What type of coolant do you all guys use, the mb kind or some decent one from an auto parts store.
Thanks.

 

I go to the MB dealer and pick it up as it is "special" and I didn't want to waste time trying to figure out what the proper substitute was. The only time I have ever needed it was for the HE install as the car never uses a drop.

 

I'm thinking I have distilled water, Water Wetter, with some anti-freeze in mine ...not sure of the mixture.

 

Oem only please

 

Generic brand from Pepboys.

 

I just flushed mine when I did my H/E and IC pump. I used OEM Mercedes. It should be gold in color.

 

bottled water, water wetter and some coolant.

coolant does not mean it will make your component run cooler..

Water is the best heat dispenser through your HE and radiator.

Distilled Water is preferred. But if you are like me, I have switch HE almost every year for the past 2 years.

that reminds that..I need to flush my system this summer.

 

Many use MB’s #Q 1 03 0002 anticorrosion/antifreeze agent because it’s readily available and essentially the same price as the generic stuff. It is, however, merely G-05 HOAT blended and packaged for our US market by Ashland.

Distilled water is the preferred blending additive, unless your tap water is unusually ‘soft.’ Straight water offers by far the best heat dissipation properties, but lacks lubricants and conditioners for the seals and some of our relatively fragile cooling system components. Doesn’t provide any protection in freezing temperatures either, if that’s a consideration for your area.

MB’s rationale for the chemists amongst us:
https://www.mbwholesaleparts.com/Sta...iFreeDec04.pdf

 

Distilled Water is not the proper major component for use as coolant. It is slightly acidic and it does not contain automotive coolant lubricants that protects water pump seals.

 

https://mbworld.org/forums/clk-class...nt-change.html

 

I'm aware this is an old thread but I thought I'd leave this here. The new MB coolant is blue (part # 1-03-0004), the old stuff is gold (part # 1-03-0002). The color has no meaning and is just meant to differentiate the two.

The blue coolant more offers added corrosion protection, adds more organic acids, and more silicate additive. It's still rated at the 15 yr/150k mile life and it is 100% compatible with the old yellow coolant (though recommended to switch out completely.

You can read the whole thing here if you're interested + info on why you shouldn't use aftermarket coolant. It's a good read.

http://www.mbwholesaleparts.com/down...antifreeze.pdf

 

audi/vw have the same type of corrosion policy, so I just use g12 mixtures. You can get pentofrost which is basically off brand g12 at oreilys. Ive been using it in my s4/e55 for 3 1/2 years. Never had a problem.

 

Zerex G-05 from any auto parts store

 

If we put the new blue in a system with the old yellow, we'll get the crappy green coolant. The horror!

 

I'm sure aftermarket may not cause any immediate problems, but for $20 more over 15 years it's very cheap for peace of mind.

 

Can you mix this with the factory coolant? I need some for the HE and pump install and don't want to drive the 30 miles to the nearest dealer if I don't have to.

 

yes

 

Yes Zerex G-05 is like oem fluid

 

Great, thanks, will go grab some for my install.

 

When you say like, do you mean it meets MB specifications or that it is literally just repackaged eg. it's the same exact stuff?

Also, I've read Zerex G-05 is what MB uses, but can somebody clarify how we know this to be 100% accurate? That's great if it is but I don't know where this idea started.

 

Was told by 2 different mb techs

 

Good to know. Is there a new G-05 that's blue too?

 

Bought some recently and it wasn't blue

 

Distilled water, water wetter and small mixture of coolant for me. Followed mixing solution on bottle of Water Wetter.