mis3

According to the manual, MB coolant should be change every 150K miles or 15 years.

My coolant was changed when the dealership replaced the water pump back in Oct-2011 (65K miles ago). I am going to the indie to replace the transmission coolant lines next week and I was wondering if I should replace the coolant as well.

Rudeney

Did they actually do a full rain and refill or just drain and refill enough to replace the pump? I'd probably stick to the maintenance schedule and not count that work as an actual fluid change.

mis3

When the water pump broke, all the coolant was drained. I am pretty sure they had to put in new coolant.
Also, my indie replaced the coolant back on Sept-2009.

maybe I should get some Mb coolant but not sure if my indie has distillled water. How much coolant should I buy? One of my friends told me that he saw in a dealership that they just used tap water to mix the coolant.

DanielFD

distilled water is preferred but normal clean tap water will do the trick too.

tw2

Buy MB coolant, they sell it in 1.5 liter bottles at my dealer. Other types do not have the appropriate anti-corrosive properties for the particular metal combinations of these engines. Only use distilled water. The ions in tap water will precipitate in the engine. I bought 3 bottles (4.5L) but I think 4 would be better.

Distilled water is cheap. If you want to get 99% of it out the easy way- drain the radiator, refill with distilled water only, drive a day, repeat 3-4 times and then drain and refill with MB coolant and distilled water. No need to find the block drain plug and hope it undoes without breaking and reseals properly.

Rudeney

Actually, Zerex G-05 is compatible with MBZ coolant/systems.

mis3

I just checked. Walmart Canada sells the gallon format of premix Zerex G05 for $18CAN. The dealership sells the pure one for $29CAN per gallon. When the time comes, I will check with my indie if he prefers the pure or premix one.

Actually, I asked because I was confused. I thought the transmission coolant lines carried antifreeze. These coolant lines actually carry ATF so my coolant is probably fine. It was changed 4.5 years ago.

Thanks guys. I learned something again.

tw2

I forgot about that one, good option for most people, unfortunately it wasn't available in my country last time I checked... before handing over $$$ to MB.

mis3

By compatible, does it mean that if I have to add coolant, I can add Xerex G05 to MB coolant?

I read that ATF can be mixed as long as they are ATF134. I only use MB ATF because I could not find any alternative in Canada. Also, MB has dropped their price of ATF from $21CAN per litre to less than $12CAN (no idea why but nice surprise).

Rudeney

Yes, you can mix Zerex G-05 with MBZ coolant. I can't find it now, but there is a good post in the forums about this. Basically, you can't mix plain old ethylene glycol, but the chemical used in the G-05 is the same as what MBZ uses.

mis3

Thanks Redeney for the clarifications.

I will not change the coolant this time. Since I will be changing the transmission coolant lines next week, I am looking for something to check or replace in the vicinity of these coolant lines.

TechSuperstar

In my case.. just wait until your oil cooler starts to leak from the seals (around 150k mi), then you have to drain it anyway to replace the oil cooler.

Glyn M Ruck

The 15 years only applies to cars with a silica gel sacket in the surge tank or a radiator tank to top up silicates. The Long Life HOAT formulation Benz uses will go at least 8 years without silicate top up. As long as the coolant remains clear & bright it is fine. Any cloudiness & it should be changed!

jylee

No sure if you know the transmission coolant lines carry oil, not coolant.

zuzu_pali

i replaced mine full and im still getting check coolant level ? is their an easy fix for this ?

Rudeney

It could be a bad coolant level sensor, but it could also be a wiring problem. The coolant level sensor and the windshield washer fluid pump and level sensor are somehow wired in series. If you disconnect the windshield washer fluid pump, you will get a coolant level error.