New owner S60 2.5T AWD coolant question

[Sven60]

Hi All,

Just purchased a 2007 S60 2.5T AWD from a friend who had it factory serviced for everything except the radiator.(they were out of town when it leaked and took it to an independent import shop)

I've just replaced the Alternator and in order to remove it had to drain some coolant, which is green.

My question is, can I refill with Prestone green 50/50 as I'm going to take it to the Volvo dealer in a few days to have them flush and fill with the new factory blue coolant.

I realize this topic has been beat to death(I searched) but I don't want to accidentally mix the wrong coolants and clog up the engine.



Thanks in advance for your help!

David

[oragex]

How much coolant did you remove? If it's less than say 1qt and it's only for a few days, I'd just add distillate water - pharmacies sell these (ie Wallmart) or a hardware store. So you don't mix different coolants in there which may cause deposits.

If you insist on Prestone, look on the bottle for ethylene-glycol. But again, I won't take the chance to mix coolants even for a few days.

[Sven60]

Went a bit overboard draining guessing about a gallon.
I think I might dump the old stuff back in but strain it first to make sure no crap from the container gets into the system.

It was drained into a new oil drain pan that is sealed. I shook out some plastic pieces before draining the coolant into it. I was concerned about reusing the old coolant due to the potential pieces of plastic getting into the system.

I'd drain and flush myself but it's below freezing here.

Thanks!

[Rattnalle]

I'd go with water as well if it's just a few days and you don't think it'll freeze during that time. Either that or do the full flush yourself using whatever is convenient for you to use and top up with down the road. If you did the alternator you'll easily do a flush.

Edit: just noticed the below freezing part. I guess it's not that fun to lay on the ground. If the old stuff has been in a new clean container it sounds like to reasonable plan to reuse it after running it through a filter to remove larger particles.

[oragex]

Just filter it properly (a fine plastic tea filter mesh will do fine) and it should be no problem. A gallon of distillate water would dillute it too much if you have freezing temps in your area. Dont forget about burping, idle the car until the stat opens, refill the reservoir then let it cool down and refill again.

[Sven60]

Yeah it's nice that Volvo has the reservoir above the engine so that burping is easier. I've got the NAPA coolant funnel that I've used with my Jeeps to get air out of the cooling system.

Will filter and reuse the old coolant and top off with a little distilled water if it's a bit low. Then take to the Volvo dealer to have them flush and fill. This way I won't have to guess what coolant is in the system.

Thanks for all the inputs!