posted by
someone claiming to be oldduke
on
Fri May 27 16:15 CST 2011 [ RELATED]
|
|
hi sages- going to drain some of the coolant on the 92 240. while it is clean and greenish it appears to be very diluted . testing the fluid only shows 1 of 5 balls floating. not so concerned about freeze protection here in south fla, but want more anti rust and water pump lubrication than this. specs say it is a 10qt system so it would need about 4-5 quarts of pure antifreeze. exhorbitantly priced volvo antifreeze has specs that say phosphate, nitrate and amins free. name brand permanent antifreezes (zerex, prestone, peak, etc) say the same thing and say safe for all engines and metals. planning to use one of them that is green. seems to be a range of conflicting opinions on this. am i thinking on the right track? thanks tons oldduke
|
|
-
|
|
|
find Zerex g05.. some napas have it, and grainger also can order it. Do a flush with a garden hose, and use only distilled water safe for small appliances when mixing. if you cant find g05 then use volvo brand dealership coolant. pricey, but the best you can get.
|
|
-
|
|
|
I've used the plain, yellow/green Ethylene Glycol stuff (Prestone, various house brands, etc.) in the family Volvos for a long time with no problems seen. If you change the stuff every 2-3 years it should be perfectly good. The anti-corrosion and anti-foaming, etc. additives get consumed over time - that's the main reason for changing. The gen Volvo stuff may be the champagne of antifreezes, but I'm kind of a beer guy.
By all means follow the advice below to give the system a good flush with some agent designed for the purpose. After rinsing out, pour in a 4 qt jug of pure antifreeze and fill with distilled water ($1.50/gal at Safeway). Too much mineral content and dissolved solids in most tap waters. This will get you a 40% (or so) concentration which will give freeze protection to around -15F and a fresh additive package. You'll have to up the dosage if you want to drive to Minnesota in January.
Please dispose of used EG properly - the stuff is extremely toxic to small animals and children, and they can be attracted by the sweet taste. A teaspoonful can kill a cat. In my province of BC, a law goes into effect this year requiring EG to incorporate a bittering agent to make it unpalatable to anyone or anything.
--
Bob: son's 81-GL, dtr's '94-940, my 83-DL, 89-745(V8) and 98-S90. Also 77-MGB and some old motorcycles.
|
|
-
|
|
There's nothing magical in antifreeze for the old 240. You were just running mostly tap water and it did fine, did it not? Volvos of this era are not picky about their antifreeze, not at all. So as far as your needing advice on antifreeze, my advice is "yes!"
Main thing you need to do, though, is flush *thoroughly* to get out any rust that may have formed when you were running mostly water. RUST is the main problem you will face on a previously neglected cooling system, and your main measures here should be to get rid of rust and scale and get that system squeaky clean before you add the new coolant.
|
|
-
|
|
|
Pretty much what he said. These are old, simple cars with nothing special in the cooling system. A 1992 Chevy Celebrity is exotic in comparison. Run a good quality modern green stuff with clean water, de-mineralized or such if you want. I buy it pre-mixed on the theory that I know the ratio is good and the water used is clean(also I'm lazy anymore).
Change it every year or two and it'll be fine. Or spend a bunch of money on stuff if you want to do something warm and fuzzy for the old car. I bought a few gallons of the dealer stuff the other day just for the heck of it. I've run G-05 in the past, it used to be orange, and it wept out of damn near every orifice on a previously fine cooling system leaving a powdery orange residue all over. Otherwise it seems to be a fine coolant, sorta slimy feeling. It used to be stocked at Auto Zone but it's been awhile since I bought any. The Mercedes guys like it, and are even more obsessive about coolant in 20+ year old cars than most hobbyists are. Just don't leave the stuff in there until the water pump wears out or a hose breaks and you HAVE to change it, and it'll be alright.
|
|
-
|
|
|
the pre-mixed stuff is a ripoff. you pay about $1 less for half of the coolant of a 100% coolant jug. water is free, or a buck if you wish to buy a distilled gallon. get twice the coolant for the same price and leave the 50/50 stuff to the people who don't know anything.
|
|
-
|
|
|
as I said, I'm lazy in my old age. I can afford a couple bucks to not have to stop and buy water and mix it. There is a fine line between a ripoff and paying for convenience. Now it would be a ripoff, if one could not still buy non-premix. I'm still waiting to see this happen, when it does I'll bitch and moan as well.
|
|
-
|
|
|
Wow, I'm surprised to hear about your experience with the fancy modern orange antifreeze, I will take note. Not that it ever would have occurred to me to run an exotic modern coolant in a classic car -- I have a bottle of that fancy modern stuff for my fancy modern BMW, but the good old Volvo gets good old Sierra and runs happily on it, forever. She's run Prestone and Zerex and Havoline and pretty much whatever's handy, really. Nearly half a million miles later she has yet to complain about any of them. I'm surprised the modern stuff didn't work!
|
|
-
|
|
|
Well it didn't not work exactly, and it was in a old VW diesel, but is for all practical purposes the same as a redblock as far as the cooling system. I ran it for awhile, it just wept everywhere for whatever reason. If I'd been dedicated I could have fixed it, but it was flushed and went back green when the head-gasket was done for an oil leak. I've pretty much stayed green ever since. My only complaint is the pre-mix Sierra or Peak or whatever I used in the 86 is such a light color it's hard to see in the nice new white coolant tank, have to stick a flashlight on the opposite side of it to check the level.
|
|
-
|
|
|
Many recommend Zerex G-05 as the best alternative to the dealer. I buy mine at Napa. I have never found it at any other chain auto parts stores (Pep Boys, Advance, AutoZone).
It is pale greenish yellow, for whatever that's worth. The Volvo stuff isn't traditional green, either, it's some sort of dark aquamarine.
john
--
1989 245 233K / 1993 945 127K
|
|
-
|
|
Hi,
Go to the dealer and bullshit with the parts tech, He’s a good friend to have.
Avoid the chemical nightmare of the auto parts store.
Goatman
|
|
-
posted by
someone claiming to be oldduke
on
Fri May 27 16:39 CST 2011 [ RELATED]
|
|
hello goat- are you saying the name brand green antifreezes even with the nitrate, phosphate and amins free properties are ng for the volvo? thanks oldduke
|
|
-
|
|
|
Duke,
Actually what I am saying is to go to the dealer and buy the factory antifreeze.
Also, use only distilled water. Corrosion took out one of my cylinder heads.
Goatman
|
|
-
|
|
|
I Use Prestone 50/50 mix.I change every 4 years. Every 2 years I put in the Prestone Anti-Rust Replenisher.I have had this car 20+ years & put on 133K+ miles so draw your own conclusions.
"82 244DL 4spd+OD 188K+ miles.
|
|
|
|
|
