Mercedes-Benz 1985 380SE, Owner'S Manual

Page: 99 / 109

Fuels Coolants Lubricants etc.
Coolants
The engine coolant is a mixture of
water and anticorrosion/antifreeze,
which provides:
• corrosion protection
• freeze protection
• boiling protection (by increasing
the boiling point).
The cooling system was filled at the
factory with a coolant providing
freeze protection to —30° C/—22° F
and corrosion protection. The red
area of the temperature gauge is
matched to the heating properties of
this coolant solution.
The coolant solution must be used
year round to provide the necessary
corrosion protection and increase in
the boil-over protection. You should
have it replaced every 3 years.
To provide the important corrosion
protection, the solution must be at
least 33% anticorrosion/antifreeze
(equals a freeze protection to
—20° C/—4° F). If you use a solution
that is more than 55% anticorrosion/
antifreeze (freeze protection to
—40° C/—40° F), the engine temper­
ature will increase due to the lower
heat transfer capability of the solu­
tion. Therefore, do not use more
than this amount of anticorrosion/
antifreeze.
If the coolant level is low, water and
M-B anticorrosion/antifreeze should
be used to bring it up to the proper
level (have cooling system checked
for signs of leakage).
The water in the cooling system
must meet minimum requirements,
which are usually satisfied by normal
drinking water. If you are not sure
about the water quality, consult your
authorized MERCEDES-BENZ dealer.
Anticorrosion/antifreeze
Your vehicle contains a number of
aluminium parts. The use of alumi­
nium components in motor vehicle
engines necessitates that anticorro­
sion/antifreeze/coolant used in such
engines be specifically formulated to
protect the aluminium parts. (Failure
to use such anticorrosion/anti­
freeze/coolant may result in a signi­
ficantly shortened service life.)
While there may be a number of
anticorrosion/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 Anticorrosion/
Antifreeze Agent.
Before the start of the winter season
(or once a year in the hot southern
regions), you should have the anti­
corrosion/antifreeze concentration
checked. The coolant is also regu­
larly checked each time you bring
your vehicle to your authorized
MERCEDES-BENZ dealer for main­
tenance service.
500 SEL
__________ 380 SE 500 SEC
Anticorrosion/
Freeze antifreeze
protection liter/US qt___________
- 3 0 ° C 5.501/ 5.751/
-2 2 ° F 5.8 US qt 6.1 US qt
-4 0 ° C 6 .5 0 1/ 6 .7 5 1/
-4 0 ° F 6.9 US qt 7.1U S qt