Cooling system flush, ridding of nasty green stuff

[silver4est]

I’m planning to remove the green coolant from my engine and replace with Toyota coolant. Can I get some advice for flushing the old coolant all out so I can add new.
Thanks

 

[mtbtim]

Here you go.
https://youtu.be/oQsxmi-CNng

 

[gamefreakgc]

I suggest filling it back in after the flush with Pink Long-Life fluid if you can, has a 50k mile change interval versus 30k with the red. They started making it after 3rd gens were out of production I believe, but it completely backwards compatible.

Both provide the same heating and coolant properties though.

 

[silver4est]

Backwards comparable with the over the counter green stuff?

 

[gamefreakgc]

Backwards comparable with the over the counter green stuff?

No, I meant with the Toyota engine and aluminum radiator & hoses. Neither red nor pink is compatible with green, or yellow, or orange coolants. Or blue Nissan coolant.

On a side note, why are there so many coolant colors? I'd like to have a long talk with car engineers on why their motor is so special that it gets it's own color coolant.

 

[phattyduck]

The Pink coolant has a reduced drain interval if it has been mixed with other coolant types. The Red stuff is probably really what you want to use, though they are compatible (though not the same!).

I have always just done a drain and fill with distilled water, run for at least one full heat/cool cycle (or even a full week of driving, assuming it isn't below freezing) then fill up with Toyota Red. Since there will be some water left in the system, you want to mix it more than 50/50 to get the ratio back up - or run slightly lower than a 50/50 mix if you are ok with that.

-Charlie

 

[BrianSD_42]

Is there something wrong with the green stuff in your 4Runner that makes it nasty? Such as chunks of crud or something?

Because a sh$t-ton of people run green without issue in their Toyotas. There are countless debates on the issue and debating it further is completely a waste of time but if you want to know more go read them.

With that said, so is their something special about the green in your particular 4Runner?

 

[silver4est]

No nothing wrong, could stick with it, radiator was replaced by PO and that’s they used. Cold Level in expansion tank is low so figured maybe just switch it out.

Are the expansion tanks supposed to be full? I only ask as in the Audi’s I’ve owned in the past, the expansion tank is always full. But they are so difficult to bleed air from the system they have to be filled.

Thanks guys

 

[4Runner4Leon]

And Toyota specifically states that if you put the 50K Super Long Life Coolant (pink) into a car originally designed for only the 30K Long Life Coolant (red), you have to go by the car, not the coolant. So you can't/shouldn't extend the drain interval beyond 30K even if you do switch coolants.

From Toyota:

A new pink colored LLC is being phased into production for all 2002 Japan Built Toyota models. The color change does not affect the maintenance procedures or intervals established for the red coolant. The new pink coolant is 100% compatible with the current red coolant and red coolant can be used to replace, top off, or mix in with the pink coolant with no adverse effects.

 

[T4R2014]

There's honestly nothing wrong with green if you change it.

 

[silver4est]

I'm assuming its aluminum safe green stuff

 

[JRZEE2000TR4LTD]

I'm assuming its aluminum safe green stuff

All coolant is aluminium safe. Green stuff you just have to flush more often

 

[tvpierce]

I won't get into the coolant color/type debate. Just know that each is formulated for compatability with the materials used in the block, head, and cooling system. And many are not compatable with each other. So if you're changing from one to another, be sure to flush completely.

Here's my shop trick for power flushing. A cheap brass garden hose nozzle fits heater hoses perfectly. Drain and capture all the coolant. Remove the heater return line and insert the garden hose nozzle into it -- use the hose clamp from the return line to secure the nozzle. Then turn the garden hose on full to back flush. Just let the discharge run out on the ground. It's so diluted at that point that that you don't need to capture it. Once the discharge is running clean, turn off the garden hose, remove the nozzel, and fit a funnel in its place. Run some distilled water through to flush out the tap water, then fill the system with your coolant of choice.

 

[mtbtim]

All coolant is aluminium safe. Green stuff you just have to flush more often

That's what I understand as well. I've never had issues with the green coolant. I renew my coolant every 30k.

Now, did Toyota create their own coolant because they felt it was necessary for the health of their engines or did they see this as an opportunity to make money off all their Toyota customers by telling them they need to use Toyota coolant only. With all the Toyotas on the road, I would imagine they make a healthy profit alone just by selling their coolant to a majority of their customers.

 

[gamefreakgc]

All coolant is aluminium safe. Green stuff you just have to flush more often

That's my grief with the green. It goes all rusty colored real fast if you don't change it quick enough. The only Toyotas I've owned with bad radiators had the green stuff in them previously and they were all scaled and corroded. Coincidence? Maybe, maybe not.

 

[mtbtim]

That's my grief with the green. It goes all rusty colored real fast if you don't change it quick enough. The only Toyotas I've owned with bad radiators had the green stuff in them previously and they were all scaled and corroded. Coincidence? Maybe, maybe not.

Ive never seen rusty colored coolant in any of the vehicles I've owned that had green coolant in them which is all of them except my 98 3rd Gen. I wonder how long the coolant was in these vehicles for it to turn rusty colored. I've always renewed my coolant every 30k and the coolant looks great at that mileage.

 

[Scramble]

I've been running Green in my 3RZ since it's first change at 30K. Never looked rusty. I might go to Red on it's next change. My Limited has Red in it & I'll keep it that way.

 

[RAD4Runner]

If it ain't broke don't fix it. If green did not give you any problem, stay green.

...Remove the heater return line and insert the garden hose nozzle into it...

Yes, regularly flushing and back-flushing like this^^^ is key.
Make sure you run this rinse-flush water in reverse of coolant direction through radiator and heater core. Rinse water should go from bottom of radiator and out the filler.

I suggest using the "heavy-duty" flush as described on container of the Prestone Flushing solution... Bonus: Good excuse for a road trip.

When we did our Corolla, even IF the red coolant we drained was clear like new, this still came out after running the "heavy-duty flush in the sysytem for a couple of days driving...

 

[gamefreakgc]

Ive never seen rusty colored coolant in any of the vehicles I've owned that had green coolant in them which is all of them except my 98 3rd Gen. I wonder how long the coolant was in these vehicles for it to turn rusty colored. I've always renewed my coolant every 30k and the coolant looks great at that mileage.

I've had two that used green, two with pink. The pinks are my current 4Runner with 217k miles, and a deceased Corolla with 56k. The ones that used green that went rusty on me was a 95 4Runner with 90k miles, and a 91 Pickup with 290k miles. Perhaps it was the 3.0L V6 that didn't like the green? I replaced the 91 coolant with green, and it went rusty on me in 6 months. Flushed it and put red in it and never had another issue with it.

Anywho, that's been my experience.

 

[phattyduck]

That's what I understand as well. I've never had issues with the green coolant. I renew my coolant every 30k.

Now, did Toyota create their own coolant because they felt it was necessary for the health of their engines or did they see this as an opportunity to make money off all their Toyota customers by telling them they need to use Toyota coolant only. With all the Toyotas on the road, I would imagine they make a healthy profit alone just by selling their coolant to a majority of their customers.

Green if fine if you change it often. I prefer to spend a bit extra and know that my engine isn't corroding if I forget to change out my coolant on schedule.

It is all about the push for lower maintenance (both in cost and amount of work required). Toyota customers (most, at least) don't want to do maintenance*. Also, at shop rates, it is actually much cheaper to go with the longer drain interval and pay $20 extra for the coolant.

-Charlie

*I worked at a Toyota dealer one summer around 2000... we had multiple cars come in with seized engines around 45-60k miles - the owners had done 0 maintenance, never added oil, etc. They thought that since Toyotas were reliable, they didn't need to do maintenance on them.