Laurie - '94 480 GT - Racing Green Metallic

[Laurie945]

Just before regret follows explosion, is there a common parlance regarding coolant/antifreeze for the 480's?

After contacting my local dealer, the old part code for the genuine Volvo coolant ( 9437651 ) has been 'superceded' by the newer stuff, which is used in everything from the 240 to XC90.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but hasn't there been a lot of development and change in that time?

I've been part flushing and re-filling the expansion tank with Comma Super Coldmaster as a stop gap before I spend numerous hours flushing the old stuff away, as it's as universal as I could find, but I'm reluctant to buy the new Volvo antifreeze without exploring all options, as I'm pretty sure Volvo don't care as much about their 'historic' vehicles as we do.

Comma G48 (Glysantin G48) seems to be the stuff that Porsche, Saab, VW, Audi, Fiat, Ford and Jaguar (among many more) were using up until the mid-late 90's. There's an argument (and an approval by Glysantin) to say the new G64 is what the current genuine Volvo coolant is:

https://www.glysantin.com/global/de/pro ... oncentrate

I might be taking this a little too far, but before the engine blows up, and I have to fit a T5, or a K20 under the bonnet, can anyone with experience and knowledge cast a light on the coolant/antifreeze dilemma?

However much I enjoy looking at the car, I'd prefer it to be a tad more mobile than its miniature brother:

[Jay-Kay-Em]

My gold standard for all my pre-1995 cars...



Reality is, any old ethylene glycol (typically blue) will do, even the cheap(er) stuff from ECP.

Many things in 480 world are difficult. This doesn't need to be one of them.

(I had the same Matchbox 480 )

[Laurie945]

Excellent! G48 seemed to be the logical choice, but not one database would give any result. Thank you!

I was tempted to get another Matchbox to paint, but I really don't have that sort of spare time.

[MikeRobert]

Better than mine!!

[Laurie945]

Well, a few hours later, there's new coolant! I'd post a photo or two, but Flickr has gone berserk, so just a quick update (by the way, I'm extremely impressed by Jay-Kay-Em and the build!).

The drain plug on the radiator was blocked, so the bottom hose came off. I measured just over 5 litres come out, and being somewhat short equipped for anything more than bicycles, a healthy flush through from the top and a re-assembly followed by Comma G48 has the FAD running with some new coolant.

The gearbox oil leak is, annoying! I'm feeling like I'm getting one step closer to stripping the car for a totally new engine and box, but the purist within is holding on to the past.

The manual says 7 litres for coolant. Am I missing a trick here? Is there a drain from the engine block? I'm more than game for a second go. Best to be done right, and it's always fun learning

[Alan 480]

The gearbox oil leak is, annoying! I'm feeling like I'm getting one step closer to stripping the car for a totally new engine and box, but the purist within is holding on to the past.

it turned out that the leak on mine was from the main bellows where it joins the gearbox, removed , added a wee shim and squared up as installed it by holding drive shaft level although I wimped out on the diddy seal on the actual drive shaft (I can live with that dribble)