Duh! Dumped a gallon of washer fluid into coolant reservoir. (2016 Ram 1500)

[Lavictoire]

I know, I'm stupid. I got the truck last year (2016 Dodge Ram 1500 5.7 liter express quad cab)and so far I havent been under the hood much except changed the oil and filter (Royal Purple and replaced the fuel level sensor in the fuel tank) , You would think I could add washer fluid into the proper reservoir without screwing up. Anyway I dumped a gallon of rain x winter washer fluid into the radiator reservoir (which i guess needed checking too as it too was low,the coolant was at bottom of the dipstick.) Now what? I haven't driven it yet. I was thinking I can maybe drain the reservoir or try to pump it out? I'm not used to newer model cars.Normally I would leave it in there but from reading posts it seems the coolant has to be very specific and I worry this might cause problems. I did buy a "specific" gallon of coolant at autozone when i got the truck to have some coolant on hand to add. The guy looked up the type I need rather than the one kind fits all brands on the shelf. So i have a gallon of that at home. Anyone have any tips on draining it?

 

[Wild one]

I know, I'm stupid. I got the truck last year (2016 Dodge Ram 1500 5.7 liter express quad cab)and so far I havent been under the hood much except changed the oil and filter (Royal Purple and replaced the fuel level sensor in the fuel tank) , You would think I could add washer fluid into the proper reservoir without screwing up. Anyway I dumped a gallon of rain x winter washer fluid into the radiator reservoir (which i guess needed checking too as it too was low,the coolant was at bottom of the dipstick.) Now what? I haven't driven it yet. I was thinking I can maybe drain the reservoir or try to pump it out? I'm not used to newer model cars.Normally I would leave it in there but from reading posts it seems the coolant has to be very specific and I worry this might cause problems. I did buy a "specific" gallon of coolant at autozone when i got the truck to have some coolant on hand to add. The guy looked up the type I need rather than the one kind fits all brands on the shelf. So i have a gallon of that at home. Anyone have any tips on draining it?

If you haven't ran the truck you should be able to suck it out,or remove the bottle and drain it.BTW you might want to avoid Rain-X in your washer fluid bottle,it has a habit of messing with the sensor.Do a search on here,you'll find several posts about Rain-X and the issues it can cause,as it also has a rep of plugging your washer nozzles.

 

[Lavictoire]

Ok, thanks for the advice.

 

[tron67j]

Agree with above, you can take tank off and dump it back in to jug to see if you get it all back, as long as you haven't run engine.

If you did run engine or didn't get it all back, you should flush engine out fully and put in new recommended coolant at the right mix. It probably wouldn't hurt to do that anyway with age of vehicle and new to you issue of not knowing if someone else put something there that shouldn't be.

Also, use the right windshield solution for Rams, see the other discussions here and check your manual.

Good luck.

 

[GTyankee]

Anti Freeze ...............................
2013 & newer Rams all use MOPAR OAT Coolant

If you have not yet changed anti freeze since you bought the Ram
To me the truck is a mystery .........

rely on the color of the coolant

The very best MOPAR OAT Coolant is suppose to be good for 10 years
But is that coolant in your Ram
What ever is in there may be 7 years old

Coolants to me should never be mixed, like if HOAT & OAT are mixed, you could very well get a radiator full of GEL

I don't know if what Autozone sold you is compatible with what you currently have in your Coolant System

 

[Lavictoire]

Anti Freeze ...............................
2013 & newer Rams all use MOPAR OAT Coolant

If you have not yet changed anti freeze since you bought the Ram
To me the truck is a mystery .........

rely on the color of the coolant

The very best MOPAR OAT Coolant is suppose to be good for 10 years
But is that coolant in your Ram
What ever is in there may be 7 years old

Coolants to me should never be mixed, like if HOAT & OAT are mixed, you could very well get a radiator full of GEL

I don't know if what Autozone sold you is compatible with what you currently have in your Coolant System

The color of the coolant looks brownish. I havent run the truck yet. I need the truck for work tomorrow night and will be gone with it the next three days. Tomorrow during day I will either siphon it out or remove the bottle to drain it. I'll maybe dump in a minimum amount of autozone coolant for now but get a flush next week at the dealership. Anyone know how good a job the dealers do with a flush? I only say that because I expect they will replace the factory coolant. It would be hard to flush at home with the freezing temps and I dont want to have the old stuff to get rid of.

 

[GTyankee]

See if there is a specialty shop in your town, that only works on Automotive Radiators & Air Conditioning

They will do an excellent job & your coolant system will be almost new
Dealerships just do a quick job & it usually comes out good, but they don't seem to care as much
& the dealer charges more

 

[danielmid]

Turkey baster as much fluid out as possible, dump lots of distilled water in to reservoir until it runs clear liquid out of the top, turkey baster again back down to full cold level, drive it.

The small amount of pure distilled water in the reservoir shouldn't affect the overall balance of antifreeze in the system, it'll mix itself in over a few drive cycles.

 

[Wild one]

The color of the coolant looks brownish. I havent run the truck yet. I need the truck for work tomorrow night and will be gone with it the next three days. Tomorrow during day I will either siphon it out or remove the bottle to drain it. I'll maybe dump in a minimum amount of autozone coolant for now but get a flush next week at the dealership. Anyone know how good a job the dealers do with a flush? I only say that because I expect they will replace the factory coolant. It would be hard to flush at home with the freezing temps and I dont want to have the old stuff to get rid of.

You can run it with the overflow bottle empty with no issues. Overflow bottles have only been used since the late 60's,before that they weren't used.Instead of dumping in a non-compatiable anti-freeze you'd be better off leaving the overflow empty.

 

[pacofortacos]

The color of the coolant looks brownish. I havent run the truck yet. I need the truck for work tomorrow night and will be gone with it the next three days. Tomorrow during day I will either siphon it out or remove the bottle to drain it. I'll maybe dump in a minimum amount of autozone coolant for now but get a flush next week at the dealership. Anyone know how good a job the dealers do with a flush? I only say that because I expect they will replace the factory coolant. It would be hard to flush at home with the freezing temps and I dont want to have the old stuff to get rid of.

I would not do that, better to run a bit low on antifreeze than get washer fluid in the system.
Pull the tank and dump and flush it with water, final rinse with distilled water, fill with 50-50 mix of the correct antifreeze. Personally I just use Mopar antifreeze, that way you know it's the right type and you don't buy it that often.

Also, you cannot go by the color of the antifreeze any longer. It is a specific type of antifreeze.

Hard to say how good of a flush any place (dealer or not) will do, just go to a place that you trust to do a good coolant exchange (I personally don't like flushes and it seems I always lose a water pump afterwards - if using any chemical flush). Dealer should at least put the correct stuff back in - if using a side shop, maybe take the correct antifreeze to them. Don't want someone to put the "compatible with all types of antifreeze" stuff in your system.