2003 Dodge Caravan with rusty looking coolant

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Good Evening - I have a " new to me " 2003 Dodge Caravan with 3.3 liter engine with 135,000 miles. I removed the radiator cap and the coolant has a brown tint. I have no maintenance history on the coolant so this may be the factory fill. Would you flush the system or just drain and refill with distilled water / HOAT antifreeze?

Thanks in advance for any advice.
 
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Your 03 Dodge calls for G-05 (HOAT) and that's what I'd use, preferable in the concentrated form for cost savings and ease of doing a complete distilled flush series.

Unknown maintenance, I'd do a complete distilled water flush series (d&fs) till running clear or very close. Then add half system capacity with G-05 concentrate and top with distilled. Alternatively if you know where the block drain are and easily accessed, you can use them to drain. For me the multiple distilled d&fs have worked well, and distilled water is very inexpensive.

If the system looks real cruddy, you could use citric acid based Prestone Rad. Flush. It works either for light cleaning, or heavier if left in longer. I'm thinking unless very dirty, distilled d&fs should work fine.
 
Definitely needs to be drained & refilled, at a bare minimum, as mentioned above, but if there's any question as to the age of the fluid and/or the condition of the cooling system as a whole, if it were me, I would go ahead and do the Prestone flush. It's only a few extra bucks and gives you a cleaner slate to start with.
 
Originally Posted By: Sayjac
Your 03 Dodge calls for G-05 (HOAT) and that's what I'd use, preferable in the concentrated form for cost savings and ease of doing a complete distilled flush series.

Unknown maintenance, I'd do a complete distilled water flush series (d&fs) till running clear or very close. Then add half system capacity with G-05 concentrate and top with distilled. Alternatively if you know where the block drain are and easily accessed, you can use them to drain. For me the multiple distilled d&fs have worked well, and distilled water is very inexpensive.

If the system looks real cruddy, you could use citric acid based Prestone Rad. Flush. It works either for light cleaning, or heavier if left in longer. I'm thinking unless very dirty, distilled d&fs should work fine.

I agree.

It's probably the original factory G-05. It starts out red colored and over time it changes to kind of dirty orange. The G-05 is available from NAPA, it's Zerex brand and is tinted light yellow. Costs less then $20.

It's also available from Amazon,
Quote:
Genuine Mopar Fluid 68048953AB Antifreeze/Coolant - 1 Gallon Bottle
by Chrysler
$ 24 80 Prime| FREE Same-Day
Get it by TODAY, Feb 21
FREE Same-Day Delivery on qualifying orders over $35

You should stick with the G-05, it is a 5 year 50,000 mile AF and is very good.

What I would do, get 2 gallons of G-05, 5 gallons of distilled water, then drain the old AF and check it carefully for any signs if rust or other Debris. If it's clean, fill with DW and run for a day.
Then dump that. Do it while hot. Fill with DW a 2nd. time and run until warmed up. At this point you should be good to go. Drain and fill with your new AF. Should be good for another 50k.

Another thing, if you haven't done so, change the Transmission ATF and filter. No need to do any sort of flush, just drop the pan, clean it and the magnet, then refill with ATF+4. If it looks nasty, run it 5k or so, then do it again. after that, change every 30k miles. Don't use anything else. It's $4.27/qt. at Walmart. All +4 is the same so brand is not relevant.

Chrysler minivans are just about the best bang for the buck. I've owned 8, 3 are over 200,000 miles. Currently, we are driving 3, a 2000, a 2006, and a 2013. I call them a true APV.

Good luck. Feel free to PM me if you need more info.

Wayne
 
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