Coolants - Mercedes-Benz 380 SE 1984 Owner's Manual

Coolants

The coolant is a mixture of water
and anti-corrosion/antifreeze. In
production, the cooling system is
filled with an anti-corrosion/anti-
freeze-water mixture offering protec­
tion to approx. -30° C /-22° F. The
red mark on the temperature gauge
in the instrument cluster is matched
to this anti-corrosion/antifreeze-
water mixture (approx. boiling point
125° C/2570 F). The protection
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 anti-corrosion/anti­
freeze of a recommended brand.
For reasons of corrosion inhibition
the minimum proportion of anti-corro­
sion/antifreeze must be 34 %, which
gives anti-corrosion/antifreeze
protection down to -20° C/ -4° F.
If anti-corrosion/antifreeze is tempo­
rarily not available, add a corrosion
inhibitor to the cooling water to en­
sure proper protection against cor­
rosion. To treat the cooling water, do
not use more than 1 % (10 cm3/l) of
a recommended corrosion inhibitor.
Without anti-corrosion/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 instrument cluster may still be
below the red mark.
Driving the vehicle without anti­
corrosion/antifreeze should be done
only in emergency situations. Add
anti-corrosion/antifreeze as soon as
possible.
Anti-corrosion/Antifreeze
Your vehicle contains a number of
aluminium parts. The use of
aluminium components in motor
vehicle engines necessitates that
anti-corrosion/antifreeze/coolant
used in such engines be specifically
formulated to protect the aluminium
parts. (Failure to use such anti­
corrosion/antifreeze/coolant may
result in a significantly shortened
service life.)
Fuels Coolants Lubricants etc.
While there may be a number of
anti-corrosion/antifreeze/coolants
available which will provide the
requisite protection, all such
products have not been tested for
MERCEDES-BENZ vehicles. The
following product, however, is
recommended for use in your car:
MERCEDES-BENZ Anti-Freeze and
Summer Coolant.
Prior to the onset of the cold season,
check the coolant for sufficient pro­
tection to prevent freezing. Repeat
this check during the cold spell.
Regular testing of the anti-corro­
sion/antifreeze concentration is
carried out only at each MERCEDES-
BENZ maintenance service.
500 SEL
380 SE 500 SEC
Anti-corrosion/
Protects antifreeze
up to_____ liter/US qt
-20° C 4.50 1/ 4.50 1/
- 4°F 4.8 US qt
4.8 US qt
-30° C 5.50 1/
5.75 1 /
-22° F 5.8 US qt
6.1 US qt
-40° C 6.50 1 / 6.75 1 /
-40° F
6.9 US qt 7.1 US qt