Coolant colour

bogeyman

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What colour is your coolant? And how often do you change it?
 

duncanh

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Your Mercedes
BMW 520d SE F10, formerly c220cdi estate (for 12.5 years and 345k miles), before that w124 and w210
I don't know what colour as I haven't looked recently, but from what I recall, I think it's green.

My W203 (2002) book says change it at 10 years or 150K miles, whichever is sooner.

I hope this helps.
 

Dazzler

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Your Mercedes
W211 E320 CDi Estate 05
10 years:eek::eek:

Wow, not heard it lasting that long. I thought the red longlife stuff at 5 years was a long time.

Personally if its water based then i would replace sooner.
 

television

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Your Mercedes
2002 SL500, 216 CL500, all fully loaded
Yes as above every 10 to 15 years though it would do no harm to change it a little more often.

The MB one is the best
 

Jay Gee

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Honda
Been thinking about changing mine.Any pitfalls to look out for after re-filling,i.e. airlocks etc?
 

LYNALL

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Rough rule blue in the bottle green once in the car is glycol and is usually good for 2 years.

Red in the bottle and still red in the car is called oats and is good for 5 years.

Both are changed not because the antifreeze side is no good but because the corrosion unhinitors have had it.

Not wise to mix them but i have drained a system down flushed out with water and then refiiled with a different coolant and had no problems, ie blue to red.

Lots of newer cars have different coolant again yellow in the vauxhalls etc.



Lynall
 
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bogeyman

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  • Thread Starter
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Mine is a 06 C220 CDi. It looks like a light green coolant I've got in mine. Had the car serviced yesterday and they told me it could protect to -37 degrees and didn't advise changing it. I havent owned the car since new so don't know that it has MB coolant in there (the reason I was asking what colour it should be) so I'll probably change it in a year.
 

television

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2002 SL500, 216 CL500, all fully loaded
Mine is a 06 C220 CDi. It looks like a light green coolant I've got in mine. Had the car serviced yesterday and they told me it could protect to -37 degrees and didn't advise changing it. I havent owned the car since new so don't know that it has MB coolant in there (the reason I was asking what colour it should be) so I'll probably change it in a year.

Your water being slightly green should be OK for years,,mine is the same colour and been in since new in 2002 MB say change every 15 years, but as the car will have rusted away by then you could just leave it
 
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Top Cat

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Your Mercedes
(97) W202 C230 Elegance Estate
Your water being slightly green should be OK for years,,mine is the same colour and been in since new in 2002 MB say change every 15 years, but as the car will have rusted away by then you cold just leave it


:p:p

it would be even funnier if only it weren't true
 

television

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2002 SL500, 216 CL500, all fully loaded
Depends on the colour and ratio mix of the antifreeze that is in it.

Al of the service stations in Sweden keep the test sticks where you can check the strength on the spot
 

wireman

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Your Mercedes
nice 201 2.5D 1993 & very nice 129 SL500 1994
It is of paramount importance that the anti corrosion component of the coolant is working.
MB reccomend a 2year interval on the 124, I dont know about later MB advise but 2 years seem OK by me.

Failing to change the coolant will allow undesirable things to accumalate in your cooling system and will shorten the life of all the parts it is in contact with.

Drain flush and refill with 50% antifreeze every 2 years and you will reduce the risk of scale inside the engine and sludge in the radiator and heater, if the sludge sets/settles in the tubes of your rad/heater it can not be removed.

The stregnth testing systems such as a hydrometer are normaly aimed at the antifreeze component and do not indicate corrosion resistance, I have not used any of the chemical dip test systems, why buy a test kit when the coolant is 2 years old and known to be suspect? best put the price towards some new antifreeze.
 

kth286

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Your Mercedes
E320 Coupe 95
Mine is a 06 C220 CDi. It looks like a light green coolant I've got in mine. Had the car serviced yesterday and they told me it could protect to -37 degrees and didn't advise changing it. I havent owned the car since new so don't know that it has MB coolant in there (the reason I was asking what colour it should be) so I'll probably change it in a year.

Your service book will show the interval but I expect it to be the 15 year 143k/150k miles
mix in your generation of car.

The cooling system includes a slow release protection device that is designed to work with Mercedes specification coolant, and not others.

Your coolant mix cannot be used retrospectively in older cars to extend the interval.

Mercedes has re-engineered components in the cooling system to be able to extend the change interval, so it is not a question of a different coolant.
 

joe1972

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blimey, if i ever owned a vehicle for 15 years, that would be an achievement in itself!
More often than not I replace the coolant when I buy a car.....or rather I will give it a flush, run it for a while, then replace again.
Most of my cars have been older ones, so I'm a bit wary of 'flush' agents, and tend to do the same with the oil, i.e, a 'quick double oil change'
 

kth286

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Your Mercedes
E320 Coupe 95
[The cooling system includes a slow release protection device that is designed to work with Mercedes specification coolant] Where abouts in system is this device fitted ?

The protection device is a packet of silica gel in the coolant reservoir.
 

Dazzler

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W211 E320 CDi Estate 05
Your water being slightly green should be OK for years,,mine is the same colour and been in since new in 2002 MB say change every 15 years, but as the car will have rusted away by then you could just leave it

But i take it, it is still water based???
So how it keeps its corrosion inhibiter and lubrication properties is amazing:eek:
 

television

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But i take it, it is still water based???
So how it keeps its corrosion inhibiter and lubrication properties is amazing:eek:

Most of these things do lose their strength over time,,probably worth topping up now and then. Yes it is water soluble, but MB say 15 years in WIS
 
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