Hello fellows, what is the correct procedure to flush the coolant on my 2006 Ram 4x4 5.9L and what is the correct antifreeze I should use and about how many gallons are involved in the whole process? This will be a "Do it myself" project because for now I can't afford the dealer's charge of almost $200. Or do you think I should wait another month or so and let them do it? I'm pretty mechanically inclined(work on aircrafts) but I'm just thinking they may have the right environment for doing such a job, altought I trust myself better. What's your take?

 

I just did mine on Saturday. Open the radiator drain (driver's side), wait until it starts to sputter, open rad cap and rear block drain (5/16 allen). Remove heater return (the one NOT going to the head) stick a garden hose in and let it flush it out. Make sure the overflow tank is drained. If you have compressed air, "GENTLY" blow out the heater core. Button everything up and add a 50/50 mix of Zerex G5. It should self purge. Once filled up, put heat in full hot, 1st psn fan. I ran at high idle until I could feel warm air coming out of the heat vents then shut off heat to get it up to temp so thermostat will open. It will take a while to come up to temp so I put a fender cover in front of the radiator. Fill the overflow up to the Full Hot line. Once you're sure you don't have any air pockets, take it out for a run. Temp may vary a bit as air is purged but as long as you can get heat out of the vents, you should be fine. Check the overflow after the engine gets cold. I also checked the rad fill level visually just to be double sure.

FLY ARMY!

 

might have to just post so I can do this



AIR FORCE SAVED BOTH YOUR BUTTS 38th RQS


but in all fairness what was said above is correct and good way to do it. a power flush is NOT always good. kinda like opening pandoras box. Don't use any chemical to do the flush. just garden hose like stated above

 

I believe you wold be best served by following the easy to follow coolant flush procedure outlined by member AH64ID. I have attached this coolant flush link for your review. You will find a list of the G-05 HOAT coolants in this thread. It would also be a good time to replace the thermostat as well. Get yourself a Cummins replacement, as the quality of parts store replacements is hit and miss.

https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...=coolant+flush

 

X2

Follow AH64ID's procedure. Takes a bit of time, but you know youve done it right.

 

Personally, I just drain it, unhook a heater line and hold a hose up to one end until water overflowing the radiator and coming out of the other end of the heater hose runs clear. Then let it drain. If you have hard water, pour in some distilled water and let it drain again.

Then close the drain, reconnect the hose, and add G-05 equal to 1/2 the cooling system capacity, and top up with distilled water.

A fair amount of water doesn't drain out of the engine, so I don't add a 50/50 mix because the concentration will end up weaker.

 

I think I found the right antifreeze for my truck. Is made by Shell Rotella and they named it Ultra ELC. Supposed to be the last generation antifreeze, leading product on the market. Sounds promising. Just wait to go and get it. I'm already using Shell Rotella T6 diesel engine oil and I have no complaints whatsoever, on the contrary, it proved excellent for the last 3 years.....

 

Z-MAN,

The Shell HD Ultra Extended Life Coolant/Antifreeze you are referring to is an Organic Acid Technology or OAT formulation. It is formulated with an extended life chemistry or additive package utilizing a molybdate based corrosion inhibitor. The Dodge Ram requires a (Glysantin) G-05 HOAT additive package which contains a chemistry that is distinctly diffrent than the additive package contained in the Shell coolant.

In addition, the Shell application guide does not list the Chrysler MS-9769 specification and manufacturer's requirement nor any other light duty applications. Shell Ultra ELC is recommended for all "heavy duty" cooling systems including specifications for on-road and offroad farm, mining and construction equipment, over the road semi trucks and earthmoving equipment. Shell product literature notes that it is compatible with other similarly formulated antifreezes,however;it is recommended to not dilute with other antifreeze/coolants. The dilution/mixing with non-equivalent coolants will significantly reduce or eliminate the extended life properties. Most importantly, the mixing of HOAT and OAT formulations may result in unwanted compatability issues.

The following list contains three readily available G0-5 HOAT coolants that meet the requirements as per Chrysler specifications and approvals.

Mopar 5 Year/100,000 Mile with (HOAT) Embittered - Chrysler spec-MS 9769. Red/Orange in color.

Ford / Motorcraft Premium Gold Engine Coolant - Ford Part #VC-7A. Yellow/Gold in color.

Valvoline Zerex G-05 Hoat - Available in concentrate. The NAPA part # is ZXG051. Yellow/Gold in color. The Zerex G0-5 is available over the counter at NAPA as they carry the entire Valvoline product line. The other coolants are available at their respective dealers.

I hope you find this information helpful.

 

On Zerex's site they say their G-05 is supplied to Dodge, dyed red, as their factory fill, if that matters.

A friend of mine said a person could flush the system and switch to traditional ethylene glycol, if you weren't worried about warranty, but you would have to change it every two years instead of every 5.

Either would still test good for freeze protection at the end of their time limit, but it would be the corrosion inhibiting properties that have begun to degrade.

 

Jeff,

That is correct! If you fully flush and replace the 5 year HOAT coolant with a conventional green IAT 2 year/36000 mile coolant, you must then follow the 2 year 36.000 mile replacement interval.

 

Thanx Doc , you're the man of the day. Indeed, I did some more research myself, it was to good to be true, and I found the same info. Thank you very much for taking the time to explain this subject, as maybe if I didn't have 10-15 min spare time to spend online for this research, I would have gone straight to the closest truck stop and bought that Shell. Instead I went to NAPA. I'm sure somebody else will also find your post very helpful. Have a good trucking day.

 

Thank you all for your input. Good day Gentlemans.

 

I have not done so to my 05, but on my 91, I installed a remote coolant filter housing and tapped a coolant filter into the heating system using a port in the heat, and then a T into the return line on the Heater Core. I was amazed at how much casting sand, etc that the filter caught, and the water pump lasted much much longer. I think the housing was 35-40 bucks and a filter was 7 bucks or so. Do not run it inline with a heater hose though, it wont flow enough to keep good heat in the cab.