amount (or within 1 quart of that amount) back in before re-starting the engine. Top off as needed after a test drive with heater running; best to wait until the next morning so you're adding to a cold engine. Watch the level for the next few days until it, uh, levels out. |
#14
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Dave, is it bad to drain a hot engine block?
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85 300D turbo pristine w 157k when purchased 161K now 83 300 D turbo 297K runs great. SOLD! 83 240D 4 spd manual- parted out then junked |
#15
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I'm not sure that it's the draining that's the issue, but the filling part with cold coolant may be a "shock" to the warm components.
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1982 240D, sold 9/17/2008 1987 300D TurboW124.133 - 603.960, 722.317 - Smoke Silver Metallic / Medium Red (702/177), acquired 8/15/2009 262,715 and counting |
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