So I noticed that my coolant reservoir was getting a little low and thought that I would top it off. I have a 2013 JK and checked the manual to see what coolant is recommended. After researching, I found that it changed from the previous 2012 that called for HOAT coolant to an OAT coolant. Research also taught me that the HOAT is an orangish/redish color but the 2013+ OAT is a purpleish color. After careful inspection I am convinced that they put the wrong coolant in from the factory.
When I look down into the reservoir it definitely looks orange to me. Then I thought well maybe the shade of color is thrown off down in the bottom of the reservoir and it could possibly be purple but I don't think that's the case...nobody in their right mind would call it purple.
Can anyone confirm that some OAT in the bottom of the reservoir does in fact look purple and cannot be confused with an orange looking color? Also, if they did put the wrong coolant in from the start, should I completely drain the coolant and get some OAT in there asap?
Oh cool. Was it Mopar by any chance?...from what I read, the mopar OAT is purple. I'd hate to buy some and not be able to return it because I broke the seal to look at it. I guess you cannot mix the HOAT and OAT or sludge will build up in the radiator.
It's really tough to mistake the colors, my 08 Liberty coolant is orange, the 16 Rubicon is purple. It is very easy to tell, even by looking at the reservoir without even lifting the cap. Whatever you do don't mix them by mistake.
Yes I definitely do not want to mix them. My predicament is that if I buy Mopar OAT coolant (which is what my 2013 calls for) and it's purple than obviously I don't want to "top it off" with that since the stuff in there is orange. But...that also means that what is in there now is the older (2012 and under) coolant so should I completely drain it out and replace with the purple or just leave it and deal with the fact that it's down well below the "min" line in the reservoir? Have not added or changed any coolant in it's 40k mile life so I would have to assume it's Mopar coolant in there now.
I went back and forth for a long time with the manager of the service department at our local dealership when they topped off our 2013 JK one time with HOAT. He claimed that he called Chrysler headquarters and was told that early 2013 models that came off the line in 2012 were factory filled with HOAT. Ours was built in Dec., 2012.
After more arguing and corresponding with Customer Care, who backed up the service department manager's claim, I decided that I did not want to spend $200 for a lab test of whatever coolant was in there and I just had them do a complete flush and fill with OAT, at my expense.
Had the same thing with our 2013 now sold. The OAT started out as purple and then turned orange looking. Can't verify it but some say Chrysler dyed in-stock orange OAT purple so as not to confuse anyone before ordering purple OAT. I believe that the OAT used in Fiats was orange. More important is to look for sludge in the bottom of the overflow tank.
The purple coolant turns reddish/brown over time and also depends a lot on how the light hits the expansion tank. When in doubt, just use distilled water to top off. It is cheap and has a negligible effect on the overall coolant/water percentages.
Thank you everyone for the knowledge and info!...and thanks demarpaint for the detailed instructions on flushing the coolant. Think I'll just top her off with distilled water for now and maybe do a complete flush at the 5 year mark.
Some of the earlier 2013's had HOAT installed from the factory, but most 2013's use OAT.
When you look into the overflow bottle it will look orange. Take a cooking baster and suck some out and then you will see the real color.
Do not mix the two, because they are not compatible. If it is down just a little, you can add distilled water, but just remember that will effect both your freeze and boil over protection..FYI
This coolant nonsense is a mess, and I may be about to make it worse:
The cup on the left is what just came out of my '14, and the cup on the right is straight out of a bottle of Mopar 68163849AB OAT coolant:
What is the stuff on the left? It's definitely not orange, though it looks so from the radiator cap. It's more of a rose color. It should be OAT, being as this is a '14, but one of the head gaskets was replaced at 4200 miles, so I can't guarantee this is the factory stuff. It's probably a mix of what came from the factory and what the dealership added when the HG was replaced.
Have any of you seen known OAT coolant that was this color?
Oh, that is priceless! Everyone else has coolant, we have girly wine. uke:
I think we're fine, and all we're seeing is what happens to this stuff as it ages, and gets mixed with whatever crud FCA puts in these things to keep them from leaking 'till they've left the dealer lot. As I was buttoning mine up tonight and pouring the new sample back in the bottle, I saw a little tinge of this pinkish color in it, and when I held the coolant bottle up to a light, I could detect a hint of purple. Or was it lilac?
If your coolant bottle doesn't look like the bottom of a Dairy Queen blizzard machine tomorrow, I'll burp mine and see what happens.
Well you might be the Guinea pig on this one. My radiator will not get cool enough after getting home from work with enough light to burp it. LOL, it is like it is fighting me to stay too hot! My daily driver is sitting there leaking from the tail seal of the the Tcase. So it is sitting and I am driving the jk to work. I hope to burp it Monday now that I know I can't open the cap until almost 9pm after coming home from work.
I think you are right about the color. I think it gets so hot all the time it can't stay purple.
I just went thru thus last night. Found the stop leak gunk in the bottom of over flow. If you look down into the radiatir it oooks orange. Same if you lok down into the mopar bottle of coolant. If you look thru the coolant at an angle it is purple.
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