Volvo G-11

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JOD

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I'm doing a coolant flush on a friend's V70. Right now, I have no clue what's in there but it appears to be mostly water--so I'm not going to worry much about the original coolant, I'm just going to flush the system.

Can G-05 be used as a substitute for this stuff, or should I just have him pick up the G-11. O'Reilly's actually stocks Pentosin G-11, which is what was in the car originally (it's crazy expensive though, and given that the car is running on straight water now, seems like overkill). I seem to see conflicting things, and I seriously get a headache every time I read about coolants.

Seriously, does it really need to be this hard? Why are there 24 different coolant specs?
 
I've seen posts elsewhere and I believe also here about people who have substituted without issue. Personally, I think its debatable how similar they are. They both contain silicate and have similar pH, but G11 has no borates or nitrites and uses 2EHA as an organic acid while G05 has benzoate. Yes, understanding coolant is a huge PITA
 
Uggh....

OK, thanks. The Volvo dealer has the concentrate for $10.00 more than the G-05, so I'll just roll with that one. Agreed, all H-OAT's aren't necessarily the same, and I'm not in the mood to play amateur chemist. I'll just use the G-11 from Volvo.

It's been hilarious reading the vast mis-information online with respect to Volvo coolant: "it's just dyed G-05", "it's just dyed Prestone", "It's green, any green coolant will work", "it's blue, any blue coolant will work"... While it's certainly debatable just how much difference it makes when comparing differt H-OAT's and OAT's, I think this whole color thing just confuses the issue. I realize it's probably an attempt to make them easier to identify, but I don't think it's working...
 
Hello, It's old history to you now (6 weeks or so) but I read the Volvo boards religiously and everyone remotely familiar with Volvo (and Subaru and BMW) maintenance say to use the dealers stuff. The big questions come down to chemical compatability with the edges of gaskets which contact the coolant. I'll be doing my V70 shortly so I'mm off to the dealership. Kira
 
I gave up trying to really understand different coolants. For a once every 50K maintenance item, I just spring for the OEM coolants, for all my cars - a Volvo, 2 Hondas, and a Subaru.
 
Yeah, this is what I ended up doing as well. Thing is, I had some extra G-05 laying around, and the friend of mine doing the coolant swap is exceedingly cheap. In the end, I told him to run down to the dealer and just pick it up from them.

If it were my own car, I may have been tempted to give it a try (maybe). It seems there are some guys running G-05 w/o issue. What's gonna happen, the heater core is going to go bad in your V70!?!? That's gonna happen anyway... But yeah, eventually it's easier just to buy the mfg-recommended coolant rather than trying to figure out the 2398 different coolants on the market.
 
Originally Posted By: JOD
Can G-05 be used as a substitute for this stuff, or should I just have him pick up the G-11. O'Reilly's actually stocks Pentosin G-11, which is what was in the car originally (it's crazy expensive though, and given that the car is running on straight water now, seems like overkill). I seem to see conflicting things, and I seriously get a headache every time I read about coolants.

Seriously, does it really need to be this hard? Why are there 24 different coolant specs?


When you see "G 11" think "Glysantin 11". BASF in Germany is the leading producer of coolants in Europe and licenses Ashland (Zerex) in the USA for some of its formulas.

“G 11” is a former spec of what is now “G 48”, which is what BASF recommends for your application.

G 48 is a HOAT free of nitrites, amines, and phosphates.

G 05 is a HOAT with nitrites but free of amines and phosphates. This makes it suitable for diesels.

The pH on G 48 is in the 7.1 – 7.3 range, while on G 05 it is in the 6.0 – 7.0 range.

G 05 shows slightly better results in the ASTM D 2570 Simulated Service Test.

The reason for G 48 is European environmental laws, which discourages the use of nitrite containing coolants. BASF indicates G 48 meets the requirements of Volvo Car: 1286083 Issue 002 and Volvo Trucks built up until 2005. However, both G 48 and G 05 meet the same Mercedes Benz 325.0 spec and are considered interchangeable for MB.

In the US Zerex markets G 05 at retail and G 48 in bulk only under BASF license. Zerex recommends G 05 for your application.

BASF Glysantin overview:

Glysantin Overview

BASF G 48 specs:

G 48 Specs

BASF G 05 specs:

G 05 Specs
 
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