Just finished flushing and refilling cooling system in my '98 S90. Following advises form brickborad gurus, I bought 1 gal of original Volvo coolant from my local dealer for $22 plus tax. Does anybody know if it possible to get this green (Volvo OEM) stuff for a considerably cheaper price???

Don't feel so bad. I just bought a gallon of that GM Orange stuff for my fiance's Yukon and it cost me about $20. Wasn't there talk about this stuff eating cooling systems? Boy...I hope so...trying to kill this beast...it's only got 25K miles on it and has had more problems than any of my Volvos with 10X that.

Anyway...my '92 965 hasn't had Volvo C in it since 1993. I just look for coolant that is specifically made for aluminum engines (phosphate free). I don't actually remember which brand is in there now...a little more expensive than Prestone, etc. but advertised that it was specifically for aluminum engines. I'm not completely sold on the theory that only Volvo C can be used...but it may be worth it not to rock the boat.

Lance

RK,

I visited the Phoenix Volvo dealer myself last week to purchase some coolant for my 960. Surprisingly enough I was told by the parts specialist it's okay to use any good high quality coolant as long as it's phosphate/ silicate free. He confirmed this one of his Service techs as well upon my request. I know Prestone, Zerex, etc make a AL friendly coolant, so I will probably go to Walmart and pick a good Anti-freeze, and use it it in a 50/50 mix with distilled H20. My problem though is: I can't find the drain plug on my 960. Any tips ??

Thanks,

Azeez.

1996 960 2.9 L Auto, 98,000 miles.

P.S. I am adding an ATF Cooler next weekend.

Nope: the Volvo OEM coolant is silicated; it is a variant of Glysantin by BASF. Brickboard advice seems to be that for the B6304 aluminum engine, the OEM coolant is highly recommended. Other RWD engines thrive on just about anything, but if you change make sure you flush ALL the old coolant out completely with fresh water and use distilled water for makeup. See the FAQ for more advice.

Thanks, Steve! I am doing a little research on BASF coolant and will post the results of my search on the brickboard soon. Here is what I found on one of BMW sites:

BASF makes two (2) european formula coolants. One is sold by VW, Audi, and Mercedes Dealers. The other is sold by BMW, Saab, and Volvo dealers. The reason for the phosphate free formula is basically two-fold:

(1) Cosmetics: Hard water reacts with phosphates in coolant to form scale deposits in overflow bottles. These deposits could form in other parts of the cooling system, causing blockage and overheating (see next part).

(2) Corrosion: Phosphates tend to aggravate any corrosion that might already be present with any aluminum parts in the cooling system. Aluminum Phosphate is formed, which is insoluble in the ethylene glycol solution of the coolant. The aluminum phosphate will tend to settle out in the cooler areas of the cooling system, causing blockage. This can cause overheating of the engine, which will accelerate the aluminum corrosion. In other words, the corrosion will tend to feed on itself until damage is done to the engine or the coolant is replaced (refreshing the inhibitors).

Engine coolant should be REPLACED every two (2) years to refresh the silicates and other corrosion inhibitors contained in the coolant.

Take off the splash pan. There is a tap with a hose fitting on the end on the right side of the engine block. There is also a similar (but plastic) tap on the lower right side of the radiator. At least this is what my 95 looks like.

How can you tell if the coolant is phosphate-free? On the bottles that I have checked, there is nothing mentioned about phosphate or the lack of it.

Slong,

Please check out the following link for more information on Prestone's Phosphate free claim about their coolant:

http://www.prestone.com/tips/page7.htm


The Prestone® Extended Life 5/150 Antifreeze/Coolant is P & Si03 free from what they say on their webpage. This is the one I am going to put in my own Volvo as soon as I can get the old coolant out. I feel that as long as it is a high quality coolant my Volvo will be okay. Here in Phoenix I wouldn't want to chance the reliability of my cooling sytem sprouting up radaiator leaks etc. Check out that link and let me know what you think.

Thanks for the tip bro! I 'll get under that thing tonight and see if I can find the drain plug.

Azeez