Coolants - Mercedes-Benz 380 SL Owner's Manual

Coolants

The coolant is a mixture of water
and antifreeze. In production, the
cooling system is filled with an
antifreeze-water mixture offering
protection to approx. -3 0 ° C/
-2 2 ° F. The red mark on the tem ­
perature gauge in the instrument
cluster is matched to this anti­
freeze-water mixture (approx. boil­
ing point 125° C/257° F), The pro­
tection against corrosion is also
ensured by this mixture making it
unnecessary to add a corrosion
inhibitor.
The coolant remains in the cooling
system all year long and must be
renewed after 3 years at the latest.
If coolant is lost, replace missing
quantity with water (potable water
quality) plus antifreeze of a recom­
mended brand.
For reasons of corrosion inhibition
the minimum proportion of
antifreeze must be 34%, which
gives antifreeze protection down to
-2 0 ° C /-4 ° F.
If antifreeze is not available, add a
corrosion inhibitor to the cooling
water to ensure proper protection
against corrosion. To treat the cool­
ing water, do not use more than
1% (10 cm 3/l) of a recommended
corrosion inhibitor.
W ithout antifreeze in the cooling
system, the water already starts
boiling at approx. 118° C /224° F,
which means that the pointer of the
temperature gauge in the in­
strum ent cluster may still be below
the red mark.
Antifreeze
Your vehicle contains a number of
aluminum parts. The use of alumi­
num com ponents in m otor vehicle
engines necessitates that anti­
freeze/coolant used in such engi­
nes be specifically formulated to
protect the aluminum parts. (Failure
to use such antifreeze/coolant may
result in a significantly shortened
service life.)
Fuels Coolants Lubricants etc.
While there may be a number of
antifreeze/coolants available which
will provide the requisite protection,
all such products have not been
tested for MERCEDES-BENZ vehic­
les. The following products, howe­
ver, are deemed suitable for use in
your car: MERCEDES-BENZ Anti-
Freeze and Summer Coolant.
Prior to the onset of the cold
season, check the coolant for its
resistance to cold. Repeat this
check during the cold spell. Regu­
lar testing of the antifreeze concen­
tration is carried out only at each
MERCEDES-BENZ maintenance
service.
Protects up to Antifreeze
-2 0 ° C \
4.50 1/4.7 US qt
- 4 °F J
-3 0 ° C \
5.50 1/5.8 US qt
-22°F J
-4 0 ° C 1
6.50 1/6.9 US qt
- 4 0 ° F J
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