radiator rust

[gju888]

hi everyone! can anyone tell me what i should do to prevent rusting of my radiator? i still have the original one installed in my car and i dont want to get caught in the middle on the road with high temp.  thanks!

[13B]

use Mercedes blue coolant.

[gju888]

thanks! would you know the ratio?

[WGB]

50:50.

I use Mercedes Blue 1.5 litre bottle to 1.5 litre distilled water.

Make sure all suspect hoses are replaced, leaks including waterpump seal are pressure tested, radiator cap is functional and holding pressure and if there is any doubt get the radiator cleaned out by rodding.

Flush out all old coolant including heater core with several flushes of clean water. Find out what the capacity of the cooling system of your car is supposed to be. Put in half that volume of Mercedes "Blue" coolant and then top up with distilled water and forget about it for several years.



Here is a picture of the total amount of M-B Blue needed for a 6.9 - not including all the distilled water I used for the flushing as in summer time my property runs on bore water and that wasn't going into my car

Bill

[gju888]

Thanks WGB! i hope i can buy that Mercedes blue here in the philippines!

[pez]

having your radiator re-cored is quite cheap. I took mine to a local radiator shop, where they removed the top & bottom tanks, threw away the 3 row factory core that had rotted out, and welded in a 4 row 'desert cooler' core. Cost me about $250, and it was well worth it - esp. since the only source worldwide for a new radiator was M-B Germany for $1400 USD.  They are truly a wear item, even with the correct colant mix.