What type of coolant for 2001 V70XC?

[sabbates]

What type of coolant should I use for my 2001 V70XC?

It is a little low.

[Astro14]

What's in there now?

[hoonk]

It is a little low.

The cooling system is a closed system - it should never get low - if it does there is a leak - I would recommend topping up with water (almost free) until you are sure that the leak is either very slow or fixed. (because what ever you put in will be thrown away when you fix the leak!) Then make sure the antifreeze concentration is ok. Match the color of the existing (probably the green stuff at this point) Newer Volvo's use the long life Blue coolant. The green will be fine in an old car, changed every 30-60k miles.

[Sierra]

I would recommend topping up with water (almost free) until you are sure that the leak is either very slow or fixed.


Make sure you only put in ONLY DISTILLED WATER -- Not anything out of your hose or tap.


Better yet- Just put in any 50/50 mix to see if it is leaking - and then change out from there.

[hoonk]

Make sure you only put in ONLY DISTILLED WATER -- Not anything out of your hose or tap.




Yes that's what I do when putting a $1000 water pump on a bmw using long life coolant, but we are talking about a 16 year old Volvo with a leaking cooling system where the existing who knows what's in there coolant with a few ounces of TAP water in it will be drained and thrown away shortly. [happy]

[vtl]

Make sure you only put in ONLY DISTILLED WATER -- Not anything out of your hose or tap.
Why so definitive? Maybe he has a reverse osmosis system installed at his house :)

[Reverend]

Why so definitive? Maybe he has a reverse osmosis system installed at his house :)

Because a reverse osmosis system doesn't produce distilled water, so you still have minerals that can wreak havoc on a cooling system. Particularly one where there's a leak and water could evaporate/leak out of.

Distilled only, like the man said.


Of course, if it's time to replace hoses and such, then it's a good time to flush/replace all the coolant. Double-check, but I think Zerex G0-5 should be good in that engine.

[vtl]

Because a reverse osmosis system doesn't produce distilled water, so you still have minerals that can wreak havoc on a cooling system. Particularly one where there's a leak and water could evaporate/leak out of.

Distilled only, like the man said.
It does not produce distilled water, because distilled water is what you get with a distiller, right? ;) Also distiller still allows ions and even particles to escape with steam flow, so medical distillers have at least 4 stages, meaning they are expensive, and such water is not sold at your CVS.

[Astro14]

Did the OP ever come back?

Or are we just talking to ourselves at this point?

The biggest question on a 15 year old car is: what did the last guy put in there? You've got no idea of the maintenance history, and while Zerex G-05 or Volvo Blue would be my preference for coolant in this engine, that recommendation does NO GOOD for a guy topping off a 15 year old car with unknown coolant. He might have regular green Prestone in there from a previous coolant change. Adding OAT coolant to that can cause real cooling system problems. Tap water is likely the least of his problems if the car has been improperly maintained, or completely neglected.

So, for the OP, to top off, add a bit of water. Tap water is fine.

Then, figure out what's in there...

[sabbates]

OP here.

I topped it off with distilled water.

The overflow reservoir has a pinhole leak in it, so I plan on replacing it.

I think the coolant currently in the car looks yellow.

What should be in the car, though? I can flush the system and add coolant. I just don't know what kind I should use.

[vtl]

Volvo greenish/bluish coolant. It is sold in a form of concentrate, so have your purified water ready to make 50/50 mix. It is not very expensive.

[Astro14]

If it's yellow, it might be the Zerex - which is actually a good choice. You should be able to top off with the Zerex...

If it were my car, I would drain the coolant, flush the system, and refill with the Volvo Blue when you do the reservoir. Then, there will be no question about what's in there.

[Xfingers]

Agree with Astro14. Info I've come across on this site is that Zerex G-05 is close to original Volvo coolant which I believe is a hybrid or "HOAT" based coolant (http://www.coolantexperts.com/coolant_overview/hybrid_coolant).
I flushed my old coolant last summer and replaced with Zerex and everything's been fine since. One gallon (NOT the premixed) was just enough for a 50-50 mix with distilled water.

[BillAileo]

Fully agree with Astro14 & Xfingers but just be sure you pay attention to that "G-05" description and use "Zerex G-05" and not one of the other of the Zerex products.

[vtl]

Because a reverse osmosis system doesn't produce distilled water, so you still have minerals that can wreak havoc on a cooling system. Particularly one where there's a leak and water could evaporate/leak out of.

Distilled only, like the man said.
So I bought a water hardness tester (needed one anyways for water softener adjustment), my tap water is 280 ppm, CVS "purified by distillation" water is 70, my drinking water from reverse osmosis is 17. Four times cleaner than distilled. As I said previously, you buy in CVS a one stage distilled water, which is not very pure.

[sabbates]

Is the Volvo blue coolant only available at the dealer?

[Oka]

Can the 2001 XC70 use the All Makes/All Models?