2002 Dakota Coolant

[fraso]

I see that there have already been several topics about coolant for this vehicle but they're a few years old now. My 02 Dakota has a 3.9L engine and the owner's manual calls for a 5-Year HOAT, (Mopar PN 5011764AB). It appears that the previous owner did the last flush & fill in 2011 so it's obviously way overdue. I plan to do a citric acid flush before refilling with new coolant.

I have not been able to find any mention previously of Mopar PN 5011764AB so I don't know if it's been superseded by the latest Mopar-spec coolant. Since modern universal coolants all seem to be rated for at least 5 years, would it be safe to use a universal coolant? Prestone AF2100 is rated for 10 years while MotoMaster Long-Life Global Concentrated Anti-Freeze/Coolant is rated for 5 years.

 

[OilMagnate]

The popular answer would be yes, you can use a universal coolant. That's what their purpose is.

My answer is go get the readily available Zerex G-05, pay way less than the Mopar coolant (and possibly the universals depending on where you buy), and sleep soundly knowing it's an appropriate coolant. I'm very anti-universal anything though.

 

[Jake_J]

You'll be fine with a universal OAT based coolant, there's millions of cars & trucks of all makes and models running them with no issues. If you want the closest thing to the original factory HOAT coolant that your 02 Dakota came with then Zerex G05 is the most readily available option. I wouldn't really mess with an citric acid flush unless you have lots of sediment, rust particles, etc in the cooling system now.