$1000 Coolant Change

[applepicker]

I am not a member and can not access pic. My deposits when dry look like wall joint compound and gritty, caukly
The Kubota dealer has never seen this type of coolant problem.

 

[grsthegreat]

man, a product that can cause that kind of damage if mixed with another similar product shouldnt even be allowed to be sold. it would be like mixing unleaded with supreme fuel would cause sludge to seize up your engine.

 

[tcartwri]

That's weird. I can see them without a membership. In the posts the deposits almost look like spray foam.

 

[applepicker]

That's weird. I can see them without a membership. In the posts the deposits almost look like spray foam.

Copy it and post here please.

 

[Chilly807]

Interesting article, particularly for Chrysler owners. The website for Fleet Charge makes no mention of either HOAT or OAT formulation, simply calls it an ethylene glycol based product. This reminds me of the early days of synthetic oils, when mixing with dino oils could be a disaster.
I picked up some extra coolant for my 2013 Ram a few months ago, the parts guy was very particular about asking the year and model, now I know why.

Sean

 

[the old grind]

I just had another radiator flushed & refilled with the 'long-life green' stuff which IS compatible with the other, older green glycol/silicate coolant. (IMO, using orange or purple just begs confusion by anyone topping up a system.)

The crud in the linked pics reminds me of what happens when fatigued (but not 'silicate'?) coolants lose additive strength and aluminum reacts galvanically to grow it on itself or migrate elsewhere. (Hey remember when the guy who pumped your gas and checked your oil trickled your coolant onto a refractometer to check its PH? How did that simple thing this ever get away from us??) Anyway, the non-green coolants are presumed to need less additive endurance to be aluminum-safe (galvanic corrosion) over their 'long life'.

It's hard to trust a flush to get all the old stuff out. It's also mind boggling that a pro shop's gear can vacuum a system with the engine running & not harm something somehow (overheat?). MSTB! (btw: Refill on my last one was 90%+ of 'rated' capacity & they let the chatty old guy watch close so I don't gobble all the 'complementary' donuts & drain the coffee pot. ) The OP is past all that now ( ), but I'd bet on a nice day a guy might wheel his rig out to a trailer and give a tractor a good go.

What if a service agent had switched coolants in practice (purple/orange) and not been aware of the potential issue when repeat customers showed up.

The stuff does NOT stay good as long as the color looks good. Changing it should be insurance vs a nightmare. (Accountability for the $$ over this?)

 

[tcartwri]

HOAT mixed with OAT damage.







Glycol and OAT

 

[murphy1244]

That's weird. I can see them without a membership. In the posts the deposits almost look like spray foam.

I see them too and I think you got it. I hope I'm wrong.

 

[tcartwri]

What if a service agent had switched coolants in practice (purple/orange) and not been aware of the potential issue when repeat customers showed up.

This is a huge deal now with the new RAMS 13's a 14's. Apparently the dealers were not even aware of the potential problems with mixing these coolants, and were adding the wrong coolant during the PDI. You WILL see a recall on this in the near future.

 

[texasjohn]

Now that's funny, right there!!

After 37 years of college teaching, I made a few but based on my experience, I do think they have the brains to do it.

 

[sandyc]

Ok, so "assuming" that the A/F used here was ethylene glycol based then the participate must be from a foreign material being introduced into the cooling system. A blown head gasket would be my guess or someone introduced something. The lab analysis would tell what was going on.
Fleet charge probably doesn't make their own A/F and buys it from a formulator/bottler (hopefully not from China) who either uses fleet's formula or their own with a customer spec'd dye. In reality, there could be a few formulators for any given brand for the same year.

 

[Chilly807]

It's also possible that there was a labeling error, although that happening is very unlikely. The one thing that makes me think there's an engine problem is that the OP used the same brand as before, PLUS he flushed the system until clear water was present.

If you mixed the two antifreeze types half and half, I'd say you'd have a serious problem. In this case, there would have been very little if any of the original coolant left in the system. You might see a few traces of odd looking coolant, not the crud he's described.

Sean

 

[dodge man]

There is another possibility, the OP mixed coolants by accident. I've done silly stuff before also.

 

[oldballs]

There is another possibility, the OP mixed coolants by accident. I've done silly stuff before also.

There are probably some threads on TBN titled...."Done My Dumbest Stuff Today".:confused3:

 

[DFB]

I ended up familiarizing myself with all these coolant differences not long ago when I R&R the water pump in my Dodge Durango after it started leaking. The kid at the auto parts counter insisted I take a one size fits all mixture when my owners manual clearly stated the Chrysler orange HOAT and to use no other formulation. This is all everybody uses he kept insisting. I had to get a manger he understood and they had to order the right stuff as they didn't stock it either.

There is so much about this out on the web

 

[texasjohn]

This whole thread makes my head hurt...
The op could not have been more careful, flush with distilled water and simple coolant replacement with same stuff causes problems:

$1000 repair required because radiator cannot be cleaned
maybe entire engine messed up
so many different kinds of antifreeze...mix em and you are messed up...or not ... amazing rainbow coolant colors...
the universal antifreeze doesn't work always
can't trust auto parts house salesmen
can't do what everybody else does
labels cannot be trusted
oill, or fuel or exhaust can get in your radiator
concentrations can be too high
draining coolant doesn't drain but maybe half of it.
coconut fiber can be in antifreeze
Even Chrysler has the problem...and dealers don't understand it..

As my grandmother said, "what's a body to do?"

 

[skyhook]

I think I seen a program once, where they showed Kubota plants pouring a "stop leak"
solution in the rads at the assembly plants as a safety precaution.
This one may have gotten a little too much.
I think the OP did everything normal, something else is at play here.

 

[aczlan]

I think I seen a program once, where they showed Kubota plants pouring a "stop leak"
solution in the rads at the assembly plants as a safety precaution.
This one may have gotten a little too much.
I think the OP did everything normal, something else is at play here.

Except that this wasn't the OEM coolant, this was at least the 2nd coolant change (per the OP).

Aaron Z

 

[HeLa]

OP: any idea when you'll have the results? this one's got my very curious!

 

[like2wheel]

FLUSHED with distilled water??