Almost killed a mechanic over my PT

[Annette Neumann]

so I just got an 06 PT Touring Edition with 46,000 on her. OH WOW Y'all....I have wanted one for years...I didn't car about the bad things people said about her...I knew she was the vehicle for me. So I get her serviced yesterday by the tech boys up at walmart. He offered to put some antifreeze in her since she was empty. *that wasn't my doing* I keep a close eye on under the hood. So I said go ahead...he put some in there and gave me the bottle and I checked out...today I dropped her off at the dealership to get new tires and when I came home I looked at the antifreeze bottle in the laundry room and it was not 50/50! IT WAS STRAIGHT OUT ANTIFREEZE!.....oh I was freaking out. I called and left a message at the dealership to get that antifreeze out of my car.....next time I see that lil punk mechanic I'm going to knee cap him hard.

I drove that car 70 miles today...she may not have over heated but by god, I was very overheated after reading that bottle.

[Annette Neumann]

some antifreeze comes in gallon containers but some already come premixed in a 50/50 formula. I use Prestone and I always have. The mechanic grabbed the prestone but he didn't grab the 50/50 mix. It's true you can mix your own in order to get the right mix. Thanks BOB:-)

[ptgeebee - Gordon]

It may not be as much of a problem as you think. Most of the time when the overflow bottle need to be refilled they just put in straight antifreeze. You can have the antifreeze tested to see if the amount is right and if not it can be corrected easily.

[Annette Neumann]

right on Gordon....:0) well I called the dealership and told them what happened in hopes that they would flush it out just to ensure it didn't start to gel up in the system...I don't know everything but I know enough ***WARNINGS*** to keep me on the road.....I'm a bit of a car junkie in the closet so this PT is my excuse to become of a bit of a grease monkey....:0) I'd have done it myself if I had a handy dandy manual....which I'll be getting very soon so I can service her myself as much as I can.

[Chet Stedman]

Your first mistake was letting a Walmart mechanic even touch your car!!!!!!!!!

[White Rabbit]

Annette,

No need to freak out. If all they did was add a little 100% Anti Freeze it should only improve your protection. What I would worry about is "What type they added"? Chrysler products use a specific type of Anti Freeze.

Flushing the whole system out would be an expensive overkill. Just have it checked to determine if the freeze level is where it should be. If you have too strong of a mixture, you can drain a little of the Anti Freeze out and add some plain water or distilled water if you are a real car nut.

Happy Cruzin
WABBIT

[Tim]

CAUTION: Use of Propylene Glycol based coolants is not recommended, as they provide less freeze protection and less boiling protection.
The cooling system is designed around the coolant. The coolant must accept heat from engine metal, in the cylinder head area near the exhaust valves and engine block. Then coolant carries the heat to the radiator where the tube/fin radiator can transfer the heat to the air.
The use of aluminum cylinder blocks, cylinder heads, and water pumps requires special corrosion protection. Mopar® Antifreeze/Coolant, 5 Year/100,000 Mile Formula (MS-9769), or the equivalent ethylene glycol base coolant with hybrid organic corrosion inhibitors (called HOAT, for Hybrid Organic Additive Technology) is recommended. This coolant offers the best engine cooling without corrosion when mixed with 50% Ethylene Glycol and 50% distilled water to obtain a freeze point of -37°C (-35°F). If it loses color or becomes contaminated, drain, flush, and replace with fresh properly mixed coolant solution.
The green coolant MUST NOT BE MIXED[/b] with the orange or magenta coolants. When replacing coolant the complete system flush must be performed before using the replacement coolant.
CAUTION: Mopar® Antifreeze/Coolant, 5 Year/100,000 Mile Formula (MS-9769) may not be mixed with any other type of antifreeze. Doing so will reduce the corrosion protection and may result in premature water pump seal failure. If non-HOAT coolant is introduced into the cooling system in an emergency, it should be replaced with the specified coolant as soon as possible.

[Annette Neumann]

thanks for the info guys.....yes it was very stupid to let the guys down at walmart mess around the coolant....they aren't suppose to anyway....this is the first real flub up I had up there.....usually they are very good...the antifreeze level is getting adjusted today....and after that....everything should be fine...so speaking of tech stuff....what kind of spark plugs and wires would you all suggest I get when it comes time to change those out?

[ptgeebee - Gordon]

Annette Neumann said:

thanks for the info guys.....yes it was very stupid to let the guys down at walmart mess around the coolant....they aren't suppose to anyway....this is the first real flub up I had up there.....usually they are very good...the antifreeze level is getting adjusted today....and after that....everything should be fine...so speaking of tech stuff....what kind of spark plugs and wires would you all suggest I get when it comes time to change those out?

I have Crane Firewires of mine from Race & Street.
http://www.raceandstreet.net/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&;...
If the wire haven't been changed you may want to do that soon as the OEM's are junk and will give you trouble.
I use Champion Double Platinum plugs. Have had both in for some time with good luck.

[westkyptcruiser]

You go , Damn Walmart LOL!

[Annette Neumann]

oh ah I was looking around for a Haynes Repair Manual on a 2006 PT Cruiser but all they had was a manual for the 2001-2003. Is the information in that one good enough for a 2006? I know Chrysler didn't really change the PT all the much year by year.