cooling system refilling procedures on a 190e

[demetris]

Hello again, i know there are many posts on this but, would i be correct in saying after flushing the system and refilling do you do it with the heater controls on and set to max?and the air bubbles thing? how do you get them out? run the engine till warm and then remove the rad/overflow cap to release them and top up after it is cold? is the haynes manual content anything to go by? and I have actually heard many mechanics swear by using water only and just a drop of ethanol based antifreese in the winter! how safe is this, does normal 'ethylene glycol' antifreeze corrode the head gasket or does lack of its use do this? or maybe i am just being to picky and should just drive the thing till it gives up the ghost! thanks

 

[Bob 2316]

Hi you should have at least 3.5 litres of coolant anti freeze in yr car!

 

[dieselman]

Any mechanic that says use plain water needs sacking straight away.

The ethelyne glycol in the anti-freeze is there to protect against freezing in winter, the anti-corrosion inhibitors are there to stop the metal parts corroding.

The antifreeze content should not alter unless you are topping up the system with water.
You need to change the antifreeze solution every two years because the anti-corrosion inhibitors break down due to the heat of the engine.

If you change the solution every two years you SHOULD never suffer a blown head gasket or a corroded cylinder head. Use 50mix and use antifreeze suitable for mixed metal engines.

The best water to use in the mix is rain water as it contains no scale.

Set the heater controls to hot for draining and refilling.