guys l need your opinion on this, l am currently running PEAK life time coolant on my 850. on the coolant expansion tank, it says use volvo coolant. the question is,
Does that mean l only need to use volvo coolant only and also what kind of coolant do you guys use or recommend.
would using a wrong type of coolant cause corrosion or any kind of problem in the long run? thanks guys

 

Well you've opened the can of worms.

Every manufacturer will tell you to use their parts and only their parts or parts that meet their specification. You will almost never be able to find out what that specification is.

IMHO, peak, prestone, walmart or an auto parts "house brand" long life antifreeze is the way to go.
I try to buy 50/50 when it's on sale as you have to remember that 50% of what you are paying for is water. It's good De-ionized, De-mineralized water but still it's just water. If not I get straight antifreeze and forgive me but mix it with tap water. You should go to the store and get distilled water but I've always been too lazy.

I think the one Volvo uses, as in OEM would be Pentofrost. I know Oreillys can get it not sure of the other parts stores.

Don't pay any attention to the picture ........ ES6T just pointed out to me I posted the wrong picture. This is the "Red" fluid for Asian vehicles. Had I read the label I would have noticed that Now you know why I say the advise is free


For cooling system safety I tend to toss in a can of water pump lubricant or anti rust each year to keep the additives fresh. I'll go 5+ years on coolant.

 

sweet, thanks man your quick responds. l thought peak was safe but wasnt hundred percent sure. l will try and toss in lubricant during the summer just to be on the safe side. also why do l feel a slight vibration under my seat when the cooling fan turns on. kind of tells me it uses alot of power just to cool the engine

 

I run Peak 50/50, and have had no problems from it. I wouldn't worry if I were you.

 

thanks man. l am certain now about what am running. wanted to know your opinion on this because most of you are located down south and in a warm temperate zone.thanks

 

OEM is not the red "long life" stuff. It's G-05 (blue from Volvo, BMW and Mercedes). I won't go into the differences, there's plenty of info out there on the various coolants (IAT, OAT, HOAT)

 

I'm pretty sure Volvo doesn't really make any antifreeze the same way they don't make a "Volvo" battery. They have someone make it for them to a certain spec.

I think I came across it somewhere that the makers of Pentofrost are the makers of the stuff that gets put into a Volvo bottle and sold as the Volvo brand. Might have a slightly different formula and or a dye added. I have no idea what stock, OEM 1995 Volvo antifreeze looked like.



But it surely wouldn't be the first time I was wrong. ES6T, any idea who does make the stuff in the Volvo bottle ?? AND now I understand your comment I've never seen Pentosin make the red stuff and I was looking at the brand name instead of the label. I've had more than enough problems with their mineral oil and BMW brake systems (and stupid owners) !!

In any case the stuff the OP is using should protect his engine properly and function just fine.


OPPS >>>> just noticed I posted the wrong picture, that is the "RED" stuff in my reply above, Sorry.

THIS IS THE STUFF I WAS REFERRING TO ABOVE.

 

Your going to get lots of opinions on this one.

I am not knocking any brand. I will just say that I run Mopar antifreeze.

 

In 95, it was just plain old green ethylene glycol.

Not sure who makes it for Volvo, doesn't say on the bottle.

It does meet standard ASTM D3306. So any brand that meets that should be fine.

 

Why Mopar.

 

The question you should ask yourself is "why not?"



To each their own, but for me the Volvo coolant doesn't cost that much more than generic stuff. It can be purchased at the dealer or online from places like FCP for $25 or less. Sure, it's more expensive, but it's also blue and has a blue label on the bottle...

 

Its a fair question. When I was searching for an antifreeze I wanted something that would help in the event there was a head gasket problem. Dodge has struggled with head gaskets over the years so what they did was add a small amount of sodium silicate to their upper line antifreeze. Its supposed to head off problems before they become big problems. Its not contained in the lower brand they sell. As you know Volvo is no entry level contender when it comes to head gasket problems either. Since the Antifreeze is compatible with the system and it contains a preventative agent...why not. I have it in all my Volvos. Does it work? Dont know but I feel better.

 

For the record, the Volvo stuff contains silicates as well.

 

Boxpin, I figured if you're running MOPAR fluid in your Volvo there was a good reason for it and I'm always looking for "better".

I'm running Type F in my automatic so I understand wanting to tinker with the norm.

 

boxpin where can l find this kind of coolant you posted above. does it really matter the kind of coolant you run that would cool your engine better? or coolant is just coolant?

 

The Mopar fluid would be available from any Chrysler or Dodge dealer. It's listed on Amazon and you can always:

Let me Bing that for you!

 

I use our local parts store (Repco) branded coolant concentrate, Mixed 50/50 with water. We get summers here that average 100F every day and I have had no problem with it at all. Had to replace the radiator last year though, after 17 years she just couldn't hold water anymore. Original radiator.

 

Why would anyone buy the 50/50 stuff? It costs about the same as the full stregth, an dyou get half as much. One time I bought the 50/50 because my car started leaking in the Walmart parking lot and I needed to put some in to get it home. I have kept that 50/50 bottle and now buy full strength and mix it 50/50 in the bottle marked 50/50. I use Prestone (Presonte).

 

People buy 50/50 because it's easy (they are lazy). That's the number one answer. They don't care that half of what they are buying is just water.

BUT it's very good water and much better for the cooling system in the long run for both cooling system performance and longevity of the components. It's De-ionized and has had all the minerals removed.
It's better than getting distilled water.

But distilled water if you're mixing it yourself is much better than tap water !!

Some people just see it's two or three dollars cheaper and grab it.

Some people come in with a leak or it's overheating and just need something to pour in to get them home and they normally don't touch a car under the hood and can't even begin to understand how to mix the coolant.

I'll buy it on sale as I appreciate the better water if I can spend about the same as if I bought the full strength stuff and mixed it. The problem with that is the full strength stuff is on sale too so I just try to compare it to the regular retail price. It's kind of how women think they've saved so much on shoes because they received the second pair at half off. Or maybe I just forgot to take my medication, not sure

I tried to explain to customers the difference and some got it and made a better choice for themselves, some their eyes just glazed over and some just blew me off and grabbed 50/50 because the idea of mixing it sounded like rocket science.

It's a crazy world out there

 

NO, that's not really the question because it's not made for a Volvo. It's not sold for a Volvo although it might meet Volvo's specifications. It's specifically made to meed MOPAR's requirements so someone as knowledgeable as Boxpin with a whole lot of expensive engine parts choosing it makes me wonder what's up his sleeve or if he just made a nightmare "storage wars" purchase of a locker full of MOPAR coolant he can't get rid of

I figure if he's using it there is an advantage and I'd like to know what that is. OR ... that there is something funny going on and I'd love to take a poke at him for using MOPAR in a Volvo.

And I'm not above tweaking something as I'm running Ford Type F in my automatic. I don't recommend it but so far it's worked fine for me for what I wanted.