How important is coolant antifreeze/water ratio ?

[green van man]

That 12.5 litre figure in the handbook is a misprint, I have it in mine and found the same problem, having baught 6 litres of Volvo coolent, ended up taking 2 back for a refund as no matter how hard I shook it the level just would not drtop enough to get anymore in.
Turned out the dealer was surprised I wanted 6 litres but assumed I was doing 2 cars.

If you added neat antifreeze then any water in the system is now 50/50 mix with the 4 litres you put in.

Paul.

[Tannaton]

Slightly off topic but challenges like this are another reason why these cars really should have had a temperature gauge....

[green van man]

Originally Posted by Tannaton

Slightly off topic but challenges like this are another reason why these cars really should have had a temperature gauge....

Fully agree, unfortunately have not found a way of fitting an aftermarket gauges unobtrusively. For preference I would go for a continuous reading mechanical gauge.

Paul.

[apersson850]

You can use an application like Torque on a phone, and connect to an OBDII interface to see the temperature. Maybe not for everyday viewing/driving, but for sure for special occasions like this one.

[green van man]

Originally Posted by apersson850

You can use an application like Torque on a phone, and connect to an OBDII interface to see the temperature. Maybe not for everyday viewing/driving, but for sure for special occasions like this one.

Agreed, but there must be a sensor there as the car throws a warning light if the engine overheats, so why in the name of God not fit a temp guage.

Paul.

[Semnoz]

Originally Posted by green van man

That 12.5 litre figure in the handbook is a misprint, I have it in mine and found the same problem, having baught 6 litres of Volvo coolent, ended up taking 2 back for a refund as no matter how hard I shook it the level just would not drtop enough to get anymore in.
Turned out the dealer was surprised I wanted 6 litres but assumed I was doing 2 cars.

If you added neat antifreeze then any water in the system is now 50/50 mix with the 4 litres you put in.

Paul.

Now that is interesting !
Various sources of information stated 12.5 litres, but I think people tend to pick up information from one another, and before you know it, everyone is saying the same thing (I'm possibly guilty of this too !).

Well, until I hear from someone official, e.g. someone at the Volvo factory, I'll have to make my own calculations [assumptions]:

Engine fully flushed through 5 times with water and driven. As much coolant drained as possible by removing main lower hose to radiator. By now, I've poured in about 4.4 litres of undiluted antifreeze coolant solution. So this could suggest the overall capacity, uncluding top-up reservoir, is about 9 litres.

Does anyone know if the fluid in the top-up reservoir gets circulated, or does it remain in place until there is a loss of fluid somewhere in the main coolant circuit ?

[cheshired5]

Originally Posted by Semnoz

Does anyone know if the fluid in the top-up reservoir gets circulated

Yes.
The circulation isn't as obvious as some other cooling systems but it's a circuit so all the coolant plays a part.

[bobitt]

Not a hard job just done mine (s60 2.4 2011) get Volvo spec anti freeze DARK GREEN 4/5 litres plus 5 litres of deionised water mix 50/50 using clean mixing jugs undo bottom drain plug with bucket ready to catch the old coolant undo expansion tank and fill with new coolant till you get the new stuff coming out of the drain then close the drain top up the expansion tank re fit cap run the car for 20 minutes then repeat the above process, using this method no air locks job done!