DIY maintenance work

[SLAMMED_C]

I dont think you really need to run the car hot so that the themostat is open befoe draining.. just open the drain plug and let it drain out that way.

Yes I do recommend to rreplace the thermostat, if its never been done and your car is a 1998 (as per your screen name) Id say do it, just to be on the safe side. they dont cost an absurd amout of money, and you will have the coolant removed anyway.

yes, you brought up a good point Marco.
Its a good idea to have your climate control set to defrost (max heat, to help bleed the complete cooling system) sorry I forgot to mention that.

[nokia8860]

Originally posted by SLAMMED_C


yes, you brought up a good point Marco.
Its a good idea to have your climate control set to defrost (max heat, to help bleed the complete cooling system) sorry I forgot to mention that.

same here forgot to mention you should do that as well as it opens up your heater core to let out the coolant in there as well.

oh btw while its tempting dont lick coolant off your fingers

[Denlasoul]

Originally posted by nokia8860
oh btw while its tempting dont lick coolant off your fingers

and if you do....it can give you an excuse to drink alot of alcohol (that the quick short term way to fight the effects if you arent close to a hopspital or dont know what to do).

[1998K]

Dear Friends saturday I've done the work, thanking again for all of your usefull info, please here below you'll find my comments and reply to your post:
1) no photo available, sorry (because camera not available)
2) I replaced about 5.5 l of coolant; 8.8 l should be the total, including the engine block that I didn't drained out as per your suggestion.
3) I've flushed the radiator and, because of some impurity in old coolant, I've filled up only with water, runned the engine till thermostat opened to clean also the engine block. Then I've discharged again the system when hot. So I can confirm that same amount of liquid came out independently of thermostat open or closed.
4) old coolant was yellowish, dealership told me that they used that kind of cooland previously. I hope that the ab. 3.5 l of old coolant is not a big problem, with the new blue coolant type.
5) after drained the coolant from the radiator I've opened the defroster and heating: further coolant drained out. So the suggestion has been well provided.
6) radiator plug have a round gasket a bit hardening, I'm concerning due to possible leakage. I do not refer to the two internal rubber gasket in the plastig plu, but to the external one on the base (above the cap-plug itself). Hope to be clear.
...

hope it's all, oh yes 1998 is the yaer but also the engine capacity.

Please comment item 4) and 6)

Thanks a lot

Marco

[1998K]

Up.

[nokia8860]

4) I feel you should be fine with your mixture, also you can change out the coolant again to rid yourself of the old coolant. It is almost like changing the transmission fluid where if you just drop the pan you only change so much but if you do it enough eventually all of it gets changed out.

6) where?

[1998K]

Hey nokia8860

4) since I've flushed, filled only with water and runned the engine for 5 min with thermostat open; then discharged again, I hope this shpuld be enough. Was looking only for your second opinion.

6) I refer to the red plastic plug at the base of the radiator (left side), yesterday there was a very little drop in way of the radiator plug itself. I have well dried into the radiator plug hole to see if it was some remaining after coolant draining.

Does the glicole tend to remain instead of water that evaporate more easily?

thanks

[nokia8860]

6) If you have dried it and then after a few days of driving you notice drops of coolant there then you might want to replace the seal.

[1998K]

Originally posted by nokia8860
6) If you have dried it and then after a few days of driving you notice drops of coolant there then you might want to replace the seal.

ok I'll check and inform you guys. thanks

[1998K]

Originally posted by nokia8860

6) where? [/B]

I've found the drawing of that part on http://www.importeccatalog.com/

in cooling system/radiator drain plug (part n.G1060-34117)

sorry I'm not able to post directly that picture.

[1998K]

Now after some day of driving (but only 100 Km done) it's all OK.

Hi

[nokia8860]

Originally posted by 1998K
Now after some day of driving (but only 100 Km done) it's all OK.

Hi

[714guy]

Wow i feel the love in this thread. almost like the good o' days

[1998K]

Originally posted by 714guy
Wow i feel the love in this thread. almost like the good o' days

:embarr:

[97Brabus]

Originally posted by fastmayte

u can get a oil filter cap tool from autozone. u know where the oil filter cap is right?

Is there a part number for the one at autozone? I am not sure if we have autozone in Washington...but will give it a shot if the 16 year old kid at the counter of any local parts store around here can understand what I am looking for. Last time I tried to pick one up I ended up buying 4 different kinds, none of which worked. Big pain in the arse! How much is it from MB?

Thanks!

[Denlasoul]

You can get one at Schuck's. It's only like a few bucks.

[jnolte]

Originally posted by 97Brabus
Is there a part number for the one at autozone? I am not sure if we have autozone in Washington...but will give it a shot if the 16 year old kid at the counter of any local parts store around here can understand what I am looking for. Last time I tried to pick one up I ended up buying 4 different kinds, none of which worked. Big pain in the arse! How much is it from MB?

Thanks!

i bought mine from barrier mercedes. 25 bucks what a rip!!

and it cracked the first day so i went back and they gave me another one for free, but i had to wait a week for it to be ordered.

2 weeks later i c one at schucks for like 7 bucks, damn!

[97Brabus]

Can I rent it from ya? LOL! I might just go buy one from Barrier on Monday, but if they are out I am gonna be thoroughly dissapointed cuz I wanna change my oil on Monday or Tuesday. It's about 1000 mi overdue! I called every part store around here and they are all retarded and either have no idea what I am talking about or just plain don't have it. Stupid oil filter!!!

[Denlasoul]

You going to be anywhere near downtown tomorrow or this week? I can let you use mine.

[chimchongdlight]

Hey so the washer you get with the oil filter goes on the 13mm bolt at the bottom of the pan?

[tcles]

oh damn. didn't see the italy part. hummm. can't go on with out walmart

I didn't even know walmart had ramps, I must investigate this.

I will vouch for how incredibly awesome having ramps are, I have a pair of old ramps that used to belong to my great grandpa (he's still alive, but luckily isn't driving ever since he crashed his caddy, still insisting to this day it was the other guy's fault. These ramps were for this caddy ) You will wind up using the ramps for just about everything that involves under-car except wheel/front suspension. They made my flex joints and engine mounts replacements much much easier. Especially those engine mounts since it frees up the jacks and jackstands. Just be very careful when putting it up on the ramps, I would not recommend doing it without another person to act as spotter, especially since sometimes a ramp will catch right away, sometimes it will get pushed just a little bit rather then let the wheel roll up since MBs are rear wheel drive.I have overshot on one side before and it will likely give you a heart attack. New ones may work better then mine since some of the rubber is worn on mine, but reguardless I'd suggest placing them on a rougher surface, a surface that is too smooth will almost certainly lead to more pushing then climbing. I've found that I HAVE to back my car into the carport to put it on the ramps, the cement in the carport is far too smooth and it is impossible to get enough friction to safely climb up the ramps, the instinct will be to gun it a little bit since the jolt will let you get up further due to the coefficent of friction being higher (like how you stop faster if your wheels are turning then if they lock up and allow a skid) but BE careful, it is easy to overshoot the ramps, I wouldn't even chance gunning it a little bit unless you have a spotter, that's how I overshot on the passenger side that one time.
Also I found that I have to jack my car up and kick the ramps in as much as I can then let it down so the bumper will clear, once the car is on the bottom of the ramps it is angled enough that there is barely clearence, but that beginning where there is the angle doesn't allow. I don't think the different bumpers on the non-AMG w202's give more clearance, but they might. Ramps with a more shallow angle would allow without jacking, but I don't know if it causes enough of an inconvience that I would personally trade that for the shorter height that the ramps would likely have as a result. Mine are a good foot high and though it gives quite a bit of room, I wouldn't be happy if it was any lower, especially for stuff in the back or around the transmission. Make sure you have cardboard, a roller board would be awesome, my back would appreciate it, but remember that it will reduce your space, so make sure you have it up on the ramps and think you can spare the extra room before going out and getting a roller board, but if you think you can, def get one, your back will thank you. Make sure you also have proper lighting for under car repairs, worklighs wont go under there very easily and hook lights are kinda a pain and both get it VERY hot under there. I recommend a magnet LED light and a headlamp for working under car. I have even had one that was both (light came off the headband and had a magnet).

I'm gonna check out these walmart ramps, might be worth it if they are a more shallow angle since it would be nice to not have to jack up the car if I'm doing work underneath closer to the front where the additional space isn't as needed.

Oh yeah, one last thing, make sure you have car stops, or at least big rocks or bricks to put behind the rear wheels, even when the car is all the way on the ramps and seems very well seated, it's better safe then sorry. You will probably get freaked out at first and want to place a jackstand under the car with you, but for me I got very confident of the integrity of the ramps and very annoyed with having to work around the jackstand and no longer use it, I usauly throw a spare tire under the side after the ramps so I have some protection if a catastrophic failure occurs. Of course my ramps are permanent angle-iron and non-adjustable, if your ramps have any kind of folding mechanism I would recommend the stand, you never know.
Safety first, you can always get a new car, but you can't get a new you, remember that ahead of time as the first instinct WILL be to place yourself in harms way to save the car if you have put a lot of DIY work into it Shoudda seen me clutching the engine lift for dear life in a bear hug when it collapsed during a cyl head pull.

Edit: and I am pretty sure there are autozones in Seattle, I'll ask my buddy that helps me work on my car where they are since he moved from there and did a lot of automotive work when he lived there. I do know he's commented many times about the crappyness of carquests up there since they are absolutely awesome down here and we go to them quite often.