HOT TIP: Fit the longer rubber hose to the drain nozzle on the bottom of the radiator and extend it to the drain bucket (positioned bellow the car level). That hose changes the lowest point of cooling system, and gravity makes it drain better. This way I drained about 80% of coolant (about 6.5 litres) from my W202 C180. No mess. Just refill the coolant through expansion tank, and you are done. ALL THIS ON STONE COLD ENGINE. Then you start the engine, set heater to max warm, let it idle a bit to eventually bleed the air. IT WILL BLEED ITSELF WITHOUT A PROBLEM even if you put the cap back on and go for a drive (the expansion tank has a little hose that vents the excess air out).
I had a look at what coolant was in my w202 and it was lime green , the brightest green i have ever seen so now with my laptop on the roof of my car i am going to drain and bleed the system . got my mbenz coolant and distilled water . thanks for the vid its going to help me out a lot
Hey, just wanted to say thanks a lot for creating these videos! Your presentation style is excellent - clear, understandable and funny! Always enjoy watching your videos and I've learned to do a lot of DIY jobs on my w202 because of you. Thanks again, and hopefully you won't stop making these videos!
Nice video. Just one one opinion, I don’t think you necessarily need to use the Mercedes coolant. Yeah, you can’t use any kind of coolant. Just use a coolant that follow the MB 325.0 spec. The spec in general dictates ethylene glicol based coolant with Inorganic Acid Technology (IAT), which is what is appropriate for the coolant system and engine materials of this car.
Thank you very much, your videos are very helpful. Cheers You and others said to only use distilled water, in the W210 manual it says "The water in the cooling system must meet minimum requirements, which are usually satisfied by normal drinking water" So tap/drinking water is okay?
I just recently had to replace the head gasket in my w202 April 2000 c200 . because over the years the mechanics i sent the car to used normal tap water and normal coolant . the merc coolant is expensive but $40 for coolant is much better than $680 for a new head gasket set
Hi, I have a 2010 GLK350 with around 19000 miles but by Mercedes charts I need to flush. You mention flush the system with a garden hose and at the end you said mix with distilled water, so my questions is: how do you know you get all the garden hose water out and not leaving any in the system? Thanks.
Great vid. Did my flush along with tstat about a week ago. Problem I ran into is I can't get it hot now. The stuff that I drained was basically water and I diluted oem coolant. I can't get the stat to open and circulate coolant thru upper hose. Been driving like that for a week now. Any tips would be much appreciated.
+Dominik Mackowiak either the tstat isn't closing or there is air trapped in the lines.. try raising the coolant bottle front side of the car to ensure it is the highest point in the system...make sure the heater is on high hot, and start the engine...while it is running squeeze the upper hose a few times to try to force air up and out...if the cat isn't overheating the stat is likely stuck open...sometimes the hose squeezing can get it to close,,sometimes it will need to be pulled and checked...overcooling is usually a thermostat
Keep going with your video..Great help for me.. I have a w202 1998 and i live in Montreal . When i drive my temperature goes to 83 celcius and when i am in traffic it goes to 97 celcius...... What should i do ? And thanks again
once when I was driving my w202 C180 on very steep up hill the coolant tank the one which is placed on the top of radiator totally blowed up. later the car fix guy told me that the coolant tank cap has 2 ways ( 2 steps) to adjust and lock , first lock is not fully locked lighter and second is fully tight. question is that truth that the cap has light lock and tight lock? like in summer I should keep it not fully twisted
I just watched the video again and I think im missing something. After u drained out the original old fluid u put back the caps on both ends and filled it up with water started the engine and filled up more water? Then shut off engine and reopened both caps and flushed it out? I need a good explanation step by step so I can do this the proper way.
Hi there. I’ve a 98 C230, non Kompressor. When I emptied the coolant, it came out to 6-6.5 quarts, 1.5 to 1.6 gallons of fluid. After I drained and flushed the coolant with distilled water, driving around and all that to circulate the fluid and drained the water, I was only able to fit 1.3-1.4 gallons of 50/50 fluid into the reservoir from what I observed as empty, which is about 5.5 liters. You stated you’re using 1.25-1.5 gallons mixed to to 50/50, it will be around 2.5 to 3 gallons or 9.4 to 11.3 liters. The owners manual states 5.5L = 1.45 gallons for coolant capacity. Did I miss something? Am I missing half the required fluid? Thanks for any advice and info in advance!
Also I will be keeping an eye on the coolant level during the upcoming week and burping and filling as needed, but I hope I did not miss something crucial. Cheers.
your manual should show 10-11 litres capacity for the cooling system . When you drained it was the heater on hot ? it sounds like all the coolant didn't drain out . It's sometimes hard to get it all out . with the front coolant overflow bottle side of the car jacked up a bit , remove the coolant cap and start the car and let it idle till warm . If there is air trapped in the system it will move upwards to the highest point ..sometimes jacking the overflow side of the car up a bit will make it easier to get the air all out .
fupabox I did not work with the res bottle side jacked up. The car was elevated slightly (parked on a slight incline) while draining. And I did not have the heater on while draining. Dang might have to go back in and redo the flush. The coolant that was in there was pretty diluted as it had been slowly leaking out of the bypass hose leading from the bottom of thermostat housing, small crack in the hose toward the bottom side, and evaporating and I kept topping off with distilled water during the summer months. The leak had been present a few weeks. That hose and the upper hose have just been replaced. No leaks as of yet, but will have to properly flush the system. Thanks for the info!
I was hoping the driving around with heat full blast and max temp would have circulated all of it. But if it’s supposed to be 10-11 liters, I’m missing half of that at least.
Related question, does the bottom portion of the bypass hose go past the metal tabs on the engine block? I could not manage to snug the hose last those tabs, and it didn’t look like there would be clearance for the hose clamp when all the way down there without hitting the belt.
Im about to replace the coolant with the proper MB coolant. But my question is my overflow and basically entire cooling is pretty filthy. Can I run a additive for an afternoon before flushing and replacing?, to help break down all the crud in the overflow and rad ect. regards '96 c200
'96-c200 Mercedes makes a flush with citric acid that will not harm the cooling system...it isn't meant to be driven with the flush in it, just idled a while to get the gunk out.
I tried to remove the radiator drain plug but it broke. I drilled it and removed it. When I replaced it with a new drain plug, water was leaking from the litlle black hole next to the red drain plug, I assume I damaged the threads. What can I do to fix the problem?
Thanks again for the video. Was about to flush the rad anyways but your tip on using the benz fluid will hopefully save me the headache down the road. I am having issues with the a/c and the center vent not blowing. FOund something that said rap on the duo-valve a few times. I did and that seemed to work. Got the a/c recharged but the temp is just a little below ambient. Any ideas? Also have you ever used the Climate module for diagnostics and do you know what they mean? Any Stereo winner?
I’m having similar problems. My center vents are not blowing. Also the windscreen vents are always blowing even I change the flow direction. Any ideas on how to fix this?
If none of those premixed are for my car can you just give me a quick explanation on what to do after I purchase those gallons from MB. Like after I drain out the coolant then flush it with hose water a couple times, then what do I do?? how do I add it properly and mix??
I found out that the Benz coolant is my made by Valvoline. It's called ZEREX G05.. which is the same stuff as MB coolant with the MB label.. it might save you some money, i'm just not sure if they sell it over there in canada. it's about $13.00 over here. people still seem to use the cheap-o prestone green stuff over here and have water pump bearing problems and wonder why... have a good holiday!
Good day.I just bought used SLK 230 Kompressor and I believe that the car was sitting for quite long time and thermostat got clogged or membrane deformated or else.This car is going to be used only in warm/hot environment 12 months a year.The question is,can I just remove thermostat without replacing it?Thank you.
shogunkat no unfortunately you cant.. the thermostat keeps the engine warm enough or cool enough to run at an optimum temperature by regulating flow of water through the engine...with no thermostat the water would flow too quickly through the engine and radiator and start to aerate..once it becomes aerated the bubbles will become trapped in the engine and cause overheating..the increases speed of the coolant through the system without a thermostat will also decrease the time hot coolant stays in the radiator...which means it will not cool enough
***** Going to have properly diagnose the problem and see where that overheat comes from,and thanks to you,now I know that thermostat cannot be removed from cooling system.
Would these instructions apply to the ML430? The add antifreeze light just came on in my car. I am not ready to do a flush right now. I was just searching how to add antifreeze to the car. Have only had the car a couple of months. It is a 99 with almost 300,000 miles on it. And it seem to have some water in the oil and some small oil leaks so some work will be in order soon, but not in middle of winter, hopefully. Thanks!
yes essentially the same ,except a bigger rad on your ML430...if you usually drive short distances then condensation can build up inside the crankcase and appear to be a coolant leak.
thank you. Yes, I am only going short distances. On a big day only maybe 15 miles. On a normal day around 5. I got different antifreeze today and will have husband put it in tomorrow. I look forward to watching more of your videos and learning more. I would have put the green stuff in and had a mess if I didn't watch your video.
On the MB spec sheet theres some pre mixed coolants they approve under 326.0 .3 .5 etc etc. How do I know which category I fall under? I know my transmission is 236.10 but this I don't know. I have a 1998 CLK320 and im in Toronto just so u know its Canadian for wtvr reason. Thanks. PS Love all ur videos!
Just go out to carquest and buy Valvoline Zerex G05 fluid. I'm in New Brunswick with about the same temps as you. You can buy it premixed as 50/50(you'll need 3 gallons if you do this), but I bought the non premixed and mixed it to 55/45(coolant/distilled water) for the lower temps we see. You can buy deionized water at crappy tire for a few bucks a gallon. 55% coolant will protect you against lower temps, but is as much concentration as Mercedes recommends.
Hi, When you start the engine when it's cold, which hose will get hotter first? Upper hose that connect to thermostat or lower hose attached to rad? My 09 e350, the lower gets hotter first around 65C" and then upper later when thermostat open at 85 C". Also side coolant tank gets hotter before thermostat opens. Please advise. . Thanks Box
The lower hose always has coolant in contact with warm engine parts , upper gets warm once the thermostat opens . It should always circulate a tiny bit and the lower may get warm first . I'd suspect a small amount oif air in the system is allowing the warmer expanding coolant to push towards the air trapped in the upper hose . raise the front overflow bottle side of the car to make it the highest point in the cooling system and let the car idle with the coolant bottle cap off , the air will bleed up and out.
Hi Recently changed the Thermo due to CEL came on and now light went off after driven 50 miles. I really respect your advice and will try that to bleed the system. Thank you
What's so bad about using regular OAT coolant? That's what mine had when I bought it (water pump had just been replaced). I did eventually decide to thoroughly flush and use HOAT (zerex g-05) coolant but from what I understand the only difference with hybrid additives is it lasts longer.
the g-05 ,like Mercedes uses ,is specifically designed to work with different metals and materials..some coolants are good for aluminum,but not so much for cast iron,and vice versa...Mercedes will actually not honor warranty claims if improper coolant is used..Using the Mercedes recommended fluid will also prevent head gasket leaks
Hmmmm. Its definitely better to be safe than sorry. I trust your experience, it seems like there's a ton of myths around auto fluids. You're scaring me that my car had had regular green in it for an unknown period though. I've even been told I should flush my '12 Chevy of all its dexcool and use g-05 in it because its the "best" and dexcool eats gaskets even on motors designed for it. Then the other end is I have a 99 jeep and an 02 identical vehicles and motors the 99 specifies regular green the 02 is g-05...
The Stiver There are a few companies that are now specializing in "OEM replacement" coolants..I saw a display of them the other day at an auto parts store..there were around 15 different coolants..so Mercedes isn't the only one now using a special blend....Dex-cool is definitely a nightmare
hey fupa, i love your videos, been very helpful with the last year of ownership of my c220. i have a quick question. i recently had back surgery so havent used the car in a long time, wife was. the last mechanic used the green stuff in the car and now my back is better im going to change the coolant and oil.when i checked the coolant resevoir i have the dredded light chocolate milkshake coolant. im going to do a good fluch with the merceded de oiling flush but my oil change is also almost 2000kilometers over due.the last time i checed it about a month ago the coolant was freen and clear, also the milkshake coolant wasnt fully mixd in my rad or heater core so might not be too bad. any way do i change my oil first seeing as ill need to flush the engine quite a bit.? ps i dont have coolant in the oil or in the transmission (dipsticks) please and thank you
Sean Byrne I would do the coolant first and get the coolant out...if you do both at the same time you can run the engine flush while idling and flushing the coolant... engine flush should never be in the engine while driving under load, only at idle
***** thanks for the super fast reply....coolant first , flush it. when clean , fill with MB coolant and distilled water and burb it to remove bubbles, once i think this is done properly should i change the oil when its at operating temp, ie. right after the burping is complete
I'm planning to do this soon on my R129 (sl500) , now when you flush with fresh water wouldn't that leave some fresh water in the system after the last drain? a considerable amount in fact? how harmful would that be mixed with the MB coolant and the distilled water? oh and how many gallons should I buy for 1997 SL500 if you know? thanks
most of it will drain out since the bottom of the rad drain is the lowest point in the system .. Distilled water is about $1 a gallon , so if you are worried about tap water in the system you can pour a gallon into the upper rad hose after the tap water has drained ,to push the remainder out
Yeah my car was hitting 120 and were I live the only way I'm going to get the antifreeze is if I go online autozone don't even carry it they only have the cheap one but I got most of the air out hoping tomorrow I can get the rest out
Just changing my water pump and thought I would have to do some hose pulling to drain it but a drain valve will save me a nightmare . OH!! for all Benz guys MB trani fluid is a MUST, it's the same difference between olive oil and motor oil. Way better product.
Want to disagree. I have a 99 SL500, R129. The trans fluid that came with it was conventional Shell 3403 M115. I believe they said it was lifetime fluid, then they changed it to changing it out ever 39k. They new fluid offered by the MB dealerships are thinner that what came with it originally. I talked to Redline and they recommended D4 since it has the similar viscosity as the original fluid. The newer MB trans fluid MB 236.14 approved have a viscosity that's closer to Redline D6. So I had to change the conductor plate and had all the fluid or most of it drained and put in 7 qts of Redline D4 and it drives wonderfully about 2 yrs now, no problems.
can i ask you mate. how long would it take to do damage to head gskt with the wrong coolant in it and to what extent ya reckon? Bit hard to answer i know, i guess ya just wait till she goes yeah?
you're right it's hard to say... I Mercedes trained mechanic who I get info from, says it can kill the gasket quickly , or have no effect at all..not much of an answer :(
I thought that when you open the radiator red valve at least 60% should have come out but I only get about 40%. then How do i know how much coolant or water is left in the engine and heater core if I keep refiling?
I use Xerex G05 in my 2006 Chrysler Town and Country. Can I use it in my 2002 E320, or do I really need the G48 antifreeze coolant? What is the main benefit of G48 over G05??
fupabox that means I can use the same coolant in 3 out of 4 cars. Wondering if there is a benefit to taking G05 in a 1990 F-250 with 5.8L Windsor motor??
you change your automatic trany fluid? I heard your not suppose to touch those at all on mercedes's. At least on my S class and my G class people told me your not....
I thought they said every 39k. I am using Redline D4 in my 99 SL 500 and it shifts great. 2yrs and no problems. I plant to change the filter and change the fluid every 30-40k miles with Redline. See my earlier post.
I changed my coolant on my '98 w210 however I feel as if there is air trapped in the system. If I turn the heater on, the engine temp will drop to almost 60c. I also feel like it takes long to warm up, but I already changed out the thermostat with a OEM one. If I squeeze the upper rad hose, I can feel the coolant sloshing around in there like there air. So I bled the air from that hose and a few days later it was back. I asked around and I was told that a vacuum bleeder was necessary when pouring in new coolant. What do you think?
***** the only necessity for bleeding is having air being able to escape from the highest point in the cooling system....raise the front of your car as high as possible on the side your coolant overflow is on...start the car while it is raised, remove the coolant reservoir cap, and put the heater on the highest hot setting...any air in the system will move upwards until it can escape at the coolant reservoir
***** it doesn't have to be jacked up too high...just as long as the cap on the reservoir is the highest point in the cooling system by about 6 inches...they can be a tough bugger to bleed sometimes
***** the heater core is straight behind your ashtray and just above your feet.. it is lower than the coolant reservoir...the upper rad hose can trap air because it is almost at the same level as the coolant bottle/reservoir... once the car is raised on that side the air has no option but to raise up to the reservoir... it may take a few minutes idling and increasing rpms a bit will force it out quicker as well
great video as always! Thought I'd mention that I bought 5L of Mercedes-Benz part number A000989082511 a few months ago in the UK and it was green. So maybe the coolant that was in your car was MB stuff after all?
I'm trying to find where the crank case drain plug is on the M112 so I can completely flush the system. I unfortunately have green coolant in my car as well.
you shouldn't need to remove the drain plug to get the coolant out on that engine.. the rad drain will completely drain the block.. If you really want to take it off , it is on the passenger side above the engine mount ..it is a large reverse torx bolt.. Sorry but I can't locate a photo of it anywhere
So my car is a W210 and the manual calls for 10L (or 2.64 gallons) of 50/50 mixture of Mercedes coolant and distilled water. So far I've put in just shy of 2 gallons and the system is full. It should need another 3/4 of a gallon. I'm guessing there is air in the system however I have got the thermostat to open up (heater is blowing hot air and the lower rad hose is hot) car has been running form 20 minutes now with the front passenger side jacked up to facilitate bleeding any residual air in the system. Any ideas?
E46Nova It's very hard to completely drain the system.. the heater core in the car can hold 1/2 gallon with the connected hoses included.. I would keep the 3/4 gallon in the trunk and go for a drive keeping an eye on the temp. After a few miles check the level in the reservoir and top up if needed
fupabox Well I drove the car all day today. Temp never exceeded 80° C and when I finally got home, I checked the coolant level and it was still full. I flushed it 4 times with hose water, so I'm guessing since you say that it's difficult to drain the entire system, there is still 3/4 of a gallon of garden hose water in the system that isn't mixed with coolant. Hope that doesn't give me any issues, especially since it's the cold time of year.
It won't overheat when you run it without the coolant for 10 minutes? Also, can you check my video? I need to replace my upper radiator hose... trying to avoid changing all of this coolant business haha
BasementKilling not sure.. which model do you have ? w202 low beams are usually H7 H1 for high beams, but different if you have xenon lights.. the 9.5 is usually complete coolant capacity, which is tough to completely drain
'96 C220, boss. I think the '97 and after is when the folks started to change the lighting setup. For example -- they did away with the foglight and high/low beam in the same halogen housing
***** Idk, man. It's strange hm. Anyways; moving along to problems relevant to the video. I feel as if my w202 overheats - so we changed the coolant to Zerex. The old coolant was green but I couldn't identify what it was because the previous owner took it to a shop :( .... 50/50 distilled water and Zerex G-05 + thermostat out and it's still "overheating." Could it be air still trapped in the cooling area? Any bleeder valve, sire?
BasementKilling no bleeder valve, but air can easily be trapped...it has to travel to the highest point in the system to escape..jack up the front coolant bottle side of the car ,and let it idle a while with the heater on high temp and high speed..any trapped air will more easily rise up to the overflow bottle, since it is now elevated much higher than the rest of the system
Don't waste your money at the MB dealership. In North America, MB uses on all its recent (since 1997) models a radiator fluid manufactured by Valvoline under the name Zerex G-05. And the good news, this stuff is sold at Walmart in a 50/50 premix gallon container. BTW, MB also mentions that you only change this fluid after 15 years ! At least for the W203 models. So maybe you are not in any great rush to do this job.
This seems to be an easier solution than the other one I saw at mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w210/500953-zerex-g-05-full-strength-zerex-g-05-50-50-antifreeze-coolant.html. The other solution needs to open engine block plug and remove thermostat. I still can't find the information on the location and the appearance of engine block plug (also called core plug). I wonder the pros and cons of the two methods.
removing the frost/block plug isn't necessary, and a bit of overkill in my opinion. .. removing the thermostat will actually make flushing a bit quicker, but also isn't necessary
HOT TIP:
Fit the longer rubber hose to the drain nozzle on the bottom of the radiator and extend it to the drain bucket (positioned bellow the car level). That hose changes the lowest point of cooling system, and gravity makes it drain better. This way I drained about 80% of coolant (about 6.5 litres) from my W202 C180. No mess.
Just refill the coolant through expansion tank, and you are done.
ALL THIS ON STONE COLD ENGINE.
Then you start the engine, set heater to max warm, let it idle a bit to eventually bleed the air.
IT WILL BLEED ITSELF WITHOUT A PROBLEM even if you put the cap back on and go for a drive (the expansion tank has a little hose that vents the excess air out).
I had a look at what coolant was in my w202 and it was lime green , the brightest green i have ever seen so now with my laptop on the roof of my car i am going to drain and bleed the system . got my mbenz coolant and distilled water . thanks for the vid its going to help me out a lot
Hey, just wanted to say thanks a lot for creating these videos! Your presentation style is excellent - clear, understandable and funny! Always enjoy watching your videos and I've learned to do a lot of DIY jobs on my w202 because of you. Thanks again, and hopefully you won't stop making these videos!
Nice video. Just one one opinion, I don’t think you necessarily need to use the Mercedes coolant. Yeah, you can’t use any kind of coolant. Just use a coolant that follow the MB 325.0 spec. The spec in general dictates ethylene glicol based coolant with Inorganic Acid Technology (IAT), which is what is appropriate for the coolant system and engine materials of this car.
Thank you very much, your videos are very helpful. Cheers
You and others said to only use distilled water, in the W210 manual it says "The water in the cooling system must meet minimum requirements, which are usually satisfied by normal drinking water"
So tap/drinking water is okay?
+Faiz Alshehri I wouldn't use tap or regular bottled water.. for the $2 it costs to buy a big bottle of distilled water I wouldn't take the chance
Thanks for the tips on NOT to use ordinary green coolant this I did not know
I just recently had to replace the head gasket in my w202 April 2000 c200 . because over the years the mechanics i sent the car to used normal tap water and normal coolant . the merc coolant is expensive but $40 for coolant is much better than $680 for a new head gasket set
Thanks for posting this precious video on radiator flush. Can I use distilled drinking water to top up the radiator?
Yes
Hi,
I have a 2010 GLK350 with around 19000 miles but by Mercedes charts I need to flush. You mention flush the system with a garden hose and at the end you said mix with distilled water, so my questions is: how do you know you get all the garden hose water out and not leaving any in the system? Thanks.
Great video, what is the capacity of the antifreeze tank?
I believe it's 2 litres . But I'm not 100% sure on that
Great vid. Did my flush along with tstat about a week ago. Problem I ran into is I can't get it hot now. The stuff that I drained was basically water and I diluted oem coolant. I can't get the stat to open and circulate coolant thru upper hose. Been driving like that for a week now. Any tips would be much appreciated.
+Dominik Mackowiak either the tstat isn't closing or there is air trapped in the lines.. try raising the coolant bottle front side of the car to ensure it is the highest point in the system...make sure the heater is on high hot, and start the engine...while it is running squeeze the upper hose a few times to try to force air up and out...if the cat isn't overheating the stat is likely stuck open...sometimes the hose squeezing can get it to close,,sometimes it will need to be pulled and checked...overcooling is usually a thermostat
Keep going with your video..Great help for me..
I have a w202 1998 and i live in Montreal .
When i drive my temperature goes to 83 celcius and when i am in traffic it goes to 97 celcius......
What should i do ? And thanks again
once when I was driving my w202 C180 on very steep up hill the coolant tank the one which is placed on the top of radiator totally blowed up. later the car fix guy told me that the coolant tank cap has 2 ways ( 2 steps) to adjust and lock , first lock is not fully locked lighter and second is fully tight. question is that truth that the cap has light lock and tight lock? like in summer I should keep it not fully twisted
I just watched the video again and I think im missing something. After u drained out the original old fluid u put back the caps on both ends and filled it up with water started the engine and filled up more water? Then shut off engine and reopened both caps and flushed it out? I need a good explanation step by step so I can do this the proper way.
Hi there. I’ve a 98 C230, non Kompressor. When I emptied the coolant, it came out to 6-6.5 quarts, 1.5 to 1.6 gallons of fluid. After I drained and flushed the coolant with distilled water, driving around and all that to circulate the fluid and drained the water, I was only able to fit 1.3-1.4 gallons of 50/50 fluid into the reservoir from what I observed as empty, which is about 5.5 liters. You stated you’re using 1.25-1.5 gallons mixed to to 50/50, it will be around 2.5 to 3 gallons or 9.4 to 11.3 liters. The owners manual states 5.5L = 1.45 gallons for coolant capacity. Did I miss something? Am I missing half the required fluid? Thanks for any advice and info in advance!
Also I will be keeping an eye on the coolant level during the upcoming week and burping and filling as needed, but I hope I did not miss something crucial. Cheers.
your manual should show 10-11 litres capacity for the cooling system . When you drained it was the heater on hot ? it sounds like all the coolant didn't drain out . It's sometimes hard to get it all out . with the front coolant overflow bottle side of the car jacked up a bit , remove the coolant cap and start the car and let it idle till warm . If there is air trapped in the system it will move upwards to the highest point ..sometimes jacking the overflow side of the car up a bit will make it easier to get the air all out .
fupabox I did not work with the res bottle side jacked up. The car was elevated slightly (parked on a slight incline) while draining. And I did not have the heater on while draining. Dang might have to go back in and redo the flush. The coolant that was in there was pretty diluted as it had been slowly leaking out of the bypass hose leading from the bottom of thermostat housing, small crack in the hose toward the bottom side, and evaporating and I kept topping off with distilled water during the summer months. The leak had been present a few weeks. That hose and the upper hose have just been replaced. No leaks as of yet, but will have to properly flush the system. Thanks for the info!
I was hoping the driving around with heat full blast and max temp would have circulated all of it. But if it’s supposed to be 10-11 liters, I’m missing half of that at least.
Related question, does the bottom portion of the bypass hose go past the metal tabs on the engine block? I could not manage to snug the hose last those tabs, and it didn’t look like there would be clearance for the hose clamp when all the way down there without hitting the belt.
Thanks for the video. Is this the same for a SLK 230?
check if the BOTH cooing fans are spinning by having the AC on THEY SHOULD BE SPINNING or the fuse is Blown like happened to me & use MBenz Coolant!
Im about to replace the coolant with the proper MB coolant. But my question is my overflow and basically entire cooling is pretty filthy. Can I run a additive for an afternoon before flushing and replacing?, to help break down all the crud in the overflow and rad ect.
regards '96 c200
'96-c200 Mercedes makes a flush with citric acid that will not harm the cooling system...it isn't meant to be driven with the flush in it, just idled a while to get the gunk out.
I tried to remove the radiator drain plug but it broke. I drilled it and removed it. When I replaced it with a new drain plug, water was leaking from the litlle black hole next to the red drain plug, I assume I damaged the threads. What can I do to fix the problem?
Thanks again for the video. Was about to flush the rad anyways but your tip on using the benz fluid will hopefully save me the headache down the road. I am having issues with the a/c and the center vent not blowing. FOund something that said rap on the duo-valve a few times. I did and that seemed to work. Got the a/c recharged but the temp is just a little below ambient. Any ideas? Also have you ever used the Climate module for diagnostics and do you know what they mean? Any Stereo winner?
I’m having similar problems. My center vents are not blowing. Also the windscreen vents are always blowing even I change the flow direction. Any ideas on how to fix this?
If none of those premixed are for my car can you just give me a quick explanation on what to do after I purchase those gallons from MB. Like after I drain out the coolant then flush it with hose water a couple times, then what do I do?? how do I add it properly and mix??
how much coolant did you get out of it? I can only get about 4 litters from the radiator red knob?
I found out that the Benz coolant is my made by Valvoline. It's called ZEREX G05.. which is the same stuff as MB coolant with the MB label.. it might save you some money, i'm just not sure if they sell it over there in canada. it's about $13.00 over here. people still seem to use the cheap-o prestone green stuff over here and have water pump bearing problems and wonder why... have a good holiday!
Good day.I just bought used SLK 230 Kompressor and I believe that the car was sitting for quite long time and thermostat got clogged or membrane deformated or else.This car is going to be used only in warm/hot environment 12 months a year.The question is,can I just remove thermostat without replacing it?Thank you.
shogunkat no unfortunately you cant.. the thermostat keeps the engine warm enough or cool enough to run at an optimum temperature by regulating flow of water through the engine...with no thermostat the water would flow too quickly through the engine and radiator and start to aerate..once it becomes aerated the bubbles will become trapped in the engine and cause overheating..the increases speed of the coolant through the system without a thermostat will also decrease the time hot coolant stays in the radiator...which means it will not cool enough
***** Going to have properly diagnose the problem and see where that overheat comes from,and thanks to you,now I know that thermostat cannot be removed from cooling system.
How often would you recommend doing a flush?
if the vehicle was built after 2002..every 15 years or 150k miles...before 2002 every 3 years 30k miles
I use Antefreeze concentrate Glycsol Gt11 E-TEC , is it ok to use this coolant ?
Would these instructions apply to the ML430? The add antifreeze light just came on in my car. I am not ready to do a flush right now. I was just searching how to add antifreeze to the car. Have only had the car a couple of months. It is a 99 with almost 300,000 miles on it. And it seem to have some water in the oil and some small oil leaks so some work will be in order soon, but not in middle of winter, hopefully. Thanks!
yes essentially the same ,except a bigger rad on your ML430...if you usually drive short distances then condensation can build up inside the crankcase and appear to be a coolant leak.
thank you. Yes, I am only going short distances. On a big day only maybe 15 miles. On a normal day around 5. I got different antifreeze today and will have husband put it in tomorrow. I look forward to watching more of your videos and learning more. I would have put the green stuff in and had a mess if I didn't watch your video.
On the MB spec sheet theres some pre mixed coolants they approve under 326.0 .3 .5 etc etc. How do I know which category I fall under? I know my transmission is 236.10 but this I don't know. I have a 1998 CLK320 and im in Toronto just so u know its Canadian for wtvr reason. Thanks. PS Love all ur videos!
Just go out to carquest and buy Valvoline Zerex G05 fluid. I'm in New Brunswick with about the same temps as you. You can buy it premixed as 50/50(you'll need 3 gallons if you do this), but I bought the non premixed and mixed it to 55/45(coolant/distilled water) for the lower temps we see. You can buy deionized water at crappy tire for a few bucks a gallon. 55% coolant will protect you against lower temps, but is as much concentration as Mercedes recommends.
Hi, When you start the engine when it's cold, which hose will get hotter first? Upper hose that connect to thermostat or lower hose attached to rad? My 09 e350, the lower gets hotter first around 65C" and then upper later when thermostat open at 85 C". Also side coolant tank gets hotter before thermostat opens.
Please advise. . Thanks Box
The lower hose always has coolant in contact with warm engine parts , upper gets warm once the thermostat opens . It should always circulate a tiny bit and the lower may get warm first . I'd suspect a small amount oif air in the system is allowing the warmer expanding coolant to push towards the air trapped in the upper hose . raise the front overflow bottle side of the car to make it the highest point in the cooling system and let the car idle with the coolant bottle cap off , the air will bleed up and out.
Hi
Recently changed the Thermo due to CEL came on and now light went off after driven 50 miles. I really respect your advice and will try that to bleed the system.
Thank you
What's so bad about using regular OAT coolant? That's what mine had when I bought it (water pump had just been replaced). I did eventually decide to thoroughly flush and use HOAT (zerex g-05) coolant but from what I understand the only difference with hybrid additives is it lasts longer.
the g-05 ,like Mercedes uses ,is specifically designed to work with different metals and materials..some coolants are good for aluminum,but not so much for cast iron,and vice versa...Mercedes will actually not honor warranty claims if improper coolant is used..Using the Mercedes recommended fluid will also prevent head gasket leaks
Hmmmm. Its definitely better to be safe than sorry. I trust your experience, it seems like there's a ton of myths around auto fluids. You're scaring me that my car had had regular green in it for an unknown period though. I've even been told I should flush my '12 Chevy of all its dexcool and use g-05 in it because its the "best" and dexcool eats gaskets even on motors designed for it. Then the other end is I have a 99 jeep and an 02 identical vehicles and motors the 99 specifies regular green the 02 is g-05...
The Stiver
There are a few companies that are now specializing in "OEM replacement" coolants..I saw a display of them the other day at an auto parts store..there were around 15 different coolants..so Mercedes isn't the only one now using a special blend....Dex-cool is definitely a nightmare
*****
that's very helpful...wish we had that here
hey fupa, i love your videos, been very helpful with the last year of ownership of my c220. i have a quick question. i recently had back surgery so havent used the car in a long time, wife was. the last mechanic used the green stuff in the car and now my back is better im going to change the coolant and oil.when i checked the coolant resevoir i have the dredded light chocolate milkshake coolant. im going to do a good fluch with the merceded de oiling flush but my oil change is also almost 2000kilometers over due.the last time i checed it about a month ago the coolant was freen and clear, also the milkshake coolant wasnt fully mixd in my rad or heater core so might not be too bad.
any way do i change my oil first seeing as ill need to flush the engine quite a bit.?
ps i dont have coolant in the oil or in the transmission (dipsticks)
please and thank you
Sean Byrne I would do the coolant first and get the coolant out...if you do both at the same time you can run the engine flush while idling and flushing the coolant... engine flush should never be in the engine while driving under load, only at idle
***** thanks for the super fast reply....coolant first , flush it. when clean , fill with MB coolant and distilled water and burb it to remove bubbles, once i think this is done properly should i change the oil when its at operating temp, ie. right after the burping is complete
Sean Byrne Yes...always best to change oil when it's warm so it will drain better
***** thanks.
hope my head gasket isnt too bad or thatll be my next job. m111 motor. i could be wasting all this new coolant
***** actually another question. sorry
will this process also flush my heater core and engine core?
I'm planning to do this soon on my R129 (sl500) , now when you flush with fresh water wouldn't that leave some fresh water in the system after the last drain? a considerable amount in fact? how harmful would that be mixed with the MB coolant and the distilled water? oh and how many gallons should I buy for 1997 SL500 if you know? thanks
most of it will drain out since the bottom of the rad drain is the lowest point in the system .. Distilled water is about $1 a gallon , so if you are worried about tap water in the system you can pour a gallon into the upper rad hose after the tap water has drained ,to push the remainder out
Yeah my car was hitting 120 and were I live the only way I'm going to get the antifreeze is if I go online autozone don't even carry it they only have the cheap one but I got most of the air out hoping tomorrow I can get the rest out
Just changing my water pump and thought I would have to do some hose pulling to drain it but a drain valve will save me a nightmare . OH!! for all Benz guys MB trani fluid is a MUST, it's the same difference between olive oil and motor oil. Way better product.
+Jake Wright you are very correct on that..don't risk using anything but the MB fluid
Want to disagree. I have a 99 SL500, R129. The trans fluid that came with it was conventional Shell 3403 M115. I believe they said it was lifetime fluid, then they changed it to changing it out ever 39k. They new fluid offered by the MB dealerships are thinner that what came with it originally. I talked to Redline and they recommended D4 since it has the similar viscosity as the original fluid. The newer MB trans fluid MB 236.14 approved have a viscosity that's closer to Redline D6. So I had to change the conductor plate and had all the fluid or most of it drained and put in 7 qts of Redline D4 and it drives wonderfully about 2 yrs now, no problems.
Supposedly none Zyrex fluid carries an electolitic charge that messes with aluminum blocks.
Can you use Pentifrost NF, which says it's specified for Mercedes? It's a blue coolant just like the Mercedes coolant.
GraveyardKing666 it's supposed to be ok as long as you don't mix it with the older benz. coolant .. so flush the system completely before adding
can i ask you mate. how long would it take to do damage to head gskt with the wrong coolant in it and to what extent ya reckon? Bit hard to answer i know, i guess ya just wait till she goes yeah?
you're right it's hard to say... I Mercedes trained mechanic who I get info from, says it can kill the gasket quickly , or have no effect at all..not much of an answer :(
***** na thats cool mate, thanks for the reply. Did the change now anyway. Thanks for the help.
I thought that when you open the radiator red valve at least 60% should have come out but I only get about 40%. then How do i know how much coolant or water is left in the engine and heater core if I keep refiling?
What if it over heats can it be the air inside ?
I use Xerex G05 in my 2006 Chrysler Town and Country. Can I use it in my 2002 E320, or do I really need the G48 antifreeze coolant? What is the main benefit of G48 over G05??
no real benefit using g48. G05 is fine in your E320 ..Mercedes has approved its use
fupabox that means I can use the same coolant in 3 out of 4 cars. Wondering if there is a benefit to taking G05 in a 1990 F-250 with 5.8L Windsor motor??
you change your automatic trany fluid? I heard your not suppose to touch those at all on mercedes's. At least on my S class and my G class people told me your not....
Mercedes originally said the transmissions were "filled for life" they changed that to changing the filter and fluid approx. every 100k
I thought they said every 39k. I am using Redline D4 in my 99 SL 500 and it shifts great. 2yrs and no problems. I plant to change the filter and change the fluid every 30-40k miles with Redline. See my earlier post.
I changed my coolant on my '98 w210 however I feel as if there is air trapped in the system. If I turn the heater on, the engine temp will drop to almost 60c. I also feel like it takes long to warm up, but I already changed out the thermostat with a OEM one. If I squeeze the upper rad hose, I can feel the coolant sloshing around in there like there air. So I bled the air from that hose and a few days later it was back. I asked around and I was told that a vacuum bleeder was necessary when pouring in new coolant. What do you think?
***** the only necessity for bleeding is having air being able to escape from the highest point in the cooling system....raise the front of your car as high as possible on the side your coolant overflow is on...start the car while it is raised, remove the coolant reservoir cap, and put the heater on the highest hot setting...any air in the system will move upwards until it can escape at the coolant reservoir
+fupabox I'll give it a shot, thanks for the help.
***** it doesn't have to be jacked up too high...just as long as the cap on the reservoir is the highest point in the cooling system by about 6 inches...they can be a tough bugger to bleed sometimes
***** where is the heater core in relation to it? Is it that much higher?
***** the heater core is straight behind your ashtray and just above your feet.. it is lower than the coolant reservoir...the upper rad hose can trap air because it is almost at the same level as the coolant bottle/reservoir... once the car is raised on that side the air has no option but to raise up to the reservoir... it may take a few minutes idling and increasing rpms a bit will force it out quicker as well
Just wondering how full to refill. Where is the full mark. Thanks.
Omg tha k u so much for this video.
great video as always! Thought I'd mention that I bought 5L of Mercedes-Benz part number A000989082511 a few months ago in the UK and it was green. So maybe the coolant that was in your car was MB stuff after all?
in reality you can use any other brand besides Mercedes OEM, just make sure it has a 325.0 specification.
where can I get distilled water?
would this process also work on 96 w210??
very similar
I'm trying to find where the crank case drain plug is on the M112 so I can completely flush the system. I unfortunately have green coolant in my car as well.
you shouldn't need to remove the drain plug to get the coolant out on that engine.. the rad drain will completely drain the block.. If you really want to take it off , it is on the passenger side above the engine mount ..it is a large reverse torx bolt.. Sorry but I can't locate a photo of it anywhere
So my car is a W210 and the manual calls for 10L (or 2.64 gallons) of 50/50 mixture of Mercedes coolant and distilled water. So far I've put in just shy of 2 gallons and the system is full. It should need another 3/4 of a gallon. I'm guessing there is air in the system however I have got the thermostat to open up (heater is blowing hot air and the lower rad hose is hot) car has been running form 20 minutes now with the front passenger side jacked up to facilitate bleeding any residual air in the system. Any ideas?
E46Nova It's very hard to completely drain the system.. the heater core in the car can hold 1/2 gallon with the connected hoses included.. I would keep the 3/4 gallon in the trunk and go for a drive keeping an eye on the temp. After a few miles check the level in the reservoir and top up if needed
fupabox Well I drove the car all day today. Temp never exceeded 80° C and when I finally got home, I checked the coolant level and it was still full. I flushed it 4 times with hose water, so I'm guessing since you say that it's difficult to drain the entire system, there is still 3/4 of a gallon of garden hose water in the system that isn't mixed with coolant. Hope that doesn't give me any issues, especially since it's the cold time of year.
Thanks......
It won't overheat when you run it without the coolant for 10 minutes? Also, can you check my video? I need to replace my upper radiator hose... trying to avoid changing all of this coolant business haha
i need to try this...thx
What's up with the errors in the manual?
Low beam headlight = H1 - Wrong, it uses 9003
Coolant = 9.5 L - Wrong, uses about half
BasementKilling not sure.. which model do you have ? w202 low beams are usually H7 H1 for high beams, but different if you have xenon lights.. the 9.5 is usually complete coolant capacity, which is tough to completely drain
'96 C220, boss. I think the '97 and after is when the folks started to change the lighting setup. For example -- they did away with the foglight and high/low beam in the same halogen housing
BasementKilling yeah my old 97 had the foglights built into the headlights..H1 as well//my son's 1999 w202 has the same ones
***** Idk, man. It's strange hm. Anyways; moving along to problems relevant to the video. I feel as if my w202 overheats - so we changed the coolant to Zerex. The old coolant was green but I couldn't identify what it was because the previous owner took it to a shop :( .... 50/50 distilled water and Zerex G-05 + thermostat out and it's still "overheating." Could it be air still trapped in the cooling area? Any bleeder valve, sire?
BasementKilling no bleeder valve, but air can easily be trapped...it has to travel to the highest point in the system to escape..jack up the front coolant bottle side of the car ,and let it idle a while with the heater on high temp and high speed..any trapped air will more easily rise up to the overflow bottle, since it is now elevated much higher than the rest of the system
what coolant for w203 c200k m111 955
MB fluid from delership
Don't waste your money at the MB dealership. In North America, MB uses on all its recent (since 1997) models a radiator fluid manufactured by Valvoline under the name Zerex G-05. And the good news, this stuff is sold at Walmart in a 50/50 premix gallon container. BTW, MB also mentions that you only change this fluid after 15 years ! At least for the W203 models. So maybe you are not in any great rush to do this job.
This seems to be an easier solution than the other one I saw at mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w210/500953-zerex-g-05-full-strength-zerex-g-05-50-50-antifreeze-coolant.html. The other solution needs to open engine block plug and remove thermostat. I still can't find the information on the location and the appearance of engine block plug (also called core plug). I wonder the pros and cons of the two methods.
removing the frost/block plug isn't necessary, and a bit of overkill in my opinion. .. removing the thermostat will actually make flushing a bit quicker, but also isn't necessary
yaxsidi
helo
Speak man, don't mumble??
do u know how many liters a 2010 e550 coupe needs?
approx. 10 liters.. you will have to check your owners manual to be sure