Driving home from work I had to turn the radio down because of the awful music...turns out the noise was my pump. When I got home and shut the truck off I was able to grab ahold of the shaft coming from the pump and shake it around. I guess the bearings went bad. So 3 hours later I get the pump out.

I just hope it doesn't take longer to get back together. I had to make up a 'tool' to make up for the lack of a spanner wrench and I had to cut some wires going to the washer fluid tank because I couldn't pull the plug. Other than that and a few drops of blood I think its ok.

 

Be sure to use Hoat coolant or zerex g05.,otherwise you'll be doing the pump radiatior and few other items sooner than you would like.

 

What is wrong with the stuff that says I can add it to any color?

 

Might as well flush it. You can use any coolant mix you want. I used Prestone's Extended Life anti-freeze.

 

It was just flushed about 500 miles ago so I'm just going to put the stuff back in.

Also, I've done reading all over the internet about the different types of coolant and even some here. Not one person has actually come up with a logical explanation about using one color over the other. The best explanation I got was from Car talk. They said the stuff they put in cars now lasts longer and has better inhibitors than the old stuff. I don't plan on keeping the truck long enough to find out.

Also no one has had an explanation about the 'mix with any color' stuff being a bad idea. Someone on here said he put that stuff in his truck several years ago and have not had any problems.

 

The differnce isn't color, its the acidity and chemical composition. It's your truck do as you see fit. However using non Hoat coolant can kill your radiator, wear out incompatible seals and gaskets. Actually I have found several articles and forums on this subject as I wanted to know myself. My point of view is spend a few dollars now and save hundreds later. Now people may not have any trouble YET but then again no one has seen inside radiator core, the block, other gaskets.

 

There are many, many people who have used other brands of coolant with no issues at all. At least one of them did this over five years ago. That should be long enough to debunk any of the "gotta use this..." business.

 

I too have decided to not mess with perfecton. The HOAT coolant works extremely well. I did a coolant flush at around 80k and the coolant and radiator looked brand new. Not a spec of corrosion or any solids. You never see that with Dex Cool or traditional green antifreeze. I replaced it with the same HOAT coolant and distilled water. HOAT coolant is NOT hard to find unless you are lazy. It can be had all over the internet and any Dodge dealer can order it for you and have it the next day if they don't stock it. I keep a spare gallon on hand. Zerex G-05 meets the spec too. Considering how rare you need to do coolant changes, why use anything else?

 

There is TONS of information out there on the different types of coolant.
Here's the Cliff notes:
First and foremost, any type of coolant can be whatever color the MFG decides to color it, so do not go by color, only go by type.

There are three basic types of modern coolant, and they all contain an ethylene glycol base, water, dye and an additive package. Each type is referred to by the additive package it contains:

• Inorganic Acid Technology (IAT)
• Organic Acid Technology (OAT, also known as Dex-Cool)
• Hybrid Organic Acid Technology (HOAT, also known as formula G O-5)

IAT is almost always green, and is what most people would associate with "regular" coolant. It gets its name from the inorganic rust inhibitor package it contains, and has a rather high silicate content. The nature of this package causes it to break down as it performs its job of prohibiting rust, and as it is exposed to air and heat/cool cycles. This is why the coolant needs to be replaced so often. There are no longer any vehicle MFGs that use this coolant in their vehicles.

OAT on the other hand, contains no silicates, and inhibits rust using a purely organic package. OAT coolant is most widely used in the US by GM, and different formulations are used by many MFGs in Europe and Japan. This type of coolant is most often found in "closed" coolant systems where the entire system, including the overflow, is pressurized.

HOAT, as you may have guessed, is similar to OAT, except for that it also has silicates in it. This is seen by many as the best of both worlds, and Chrysler, Ford, Mercedes and BMW (among others) tend to agree. This type of coolant is most often used in "open" coolant systems that have non-pressurized overflows.


Here's where the arguments arise. Can you mix the different types? IAT and OAT cannot be mixed. Their rust inhibiting packages are just too different, and in some cases react to each other. Don't do it. HOAT can be added to either of the others with these caveats: 1) adding HOAT to IAT does not lengthen the service life of the IAT. You should still change it at the recommended IAT intervals. 2) Adding OAT to an "open" HOAT system has been known to cause build-up issues in the radiator and passages of some vehicles. Your best bet if you want to use a different type, is to completely flush the old type of coolant out before pouring the new in, as this rarely causes issues.

In conclusion, is there a "universal" coolant that can be added to any "color" that is already in your system? Absolutely not, and many coolant MFGs are being sued over such claims. You cannot have a coolant that meets both the silicate specs of IAT and the non-silicate specs of OAT at the same time. It cannot be done. As NV290 said, when it comes to any Chrysler vehicle from '02+, there is no reason not to use HOAT coolant. Valvoline Zerex G-05 is very popular, and the Chrysler MS-9769 is not much more expensive and available at pretty much any dealership. I changed mine a few days ago at around 60k, and it came out as clean and clear as the new stuff that went in.

 

Excellent post Brandon.

Many people have very flawed logic in that they believe if you do something you are not supposed to do and their is no obvious negative outcome that it's acceptable to do and that the people who told you that you were not supposed to (Whether it's an instruction manual or a person telling you) are wrong. But that is not the case. It's like Drunk Driving. Millions of people do it and have been doing it for years and have never crashed their car or hit anybody. But does that mean it's safe to do then? That the warnings about the risks are wrong? Cars are one of those things where people absolutley LOVE to ignore manufacturers reccomendations thinking that it's all nonsense.

Chrysler speced an excellent coolant. By far the best i have ever scene in the almost dozen cars i have owned. No, the coolant is not the cheapest on the market (But still not even double what conventional coolant costs and only about $5.00 more then Dex Cool) and no, it's not sold EVERYWHERE like most coolant. But considering it's something you would be changing completley once every 100,000 miles (which for many people is easily 5 years) their is no logical excuse not to use it. NONE. 99.9% of Chrysler dealers stock it since it's used in Hemi cars too and you can buy it online easily too. So why would you not use it? To do a complete coolant change using HOAT and have a spare gallon for any topping off through the years will cost you under $60.00. I should know, i did it recently. To do the same coolant change using Dex Cool will cost you around $43.00 and to use cheap Anti-Freeze will cost you $30.00. But if you think you are getting the same protection you are completley wrong. Like they say, you can save a few bucks now and pay a lot later, or pay a little more now and save a lot later. Your choice.