cooloant change

[damien13]

hi i would like to know if changing the radiator coolant ie flushing the whle system is adiy j ob many thanks damien

[schumi]

it isn't hard, but it can be very messy and you can end up with a bunch of toxic old coolant spilled and/or stored in many containers in your driveway/garage. Except for my (now gone) old MR2, which had a complicated coolant flush/air bleed procedure that shops aren't familiar with, I have always chosen to pay a shop to change coolant in my cars because of the mess and the problem of disposing of a bunch of containers of old coolant. I would use a shop that works on a lot of Mercedes as they will be familiar with the bleed procedure and use the correct coolant.

[sokoloff]

If you have city sewage, most of them allow you to dump it down the toilet/sink. Their system can process it. Need to ask though to be sure.

Len

[Mike Murrell]

Originally Posted by damien13

hi i would like to know if changing the radiator coolant ie flushing the whle system is adiy j ob many thanks damien

What model and year of car are you talking about? I assume it's an MB.

[CLK320MIA]

There's a drain plug on the lower right hand side of the radiator. Just unscrew and the coolant will pour out. I use a large bowl type container to catch it. If you don't have one big enough just tighten the plug when it gets close to full, dump out the contents of the bowl and do it again. Do mine in the garage w/o a lift or jack. Pretty simple.

[Gilly]

Well, part of the fuss is that to do it correctly and completely (complete enough per MB standards anyways) is there is a block drain that should also be loosened or removed (depending on engine). Also there is a bit of understandable concern about where the old coolant is going, as it's nasty stuff to let run into the groundwater supply or a stream.
Gilly

[donbryce]

Originally Posted by Mike Murrell

What model and year of car are you talking about? I assume it's an MB.

He has an 89 420SL, I believe.
I recently did a flush/change on my 85 380SE, replacing green Prestone with Zerex G05. I used a couple of those cool-ass about 8 liter plastic kitty litter containers. For clearance, I have one that I cut a large hole in the side so it can lay down. I then pour out of the normal lid opening into a disposing container(s). Cat uses about 2/month, so we always have a couple on hand.
Read up on the search to learn all about the ins and outs of doing this job, which I'd consider a prime example of cost-effective DIY work on a Mercedes.