Overheating

[Runaround]

What is the best brand radiator flush? I have an 07 Ram 5.7 that keeps overheating and I am pretty sure it is from a stopped up radiator.

 

[Snake15eyes1998]

Prestone has a good flush. A lot of flushes out there. I'm sure any one would do. But, can you give us some more detail on your situation? More detail and what you have checked.

Coolant level good?
System is burped/no air?
Checked fan clutch?
Check thermostat?

Have you felt/got a temperature reading of upper and lower hoses ? The top hose is gonna be hotter then F$$#. Bottom hose will be hot but not super hot. You will be able to feel a difference in temperature. That will give you some idea if your thermostat is working/radiator is clogged. If you haven't, I would still physically check your thermostat.

 

[Runaround]

I’m still working with and diagnosing this. I have checked the thermostat in a pot of water, it opens, the coolant level in the tank is good, both hoses are super hot, well too hot to hold, the fan clutch doesn’t spin super free. It has some resistance when turning. I would guess the air has been purged because I have filed the radiator and reservoir and driven the truck several times and not the reservoir it’s staying full. I am running Preston flush now and everything seems to be fine. I might have been getting bad readings from the sending unit, which I have not found. I will be driving the truck locally this week and will report back what it does.

Prestone has a good flush. A lot of flushes out there. I'm sure any one would do. But, can you give us some more detail on your situation? More detail and what you have checked.

Coolant level good?
System is burped/no air?
Checked fan clutch?
Check thermostat?

Have you felt/got a temperature reading of upper and lower hoses ? The top hose is gonna be hotter then F$$#. Bottom hose will be hot but not super hot. You will be able to feel a difference in temperature. That will give you some idea if your thermostat is working/radiator is clogged. If you haven't, I would still physically check your thermostat.

 

[Sherman Bird]

What is the best brand radiator flush? I have an 07 Ram 5.7 that keeps overheating and I am pretty sure it is from a stopped up radiator.

IF YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING...... Oxalic acid is the cat's MEOW! It used to be available in auto parts stores and came with a huge bag of baking soda and SPECIFIC instructions about properly neutralizing the acid after cleaning. It REALLY works! You have to flush the entire cooling system/ heater core at least 4 times with baking soda after using the acid to clean the system. But I've truly in 44 years of doing this professionally, never seen anything work as well. I used it on 2 vehicles where hapless customer added green over orange coolant on a 1997 Saturn and a 2002 RAM Quad cab 4.7L. Both systems turned into a peanut buttery goo.... NASTY! Afterwards, they both shone and worked like new. Had to replace both thermostats and caps due to the goo.

The only place I know of where oxalic acid can be gotten is either a hardware store or woodworking shop. The acid is used for distressing furniture finishes.... and requires a respirator and gloves when being handled.

 

[Firetruck41]

Rockauto has a radiator for as low as $72 for an 07 5.7. I would be tempted to put in a new one.

 

[Snake15eyes1998]

I’m still working with and diagnosing this. I have checked the thermostat in a pot of water, it opens, the coolant level in the tank is good, both hoses are super hot, well too hot to hold, the fan clutch doesn’t spin super free. It has some resistance when turning. I would guess the air has been purged because I have filed the radiator and reservoir and driven the truck several times and not the reservoir it’s staying full. I am running Preston flush now and everything seems to be fine. I might have been getting bad readings from the sending unit, which I have not found. I will be driving the truck locally this week and will report back what it does.

Hey!! Glad to read its ok now. Keep us posted man.

 

[Snake15eyes1998]

IF YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING...... Oxalic acid is the cat's MEOW! It used to be available in auto parts stores and came with a huge bag of baking soda and SPECIFIC instructions about properly neutralizing the acid after cleaning. It REALLY works! You have to flush the entire cooling system/ heater core at least 4 times with baking soda after using the acid to clean the system. But I've truly in 44 years of doing this professionally, never seen anything work as well. I used it on 2 vehicles where hapless customer added green over orange coolant on a 1997 Saturn and a 2002 RAM Quad cab 4.7L. Both systems turned into a peanut buttery goo.... NASTY! Afterwards, they both shone and worked like new. Had to replace both thermostats and caps due to the goo.

The only place I know of where oxalic acid can be gotten is either a hardware store or woodworking shop. The acid is used for distressing furniture finishes.... and requires a respirator and gloves when


I put green coolant over orange over 2 years ago in my truck now. It never turned into peanut butter looking goo. It looks weird, the color. But never turned into goo. I did the same thing on my 98 GMC. it had dex-cool in it, drained the radiator and it never went to goo. The fact that Prestone claims there green coolant can be added to any color,any make, any model. Is a very safe bet.. the goo days are gone. That just doesn't happen anymore, if it ever did. What does look like peanut butter though, which is probably what you're referring to. Is when oil mixes in with the coolant from a blown head gasket. Or an oil cooler that shares the radiator and they cross contaminate. that legitimately looks like peanut butter.

 

[Sherman Bird]

The "Green" coolant you used was/is a neutral "universal" coolant. The "Green" coolant I referred to was the old school formula (Ethylene glycol) that all cars once used. So, go ahead and buy the ethylene glycol and mix it with orange! IT AIN'T oil! Wasn't oil in the vehicles I referred to. Enjoy your peanut butter! Want strawberry jam with that?

 

[Snake15eyes1998]

The "Green" coolant you used was/is a neutral "universal" coolant. The "Green" coolant I referred to was the old school formula (Ethylene glycol) that all cars once used. So, go ahead and buy the ethylene glycol and mix it with orange! IT AIN'T oil! Wasn't oil in the vehicles I referred to. Enjoy your peanut butter! Want strawberry jam with that?

So, the old school coolant only had ethylene glycol? Or did it also have diethylene glycol? I'm looking at a bottle of prestone 50/50 green coolant. Its says it has ethylene glycol and diethylene glycol. What makes the new green coolant neutral?

 

[Sherman Bird]

So, the old school coolant only had ethylene glycol? Or did it also have diethylene glycol? I'm looking at a bottle of prestone 50/50 green coolant. Its says it has ethylene glycol and diethylene glycol. What makes the new green coolant neutral?

So, the old school coolant only had ethylene glycol? Or did it also have diethylene glycol? I'm looking at a bottle of prestone 50/50 green coolant. Its says it has ethylene glycol and diethylene glycol. What makes the new green coolant neutral?

So, the old school coolant only had ethylene glycol? Or did it also have diethylene glycol? I'm looking at a bottle of prestone 50/50 green coolant. Its says it has ethylene glycol and diethylene glycol. What makes the new green coolant neutral?

The additives in coolants are proprietary as to which and what kind of additived were/are added. There is a list of common additives...sodium silicate, disodium phosphate, sodium molybdate, sodium borate, denatonium benzoate, and dextrin.

Each manufacturer issues their coolant with a proprietary mixture... and won't divulge details. Some of these are not compatible... I think silicate and phosphate might be the 2 which form a thick gel (peanut butter) goo, but I do not know. They only have to list ingredients generically on the labels. I just went out and read labels on Purple (Porsche), Clear (BMW), DexCool, Dark Green Ford, old fashioned green coolant, Yellow GO5, Toyota Red and Pink, Asian Blue.... and confirmed that they are tight lipped about specifics. I do not use universal, so I was not able to read that label because I do not have any in stock.

Universal coolant might be propylene glycol.... I wouldn't care because I install what the manufacturer specifies for their application. I do not use universal because there is no way it can cover all the different applications. Original DexCool is for cast iron engines... there is a different Dexcool for aluminum cylinder heads or complete aluminum engines. Original DexCool is not compatible with a brass radiator or heater core.There is no way one coolant can cover all applications.

See? These are but a few examples of why mixing coolants or using anything other than factory specified coolant is a bad idea. Keep in mind, I work on cars for the long term. The 1998 Honda Accord which I mentioned in another thread, is only one example. I've known this car since it was new. I see long term effects of trying to outsmart the research and engineering divisions of the manufacturer all the time in failures that occurred much too soon..

Many screw-ups do not manifest themselves in the short term.... Most folks do not keep a car/truck long enough to know these caveats. So, when one of the fellas blows hard about how he did something other than to factory specs, but kept the vehicle only a few short years, how would he know if "the damned thing did just fine"?

In summation: Why would someone risk expensive failure on a 40 thousand+ dollar vehicle?
Keep in mind, that most parts employees at most chain stores have no clue about all the intricate details about making these risky changes.... they are order takers.

 

[Snake15eyes1998]

The additives in coolants are proprietary as to which and what kind of additived were/are added. There is a list of common additives...sodium silicate, disodium phosphate, sodium molybdate, sodium borate, denatonium benzoate, and dextrin.

Each manufacturer issues their coolant with a proprietary mixture... and won't divulge details. Some of these are not compatible... I think silicate and phosphate might be the 2 which form a thick gel (peanut butter) goo, but I do not know. They only have to list ingredients generically on the labels. I just went out and read labels on Purple (Porsche), Clear (BMW), DexCool, Dark Green Ford, old fashioned green coolant, Yellow GO5, Toyota Red and Pink, Asian Blue.... and confirmed that they are tight lipped about specifics. I do not use universal, so I was not able to read that label because I do not have any in stock.

Universal coolant might be propylene glycol.... I wouldn't care because I install what the manufacturer specifies for their application. I do not use universal because there is no way it can cover all the different applications. Original DexCool is for cast iron engines... there is a different Dexcool for aluminum cylinder heads or complete aluminum engines. Original DexCool is not compatible with a brass radiator or heater core.There is no way one coolant can cover all applications.

See? These are but a few examples of why mixing coolants or using anything other than factory specified coolant is a bad idea. Keep in mind, I work on cars for the long term. The 1998 Honda Accord which I mentioned in another thread, is only one example. I've known this car since it was new. I see long term effects of trying to outsmart the research and engineering divisions of the manufacturer all the time in failures that occurred much too soon..

Many screw-ups do not manifest themselves in the short term.... Most folks do not keep a car/truck long enough to know these caveats. So, when one of the fellas blows hard about how he did something other than to factory specs, but kept the vehicle only a few short years, how would he know if "the damned thing did just fine"?

In summation: Why would someone risk expensive failure on a 40 thousand+ dollar vehicle?
Keep in mind, that most parts employees at most chain stores have no clue about all the intricate details about making these risky changes.... they are order takers.

That was really well put. That actually makes a lot more sense about long term use vs short term. So, with that being said, should I drain the universal coolant I have and put in what Chrysler recommends? Or you think I will be fine with universal?

 

[Sherman Bird]

That was really well put. That actually makes a lot more sense about long term use vs short term. So, with that being said, should I drain the universal coolant I have and put in what Chrysler recommends? Or you think I will be fine with universal?

There is no way that the universal can be chemically correct for all applications. I only condone it's use in emergency situations. Get it out of your truck ASAP if you intend to keep the truck long term. Putting genuine MOPAR back in it is the first step to insuring a long trouble free life... also replace the radiator cap with a MOPAR one as well as a preventive step.

 

[grpht03ram]

Zerex G05 is compatible as well, but drain the old "universal" stuff out first.

 

[Sandevino]

If it were my truck, I’d run distilled water until I fixed the overheating problem. Distilled water is good in warm weather but not in cold as it will freeze.

It’s cheap at about $1 / gallon and perfect for finding and fixing issues.

When all issues are resolved, go with what the manufacturer recommended for that year.