My used Ram has aftermarket coolant... What should I do?

[GRKN]

Flushing the heater core on my 09 1500 5.7, I ordered 2 gallons of Mopar 5 year HOAT to top off the coolant, which according to my findings is the correct coolant for the truck. I didn't think to look at what coolant was in the truck, now that I have it apart I see it's yellowish green... as I'm finding the previous owner didn't take very good care of this truck so I shouldn't have expected them to use the correct coolant.

Anyways, my problem now is what coolant do I add to top it off and what do I do afterwards? I've read on here you can't really flush the system 100%, at least not easily.

 

[Marmay]

Go to the nearest Ram dealer,get the proper coolant, flush the whole engine and fill up with the right coolant for the engine , year of build,good luck.

 

[EdGs]

I would drain, fill with distilled water, and run to temperature. Repeat until drained coolant is clear. Might take several drain and fills to achieve this.

Then drain one last time, but this time refill with Mopar concentrated coolant of the proper type. you should be very close to a 50/50 mix. Adjust as necessary.

 

[turkeybird56]

I would drain, fill with distilled water, and run to temperature. Repeat until drained coolant is clear. Might take several drain and fills to achieve this.

Then drain one last time, but this time refill with Mopar concentrated coolant of the proper type. you should be very close to a 50/50 mix. Adjust as necessary.

Heck, they even sell the Mopar Coolant as Concentrated or as a 50/50 premix now, lol. Talk about a rip off, hee hee.

 

[EdGs]

Heck, they even sell the Mopar Coolant as Concentrated or as a 50/50 premix now, lol. Talk about a rip off, hee hee.

I ALWAYS buy the concentrate

 

[GRKN]

I would drain, fill with distilled water, and run to temperature. Repeat until drained coolant is clear. Might take several drain and fills to achieve this.

Then drain one last time, but this time refill with Mopar concentrated coolant of the proper type. you should be very close to a 50/50 mix. Adjust as necessary.

Drain from where? Rad petcock?

 

[danielmid]

Drain from where? Rad petcock?

Yes.

 

[EdGs]

Drain from where? Rad petcock?

Yes. You will only get about 1/2 the coolant out each drain, so it will take a few times before it runs clear.

Dont forget the overflow as well.

 

[Brandon-w]

What's the big deal? If it's all one type of coolant it shouldn't matter, the universal stuff is just as good as factory. If it's mixed with two different kinds id worry about it. I run regular antifreeze with redline wetter than water addative and Havnt had a problem. I'm sure the only difference is proprietary garbage that comes Factory, I mean dodge has like 10 different kinds of coolant and half it can't be mixed....

 

[kurek]

I'd be more worried that they used hose water to mix the coolant, which neutralizes most or all of the anticorrosion additives in the coolant.
Get ten gallons of distilled water and do a couple flushes with that to get whatever's in there out. It's like 15 bucks, which is a lot cheaper than a heater core.

 

[06 Dodge]

Flushing the heater core on my 09 1500 5.7, I ordered 2 gallons of Mopar 5 year HOAT to top off the coolant, which according to my findings is the correct coolant for the truck. I didn't think to look at what coolant was in the truck, now that I have it apart I see it's yellowish green... as I'm finding the previous owner didn't take very good care of this truck so I shouldn't have expected them to use the correct coolant.

Anyways, my problem now is what coolant do I add to top it off and what do I do afterwards? I've read on here you can't really flush the system 100%, at least not easily.

Why pay top dollar for Mopar HOAT when you can buy Zerex GO5 concentrate for less $$, buy the distilled water to mix with it your self, btw I ran Zerex GO5 in my 06 Cummins Diesel that requires HOAT anti freeze so I know it will hold up & work well in your Hemi.. BTW you can buy Zerex GO5 in different colors, the color of the coolant makes no different so long as its HOAT...

 

[Wild one]

Drain from where? Rad petcock?

There are 2 block drains,that you can pull to help drain the block a bit better.The one on the drivers side i wouldn't worry about,as it's behind the starter,but you can get to the one on the pass side pretty easy.

 

[GRKN]

There are 2 block drains,that you can pull to help drain the block a bit better.The one on the drivers side i wouldn't worry about,as it's behind the starter,but you can get to the one on the pass side pretty easy.

So I heard, I should leave that one shut on the last fill then to get the 50/50 mix right?

 

[Wild one]

So I heard, I should leave that one shut on the last fill then to get the 50/50 mix right?

You will probably want to get it tested for strength if you do it that way just to be on the safe side for a Michigan winter. You can buy one of these testers to test the strength yourself.

https://www.amazon.com/Antifreeze-Refractometer-Measuring-Automobile-Condition/dp/B01CQVHTCW

https://www.amazon.ca/Antifreeze-Refractometer-Measuring-Automobile-Condition/dp/B01CQVHTCW

I have one of the original versions of this tester from the 80's,and still find it to be fairly accurate for testing the anti-freezes strength.

https://www.amazon.com/-/es/THE106-Thexton-Probador-anticongelante/dp/B0002SRDF0/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_pl_foot_top?ie=UTF8

 

[turkeybird56]

I ALWAYS buy the concentrate

I do also, cause when I got MY 19, of course they only had minimum fluids in it. So I added over a quart to the Overflow, made a total of two gallons, and gave 1/2 to my neighbor who had a MY 19 Lonestar, DT.