radiator drain plug
 

hey gilly:

i went to drain my radiator. turned the little knob 90 degrees, and nothing comes out. bunch of junk in there, which i picked out with a coat hanger wire, still nothing. should i drill it? this is junk from the bottom of the radiator stopping up the drain? thanks. 2000 ml 430


dan in texas

WHOA--Don't drill anything. Even if you could never get the drain to work, you could always just unscrew the petcock from the core, or, just leave it and pull off the lower hose.

As for opening it, are you sure it is a 90 degree turn fitting? If I remember correctly, on my 99 430 the drain was a traditional automotive drain petcock that you needed to open with several complete turns. Even if it was open, if the system is so corroded that an open drain needs to be drilled out as the gunk is that hard, you need a new rad, as every tube in there is likely the same. However, I doubt that is the case, I just think you do not have the valve opened all the way.

well, i THOUGHT i only had to turn it 90 degrees; seems like thats the way it worked last time i drained it. the radiator is only 2 yrs old. its not the easiest thing in the world to turn, but '..vee haff our vays....'

i tried to pull the lower hose off, but found it tough to get it un-stuck from the neck all the way around, like where you cant even reach. maybe i'll try bending the coat hanger wire around so i can slip it between the neck and the hose.

Not to get sidetracked, but if your Rad. is only 2 years old, why are you draining the coolant? I hope that it is not just for a routine flush, as you can easily go 4 years between flushes if you are using MB coolant.

Is the Rad. an OE Valeo unit?

call me paranoid, but i like to change out the anti-freeze every 2 years. i find water pumps and thermostats last a long time in my vehicles.