ATTENTION: Know Your Jeep JK Wrangler Coolants and Save Your Engine!

Thanks for the knowledge, this makes me reflect on when the dealership installed a new motor in my 08 rubi then had to fix the head. Then about 6 months later my jeep stated to over heat a lot causing me to have to replace the pump that was gummed up on the beach... lucky me that I was meaning to camp there

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Thanks for the write up, I will be going home and checking mine out as I had dealer service done in late december and I just noticed my fan running high the last week...:eek::doh::mad:
 
Thank you so much for this info!

Last summer i drove with some friends from Tennessee to Utah going Through Las Vegas in 2013 Chevrolet Cruze and we overheated in New Mexico. we were stranded for awhile until i was able to get to a gas station and buy extra coolant that held us over until we found a dealership that could assist with the issue (which ended up being the thermometer as well as no coolant). This has nothing to do with mixing coolants but has made me realize how shitty of a situation that was which makes it that more important to know what needs to be used on your vehicle.
 
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Thank you so much for this info!

Last summer i drove with some friends from Tennessee to Utah going Through Las Vegas in 2013 Chevrolet Cruze and we overheated in New Mexico. we were stranded for awhile until i was able to get to a gas station and buy extra coolant that held us over until we found a dealership that could assist with the issue (which ended up being the thermometer as well as no coolant). This has nothing to do with mixing coolants but has made me realize how shitty of a situation that was which makes it that more important to know what needs to be used on your vehicle.

Well, as I stated earlier, if you are stranded or something, add whatever coolant you want but as soon as you get back home, do a full thorough flush.
 
I have been hearing about waterless coolant. I believe it's from evanscooling. Anybody ever heard or used this stuff?
 
Cajun, In response to your post Evans Cooling does make a good water less coolant. However it does have a few things associated with it you may want to consider. First you vehicle has to be "converted" so to speak in order to use it. First you have to use their flush to remove as much of the old anti-freeze/water from the system. Second thing to consider, if by some chance your out on the trail or anywhere for that matter and you do have any cooling system related issues. You just can't add water if you have a leak. Water and the Evans coolant are not really compatible. You would need to carry extra Evans coolant in the event of any issues. If it is something you are considering check your warranty first.
 
Great thread! I just did my sixth oil change on my 2009 Sahara and was looking at flushing the coolant due to living in a hotter/humid climate. This little bit of insight will certainly be helpful. Thanks OP and subsequent commenters!

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Coolant

Hey guys, I haven't seen a thread like this here, so I would like to post it up...if the higher powers find it useful enough, I think it should be a sticky, as a very innocent move can cause HAVOC on your entire cooling system/motor.....THIS IS BECOMING A VERY COMMON PROBLEM AND WILL ONLY GET WORSE...DEALERS DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING AND ARE JUST DUMPING IN WHATEVER COOLANT IS ON-HAND.

Ok, first thing is first...there are two types of coolants used on the JK....HOAT (Hybrid Organic Additive Technology,) and OAT (Organic Additive Technology.)

The first thing you need to tattoo in your brain is this.....THESE TWO COOLANTS DO NOT MIX, AND A CHEMICAL REACTION WILL CAUSE IT TO GEL (more on this later.)

JK's 2012 and down use HOAT coolant and 2013+ use OAT coolant. DO NOT COUNT ON THE DEALER KNOWING WHICH COOLANT YOUR RIG TAKES. CHANCES ARE THEY WILL PUT IN THE WRONG ONE, SO IF GETTING SERVICE, MAKE CERTAIN THE CORRECT COOLANT IS USED!

How to tell the difference...For whatever reason, chrysler doesnt label them as HOAT/OAT so you need to know the signs to make sure you are getting the correct one....

View attachment 60695

The first thing you are going to notice is the color....OAT (13+) is purple and HOAT (12-) is orange. The second thing you'll notice is that the HOAT coolant is rated for 5 years and 100K miles while the OAT is rated at 10 years 150K miles. The third thing you need to know is that the cap on the OAT is black while the cap on the HOAT is blue. The fourth thing you will know (not from the pic) is that OAT is priced like gold. It is $50-$60 a gallon (yes you read that right) so unless you have an emergency, buy it online, where it goes from $29 a gallon or so. If you go to the dealer to buy OAT, and the price is too cheap, they gave you the wrong one.

A little background on the color so that the next part makes sense to you guys....As we know, FIAT is with Chrysler now. Fiat has been using orange colored OAT for years. When Chrysler switched to OAT, they didn't want dealers/people getting confused, so to differentiate the new OAT coolant with the chrysler original orange HOAT, they added a purple dye. As a result, due to a weird light refraction, the purple OAT looks weird (even orange) when looked at certain angles. You can even pop open your radiator cap on your 14 and the coolant looks so orange you'd bet me your jeep that it's orange....but it isn't.

You saw the pic above, now compare it to this pic....(same purple OAT)
View attachment 60704

Don't believe me yet? Check this out...open the overflow bottle, and you might see this....
View attachment 60707

Orange? You would definitely bet me your PR44 that it's orange right?

Now lets take a pic by moving the lightsource and changing the angle....
View attachment 60709

Still think it's orange? ;)

The reason why it looks orange isn't too complicated...the actual coolant is Fiat's orange OAT with chrysler's added purple dye. When it is put into a container that isn't see-through or well lit, the sheen from the original orange coolant comes through which is why it looks orange on the surface. If you
suck a little out using a turkey baster, you will quickly see that it's purple. Think of it as a VERY ANNOYING optical illusion.

Now, why you should care....mixing the two yields to catastrophic results...if you catch it early enough, you may be able to squeak by with a quick and painful flush...however, if you run it for a little while (a month+) you can completely destroy your system by completely clogging it up.

This is what happens when you mix glycol based coolant (HOAT, 99% of coolant in stores, etc) with OAT....

View attachment 60711

The part number for OAT is 68163849AA

Here is a TSB from Chrysler:



To sum up....

If you own a 2012 and DOWN...you can run Chrysler HOAT coolant or any other Chrysler approved HOAT. There aren't many on the market, and the price is basically the same as chrysler's, so for warranty sake, run the OEM stuff. You need to make sure that if you buy from the dealer, you are getting HOAT coolant (blue cap, 100K mile, orange, $14 pricetag) and if the dealer is refilling yours for free, make SURE you tell them to use HOAT....OAT is your only kryptonite.

If you own a 2013 and up, you MUST USE Chrysler OAT coolant. If you are out on the trail, and need to top off, use distilled water to limp you home, do NOT use coolant from your buddy's truck, etc. If you are the kind of wheeler that carries spare fluids, carry a bottle of OAT with you. If you absolutely MUST use glycol based coolant, flush it out ASAP as soon as you get back home, and refill with the correct coolant. When at the dealer purchasing, make sure you are walking home with the correct bottle (black cap, purple, 10 year 150K label and expensive) and if they are topping off, inform them that you want to make sure they use OAT coolant.


I hope this post helps some members along the way!

Dave

Due to the dealer putting green coolant and stop leak in my new jk, because he cracked the radiator...lol I now have a 2014 motor in my 2012 jk...so I really need to ask that magic question....

Great info thanks so much
 
Due to the dealer putting green coolant and stop leak in my new jk, because he cracked the radiator...lol I now have a 2014 motor in my 2012 jk...so I really need to ask that magic question....

Great info thanks so much

Times 2. I have a 2012 with a 2014 engine. Stick with the 2012 recommendations?
 
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Been running hot lately so I decided to see what was up...
Pulled this outta the overfill tank..
Something tells me the last owner wasnt so cautious or didnt know.
I have an 08, and going by this post I should be Orange not Purple..
Honestly, do I have an issue here? I suppose I will add water for now til I get this figured out.
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Anyone got a easy way tp check if there is now gel in the motor as well, before I start taking things apart?
Radiator or hose be easier than the water pump for sure.
May just replace the pump and thermostat as well in all this. Not sure what else could be the problem really.
Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

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The anti freeze in the pic looks pretty clean. It's possible someone (dealer) my have flushed it and added the OAT after chasing the underlying overheating issue you're experiencing this summer.

How long have you had the '08?

c
 
I've had it going on 2yrs.. this yr traul riding (mud and woods)
Just started having over heat issues this yr.
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interesting. ty for explaining. won't be using cheap coolant from anywhere anymore. shes getting up there in mileage and I'm paying closer attn.
 
So for you '14 and some '13 year owners with the EVIC system.
What temps are you seeing? It seems my jk runs hot. 230+ if I'm off road going slow.
 
Damn inflation.

Update that price LOL.

I went to the dealer today and bought 2 gallons of the Black lid stuff. The dealer gave me the right one.. I paid 51.24 for the two gallons with tax.. Just FYI...
 
So for you '14 and some '13 year owners with the EVIC system.
What temps are you seeing? It seems my jk runs hot. 230+ if I'm off road going slow.

I have a '13 and run pretty hot on the trails. Not enough to make me stop but a lot higher than regular road driving.

Also just checked mine and it had orange 😳. Ugh, now whatImageUploadedByWAYALIFE1409501226.954306.jpg
 
Thanks for this info. Very good to know. I did so much research before I started shopping around and this is the first I heard of it. Just bought a used '09 and am freaking out, man! I havent seen any changes in engine temp on or off road so that is easing my mind. Good luck to the guys in here flushing engines I hope you caught it soon enough.
 
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