Antifreeze/Radiator Question

Clemsonfan15

Clemsonfan15

New member
I've done my research on the "Pink Milkshake", "Strawberry Milkshake" or whatever you want to call it. I can't find anything that relates to my particular situation.

As a preface, I have no transmission problems that I know of. Everything shifts smoothly. 1st is slightly hard, but I think it has always been that way.

So onto the situation.

About a week ago I was just looking around my vehicle and decided to look in the engine bay. I was looking in the radiator overflow tank and noticed I had almost no liquid in there. Maybe 0.25". There was also some dark stuff in there that looked like dirt. I have no idea how long it had been empty.

So I went and got some Prestone antifreeze that is guaranteed to work with all models. That antifreeze is a lime greenish color. I filled the overflow tank up to the top mark.

I've been checking the tank every few days now and have noticed that the antifreeze in the tank is a very dark red. There is no sign of the lime green color. What could this mean? I thought the Toyota antifreeze was a light red.
 
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i also noticed mine was empty with some black debris on the bottom of the reservoir. I just took it to dealership, told them to flush out the system and put in the factory red that came with the vehicle. did it all for 80 bucks.
 
bak3rme said:
i also noticed mine was empty with some black debris on the bottom of the reservoir. I just took it to dealership, told them to flush out the system and put in the factory red that came with the vehicle. did it all for 80 bucks.
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No harm was done?

How dark is the factory red?
 
Clemsonfan15 said:
No harm was done?

How dark is the factory red?
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the thing was i had the Oil change place fill up my radiator fluid. They added the green stuff, however inside the reservoir, there was red fluid. There wasn't much, however i could see that there was red, and some black debris. I didn't realize all this until one day i checked under the cap, and found the green fluid instead of red. I drove around like this for about 8 months now and no harm. last week took it to dealership to get it flushed, thats when all the red came back. and the red they put in ...erm...its like pinky-ish but more on the red side...
 
I've always been wondering what is the difference between the green and red antifreeze? I once heard that certain cars should only have one color or the other.
 
Clemsonfan15 said:
The green, I believe, is fine for all vehicles. The red from Toyota has some other additives in it I think.
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Ooooh. Now, I feel all kinds of special. :D

EDIT: I just Googled what the difference are. Below is a good link on the explanation.

http://www.2carpros.com/car_articles/coolant_type.htm

A few of you have asked what the "dirt" was at the bottom of the overflow bottle. The article may have answered this.
 
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Satter said:
I've always been wondering what is the difference between the green and red antifreeze? I once heard that certain cars should only have one color or the other.
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Here is something I posted about coolants a few weeks ago. Sorry for being long-winded:

1) Stop thinking colors. It's just dye and they all use ethylene-glycol for freeze/boil protection (almost). It's the corrosion technology that makes them different. Do not mix phosphate formulas with silicate systems, they are antagonistic. There is inorganic additive technology (IAT) or old-time green, organic acid technology (OAT) like Toyota Red and hybrid organic acid technology (HOAT) like Toyota Pink.
2) Old time green had silicates and borates and Toyota decided it was very bad for their engines and went to phosphates (the red stuff) for corrosion protection. Old green will make gunk and destroy corrosion protection if mixed with red.
3) New green? Who the F*** knows? New green can be just about anything and labels always seem to say compatible with everything. I won't use it in my Toyota. Does not mean I'm right. But I've got red in there and I'm sticking to it.
4)In '99, Toyota went to the 50K Red IAT with phosphates in new cars. In 2004 they switched to the 100k phosphated HOAT pink. Toyota has a TSB that swears you can top up, mix, or switch from one to the other. You will get one of those two at the dealer in any car you take in for service, new or old. As of last year when I did my TB my dealer only had Red and swore up and down they never heard of pink (it's in the new cars for four-plus years already!!). Go figure...These are the same clowns that took out my factory red at 30K in 2003 and put in green. The next year they switched to red for all service. I don't go back there anymore except for parts.
5) Lots of techs and others swear it's best to use only red or pink.
6) You should probably flush and start new if you have no clue what's in your cooling system and two different colors running around in there. But if it is a new-tech green of the non-silicate variety you may be just fine. It's the uncertainty that would bug me.
7) [Deleted--does not apply]
8) The new Zerex p-HOAT Asian Formula, Toyota red, Toyota pink or other phosphate system is what I would use and then stick to it.

Asian Zerex

You can get the Zerex Asian at NAPA for a lot less than Toyota stuff, but may have to order it.
9) If you want to go green, change it at 30K max. Frequent changes will trump chemistry unless you have a bad mixture.
10) I have no clue about orange, yellow, fuchsia, lavender or any other aftermarket stuff except the Zerex. But if its new stock (not 10 year old green) ethylene-glycol (almost all are) and no silicates or borates and you change as directed, you are probably good. I just can't speak to it.

There are plenty of posts on how to flush and fill. If you have to mix, use distilled water. As I said, just my opinions.

For years I flushed with a garden hose and dumped in green. Sigh...I got a headache trying to sort this stuff out the first time I looked at it.
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Thanks for that Durk. I remember reading that.

So basically red and pink are guaranteed to work. Nobody really has experience with the new green.
 
Clemsonfan15 said:
I've done my research on the "Pink Milkshake", "Strawberry Milkshake" or whatever you want to call it. I can't find anything that relates to my particular situation.

As a preface, I have no transmission problems that I know of. Everything shifts smoothly. 1st is slightly hard, but I think it has always been that way.

So onto the situation.

About a week ago I was just looking around my vehicle and decided to look in the engine bay. I was looking in the radiator overflow tank and noticed I had almost no liquid in there. Maybe 0.25". There was also some dark stuff in there that looked like dirt. I have no idea how long it had been empty.

So I went and got some Prestone antifreeze that is guaranteed to work with all models. That antifreeze is a lime greenish color. I filled the overflow tank up to the top mark.

I've been checking the tank every few days now and have noticed that the antifreeze in the tank is a very dark red. There is no sign of the lime green color. What could this mean? I thought the Toyota antifreeze was a light red.
Click to expand...

The dark red sounds like it would be just the two of them mixed, now that you've added green. The Toyota antifreeze looks a lot like ATF.

If you haven't changed the fluid in the radiator recently (or if you can't recall last it was done), I would say to go out and get some new coolant and flush the system... for peace of mind.

EDIT: I was too late :( I left this open all day and I just replied now lol
 
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COB- I figured the two of them mixed would not produce such a dark color, but maybe there is something weird in them that makes them change to that color.

koulee- I have no idea why it was low. There was no leaking or anything of that nature. It also never ran hot.
 
bak3rme- In the link that Satter posted it said that all coolant decomposed to its' chemical base. I don't know if that's what it is, but it could be.
 
Clemsonfan15 said:
COB- I figured the two of them mixed would not produce such a dark color, but maybe there is something weird in them that makes them change to that color.

koulee- I have no idea why it was low. There was no leaking or anything of that nature. It also never ran hot.
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If you are not leaking (from the radiator itself, from hoses, from the heater core) then you are burning (blown head gasket).
 
koulee said:
If you are not leaking (from the radiator itself, from hoses, from the heater core) then you are burning (blown head gasket).
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I know that the head gaskets are at least leaking. I don't know how bad. I can see oil around them.

How would that cause the coolant to burn off though?
 
Clemsonfan15 said:
I know that the head gaskets are at least leaking. I don't know how bad. I can see oil around them.

How would that cause the coolant to burn off though?
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I'm pretty sure you mean you see oil around the valve cover gaskets. I don't think you'd see much oil around the head gaskets on the outside of the engine....if you do that's REALLY bad. And you'd have to see it from the underside of the engine probably....you can't see the head/block joint from up top.


If you have a head gasket leaking, it can mean a couple things. If the gasket it blown out by an oil passage, then it's lets oil go where it's not supposed to. If the gasket is blown out by a coolant passage, then it lets coolant go where it's not supposed to. Neither one are supposed to go: into the combustion chambers....or into other passages. If coolant is going into your combustion chamber, then you might get a little white smoke in your exhaust, and you'd slowly lose coolant without seeing a leak. If coolant is going into an oil passage....that's actually worse. It's killing your engine by ruining the oil....and the babbitt of the bearings is getting hurt pretty bad.
 
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