2005 MERCEDES-BENZ ML500 coolant

257 Practical hints
What to do if …
Warning!
G
Driving when your engine is badly overheat-
ed can cause some fluids which may have
leaked into the engine compartment to
catch fire. You could be seriously burned.
Steam from an overheated engine can cause
serious burns and can occur just by opening
the engine hood. Stay away from the engine
if you see or hear steam coming from it.
Turn off the engine, get out of the vehicle
and do not stand near the vehicle until the
engine has cooled down.Warning!
G
Do not spill antifreeze on hot engine parts.
Antifreeze contains ethylene glycol which
may burn if it comes into contact with hot
engine parts. You can be seriously burned.
!Do not ignore the coolant warning
lamps. Extended driving with the sym-
bol displayed may cause serious engine
damage not covered by the
Mercedes-Benz Limited Warranty.
Do not drive without sufficient amount
of coolant. The engine will overheat,
causing major engine damage.

301 Technical data
Parts service
Warranty coverage
Identification labels
Layout of poly-V-belt drive
Engine
Rims and tires
Electrical system
Main Dimensions
Weights
Fuels, coolants, lubricants, etc.
Consumer information

305 Technical data
Layout of poly-V-belt drive
Layout of poly-V-belt drive
1Automatic belt tensioner
2Power steering pump
3Air conditioning compressor
4Crankshaft
5Coolant pump
6Generator (alternator)
7Idler pulley

312 Technical dataFuels, coolants, lubricants, etc.Capacities
Vehicle components and their respective
lubricants must match.Therefore only use products tested and
approved by Mercedes-Benz.Please refer to the Factory Approved
Service Products pamphlet, or inquire at
your Mercedes-Benz Light Truck Center.
Model
Capacity
Fuels, coolants, lubricants, etc.
Engine with oil filter
ML 350, ML 500
8.5 US qt (8.0 l)
Approved engine oils
Automatic transmis-
sion
9.0 US qt (8.5 l)
MB Automatic Transmission Oil
Transfer case
1.6 US qt (1.5 l)
(Dexron 3 or Dexron 2E)
Rear axle
1.3 US qt (1.25 l)
(Hypoid gear oil SAE 90, 85 W 90)
Front axle
1.2 US qt (1.1 l)
(Hypoid gear oil SAE 90)
Power steering
approx. 0.65 US qt (0.6 l)
MB Power Steering Fluid
Front wheel hubs
approx. 1.5oz (43g) each
High temperature roller bearing grease

313 Technical data
Fuels, coolants, lubricants, etc.
Model
Capacity
Fuels, coolants, lubricants, etc.
Cooling system
approx. 12.7 US qt (12.0 l)
MB Anticorrosion / Antifreeze
Fuel Tank
including a reserve of
ML 350, ML 500
22.0 US gal (83.0 l)
approx. 3.2 US gal (12.0 l)
Premium unleaded gasoline:
Minimum Posted Octane 91
(Avg.of96RON/86MON)
Air conditioning system
R-134a refrigerant and special PAG lubricant oil
(never R-12)
Windshield washer and
headlamp cleaning
system*
8.0 US qt (7.6 l)
MB Windshield Washer Concentrate
1
1Use MB Windshield Washer Concentrate “S” and water for temperatures above freezing or MB Windshield Washer Concentrate “S” and commercially available
premixed windshield washer solvent / antifreeze for temperatures below freezing. Follow suggested mixing ratios (page 319).

314 Technical dataFuels, coolants, lubricants, etc.Engine oils
Engine oils are specifically tested for their
suitability in our engines and durability for
our service intervals. Therefore, only use
approved engine oils and oil filters re-
quired for vehicles with Maintenance Sys-
tem (U.S. vehicles) or FSS (Canada
vehicles). For a listing of approved engine
oils and oil filters, refer to the Factory Ap-
proved Service Products pamphlet, or con-
tact an authorized Mercedes-Benz Light
Truck Center.
Using engine oils and oil filters of specifica-
tion other than those expressly required
for the Maintenance System
(U.S. vehicles) or FSS (Canada vehicles), or
changing of oil and oil filter at change inter-
vals longer than those called for by the
Maintenance System (U.S. vehicles) or
FSS (Canada vehicles) will result in engine
damage not covered by the
Mercedes-Benz Limited Warranty.Please follow Maintenance System
(U.S. vehicles) or FSS (Canada vehicles)
recommendations for schedulded oil
changes. Failure to do so could result in
engine damage not covered by the
Mercedes-Benz Limited Warranty.
Engine oil additives
Do not blend oil additives with engine oil.
They may damage the engine.
Damage or malfunctions resulting from
blending oil additives are not covered by
the Mercedes-Benz Limited Warranty.Air conditioning refrigerant
R-134a (HFC) refrigerant and special PAG
lubricating oil are used in the air condition-
ing system.
Never use R-12 (CFC) or mineral-based lu-
bricating oil. Otherwise damage to the
system will occur.
Brake fluid
During vehicle operation, the boiling point
of the brake fluid is continuously reduced
through the absorption of moisture from
the atmosphere. Under extremely strenu-
ous operating conditions, this moisture
content can lead to the formation of bub-
bles in the system, thus reducing the
system’s efficiency.
Therefore, the brake fluid must be
replaced every two years, preferably in the
spring.
Only brake fluid approved by
Mercedes-Benz is recommended. Your
authorized Mercedes-Benz Light Truck
Center will provide you with additional in-
formation.

315 Technical data
Fuels, coolants, lubricants, etc.
Premium unleaded gasoline
Fuel requirements
Only use premium unleaded fuel.

The octane number (posted at the
p um p) m us t be 91 mi n. It i s an a vera ge
of both the Research (R) octane num-
ber and the Motor (M) octane number:
(R+M) / 2). This is also known as the
ANTI-KNOCK INDEX.
Unleaded gasoline containing oxygenates
such as ethanol, IPA, IBA and TBA can be
used provided the ratio of any one of these
oxygenates to gasoline does not
exceed 10%; MTBE must not exceed 15%.
The ratio of methanol to gasoline must not
exceed 3% plus additional cosolvents.
Using mixtures of ethanol and methanol is
not allowed. Gasohol, which contains
10% ethanol and 90% unleaded gasoline,
can be used.
These blends must also meet all other fuel
requirements, such as resistance to spark
knock, boiling range, vapor pressure, etc.
Gasoline additives
A major concern among engine manufac-
turers is carbon build-up caused by gaso-
line. Mercedes-Benz recommends only the
use of quality gasoline containing additives
that prevent the build-up of carbon depos-
its.
After an extended period of using fuels
without such additives carbon deposits
can build up, especially on the intake
valves and in the combustion area, leading
to engine performance problems such as:

Warm-up hesitation


Unstable idle


Knocking / pinging


Misfire


Power loss
!To maintain the engine’s durability and
performance, premium unleaded gaso-
line must be used. If premium unleaded
is not available and low octane fuel is
used, follow these precautions:

Have the fuel tank only partially
filled with unleaded regular and fill
up with premium unleaded as soon
as possible.


Avoid full throttle driving and abrupt
acceleration.


Do not exceed an engine speed of
3000 rpm if the vehicle is loaded
with a light load such as two
persons and no luggage.


Do not exceed
2/3 of maximum
accelerator pedal position if the
vehicle is fully loaded or operating
in mountainous terrain.

316 Technical dataFuels, coolants, lubricants, etc.In areas where carbon deposits may be
encountered due to lack of availability of
gasolines which contain these additives,
Mercedes-Benz recommends the use of
additives approved by us for use on
Mercedes-Benz vehicles. Refer to Factory
Approved Service Products Pamphlet for a
listing of approved product(s). Follow
directions on product label.
Do not blend other specific fuel additives
with fuel. This only results in unnecessary
costs and may be harmful to the engine
operation.
Damage or malfunction resulting from
poor fuel quality or from blending addition-
al fuel additives other than those tested
and approved by us for use on
Mercedes-Benz vehicles listed in the Fac-
tory Approved Service Products Pamphlet
are not covered by the Mercedes-Benz
Limited Warranty.
Coolants
The engine coolant is a mixture of water
and anticorrosion / antifreeze, which
provides:

Corrosion protection


Freeze protection


Boiling protection (by increasing the
boiling point)
The cooling system was filled at the factory
with a coolant providing freeze protection
to approximately -35°F (-37°C) and corro-
sion protection.
If the antifreeze mixture is effective to
-22°F (-30°C), the boiling point of the cool-
ant in the pressurized cooling system is
reached at approximately 266°F (130°C).The coolant solution must be used year
round to provide the necessary corrosion
protection and increase boil-over protec-
tion. Refer to Maintenance Booklet for
replacement interval.
To provide important corrosion protection,
the solution must be at least 45%
anticorrosion / antifreeze (equivalent to
freeze protection to approx. - 22°F
[-30°C]). If you use a solution that is more
than 55% anticorrosion / antifreeze (freeze
protection to approx. - 49°F [-45°C]), the
engine temperature will increase due to
the lower heat transfer capability of the so-
lution. Therefore, do not use more than
this amount of anticorrosion / antifreeze.