Coolant colour change

[Silverbluemachine]

My indie will only use Merc parts for every thing and says that the blue coolant originally fitted to my 2005 CLK320 is no longer available following a water pump changeout.

So after 2x plain water flushes has now fitted Merc red coolant.

Should I be concerned or is this OK?

 

[m80]

It'll be ok.

 

[W1ghty]

Yes the blue coolant has been discontinued. Thanks for the heads up about the red coolant as an option I didn’t know that .
Is the red coolant 15 year life as well ?

 

[Trickythemerc]

I use Fricofrin DP and they have changed the colour. I was doing the thermostat and auxiliary water pump, when I tried to order a litre of coolant for topping up the colour had changed. Same spec just different colour.

 

[alecmascot]

Is the red coolant 15 year life as well ?

I believe only the initial factory fill is 15 years.

 

[Smiley]

What is the difference between factory fill and a subsequent change? It's the same fluid so should be another 15 years?

 

[ray_hennig]

Please, is pink backwards compatible with blue?

R

 

[tonysmb]

Yes the blue coolant has been discontinued. Thanks for the heads up about the red coolant as an option I didn’t know that .
Is the red coolant 15 year life as well ?

I can't say for all but our one (MB) with red coolant has a 10-year change schedule, the older blue/green one is 15-years.

 

[alecmascot]

What is the difference between factory fill and a subsequent change? It's the same fluid so should be another 15 years?

"Mercedes-Benz adopted an ingenious and
unique answer to this problem that allowed
the15-year/150,000-mile change interval to be
recommended starting in 2002: a packet of
silicate gel built into the coolant overflow tank.
Somewhat similar to the little envelopes of silica
that are used in the packaging of various products
as a desiccant, it serves as means of continuous
rejuvenation of the corrosion-protection qualities
of the antifreeze. Laboratory tests have shown
that even up to 15 years, most of the inhibitor
remains in the gel, still available to add protection."