First coolant drain/fill

[HossBoss]

I purchased my CPO T4R in April and I am wondering 2 things:
My reservoir was filled w/ a pink/red coolant, and is pretty low. Do I need to fill it with anything special?

Also, when would you guys recommend a drain/fill. I have put 12K on it since April, so I assume I'm about halfway there...

 

[762x51]

What year 4runner? There are 2 different types of coolant that toyota uses. The older and RED color long life, and the newer PINK color super long life. The RED LL coolant can be bought as a concentrate at toyota and use 50/50 water mix. The PINK SLL coolant only comes in a premix so you just pour it right in. Make sure you know which one you have, even though they are said to be compatible if mixed I have read some horror stories on the net.

I am not 100% sure but my understanding is 03/04 have or at least came with The RED LL. 05+ have SLL PINK. I can tell you for sure that 03 is RED cause I just did mine. As far as milage for the coolant goes I believe the RED is good for 30k I believe and SLL PINK is good for 100k.

 

[HossBoss]

O7 v6

 

[chaz]

yup, 07 uses the pink & is good til 100k

 

[4RunnerFan]

This thread piqued my interest such that I got the owner's manual and scheduled maintenance guide out of the glove compartment of our '08 T4R V6 4WD.

Looking through the scheduled maintenance guide I could find no mileage interval that required a coolant change. Lots of intervals that said to inspect the coolant, but nothing that said it should be changed.

Also, the owner's manual says for USA the "'Toyota Super Long Life Coolant' is a mixture of 50% coolant and 50% deionized water. This coolant provides protection down to about -31 degrees F."

So, I must have missed the part in one or both manuals that specifies the mileage the coolant is to be changed. Anyone know which manual and what page number?

Come to think of it, the same question applies to the WS transmission fluid.

 

[Jeff T]

Manual in my 04 said 100k, the every 50K afterwards...

 

[4RunnerFan]

Thanks, Jeff. Yep, found it. There are numerous service intervals in the scheduled maintenance guide that have only 3 or 4 items, while other intervals (such as 30k, 45k, 60k, etc) list many more items. The 100k interval is one of those small ones on page 18, so I blasted right by it.

Thing is, the guide says 100k or 120 months. Will probably hit 10 years before hitting 100k miles. Not sure I should wait that long before changing it out.

 

[ClockWork]

Toyota pink coolant flush @ 100k miles.

 

[Acidmeld]

The way i look at it is this. New is better than old. I drain/refill the radiator every 30k. This is a bit overkill but it completely negates the need for a flush later on and all it takes is a bucket and the cost of the coolant.

Edit: ONLY use the toyota super long life coolant, aka the pink coolant.

 

[4RunnerFan]

The way i look at it is this. New is better than old. I drain/refill the radiator every 30k. This is a bit overkill but it completely negates the need for a flush later on and all it takes is a bucket and the cost of the coolant.

That actually sounds like a great idea!

 

[Geaux504360]

Acidmeld; do you just drain the radiator and refill it every 2 years. What is your procedure? I’m worried about getting air in the cooling system if I do it myself. Thanks for any advice.

 

[BlackWorksInc]

Acidmeld; do you just drain the radiator and refill it every 2 years. What is your procedure? I’m worried about getting air in the cooling system if I do it myself. Thanks for any advice.

First off, this is an OLD thread; but kudos for searching!

Second, there is a drain valve on the actual radiator and drain valves on the block if you really want to get every last drop of the coolant out of the vehicle.

I would use a tool like this to fill it up as you can use it to burp the system better (in case you do get air in the system, which you will.)
Amazon.com: Lisle 24680 Spill-Free Funnel: Automotive
But if $20-30 is too much, you can probably just get by with baby sitting the radiator with the coolant bottle in hand for 5-10 minutes and hopefully getting most of the big bubbles out.

I would highly recommend that you use Genuine Toyota SLLC (Super Long Life Coolant Aka "Toyota Pink") Do not use LLC (Toyota "Red) as it is not the correct formula for the vehicle. But if you can't get Genuine Toyota SLLC, Zerex Asian Formula and Amsoil's Coolant are acceptable substitutes that I would recommend as alternatives (a lot of coolants won't match Toyota's requirements.)

The interval for Toyota SLLC is 10yr/100k, after the first service the interval drops to 5yr/50k.

 

[tucktuck8]

Quick question.

When you change the water pump and timing belt how much coolant do you have to replace?

Reason I'm asking is because the previous owner had the timing belt/water pump changed and I'm wondering if that is considered a coolant change.

 

[ben550]

The way i look at it is this. New is better than old. I drain/refill the radiator every 30k. This is a bit overkill but it completely negates the need for a flush later on and all it takes is a bucket and the cost of the coolant.

Edit: ONLY use the toyota super long life coolant, aka the pink coolant.

That is exactly what I do. Saves the headache at 100k, 150k, 200k, etc..

 

[JEL]

That is exactly what I do. Saves the headache at 100k, 150k, 200k, etc..

x3

A simple radiator drain and refill every 2 years probably gets about half of the old stuff out, but if done frequently it'll keep the coolant extremely clean and the additive package fresh. This is probably especially important on the 03-05 V6's with the suspect head gaskets, although I'm not sure how much of an impact that has on that particular issue TBH.

 

[Acidmeld]

Acidmeld; do you just drain the radiator and refill it every 2 years. What is your procedure? I’m worried about getting air in the cooling system if I do it myself. Thanks for any advice.

Like I said I do my services every 30k. Just did my 4th coolant change last month at 120K.

In case anyone wonders, my 30k services include:
Drain and refill coolant, atf, all 3 diffs
Oil change
Replace air filter, cabin filter
Rotate & balance tires