Durango Radiator Fluid
Tom Sutton
radiator fluid to my 2001 Durango so I go to the manual to look up what I
should use and it says that I should use the same as what is in the radiator
already. It gives me two choices, IAT which is green or HOAT which is
orange. My problem is that I can't really tell which color is in there now.
I pull out the radiator dipstick and it looks clear. I assume it is not
pure water because I have never added fluid since I bought it new. Is there
another way to know what kind of fluid is in the radiator and which one I
should be using?
Secondly, when I look at the antifreeze bottle I can't tell from the outside
of the antifreeze bottle what color is inside. How do I know which color is
inside the bottle?
Am I overanalyzing this or should I just go buy a bottle of Prestone and be
done with it.
Thanks for any help with this.
RedNeck TookOver Hell
>I pull out the radiator dipstick
Taking off the cap and looking inside isn't an option???
Dale Yonz
Xrgd9.9505$jG2.7...@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net, "Tom Sutton"
<tom.s...@worldnet.att.net> wrote:
Just get an antifreeze tester and suck some out and look what color it is,
better yet take it to a Dodge dealership
Like to see a picture of this dipstick
dale
cbhvac
Now...if hes looking at the washer jug...its got a floater in it..
"RedNeck TookOver Hell" <mopa...@aol.comedyhour> wrote in message
news:20020904011443...@mb-mw.aol.com...
Craig
Tranny fluid, and Power steering. My guess is you pulled the power
steering stick. Look in the overflow bottle and see what color the fluid
is. You may want to do a complete flush while your at it and then it
doesnt matter.
Craig
Philip Mc
dipstick for the radiator overflow tank. My 98 Dakota w/ 318 V-8 has one.
There is a yellow square plastic cover that you open to access the dipstick.
The black plastic dipstick has a row of small holes going down it that you
look to see if there is liquid in the hole when you pull it out. For what
its worth, I have no trouble seeing the green color in the holes when I
check mine.
"Craig" <brewer...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:3D764993...@yahoo.com...
S. Miller
My 2001 Dakota does have a dipstick in the coolant overflow tank, necessary
because the black plastic is opaque. The Durango is probably the same.
It is easy to tell that the OEM coolant color is green, but that does lead to
another question... Green coolant usually indicates an IAT additive package, but
the service manual clearly specifies that HOAT (orange) coolant should be used.
Conventional wisdom states that one should use the same coolant type as OEM, but
what should you do when that advice conflicts with instructions in the service
manual? If DC wants you to use HOAT, why do they supply the vehicle with IAT? I
asked this same question a while back but never got a meaningful response... does
anyone know for sure which coolant (IAT/green or HOAT/orange) should be used in
late model engines (in this case a 4.7L) ?
- Seth
Shannon
like the new ATF+4 will discolor after a while.
Contrary to popular belief, the orange and the green if mixed together will
not result in some sort of destruction to the vehicle. The orange is simply
a 50,000 mile (5 year) coolant, and the green is the 36,000 mile (3 year).
If you start with orange and add green, all you do is reduce the life
expectancy of the coolant.
"Tom Sutton" <tom.s...@worldnet.att.net> wrote in message
news:Xrgd9.9505$jG2.7...@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
Speeker
news:20020904011443...@mb-mw.aol.com...
>
My 2000 Dakota has a dipstick in the overflow tank
Jacob Suter
Please, go tell all the GM owners with heater core, water pump, head gasket,
etc etc etc failures that.
Unless you plan to chemical flush, don't mix antifreeze EVER. Unless of
course you're OK with the fact that the softer parts of your cooling system
may corrode away.
Fucked up part is I learned this from the ex-gf's 95 cavalier. 2 weeks
after purchase she wrecked it - shop filled with the green crap. Water pump
goes out at 25k (and just barely over the 36 month mark) - luckily the part
is cheap but a REAL BITCH to get at, but I managed to get it done - two
weeks later suddenly she needs a heater core.
This went round-n-round for over 20k miles and 3 heater cores. Finally
found out the problem - everyone kept putting in different antifreeze!
Bought the expensive bottle of flush from the GM dealer (the only stuff I've
found documented to clean out the crap properly) and refilled with the
orange stuff and put duct tape over the refill hole and went off with a
marks-a-lot on the bottle that warned if anyone put anything except orange
antifreeze in it they would die a horrible death.
JS
"Shannon" <shan...@citlink.net> wrote in message
news:undejoo...@corp.supernews.com...
Shannon
speaking to Dodge owners.
And, by the way, I did some checking, and found that the color of the
coolant should not change unless it has been contaminated or diluted or is
just plain dirty.
The color of the coolant will be hard to see on the dipstick, so I would
either drip some on to a white surface or shine a light into the reservoir
or radiator to see what it actually looks like.
"Jacob Suter" <jsu...@intra-nospam-star.net> wrote in message
news:10312101...@uranus.intrastar.net...
Jacob Suter
problem. Mixing orange and green antifreeze will cause a light acid to be
formed, which *will* promote electrolysis. This chemical reaction doesn't
really care what make/model car its occuring in :)
Of course, its perfectly safe with proper flushing - including a chemical
flush. Personally, I don't see this being worth it as I generally replace
my rubber parts (hoses, belt, inspect the water pump bearings while the belt
is off, etc) every 3 years, which would be well within the life-span of the
"green stuff".
Great part about antifreeze is its 100% recyclable. its far easier to "get
rid of" than used motor oil or brake fluid (nobody will touch brake fluid,
and I really hate the idea of letting this shit go off into the environment,
so I collect - and at about a gallon/year (I do brake system flushes yearly)
used, its definetly adding up quickly.
JS
"Shannon" <shan...@citlink.net> wrote in message
news:ung5nec...@corp.supernews.com...
cbhvac
Antifreeze is also the water pump lube...think about that for a second...
Your going to run tranny fluid in the oilpan? Hell..why not...they both are
oils..
"Shannon" <shan...@citlink.net> wrote in message
news:ung5nec...@corp.supernews.com...
DerangedDragon
<jsu...@intra-nospam-star.net> wrote:
>Well, its not like GM is the only vehicles out there that will have the
>problem. Mixing orange and green antifreeze will cause a light acid to be
>formed, which *will* promote electrolysis. This chemical reaction doesn't
>really care what make/model car its occuring in :)
>
>Of course, its perfectly safe with proper flushing - including a chemical
>flush. Personally, I don't see this being worth it as I generally replace
>my rubber parts (hoses, belt, inspect the water pump bearings while the belt
>is off, etc) every 3 years, which would be well within the life-span of the
>"green stuff".
>
>Great part about antifreeze is its 100% recyclable. its far easier to "get
>rid of" than used motor oil or brake fluid (nobody will touch brake fluid,
>and I really hate the idea of letting this shit go off into the environment,
>so I collect - and at about a gallon/year (I do brake system flushes yearly)
>used, its definetly adding up quickly.
>
>JS
>
If you are having problems getting rid of brake fluid, you could look
in the phone book for "Hazardous Waste" companies.
Surely there is someone in your area who deals in that stuff. If not,
then likely there is someone around who could point you in the right
direction.