Coolants - Mercedes-Benz 450 SL 1980 Owner's Manual

Coolants

The coolant is a m ixture of water
and antifreeze. In production, the
cooling system is filled with an anti-
freeze-water m ixture offering protec­
tion to approx. -30 ° C /-22 °F . The
red mark on the temperature gauge
in the instrument cluster is matched
to this antifreeze-water m ixture
(approx. boiling point 125° C/
257° F). The protection against
corrosion is also ensured by this
m ixture making it unnecessary
to add a corrosion inhibitor.
The coolant remains in the cooling
system all year round and must be
renewed after 2 years at the latest.
If coolant has leaked from the cool­
ing system, replace the missing
quantity with water and a recom ­
mended brand of antifreeze.
For normal replenishment (due to
evaporation of water) plain water
w ill do.
The water should be clean, soft to
medium soft and contain a m ini­
mum amount of scale form ing
minerals (potable w ater quality).
The coolant m ixture should always
contain enough antifreeze to ensure
protection to a minimum of - 20° C/
-4 ° F.
If antifreeze is not available, add a
corrosion inhibitor to the cooling
w ater to ensure proper protection
against corrosion. To treat the cool­
ing water, do not use more than
1 % (10 cm3/l) of a recommended
corrosion inhibitor.
W ithout antifreeze in the cooling
system, the w ater already starts
boiling at approx. 118° C /224° F,
which means that the pointer of the
tem perature gauge in the instru­
ment cluster may still be below the
red mark.
Fuels Coolants Lubricants etc.
Antifreeze
Your vehicle contains a number of
aluminum parts. The use of alu­
minum com ponents in m otor
vehicle engines necessitates that
a n tifree ze /coo lan t used in such
engines be specifically form ulated
to protect the aluminum parts.
(Failure to use such antifreeze/
coolant may result in a significantly
shortened service life.)
While there may be a number of
antifreeze/coolants available which
w ill provide the requisite protection,
all such products have not been
tested for MERCEDES-BENZ
vehicles. The follow ing products,
however, are deemed suitable for
use in your car: MERCEDES-BENZ
Anti-Freeze and Summer Coolant.
Protection
up to_______ Antifreeze
-20 ° C 5.25 I
- 4° F 5.6 US qt
-3 0 ° C 6.75 I
-2 2 ° F 7.1 US qt
-4 0 ° C 7.75 I
-4 0 ° F 8.2 US qt
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