Engine Coolants Are Not Created Equal

One of your coolant’s most important jobs is to help maintain the right temperature in your truck’s engine. But if you added additional antifreeze concentrate to your system last winter, you likely upset the balance of antifreeze / coolant in your engine. And that means your cooling system might not be prepared to handle the hotter temperatures of summer.

Follow these three key maintenance steps to prevent costly engine overheating repairs:
Always ensure proper coolant protection by using a refractometer. A refractometer is the most accurate way of determining coolant’s boiling point or freeze protection.
Be sure to use coolant rated with a freeze point of - 34 F and a boil point of 265 F, which can be achieved with a 50/50 ratio of coolant and distilled or de-ionized water.

Why is a 50/50 ratio so important? Because more extreme ratios can affect your engine’s heat exchange capabilities, putting additional stress on critical cooling system components such as the radiator, coolant pump, cylinder head, heater core, wet sleeve liner and thermostat.

Industry experts state a 70/30 ratio or higher can have detrimental effects, including:

• Poor heat transfer and overheating
• Higher freeze points / lower boil points
• Higher metal temperatures
• Additive precipitation
• Coolant pump leakage
• Slushing of antifreeze / coolant

And ratios of 30/70 ratios can have even worse effects, such as:

• Lower boiling points
• Increased incidences of liner pitting
• Metal corrosion
• Raised freezing point

Let the experienced service technicians at your local Volvo dealership test your coolant to be sure it’s got the right composition. Not only will they pinpoint the freeze / boil point with a refractometer, but they’ll also analyze the color, clarity, inhibitor levels and pH to be sure everything’s balanced correctly.

If they identify an issue, they may recommend a drain and fill with Volvo Extended Life Coolant (ELC). Specially formulated for today’s heavy-duty diesel engines, Volvo ELC ensures top performance and the longest service life – up to 750,000 miles.