Coolant Mistake :-(

[svennesvendsen]

Hi

I went to my weekend cottage this weekend. Having nothing else to do I checked my oil level etc. and discovered the that the coolant expansion tank was empty (still fluid in the system and no red warning light).

Having only the owner's manual ( stating to use Toyota's own or ethylen glycol based coolant) I went the local garage and the man told me to pour some blue coolant in the expansion tank ( about a half liter). I realized after reading this forum when I got home, that it's not O.K to mix coolant of different colour. So I sucked up as much as I could from the expansion tank, and replaced it with distilled water.

I drove about 600 km home, so the blue stuff must have mixed in. Now I'm thinking of doing a a coolant flush and replace it with some of Toyotas pink or red stuff. (the car is about 4 years old).

What method would you suggest to use when flushing? I don't have access to a garden hose since, I live in a flat in the middle of Copenhagen.

The car runs just fine at the moment, (no leaks as far as I can tell) but I better get the job done to prefent damage to the coolant system.

Any suggestions?

thx

[gar]

Hi

I went to my weekend cottage this weekend. Having nothing else to do I checked my oil level etc. and discovered the that the coolant expansion tank was empty (still fluid in the system and no red warning light).

Having only the owner's manual ( stating to use Toyota's own or ethylen glycol based coolant) I went the local garage and the man told me to pour some blue coolant in the expansion tank ( about a half liter). I realized after reading this forum when I got home, that it's not O.K to mix coolant of different colour. So I sucked up as much as I could from the expansion tank, and replaced it with distilled water.

I drove about 600 km home, so the blue stuff must have mixed in. Now I'm thinking of doing a a coolant flush and replace it with some of Toyotas pink or red stuff. (the car is about 4 years old).

What method would you suggest to use when flushing? I don't have access to a garden hose since, I live in a flat in the middle of Copenhagen.

The car runs just fine at the moment, (no leaks as far as I can tell) but I better get the job done to prefent damage to the coolant system.

Any suggestions?

thx

I would advise you speak to your local Toyota dealer.

There may be a genuine reason behind them using a certain type of coolant, rather than just to make money.

I know one of the differences with their colouring of coolant is longevity. One colour lasts for say, three years, the other more. It may be five, even ten.

Some coolants are designed for alloy engine blocks, some not so may damage it. It may be worth getting the dealer to do a proper change, just to be safe, regardless of cost.

When you think how few and far between these changes are, it will be worth it. Most of the coolants you buy over the counter will need changing within two years, even if you changed the lot, not just topped up old stuff.

Also, bare in mind, coolant does not just stop an engines water from freezing, it raises its boiling temp, helping to stop it evaperating and overheating. this is why it is now refered to as coolant, not just anti-freeze. B)

[svennesvendsen]

thanks for a reply..

Searching the forum I've decided to flush the radiator etc. myself, and buy some Toyota coolant.

I called Toyota and it's pretty expensive here (comes in 5 L containers). The pink long life (08889-80072) cost about twice the red one (08889-80002) (not in stock).

He told me that I would never have to change coolant again if I went for the pink, which I doubt?

Pink or red, what do you use? The pink one is not to be diluted (as I understand?) which will make the red an even better deal.

[HowardL]

All I done when I flushed mine was to drain the old,fill up with plain water run it 'till warm and the drain and refill with Toyota Red.

[Black Knight]

He told me that I would never have to change coolant again if I went for the pink, which I doubt?

Something like 6 years/100,000 mile service life so could well last you longer than you keep the car

[gar]

thanks for a reply..

Searching the forum I've decided to flush the radiator etc. myself, and buy some Toyota coolant.

I called Toyota and it's pretty expensive here (comes in 5 L containers). The pink long life (08889-80072) cost about twice the red one (08889-80002) (not in stock).

He told me that I would never have to change coolant again if I went for the pink, which I doubt?

Pink or red, what do you use? The pink one is not to be diluted (as I understand?) which will make the red an even better deal.

It would still be cheaper than replacing ANY of the engine componants that may fail if you use the wrong stuff. I would bite the bullet, pay for it and fill it myself, if I wanted to save some of the money. It may not even add the the cost of labour, if you hve it done when having the car servised so you may only be billed for the actual coolant. :)

[moonstone mart]

He told me that I would never have to change coolant again if I went for the pink, which I doubt?

Something like 6 years/100,000 mile service life so could well last you longer than you keep the car

Red is 3yrs/30,000 miles

Pink is 10yrs/100,000 miles

:)

Mart.

[Black Knight]

Ay, knew it was something like that :)

[svennesvendsen]

thx. for info

I was just wondering, if it's so difficult to get all of the old coolant out, what's the point of spending a lot of money on the pink stuff, when it's gonna be "polluted" with the old stuff anyway?-and through that perhaps lose some og the longlife properties.

[hedleyf]

Hi,

Just a note here on the coolants,Pink was fitted from 2002 model year onwards red was used in all previouse Jap built cars chassis numbers starting with JT,and green is fitted to English built toyotas pre 2002 with chassis number starting with SB.

NO coolant should be mixed with water and NO water should be used to flush out a system .You will not get all the coolant out as some will be trapped in the block ,heater etc a change normally uses about 3 litres just drain the rad and the header tank this amount every 3 years is a calculated amount to substain the correct coolant elements at a required level.

Hedley.

[HowardL]

What is the reson you can't flush through with water?

[T600]

The purpose of the flush is to make sure there are no remnants of undesirable liquid in the system including water. Flushing with water would not achieve that - rather it would ensure that there was water in the system.

[frankie_TS]

I don't know about anyone else but it has always bothered me that the yaris does not have a water temp gauge. Maybe a little off topic of coolant colour but a temp gauge would

be nice. I like to know if things are getting hot before the red "youve really cocked things up" light comes on.

[gar]

I don't know about anyone else but it has always bothered me that the yaris does not have a water temp gauge. Maybe a little off topic of coolant colour but a temp gauge would

be nice. I like to know if things are getting hot before the red "youve really cocked things up" light comes on.

I have never had the red come on, to date so have never had to worry! I would have thought it would come on well before you boiled the nuts (and bolts) off the engine, though!

[HowardL]

I don't know about anyone else but it has always bothered me that the yaris does not have a water temp gauge. Maybe a little off topic of coolant colour but a temp gauge would

be nice. I like to know if things are getting hot before the red "youve really cocked things up" light comes on.

Same here, would rather have a gauge any day....a cheap option I suppose.

[HowardL]

The purpose of the flush is to make sure there are no remnants of undesirable liquid in the system including water. Flushing with water would not achieve that - rather it would ensure that there was water in the system.

First I've heard of this , what do you flush with then, to get the old out???!!??

[gar]

There is (or used to be) a radiator flushing fluid you could get from car accessories shops (Halfords, etc). I think it is still available. You just mix it with water, If memory serves me correctly and add it to the rad, running the engine to circulate it properly. It then gets drained, hopefully taking out all the gunk that has built up over time. Then get back to filling the rad with the recommended coolant.

[T600]

First I've heard of this , what do you flush with then, to get the old out???!!??

New coolant. But only in the case where the new coolant is the same type as the old.

I'm not saying it's essential, just giving a reason why you might want to use something other than water.

Super Long Life Coolant is pre-mixed with distilled water, so flushing with normal water might give rise to some impurities. Even flushing with distilled water might lead to the mixture being slightly incorrect.

Does it matter? I doubt it very much.

Though in fact I believe hedleyf's point was that it doesn't need flushing if you're keeping the same fluid; just add the capacity of the system. You certainly won't get out all the old coolant, but I'm prepared to accept that that may well be good enough to keep the system working well.