coolant change and flush - Page 2 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

wagonboy · #1 06-25-2003, 12:10 PM

Thanks MBSoot and Rick Miley. Will check out the dealer for prices.

wagonboy

adiaw83 · #2 06-25-2003, 02:38 PM

thanks for all the info. I already have my mb brand coolant so I think I'm going to stick with that. Can I just open the plug on the radiator, drain the old fluid out and then run some water from the hose through the coolant resevoir. It doesnt get that cold in dc so I think ill go with one gallon of coolant and 2 gallons of water. Is there another coolant drain somewhere onthe engine?

73MB280SEL · #3 06-25-2003, 06:49 PM

adiaw83,

If you just open the petcock on the radiator, all you drain is the radiator. That's what I did. You need to remove the thermostat to get all the old coolant drained out.

Someone suggested removing the block drains. This is what the manual says to do, but I'm mighty leery of removing block drains that have been in the car for probably 20 years.

My best advice is to drain the radiator through the petcock, remove the thermostat and reinstall the housing. Then fill with water, run to mix, and drain through the radiator petcock. You'll have to repeat a few times (4-5) to get most of the old fluid out.

Without the thermostat being removed, you'll leave the engine full of old coolant.

Sholin

adiaw83 · #4 06-26-2003, 02:18 PM

Where is the thermostat located?

73MB280SEL · #5 06-26-2003, 06:10 PM

Sorry, I can't help you on a W126. Maybe your car has a parts booklet--it would be in there on the engine exploded diagram.

Sholin

adiaw83 · #6 06-27-2003, 01:11 AM

ill check that out

Merc1 · #7 08-11-2003, 04:57 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by TheVirginiaDude
Here is what I did to flush, on a cold engine I took the upper radiator hose off, put a garden hose in the resivor tank, turned heat on full and started engine. pump draws water from the radiator which is refilled with hose, circulates water and pumps it from the upper hose where it pours out on the ground upsetting enviromentalists. left it run for 30 minutes like that. Put in the Prestone radiator cleaner, closed it up and am driving on it a few days to work to allow for the 6 hours of running conditions it calls for, will drain radiator and flush the same way to thouroghly circulate freshwater. Then will put the MB antifreeze. Advance auto doesn't hare the Zerex G-5 stuff so next closest place for me is MB dealer for the real thing..

Virginia dude,
I followed your advice, opened the TS, put the garden hose with running water in reservoir, started the car, turn the heat in car all the way up, saw water coming out of TS assembly, little splashing all over

, since the engine is running and water is hitting the fan and belt, no big deal.

Anyway, after running for 7-10 min I saw only clean water coming out of T-Stat Housing.
I replaced the T-Stat housing, and poured in 1 gallon on MB antifreeze into the resarvoir, then I started to add water, only the resarvoir took 1 quart.

WHY. The system is for 10.6 Quart. and I only put in 4 quart Coolant and 1 quart water..it is full, after driving for 1 hour it is still full.... You think remaining 5 quarts in the engine is water? Or is it old mixed up coolant?

Is my system completely flushed? Or does it have too much Coolant, if other 5 quart is old coolant and water....
Thanks
1998 e320

gsxr · #8 03-12-2004, 09:23 PM

To fully drain the system requires removing the block drain plugs in addition to the radiator drain, and usually blowing some air through the heater core. With those tricks I can get about 9.0 quarts (give or take) into my system which is rated at something like 10.0 or 10.5? The fill spec is for a completely empty system and you'll never put that much in.

I flush & drain as much as I can, add 1 gallon of Mercedes a/f, a bottle of Water Wetter, and top up the rest with distilled water. In warm climates where it rarely gets below freezing you can cut that down to two quarts a/f, as long as you don't plan any trips into freezing weather! That helps the WW keep the engine a bit cooler where summers are blistering (Sacremento, Phoenix, Tempe, Death Valley, etc...)

DieselAddict · #9 03-13-2004, 01:08 AM

I'd advise against going much below 50% antifreeze concentration even in warm climates for the sake of corrosion protection. Mercedes recommends 50% concentration. I have 3 cars and all of them have some corrosion in the cooling system. I wish the previous owners took better care of it. As far as keeping coolant temps down, I have found on all 3 of my cars that the most helpful thing was to replace the thermostat. As thermostats age they usually don't open as much and make the car run hotter.

I would also strongly advise anyone against pouring anything that comes out of the cooling system onto the ground. Ethylene glycol is extremely toxic and is easily absorbed by the soil and ground water. Take that s**t to a recycling center please. I don't know about other places, but the local recycling place doesn't charge anything if you bring your coolant to them.

gsxr · #10 03-13-2004, 01:31 AM

Don't go below 50% without Water Wetter. The WW has anti-corrosion agents and can be used with pure water without corrosion problems. The WW works better with pure water and is less effective as the percentage of a/f increases.

As to disposal, I hope nobody is dumping it on the ground, or even worse, into a storm sewer. It causes more damage than you can possibly imagine. If you have city sewer for your toilets, dump waste coolant down the toilet. The water treatment plants have no problem filtering it. If you have a septic tank, you need to bottle it up and take it to a recycling place, or haz mat collection center - most counties will take it free but you may need to make a couple of phone calls to find out where. Most people who live in the city are lucky, you can dump it into the toilet... I moved to the country (septic tank) and I miss that convenience!

DieselAddict · #11 03-13-2004, 01:27 PM

I live in a moderately sized city and the local health department told me it's illegal to dump it in the toilet. I guess each city has its own rules about this. Good thing there's this one company who takes it for free.