New OEM Antifreeze Mix %

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nm9stheham

nm9stheham

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Thought this might be of some general interest. I have a 2016 Ram CTD and I wanted to know with certainty the OEM water-antifreeze mix ratio before going to the northern Rockies in the dead of winter, where -50F shows up from time to time.

I got a simple refractometer from the internet. Checked it against pure distilled water to be sure that it showed pure water and it did. Then a sample was taken from the truck and checked, and it showed around 65% ethylene glycol, and protection down to the -65 to -70 F range.

I was never sure what the factory would put in, but in this case at least, I now know. This truck was sold with a block heater and in Idaho, so it would be set up for cold temps. But I suspect even a vehicle sold in FL would have the same mix.... though I have no proof of that.
 
50/50 is still the standard, unless you're in a crazy climate of course ... then you add more coolant than water
 
chiming in !!!!!!!!!!! my buddy has that truck and he was mad as hell !!!! when it ran rough in the last cold snap here in central NY -9 !!!!!!!!!!! 10, 000 miles on a lease !!!!!!!!! he said all sorts of lights were going off and ran like Sh-t, I would be more concerned on FUEL QUALITY !!!!!!!!! and take stock in 911 in the red and white bottle, I was stationed in Montana one winter -60 below WITH OUT WIND CHILL we couldn't even think of shutting off those deuce 1/2's !!// PLEASE// that part of the country is NO JOKE , take care
 
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The mix may not the same everywhere. I can tell you this.....and I just learned this last week. Wiper fluid comes in different degrees. Our normal stuff goes down to like 22. Then there is some we carry less of that goes down to 0. Then the stuff we don't stock goes down to -32. The reason I found this out is because one of our biggest accounts is a guy who specializes in OTR truck and diesel repair. Some of his customers go up north, including Canada and Alaska. He just askedlast week if we could get some wiper fluid that would go further down and we looked and lo and behold we could.

Whether this holds true for antifreeze, I don't know but I wouldn't be surprised.
 
RustyRatRod said:
The mix may not the same everywhere. I can tell you this.....and I just learned this last week. Wiper fluid comes in different degrees. Our normal stuff goes down to like 22. Then there is some we carry less of that goes down to 0. Then the stuff we don't stock goes down to -32. The reason I found this out is because one of our biggest accounts is a guy who specializes in OTR truck and diesel repair. Some of his customers go up north, including Canada and Alaska. He just askedlast week if we could get some wiper fluid that would go further down and we looked and lo and behold we could.

Whether this holds true for antifreeze, I don't know but I wouldn't be surprised.
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I have noticed that lately with washer fluid.

A 50/50 mix of antifreeze is a standard 35° below. There should be a chart on your antifreeze bottle to tell you how much. -35° doesn't mean everything turns to a solid block at -36°.
 
LOL yes it is different.

Those of us that worked in dealerships in the carbureted days can tell you, yes, destination counts.

How do you think they handled carb jets back then? Same way. Vehicles destined for altitude got leaned out. Same goes for coolant, and probably efi calibrations to some extent or another.
 
I recall in the 90`s when working for Ford Prototype we would use different injectors when going from Arizona to cold testing.
 
RustyRatRod said:
I can tell you this.....and I just learned this last week. Wiper fluid comes in different degrees. Our normal stuff goes down to like 22. Then there is some we carry less of that goes down to 0. Then the stuff we don't stock goes down to -32.
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Around here MOST washer fluid is labeled 'Winter' or 'Summer'. Never had any freeze solid, but have had slush in the bottle if I still had a lot of the higher temp stuff in when it gets too cold.
 
My wife panics sometimes when we get low windchill. (not complaining, ar least she is aware temps matter to the cars) ...While low wind chill conditions will cool it faster, it will still only go as low as the real temp
 
Ya, they must get different water to antifreeze ratios depending on where they are delivered. A couple of Christmases ago I rented a mini van to make a short trip so seven of us could travel together. I noticed that the van came with Texas plates. The night I picked it up it dropped to -13 and I got to wondering if the van had enough antifreeze. I went and checked it and there was slush in the radiator. So I drove it around a bit and took our car out of the garage and put the van in for the night. When I returned the van I told the lady that if the van stays in the area they might want to add antifreeze! I can't imagine what fun I would have had had it got really cold that night!
 
zkx14 said:
My wife panics sometimes when we get low windchill. (not complaining, ar least she is aware temps matter to the cars) ...While low wind chill conditions will cool it faster, it will still only go as low as the real temp
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Yeah, wind chill is pretty much a myth. Put on a "windbreaker" you no longer have a wind chill. Inanimate objects aren't affected by it for the most part either.
 
zkx14 said:
Around here MOST washer fluid is labeled 'Winter' or 'Summer'. Never had any freeze solid, but have had slush in the bottle if I still had a lot of the higher temp stuff in when it gets too cold.
Click to expand...

The other night when it got to like 15 here, I removed the radiator cap on the truck and it had ice slivers around the cap and around the cap opening, but the coolant on the tank was still liquid. I had measured it the day before and it went to -25.

People usually worry over nothing. It takes a LOT of cold to freeze coolant inside an engine.
 
grimreaper said:
Ya, they must get different water to antifreeze ratios depending on where they are delivered. A couple of Christmases ago I rented a mini van to make a short trip so seven of us could travel together. I noticed that the van came with Texas plates. The night I picked it up it dropped to -13 and I got to wondering if the van had enough antifreeze. I went and checked it and there was slush in the radiator. So I drove it around a bit and took our car out of the garage and put the van in for the night. When I returned the van I told the lady that if the van stays in the area they might want to add antifreeze! I can't imagine what fun I would have had had it got really cold that night!
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Wow, OK. So it sounds like they may indeed change mixes. I would think that would be a ROYAL PITA in the factory..... I am familiar with diesel mixes changes.. I have had southern Indiana diesel gel up on me near Ft Wayne one cold winter day. And all of this started because we did see consistent -35F to -40F overnight temps in Idaho last winter.

RustyRatRod said:
The other night when it got to like 15 here, I removed the radiator cap on the truck and it had ice slivers around the cap and around the cap opening, but the coolant on the tank was still liquid. I had measured it the day before and it went to -25.

People usually worry over nothing. It takes a LOT of cold to freeze coolant inside an engine.
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Just another FWIW... the standard anti-freeze checkers, with the little balls in them, can be pretty inaccurate, like up to 20F off. They depend on the coolant being at a specific temp (around 60F, I think) to be accurate. So that is why I bought the refractometer. It was only $27 shipped.

jazak5 said:
chiming in !!!!!!!!!!! my buddy has that truck and he was mad as hell !!!! when it ran rough in the last cold snap here in central NY -9 !!!!!!!!!!! 10, 000 miles on a lease !!!!!!!!! he said all sorts of lights were going off and ran like Sh-t, I would be more concerned on FUEL QUALITY !!!!!!!!! and take stock in 911 in the red and white bottle, I was stationed in Montana one winter -60 below WITH OUT WIND CHILL we couldn't even think of shutting off those deuce 1/2's !!// PLEASE// that part of the country is NO JOKE , take care
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Yep, we are on our way out to WY today, and we'll stock up on some more anti-gel and some 911 along the way. Getting 11-12 mpg towing and enclosed trailer, so we will be filling up every 4 hours or so and getting the each region's diesel mix as we edge further north. I hope the rear fuel filter's heater is turned on!
 
nm9stheham said:
Just another FWIW... the standard anti-freeze checkers, with the little balls in them, can be pretty inaccurate, like up to 20F off. They depend on the coolant being at a specific temp (around 60F, I think) to be accurate. So that is why I bought the refractometer. It was only $27 shipped.
Click to expand...

Yeah, they are another great tool that's been around for like 100 years.
 
The biggest concern is for people who go out when its below 15 or 10 degrees, start up their vehicle and imediately put it in gear and take off. If its below 20 degrees i let my truck idle for 10 to 15 minutes before i take off. Hell i wait till it comes off high idle to put it in gear when its not even that cold out.
 
Popped two freeze plugs out of the side of the B 400 last winter.
 
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