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Brown sludge scum in coolant bottle.

63K views 85 replies 32 participants last post by  Mongo53 
#1 ·
27,000 kms two services and whilst familiarising myself with components in the engine bay I noticed the sludge on the walls of the coolant bottle. I got some on my finger smeared it on my hand and it felt and smelt like thick oil or grease. I'll post a pic when I get time.

Check your bottles.

Cheers
Rocksfly
 
#5 ·
You need to check the color of your coolant/antifreeze....I have a 14 SRT and went to replace my thermostat with a Mishimoto 180' one. I found the same kind of brown sludge (looks just like mud) in both my over flow bottle and in the radiator under the radiator cap...now I bought this jeep brand new and mine only has about 8,000 miles on it. I found the coolant that was in my Jeep to be an Orange/pinkish color... Now my owners manual calls for only using an "OAT" formulation antifreeze in my Jeep and never mixing it with any other type...So I went to my dealer and asked him what is supposed to be in my Jeep....He checked my VIN number and agreed that my Jeep should have come with "10 year /150K mile "OAT" PURPLE antifreeze/coolant factory installed, He had me go to the service dept and they had a Service advisor look at my coolant, and he said the " OAT" coolant is colored purple, but that the Orange/Pink stuff in my car was the same and that was how it really looked....OK, So I do some internet seacrhing and find this.... In 2013 Chrysler did a change from "HOAT" antifreeze/coolant to "OAT" in all it's Vehicles.....Now I also found out that Chrysler's "HOAT" antifreeze is, READY for this?, Orange / Pink in color, and since my Jeep is a 2014 that is not what was supposed to be in it.....and that it should NEVER be mixed with "OAT" antifreeze, which is purple in color from Chrysler.... see warning in owners manual!, it also says if they ever do get mixed you must do a system flush, or damage to your system will result........ So I bought $80.00 worth (4gals 16qts) of new Mopar "OAT" 10yr/150k Purple antifreeze/coolant..... I spent about 2 hours flushing out my system, also washing out as much of this brown mud as possible, installed my new thermostat, a polished billet housing and race glass, and hopefully now all is right with the world........but I still wonder why I had this Orange coolant in my vehicle in the first place? To my knowledge no work was ever done on my Jeep that would require draining or adding antifreeze/coolant to my Jeep. I think this Brown Mud is a result of someone somewhere mixing "OAT" & "HOAT" coolants in my system....... I also read where Fiat/Chrysler did put some (ORANGE) "OAT" coolant into Dodge Darts and another model right around the time they did their"HOAT to OAT" Corprate changeover in 2013.....So I don't really know how to gauge what they put into some of our Jeeps, or if somewhere someone mixed them up.....I would suggest to anyone who is un clear of what they have, and if they are getting a mud like residue, that they flush out their systems, or get their dealer to do it under warranty, and make sure they have the Purple coolant installed........or whatever type their owners manual calls for.......note: most of the after market coolant/antifreezes that say they are universally compatable with all cars, aren't "OAT" compatable formulations......Currently, the dealership was about the only place I could find the correct "OAT" antifreeze....
 
#6 ·
The Weavman,

Thanks for the detailed response.

Yep up to speed on the whole coolant thing and not mix and matching.

Mine is more pink than purple.

I took some Pics on phone earlier will try to up load. Nup no luck uploading.

Cheers
 
#8 ·
This thread caused me to check my coolant color in my 2013 and yea, it's light orange ��/pink. The User Guide that came with it agrees that that's the correct coolant formula.

Thanks for all the relevant info yall.

Dan
 
#9 ·
I was the victim of brown sludge in a GM vehicle that someone had mixed regular green antifreeze with dexcool before I bought it. I flushed the system several times over the years and had to replace the thermostat and radiator cap many times because they would get stuck. Finally the radiator got clogged enough it had to be replaced. That gunk just kept coming back. Hope you have better luck.
 
#10 · (Edited)
Sounds to me like your WK2 had the wrong coolant filled right at the factory.

Your not the only one!

At the changeover point some OEM coolant fills where done incorrectly with both the older (Orange/Pinkish) HOAT and newer (Purple) OAT, that's why your seeing that brownish sludge in the cooling system.
What was your build date?

You should have had your dealer do the flush and document this issue. You may have not flushed all your potential problems away. Did you run the heat while flushing? Open up the block drains?

Good Luck, I hope you got all that brown sludge out!
 
#12 ·
Build date 31/03/2014 is my build date. We have been thru the replacement axles, camera debarcle and now this.

You say at the change over point some OEM COOLANTS got mixed. Where did this happen and what proof or insight can you add to give me a better understanding of what you say transpired.

I believe my SRT Mate was the first to post about the front axles and we share that six week build period.

Vehicle goes in Monday morning and now the local dealer is getting dark on me for enquiring as to what oil t they are using and when
I said it didn't meet Chrysler spec ms11106 they finally stated the oil does meet the spec for the engine in my vehicle.

So from an historical point of view, I believe I read g some where the engine was originally being developed by GM and VM and years later ended up being a Fiat /VM???

If the engine was originally being joint venture with GM then I'd bet I know why the dealership claims the oil meets spec.

Appreciate any further information to advance my position come Monday

Cheers
 
#14 ·
Done some research my coolant looks pink y/orange and it should be purple. Just watched a video on YouTube about Chrysler Coolant and at the end it talks about Fiat coolant being pink. Chrysler prefer the purple OAT is used but the pink Fiat coolant is compatible with the purple.

I don't know if I got the pink orange stuff at the factory and purple was added but it's not purple and it should be.

The other concern is the dealer sells Chrysler Fiat and Honda YIKES.... what are the possibilities?

This is bloody ordinary to say the least.

MONDAY!
 
#16 ·
sounds like you are on top of it but it takes dilligence......here in states every place wants to do you a FAVOR and top off fluids.......they put the green crap in my 07 that required hoat. i made them pay for the flush and fill after much debate and arguing. But the stealer tried to do the same. came to the point i put tape on the overflow fill cap and big letters DO NOT TOUCH.

its the mixing of things that causes the sludge
 
#17 · (Edited)
OK so I finally got the pics off my phone and into the Computer.

I'm not convinced either way now as to whether its purple of pink...it doesnt appear to be the same colour as either coolant on the youtube video which i have watched several times.

Whilst we were travelling we were diligent and watched fluid levels, not having to touch anything and no scum in bottle.

After the trip we got the 2nd vehicle service and the scum has appeared since then.

We are still less than a year old (27/06/2014) but at 26,000kms I suspect we may be outside the warranty for the liquids??? However, we get the vehicle serviced by the Jeep Dealer and we have not purchased nor topped up any coolant or other liquids other than the windscreen washer water, which I told the Dealership not to top up anymore as they charged me $3.50 for water.

Anyway, we will see what they say Monday. Think I need to make an appointment with the Dealer Principal if I get the run around on this one.

Those who know, is this pink or purple?

Cheers.
 

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#18 ·
Mine has a build date of 05/2014 per door sticker..... Don't know who or how my coolants may have gotten mixed, I think I flushed out the system pretty well, didn't drain the engine block specifically though.... As I installed a new thermostat, billet housing, and a glass radiator hose segment, when I discovered the sludge and mixed coolant, I figured the dealership would just tell me I must have mixed them, so I decided not to make an issue of it, besides I had to install coolant to complete the above job, before I could be able to drive across town back to the dealer, and I trust my work more than theirs.... I can now see thru my glass radiator hose insert that I now have a very purple coolant flowing thru my system, so I think I'm ok now
 
#23 ·
Here are the colours for the Purple OAT Pink HOAT and Orange HOAT ex factory.

Also a pic of a 2013 Dodge Dart? with OAT and a MS label but it looks Orange to me, thats what I reckon I had ex factory. IDIOTS and the list goes on.
 

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#24 ·
I did read that Fiat had an OAT coolant that it used in the Dart and a few other cars that was a pinkish color and being an OAT should be compatable with Mopar OAT purple, but I don't know of any real way to test these coolants to know if they are OAT or HOAT.....
 
#27 ·
Was contacted on another local forum by a JGC owner who saw my posts, went out and checked his coolant bottle 3700kms colour pinkish and has sludge developing. We share the same dealer. He had a 1K service....... Neither of us has touched our coolant.

I was pleased he popped up as the dealership is looking for at the vehicle in the morning.
 
#28 ·
Jeep really needs to get its act together, its allowing many small issues to ruin its reputation, things like this there are no excuses for, and other things like, brand new vehicles with out of alignment front ends and off set steering wheels, mis aligned body panels, seems like a total lack of quality control inspections.... Its a shame.... If they would fix their transmissions and do some quality control, they would hands down have the best SUV's on the market
 
#29 ·
Attended dealership this morning and in the afternoon
Opened a case with JA, dealer took samples as did I, then after the diagnostics were done, they got word back and this is what I was told by the Service mgr....

THEY PUT A PRESSURE LEAK DOWN PILL IN THE COOLANT AT THE FACTORY. THAT IS WHAT CAUSED THE SLUDGE.

Dealership had no idea why they would do that. They did say they had seen it once before and had to replace the core on one vehicle.

Any of you blokes that work on these vehicles or out of the factory,
why do they do this and surely they must be fully aware of what it..
does.

I have samples of coolant, (at rest) and after it had run for one
minute, also sample of the sludge (smells rank like oil). I am sending my samples to Valvoline to ensure it is OAT.

Coolant is being flushed with a request for them to have a good look at what comes out and give me a detailed report.

They do not use the dark purple OAT, they use the pink stuff with the MS label shown in the pic posted from the Dodge Dart. It's the same MS listed in my MY14 warranty booklet.

So, who can give me the 'good oil' on this situation and shed some more light on the subject?

I have to say After getting to the Dealer Principal things happened quickly and the feedback from Jeep was lightning fast. He also convinced me to stay with the dealership for servicing and sent me home in a new Cherokee O/N.
 
#30 ·
Never heard of a preasure leak down Pill, I've seen systems preasurized with guages to check for leaks etc... What does a pill show???? And how????
My SRT manuel, calls for OAT coolant, the dealers parts man checked my VIN and it indicated that my JGC should have come from the factory with OAT coolant installed, yet it appears my jeep came with the orange/ Pink coolant installed "HOAT" coolant, and not the Purple "OAT" coolant, and it also had the muddy sludge in my systen.....
 
#60 ·
When it's done at the factory, it's usually an attempt to cure a small leak in the engine block. GM sites are full of this kind of thread, especially on their aluminum engine blocks. Some there claim that GM installs these "pills" on the Northstar Cadillac aluminum engine.

Those "pills" are usually a radiator stop leak product similar to those from companies like Bars Leak. Not what I want in a new engine and vehicle.

I've read of Chrysler using silicone in some marginal aluminum engine blocks in the cooling passages in years past, to stop small leaks because of slight porosity problems, so it would pass their leak tests.

The problem with that is that years later, when the silicone washed out, the owner was faced with the leak again, usually on their own.

That is IMO something that should never be done. I hope that FCA isn't stooping to this kind of practice on engines that fail the leakdown test at the factory.
 
#31 · (Edited)
My 2013 V8 JGC has the orange-colered OAT Coolant. No sludge. Build date 09/12.

Dan
 
#33 · (Edited)
I'll be requesting a full written explanation by Chrysler before I'm convinced as the DEALERSHIP and Service mgr were quizzical. And I've found no internet reference to any such thing. Still going to have my coolant tested for HOAT OAT and contaminants.

Picking the vehicle up today so I'll be requesting further discuss with service mgr. The other fellow here locally with 3.5K (kilometres) has never heard of such a thing either, we thought it sounded a bit funky.

Cheers
 
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