Coolant Dilemna

Brady

New Member
Feb 4, 2007
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www.nbhq.net
Had to replace my upper radiator hose cause it had a hole right under the clamp ( fairly new hose too) I've lost an assload of coolant

bought a new hose from the dealership al ong with a gallon of red coolant

i currently have green, can i mix the rest of the green with the red to form christmas coolant or do i need to flush the shit

thanks
 

Figit090

Fastest mk3 GT4 1/4 mile!
Jan 7, 2006
1,835
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Humboldt County
---------EDIT------please read for changes...there are some better details and better explination on parts.

well for one... green isnt as good as red for whatever reason. different mix i think. i've been told bad things about what green coolant can do, and while its hard to believe what i heard (mucked up the surface of the coolant passages in the head) its worth the peace of mind to hit up a toyota dealer for a couple bottles of toyota red. the person that attested to green screwing with the metal was a reputable one, so if i remember correctly, i didnt doubt him. either way...u should spring for the red. and like its been said, do NOT attempt to mix them, nomatter what the bottle says about compatibility.

and the red looks pretty!! so get it.

i dont know about the underguard... dont have one. find the drain cock in your radiator and if there is no hole below it to drip then, yes. remove the thing and reinstall it once this whole ordeal is finished. even if there is a drain hole it will be hell though, because the drain cock will never spray straight down. in fact you should prepare to make a complete mess of yourself and the ground beneath your car, because you will miss the pan you're draining the stuff into at least once. take a minute and remove the underguard so you can see everything and access stuff easily. and aim.

you'll have to drain the coolant, fill with water, run it, drain it, (dont let it get to hot, watch the temp!) and repeat. i did this at least three times to fully clean the sludge and green coolant out of the engine block and passages because the water kept coming out brown (rust). but i didnt just flush it....

since you probably wont remove the drain cock on the side of the engine, you'll want to blow the water out of the system with compressed air to save time and do a better job. once you've ran the car with some straight water to remove sludge and such, make sure the fluds are sufficiently cooled, remove the lower radiator coolant hose, remove the top radiator hose, and use an air compressor to blow out most of the water left in the engine - but take CARE you do NOT want to put lots of pressure into this and dont think i mean seal it tight with duct tape and blast in 130 psi. just hold the top hose and spray some air into it. dont use your mouth and lungs. this stuff is poison, so you dont want it NEAR your mouth or risk backpressure splashing some into your mouth...so use an air compressor, and apply a low pressure until water begins to drain, and do that/adjust your pressure until water stops coming out. i do not know how delecate the heater core is, and excessive pressure is not good, i dont know what the system commonly runs at. this method is quick and saves you removing the block drain cock. replace hoses, fill with water, run it, drain it, and see how clear the water is. repeat the drain and air-compressor part again if the water is really dirty, and check the clarity once more. once you get the water clear or as close as you can, stop flushing, check all your hoses, fill with antifreese (toyota red) and then distilled water (better than tap in some locations where there are lots of chemicals and sediments).

run the car and burp the system of air. now you're full of toyota red and good to go.
 
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bryanintexas

aaarrrrrggghhhh!!!!!
Apr 4, 2005
605
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spring, texas
O.E. Toyota red contains no phosphates or silicates, unlike the green stuff, which pit aluminum and corrode water passages as well as deteriorate seals.
 

johnathan1

Supra =
Aug 19, 2005
5,056
1
36
36
Downey, California, United States
Yes, green coolant is the devil. It seems to erode aluminum at an alarming rate...

It erroded my head's water jackets almost into the combustion chamber... Not to mention it caused a bunch of leaks, like the thermostat housing...the seal was brand new, but the sealing surface was so pitted, that it couldn't seal, I had to get another one...
 

Figit090

Fastest mk3 GT4 1/4 mile!
Jan 7, 2006
1,835
1
36
Humboldt County
bryanintexas said:
O.E. Toyota red contains no phosphates or silicates, unlike the green stuff, which pit aluminum and corrode water passages as well as deteriorate seals.

there we go, thank you for that post. i couldnt remember spicifically what or how it did damage, but i know that it does.

the person who told me this last had to purchase a new head because of the pitting.
 

Figit090

Fastest mk3 GT4 1/4 mile!
Jan 7, 2006
1,835
1
36
Humboldt County
johnathan1 said:
Yes, green coolant is the devil. It seems to erode aluminum at an alarming rate...

It erroded my head's water jackets almost into the combustion chamber... Not to mention it caused a bunch of leaks, like the thermostat housing...the seal was brand new, but the sealing surface was so pitted, that it couldn't seal, I had to get another one...


can somone tell me how this stuff can be sold if it does this? is it particular to seals and metals used in certain engines?

if its universal and not just bad for aluminum i'm going to switch all of our cars. that's pretty horrible....
 

trydrew

Suprafied
Nov 4, 2005
1,038
0
36
Earth
Ive heard worse about Dex-Cool :cry: But that's for another time.

Toyota Red FTW. (3E5 of course :naughty:)
 

theKnifeArtist

Fire on High!
Apr 6, 2006
2,332
0
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North Jersey
how much of the gallon of this red shit cost?
i've been runnin the green shit, and when i took my head off i had gunk in some coolant passage holes and a good amount of pitting.
 

jetjock

creepy-ass cracka
Jul 11, 2005
9,439
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Redacted per Title 18 USC Section 798
Ugh. Thanks Dub. There was so much misinformation in this thread I'd decided to bite my tongue. I wrote that article a while back but I'm thinking the newer long life pink stuff Toyota sells is an HOAT based chemistry. Not sure though because I'll only use G-05. Recently put it in two other Supras. Nothing wrong with the old red stuff though. Death-Cool is another story altogether ;)
 

jdub

Official SM Expert: Motor Oil, Lubricants & Fil
SM Expert
Feb 10, 2006
10,730
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38
Valley of the Sun
Yep...some edumacation was needed ;)

Been using the Toyota Red for a while now since I get it for free :icon_bigg
Works well, even during the friggin hot summers in Phoenix!