Antifreeze

[Brabus3.6]

Reading through past posts I've noticed that a lot of people use Euro Car Parts to buy OEM parts at a cheaper price. I am going to buy a raditor for my W124 series Brabus from them as they supply a BEHR radiator which I believe is the same as the original(?). Do these radiators often let transmission oil seap into the coolant when they're on their way out?

However I've also noticed how important it is to use Mercedes original antifreeze and thankfully I did when I changed the coolant. Does anyone know if the antifreeze that Euro sell advertised as "made to manufacturer's specifications" is actually identical to Mercedes antifreeze, or should I go to the main dealer for this?

Thanks

Mehmet

 

[Dieselman]

However I've also noticed how important it is to use Mercedes original antifreeze and thankfully I did when I changed the coolant. Thanks

Mehmet

Why is this so important? It only offers the same corrosion resistance as other products.
Certainly onoe of my local dealers doesn't use MB genuine antifreeze.
Stick with a quality brand rated for four years, change at two years and it won't corrode.

 

[Brabus 300E 3.6]

this is so important because the Org. BEHR Radiator isn´t reinforced at the indlet, it´s made of plastic, therefore some non MB-coolant will eat it up and make the system leak.
That is a comman knowlage at the BEHR radiators on the W126 as far as i have been told
i know this post is posted long time ago, but better late than out.

 

[Brabus 300E 3.6]

it´s not the quality of the brand your using it´s the knowlage of what kind of different oil mixture they are putting in the antifreez coolant. some of the quality brands are certainly made with the plastic eating oil mixture.
It dossent happen over night, therefore you can´t say some have good experince with a non MB coolant, because they have to have the experiance over a 10 year periode in some casses, before you will see the resalut of a wrong coolant.

Well i have been talking to much all ready

 

[Gollom]

Hi! Would be niice to see some pics of your Brabus 300E!

 

[grober]

Eurocarparts used to use FEBI Bilstein antifreeze I think? see http://www.febi.com/index.php?lang=en&pg=http://www.febi.com/main.php?lang=en

 

[Satch]

This is a bit of a minefield:

IAT, or Inorganic Additive Technology, is the traditional green or blue coolant found in most older vehicles. This solution offers fast-acting corrosion protection, although the additives are quickly consumed, exposing the cooling system to possible corrosion problems if not changed regularly.

OAT, or Organic Acid Technology, is the formula found in GM DEX-COOL and is usually the antifreeze/coolant of choice for VW and many Japanese/Asian vehicles. Toyota dye theirs red but it can also come in yellow or orange (thanks a bunch!) This formula is engineered to offer long-life corrosion protection. The downside of OAT is it is not compatible with other types of coolant (IAT and HOAT). In fact, Ford, DaimlerChrysler and others say not to use this type of coolant in their newer models.

HOAT, or Hybrid Organic Acid Technology, is found in newer Ford, Daimler Chrysler and Mercedes vehicles. HOAT is a very protective, long-life coolant.

But sadly the attempts at deciding what is what just by colour coding can be a disaster. Find the spec for your car and make sure what you are going to top up with is the right stuff!

There is no "one size fits all" solution that is approved for use in all cars.

As an example this shows the range of Valvoline products and their applications:

http://www.valvoline.com/zerex/pdf/Zerex_CoolantChart.pdf

 

[kth286]

All

Always the ph balanced Merc coolant AND soft water.

Regards

 

[Vlad]

I second that....MB Coolant has a neutral PH level and therefore does not attack the plastic found within the coolant system.

For the sake of a couple of extra £'s I think its worth the piece of mind

I know that there is a lot of debate about this and the potential of lining the coffers of MB for no good reason, but a lot of people out there are convinced of the arguement and my local Indi won't entertain anything other than MB Coolant.

Re the radiator side of things, I found the Nissen radiator offered by Euro to be good quality and it fitted no problem.

Saying that the pattern electrical parts they sell are Sh**e......nothing fits....had to buy a new distributor cap and rotor for my fathers elderly Polo yesterday and the cap was a very poor standard and did not fit properly despite looking the same....its only when you look closely that a lot of the mouldings on the cap were very poor and the rotor was appalling...I should have known better as I've been caught out by their poor reproduction electrical stuff before

 

[big x]

Poor quality antifreeze with high phosphate and low glycol seems to be mainly an American problem.The situation is similar to that of the poor quality (read cheap) US engine oils that could not last extended drain intervals and gummed up wrecking Lexus and other hi-tech engines.
I wouldn't mix different antifreezes.If you have MB coolent continue to use it.I guess the blue long life MB stuff is made by Febi ?

adam

 

[Btbuk]

Just changed coolant. I have bought it from MB dealer. Dealer saying that they use only one type of antifreeze in all of their vehicles. The colour of that one is green, so I don't really understand where red, orange, amber or even blue came from? As I have seen in many post on forum UK & US.. Or dealer is cheating?

 

[jaymanek]

We buy the dealer stuff and its blue

 

[Btbuk]

This is the stuff I got:
http://i1078.photobucket.com/albums/w500/btbuk/02e24820.jpg
http://i1078.photobucket.com/albums/w500/btbuk/6a3be0f0.jpg
I will pour a little bit out and make a picture, cos I might be color-blind, but looks green to me.

 

[Btbuk]

This is the stuff I got:
http://i1078.photobucket.com/albums/w500/btbuk/02e24820.jpg
http://i1078.photobucket.com/albums/w500/btbuk/6a3be0f0.jpg
I will pour a little bit out and make a picture, cos I might be color-blind, but looks green to me.

 

[renault12ts]

The point is...the colour does not matter.

 

[kth286]

It depends what year/generation vehicle you got.

Early cars before approx 2001 were short life coolant, and after that date (approx. as it was a phased-in programme) used the long life coolant.

The latter had a releasing device in the coolant bottle.

So VIN needs to be given to parts person, as engines and associated parts were engineered for the long life coolant.

 

[Btbuk]

I agree that colour is not matter, but if MB use only One type of coolant as I have been told by them, why I am getting green and other person blue especially in the same country (UK)?

The man from part dep. didn't won't the VIN not even no. plate. Basically he didn't want to know what model is it, cos they use ONLY one type of coolant in all of their cars! This are his words.. Hmm..