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If you just need to top off some coolant and you don't want to buy the Mercedes concentrate coolant from the dealer and then have to mix it with distilled water you can get this ready to use PEAK OE coolant at Auto Zone (part# PEBB53) for $20. It's BLUE just like the original color in W212's and according to the label it's designed for Mercedes cars pre-2014. (FYI, the spec on the Autozone website for the boiling point temp is wrong. On the actual container it says the boiling point is 265 degrees (F), which is what Mercedes recommends).
If you just need to top off some coolant and you don't want to buy the Mercedes concentrate coolant from the dealer and then have to mix it with distilled water you can get this ready to use PEAK OE coolant at Auto Zone (part# PEBB53) for $20. It's BLUE just like the original color in W212's and according to the label it's designed for Mercedes cars pre-2014. (FYI, the spec on the Autozone website for the boiling point temp is wrong. On the actual container it says the boiling point is 265 degrees (F), which is what Mercedes recommends).
if you are topping up the antifreeze, be very carefull because they are not all compatible with each other, and the wrong mix can really screw up the coolant system because they form a gel, which blocks up the hoses and water galleries in the engine, water pump etc. Don't assume that because they are the same colour, they are the same chemically, Google Antifreeze types and composition. and you will see what I mean. I was unsure what kind / manufacturer was in mine, so to be on the safe side, I drained it out and refilled it. Now I know what to put into it when it needs topping up. And to really make sure that you get all the old stuff out, it's necessary to flush it out continually, until only clean water is coming out.
I used to buy MB coolant for $20.
AutohousAZ has good price when you consider free shipping, but when I have parts list, I call local dealer and as for salesperson. Than I present myself as business owner (business has nothing to do with automotive) and ask for pricing on my parts #.
So last time local dealer sold the coolant to me cheaper than autohous.
I am strong believer in MB coolants. In the past used it in my pickups, what cut fan activation almost down to 0 in California weather.
Superduty fan can draw about 20 hp from the engine and you can REALLY hear it when it comes.
I believe Zerex G-05 is the same thing. It's $21 at Advance Auto, but I believe the 25% off discount code still works on it so $15.75 for a gallon. Distilled water is about $1 so about $8.37 for a gallon of the mix. They also sell it premixed for $18, but that's still $13.50 a gallon after the discount code.
Never used Zerex and I know lot of members do, but the price difference in neglectable and when you read all the engine overheating topics - it always come to the point that the member used Zerex.
Thanx. I have rather replaced it before lesson learned
Originally Posted by superangrypenguin
And this is why I don't buy used cars..
Geniue radiator petcock fits my W212 2010 4 matic , originally for Chrysler and Jeep. Original was Valeo.
As the winter is comming here, I really re-considered possible consequences if my previous solution fails for ex. on a highway. Undesired. Engine execution.Scepticism of some of you was definetelly right. So here it is : I got it shipped superfast, fair price and the resoult is absolutly amazing... Not a single drop since the instalation. Vibration resistant radiator **** drainnplug E class W212 with Chrysler sign on the box. What the hack! . In fact, this one is much more solid with masive knob handle... great. Factory quality now. ..Big thanx to the producer. Rare stuff. Took me weeks to google it out but finally got it down.Every mechanic in the city told me there is no aftermarket eqvivalent and wanted to replacen the whole radiator + ATF where hoses are leading to the other assambly,.... Crazy. Price would usually skyrocket
reaching zilion... :-) GL.
2010 Mercedes GLK 350, 2014 Jeep Cherokee Latitude 3.2 V6
Originally Posted by Vilem
Geniue radiator petcock fits my W212 2010 4 matic , originally for Chrysler and Jeep. Original was Valeo.
As the winter is comming here, I really re-considered possible consequences if my previous solution fails for ex. on a highway. Undesired. Engine execution.Scepticism of some of you was definetelly right. So here it is : I got it shipped superfast, fair price and the resoult is absolutly amazing... Not a single drop since the instalation. Vibration resistant radiator **** drainnplug E class W212 with Chrysler sign on the box. What the hack! . In fact, this one is much more solid with masive knob handle... great. Factory quality now. ..Big thanx to the producer. Rare stuff. Took me weeks to google it out but finally got it down.Every mechanic in the city told me there is no aftermarket eqvivalent and wanted to replacen the whole radiator + ATF where hoses are leading to the other assambly,.... Crazy. Price would usually skyrocket
reaching zilion... :-) GL.
Yes! I've been looking for this plug for the M272 GLK350 forever. I wonder if this one you found is compatible?
WARNING!!!! Coolant is a dangerous poison. The odor is especially attractive to dogs and cats and it will KILL THEM.
It has to be disposed of properly and not down a drain or in backyard or in storm sewer catch basins. Any liquid that leaks onto the driveway, ground, etc. must be immediately removed and disposed of properly.
Better to let your dealer or an approved auto maintenance facility do this.
this is the reason why don't do this at home. very tempting but too much trouble disposing properly.......
Pour the antifreeze into a large open mouth container and put it in the sun to evaporate. It takes several days. Wipe out the residue with a rag and trash the rag.
After 174000 miles changed the coolant on my 2010 E550. Was able to open the drain without breaking the plug that some others experienced . Sprayed WD-40 on the plug before opening it.
Used my Mity-Vac to pull the coolant out very quickly. Got 5 liters of it out, which is very small amount for a 5.5 liter engine. Manual says 5.2 liters so I think I got it out well. It all came out very clean with faint yellowish color. The new coolant I bought from the dealer is blue so I wonder what I had in my engine as the color is so different? The dealer parts said the one they sold me is the only one they use for all cars.
Anyway, the plug that others have has breaking when removing came out without much trouble in one piece but before I went to do this job, based on the other comments, I went to my local Dodge dealer to see if they have the plug shown in the picture of Vilem's post and they did, see the picture below. This plug is 100% match other than the flat "handle" to turn it is longer than the original part. Cost $15+tax. Far cheaper than buying and changing the whole radiator that MB says.
You can read the Chrysler part number on the plug: 4644269-4. I'm not sure the "-4" is part of it but anyway.
MB USA changed the coolants about 10 years ago.
The new blue is mixable with old in pee color.
But the results will come green, what can be confusing. I would flush the system at least twice with distilled water.
After 174000 miles changed the coolant on my 2010 E550. Was able to open the drain without breaking the plug that some others experienced . Sprayed WD-40 on the plug before opening it.
Used my Mity-Vac to pull the coolant out very quickly. Got 5 liters of it out, which is very small amount for a 5.5 liter engine. Manual says 5.2 liters so I think I got it out well. It all came out very clean with faint yellowish color. The new coolant I bought from the dealer is blue so I wonder what I had in my engine as the color is so different? The dealer parts said the one they sold me is the only one they use for all cars.
Anyway, the plug that others have has breaking when removing came out without much trouble in one piece but before I went to do this job, based on the other comments, I went to my local Dodge dealer to see if they have the plug shown in the picture of Vilem's post and they did, see the picture below. This plug is 100% match other than the flat "handle" to turn it is longer than the original part. Cost $15+tax. Far cheaper than buying and changing the whole radiator that MB says.
You can read the Chrysler part number on the plug: 4644269-4. I'm not sure the "-4" is part of it but anyway.
Quoting my own post here.
Forgot to mention that it is easy to break the plug if not opened correctly. The way to do it is to turn the plug 90 degrees CCW. THEN PULL IT OUT! It will come out about 1/4" or so. After this turn it another 90 degrees CCW and you can pull it all the way out.
If you try to turn it the full 180 degrees without pulling it out between 90 degrees turns it will break for sure.
Just finished changing the coolant in my 2010 E350 and it's about the easiest job you can do. The dealer gave me a quote of about $325, my total cost with some sweat equity of about 1 1/2 hours and $25 for the correct MB coolant that I bought from a MB parts seller for $25 for a gallon which is more than enough, oh, plus two gallons of distilled water, another $3. Here we go, firstly, remove the forward most plastic panel that sits underneath the engine between the front bumper and the engine oil pan, you can't screw it up as it's the first panel you can remove underneath the front of the car, the front of this panel sits forward and above the front bumper, the rear of this panel sits above the panel behind it, it takes a little elbow grease to fit it back in once you've removed it but what I did was place a small piece of blue painters tape next to every hole in the panel where the screws hold it onto the small clips on the chassis so you will remember where every screw and washer should be put back. Once you have removed the panel, get yourself a 6 gallon anti-freeze drain basin, I bought mine at Auto Zone for about $12. With the front bottom panel removed on the drivers side of the radiator you should see a petcock drain screw with a yellow line on it as well as another yellow line above and below it, looking at them they form a straight line. Even though MB directions for flushing the radiator says there should be a round red drain plug, it wasn't there. Mine was just a black drain plug with a yellow line on it. Once you have located the drain plug, turn the plug counter clock wise about 1/4 of a turn until the coolant starts to trickle out of it. Remember, remove the coolant cap that is located on the passengers side of the engine compartment from the coolant reservoir and make sure you have your 6 gallon coolant catch basin under the petcock drain plug that has a yellow line on it. Don't try to fully unscrew the drain plug, just a 90 degree turn will do it. My coolant took about 20 minutes to fully drain and held about 5 quarts to fully refill it. Although the system on my model holds about 8 quarts, as with most coolant systems, you won't be able to get every ounce of old coolant out, don't worry about it. Once your coolant is fully drained turn the drain plug back clockwise (from left to right) about 90 degrees. After that mix your coolant with distilled water at a 50/50% mix and start filling the coolant reservoir, use a funnel when refilling it as you don't want the coolant all over the engine compartment and garage floor. You can just pour in a full gallon before you have to start being mindful of how much more she will take. After you've got a gallon it start her up and turn the heater all the way to HI on Auto and let the engine warm up until the thermostat opens up, after that get in and take her for a short ride with the a/c on if you like as what you want to do is get her to operating temperature, than carefully open the coolant reservoir and finish filling with coolant. If your cap is too hot to remove just let her sit overnight and add enough coolant to bring the level to where you see two lines on the back part of the reservoir, that is where you want your coolant to be as you need to leave some space for the expansion of the coolant when the engine reaches operating temperature. Good luck to all!
Exactly the process I took. As a matter of fact, before I did the 2012 E350, I flushed a 2008 E350 in the same manner and had no problems. I think that, somehow, I have an air lock in the cooling system that I've got to get rid of.
with so many eyes on this topic I bet you're not alone with this excellent problem.
The solution to breaking the airlock is pressure/vacuum bleeding.
Needlessly complicated:
Coolant work used to be simple then they carefully placed the refill opening just below the water pump and the cabin heater core...
Now air gets trapped in the highest point with no way to escape from a missing plastic bleed screw...
You need special tools & WIS procedure script to work around this setup.
Last edited by CaliBenzDriver; Sep 15, 2022 at 12:27 AM.
There is two way to evacuate air from the cooling system.
I tried vacuum and pressure.
Pressure is cheaper and better from DIY perspective.
Pressure ? Why and how pressure can help ?
Fill up coolant to maximum possible after any kind of work involving coolant partial drain.
Use radiator tester and pressurized to 15 psi and leave it at least 12 hours.
The thermostat is not a 100% blocked type even when not opened, it has small hole.
By pressurizing with air at the coolant recovery bottle, you are also pushing air out from where it is hiding by using coolant as "hydraulic" fluid.
You will add coolant by now.
Next day while keeping eye on the coolant level, turn engine ON and heater to maximum to allow the small electrical motor which circulate coolant to HVAC heater core to also work.
Make sure engine reach operating temperature and do blip throttle to 3,000 ish RPM once in a while, the top hose which is the thermostat housing to radiator should be hot, means coolant is flowing from
engine block to radiator ( thermostat fully open ).
Check coolant level when engine cool down.
Drive agressive next day and check coolant again, usually you need to add a tiny bit here, perhaps 5mm to 1cm coolant level.
By this time, your cooling system is almost zero air.
Control coolant level in the next few days, usually me do the check like 3 - 4 times until I am happy.
Anyway I check my coolant level so often without opening the cap, the white and black plastic color of our coolant recovery bottle is easy to see thru with or without torchlight assist.
My full mark is all white plastic gone.
NOTE : I am in the tropics, so getting my engine hot is easier.
There is two way to evacuate air from the cooling system.
I tried vacuum and pressure.
Pressure is cheaper and better from DIY perspective.
Pressure ? Why and how pressure can help ?
Fill up coolant to maximum possible after any kind of work involving coolant partial drain.
Use radiator tester and pressurized to 15 psi and leave it at least 12 hours.
The thermostat is not a 100% blocked type even when not opened, it has small hole.
By pressurizing with air at the coolant recovery bottle, you are also pushing air out from where it is hiding by using coolant as "hydraulic" fluid.
You will add coolant by now.
Next day while keeping eye on the coolant level, turn engine ON and heater to maximum to allow the small electrical motor which circulate coolant to HVAC heater core to also work.
Make sure engine reach operating temperature and do blip throttle to 3,000 ish RPM once in a while, the top hose which is the thermostat housing to radiator should be hot, means coolant is flowing from
engine block to radiator ( thermostat fully open ).
Check coolant level when engine cool down.
Drive agressive next day and check coolant again, usually you need to add a tiny bit here, perhaps 5mm to 1cm coolant level.
By this time, your cooling system is almost zero air.
Control coolant level in the next few days, usually me do the check like 3 - 4 times until I am happy.
Anyway I check my coolant level so often without opening the cap, the white and black plastic color of our coolant recovery bottle is easy to see thru with or without torchlight assist.
My full mark is all white plastic gone.
NOTE : I am in the tropics, so getting my engine hot is easier.
Well, finally got it fixed yesterday. Had to vacuum the system, which finally cleared air from the coolant circuit. I just find it interesting that my 2008 E350 was flushed by simply draining and refilling coolant w/o vacuum or pressure. Oh well, everything is now good.
Thans for all of the responses. We learn something new every day.
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