OJ's DNA

Anyone know the coolant capacity of my E 300D off the top of your head? I don't have the stinkin owners manual so thanks for the help?

battlecat714

doesn't it have a coolant level or marking that tells you how much to put in?

NorCal124

Just keep filling until you reach the line. Mix 50/50 solutions in a seperate container first before pouring it in. Don't try to mix the water and coolant in the radiator itself. This way you're sure that you have a constant 50/50 solution.

cap'n jasper

Only use MB coolant (50/50).

battlecat714

i've heard from some that it's better if you add more water than coolant...

Rahray

Your cooling system capacity is 9 liters or 9.5 quarts. I personally use a 60/40 water to antifreeze ratio. Means you would add about a gallon of antifreeze.

cap'n jasper

Only use MB coolant (50/50).

NorCal124

Actually Zerex and Prestone in the older MBs will work fine.

OJ's DNA

Thanks for answering the question Rahray, I do have MB coolant & was planning on a 60/40 mix as I have some Redline water wetter I was planning on using - damn hot here in the California semi-desert - thanks all!

neanderthal

i run a mix thats pretty much water. the coolant (zerex g02, not any other kind if its not MB) does not have the same cooling capacity as water. it does extend the temperatures by delaying the boiling and freezing points, but it doesnt add actual cooling capacity.
now that its summer mine is pretty much just water. in winter i add coolant to make sure my coolant doesnt freeze overnight. no chance of that in summer.

cap'n jasper

Coolant does more than stop the water freezing. But hey, it's your waterpump and headgasket.

dreadenj

10 us quarts

Habil

I guess that's fine if you don't mind rust

Won24

I know this was about a year ago, but I really recommend not doing this. This is okay for gasoline engines, but not for diesels. Due to the high compression nature of diesels cavitation occurs in the water jackets. This cavitation actually erodes the cast iron cylinder walls and was commonly referred to as block worm back when they were trying to figure out what was going on. The solution to this cavitation was adding silicates to the coolant which stops the cavitation. This is why there are shorter coolant change intervals on diesels. It may take years, but eventually you will end up with a pin hole from the coolant jacket into a cylinder and the car will appear to have a blown head gasket (thick white smoke out the exhaust) and if it gets bad enough can cause the cylinder in question to hydro lock. I highly recommend running the proper ratio of diesel coolant.

I am actually looking into the viability of running an ELC in mine, but that's risky business considering it's outside of the manufacturer specification. Perhaps equally risky, but for a different reason. These types of coolant are rated for 500k-750k miles and 8-10 years which is desirable to me (and likely most everyone else for obvious reasons).