Antifreeze for a '95 Volvo 960

Nov 03, 2007 Last reply: 18 years ago 4 Replies

What antifreeze should I put into this thing? AIUI, they're somewhat fussy (the 2.5l aluminium straight-6) and the earlier 3l had an infamously poor reputation for block leak problems, whether caused by poor castings or by incorrect antifreeze.



Unipart have just given me the "They're all the same, guv" response. They also offered an OAT, which could have been made from oatmal for all the advice the guy in the shop could offer.



I'm loathe to go and buy Volvo's magic fluid, because I doubt very much if it's any better than many other equally comparable products -- but how to tell ? Is there any standard quality rating system for antifreeze? What is the Volvo stuff anyway, just a corrosion inhibited ethylene glycol with a low phosphate content?



Even my Bosch handbook seems quiet on antifreeze grading. Is a more recent edition (6th or 7th) any more informative?



Thanks for any advice


The Saab guys swear by Mercedes antifreeze. It's not super expensive and it plays nice with alloy engines. The 900 engine is prone to head gasket failure if you use the green stuff in it.

Seems to be some 'alchemy' surrounding antifreeze. Any good ethelene gylcol based stuff will do. Important thing is concentration and to change when specified.

I've heard bad things about the composition of the 'green' stuff (phosphates) but we don't get it in europe...

That certainly isn't true. Neat ethylene glycol might be a great antifreeze, but it's not a corrosion inhibitor.

Also a number of major car makers in the last 15 years have switched to "long life" coolants. Ford went with organic acids, others (including Volvo) found some variant of ethylene glycol. "Simple" ethylene glycols aren't a substitute for either.

Yes we do.

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