I just bought a 89 300ce. Can anyone advise me how to change the coolant?

I just flushed mine yesterday. Here are the pics and prices of what I bought:

Red Line Watter Watter $10.49 from Canadian Tire
Prestone Super Flush $3.99 from Canadian Tire instead of MB Citric Acid $24.00
Distilled Water $2.97 from Wal Mart


Mercedes Benz Thermostat $23.04


Mercedes Benz Antifreeze Yellow/Orange
Cost:$43.68 Canadian for 2x 3.785 liters(1 US gallon) taxes included.
The parts guy cut me a deal and gave it to me for $32.91 taxes included.





Here is what I did:
I drained the entire cooling system and filled with the Prestone flush and water. Ran that through for 15 minutes with the heat on maximum setting and went for a short drive. Came back and drained that all out. The fluid was super clean! Then I filled with water and ran for 15 minutes with the heat still on maximum setting and drained that all out. Finally, I filled up with the MB antifreeze and distilled water and topped off with the Red Line Water Wetter. Good as new!

This is what I used for a refernce. Be patient, it may take a minute to load and is worth it:
http://skinnerbox.steaky.org/Service/W124/Index/103/20CoolingSystem.htm

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1989 300CE Astralsilber/Schwarz
1992 300CE Schwarz/Schwarz

I am ready to do the job as welll and have seen information regarding pulling the engine drain plugs. What about the drain plugs?

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Steve
1985 Mercedes 500SL Euro (Gray market)
1995 BMW 520i Euro (Gray market)
1992 BMW 525it Wagon
1994 Honda Del Sol Si

http://skinnerbox.steaky.org/Service/W124/w124CD1/Program/Engine/103/20-0100.pdf

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1989 300CE Astralsilber/Schwarz
1992 300CE Schwarz/Schwarz

It says in step 3 to remove crankcase drain plugs. I was hoping not to do so. Oh well, procedures are procedures.

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Steve
1985 Mercedes 500SL Euro (Gray market)
1995 BMW 520i Euro (Gray market)
1992 BMW 525it Wagon
1994 Honda Del Sol Si

By doing that, you will get most of the coolant out. Yesterday, when I did mine, I had to refill over 8 liters (more than 2 gallons). The radiator only holds maybe half of that.

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1989 300CE Astralsilber/Schwarz
1992 300CE Schwarz/Schwarz

Drain the block, otherwise you will either leave old coolant or flush in there, not desirable.

Use the citric acid, Preston isn't anywhere near as good at removing deposits. Not necessary unless you think you have considerable scale, though.

Peter

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1972 220D ?? miles
1988 300E 200,012
1987 300D Turbo killed 9/25/07, 275,000 miles
1985 Volvo 740 GLE Turobodiesel 218,000
1972 280 SE 4.5 165, 000 - It runs!

Lino
How can you drain the coolant from the engine block? If I remove crankcase drain plugs , all the coolant will leak out and mess up all the area in the driver side. (I saw a lot of parts in driver side under air filter case). Do I need a pump or tube go into engine block or just let the coolant pours out itself?
Thanks

The block drain valve is on the RH side of the block under the rear exhaust manifold. It has a nipple that you can attach a drain hose to - about 3/8". Makes it very easy to change coolant without spilling a drop.

I can reach the valve to loosen it from the front side using a crescent wrench. The radiator drain valve is behind the removeable cover on the RH side of the valence panel. It also has a nipple to attach a drain hose.

If you want to flush the system with water, remove the heater inlet hose from the back LH e of the engine and flush both the engine and heater circuit. You can do this mess free by rigging up some adaptors to your garden hose.

Changing coolant on M103 engines is the easilest and least messy of any car I have ever owned,

Duke

I'm about to do this job and need a little clarification on the size of hose needed to attach to the block drain fitting. Is it 3/8" OD or ID? Can the same hose be used on the radiator?

I have done this job without the hose and ended up with coolant running down into my armpits. Using the hose would sure be nice...

TIA

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08 W251 R350
97 W210 E320
91 W124 300E
86 W126 560SEL
85 W126 380SE Silver
85 W126 380SE Cranberry
79 W123 250
78 W123 280E
75 W114 280

I realize that this is an older thread, but the Cooling System Flush reference sheet is no longer at that URL. If someone sill has it, I would appreciate it if you can post a new link to it or upload it here as an attachment.

Thanks.

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Steven
1989 260E (276K miles)
1995 E320 (50K miles)