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

[jimboschnitz]

Lots of good recommendations here but let me add that although the recommended coolant is listed as lifetime, I believe the Mfg. recommendation is to still replace it after 5 years. I agree with GTyankee and you should take it to a good local radiator shop when you get a chance and have the system flushed and filled with the proper coolant.

 

[Dusty]

Lots of good recommendations here but let me add that although the recommended coolant is listed as lifetime, I believe the Mfg. recommendation is to still replace it after 5 years. I agree with GTyankee and you should take it to a good local radiator shop when you get a chance and have the system flushed and filled with the proper coolant.

The last bottle of the Mopar purple I saw did say "lifetime."

The DT (5th gen) service manual now says:

"Flush and replace the engine coolant at 10 years or 150,000 miles (240,000 km) whichever comes first."​

Regards,
Dusty
2019 Ram 1500 Billet Silver Quad Cab 2WD, 5.7 Hemi, 8HP75, 3.21 axle, 33-gallon fuel tank, factory dual exhaust, 18” wheels. Build date: 3 June 2018. Now at 84277 miles

 

[Brent 1955]

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.

Just be prepared for the low coolant light to come on because the sensor is in the bottom of it.

 

[Brent 1955]

Just be prepared for the low coolant light to come on because the sensor is in the bottom of it.

Frankly on my 2013 I flushed my system and replaced with orange colored antifreeze. I have over 585,000 miles on my truck with no issues. Just don't like paying those High prices that Ram dealers charge. I have aluminum radiators that I have upgraded on my truck to 4 core and just use an approved antifreeze for aluminum radiators. But that is me.

 

[VOwens]

DUH!! Well, I felt like an idiot yesterday when I dumped about 1 qt. of windshield washer fluid in the radiator overflow tank before I looked to the right and went...."Oh crap!!" After reading this post I feel like less of an idiot. I think the real idiot is the Ram engineer that decided to use the yellow caps with icons rather than words printed on them. Anyway, I undertook the mistake as a "journey of discovery" shall we say. I pulled out my hand vacuum pump and rigged up the capture container on it, taped a piece of clear hose to a brass welding rod so I could reach the very bottom of the tank and proceeded to suck it dry. Since I didn't run the truck after my unfortunate addition of windshield washer fluid, I feel pretty confident that I got it pretty much all back out.

Then came the question of what kind of coolant is this truck (2017 Ram 1500 5.7L Hemi) supposed to run vs. what might actually be in it? I asked that question because I bought it used a few years ago (who really knows what a previous owner did) and because I have Valvoline do my oil changes and it occurred to me that they occasionally squirt a bit of coolant into the overflow tank when they check everything over. I never thought much about that last part. So, I put a bit of the coolant I sucked out from down near the bottom realizing it was slightly dilute from the windshield washer fluid and put it in a clear container. Just based on color (had a slightly purple/pink tinge with orange highlights) I feel pretty confident saying it's probably the correct OAT coolant.

So, then I went over to the Ram dealer because there is no way I'm running anything but Mopar coolant and picked up a couple of gallons of concentrated coolant (MS-90032 P/N 68163848AB) and stopped at Safeway and got a couple of gallons of DI water. I brewed up a 2-gallon mix (i.e., 1-gal concentrated coolant and 1-gal DI water) and refilled the overflow tank with it. Turns out it only took about 0.7-gallons to get the tank to the "Max" line on the dipstick. I'll keep checking it as I run it over the next several days. Also decided that no more letting Valvoline put anything into that tank and am considering performing a full coolant system flush in the spring just because it feels like a good idea.

Oh, last thing....I'm going to put a piece of tape next to the radiator fill port with an arrow pointing to the right and the words, "WINDSHIELD WASHER FLUID GOES OVER THERE!" Nothing like wasting a morning with self-inflicted stupidity!!