Mercedes-Benz 380 SL 1984, Owner'S Manual

Page: 81 / 89

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
protection to approx. —30° C/
—22° F. The red mark on the
temperature gauge in the instru­
ment cluster is matched to this
anti-corrosion/antifreeze-water
mixture (approx. boiling point
125° C/257° F). The protection
against corrosion is also ensured
by this mixture making it unneces­
sary 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
corrosion/antifreeze must be
34%, which gives anti-corrosion/
antifreeze protection down to
-2 0 ° C/—4° F.
If anti-corrosion/antifreeze is
temporarily 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 cm3/l) of a recommended corro­
sion 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 alumi­
nium components in motor vehicle
engines necessitates that anti­
corrosion/antifreeze/coolant used in
such engines be specifically formu­
lated to protect the aluminium
parts. (Failure to use such anti­
corrosion/antifreeze/coolant may
Fuels Coolants Lubricants etc.
result in a significantly shortened
service life.)
While there may be a number of
anti-corrosion/antifreeze/coolants
available which will provide the
required 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 its
resistance to cold. Repeat this
check during the cold spell. Regu­
lar testing of the anti-corrosion/
antifreeze concentration is carried
out only at each MERCEDES-BENZ
maintenance service.
Anti-corrosion/
Protects up to antifreeze
-2 0 ° C I
- 4° F J
-3 0 ° C j
- 2 2 ° F /
-40° C 1
-40° F j 6.50 1/6.9 US qt
4.50 1/4.8 US qt
5.50 1/5.8 US qt
(
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