Winter radiator flush

[Rumble Bee]

I purchased a california 4runner and drove it to Colorado. Im doing a tune up and wondering if i should flush my radiator? It currently has red coolant in it.

What type of coolant should i run in the winter?

It get pretty cold in the mountains and im pretty sure the truck has not seen a winter in all its years. I really dont want to blow up the radiator and such...

 

[ozzyleven]

I'm assuming it has Toyota red coolant in it. I would just stick with that because if you don't 100% flush the system, other coolants can react badly with it. I hear lots of positive things about the Toyota coolant, so I think it would hold up just fine in the winter if you mix it properly. Pretty sure it just mixes 50/50. I know you can mix a little heavier on the antifreeze (I use 60/40 in Montana winter), but you should double check if thats okay with the red. Personally, I use Peak green antifreeze, but only because its what came with the truck and I didn't want to take the chance of mixing two types of coolant.

 

[Hyde802]

I dont think a flush is necessary, but would at least check it to make sure it wont freeze. The tool is a couple bucks at most parts stores.

If your coolant fails the test, then flush.

 

[ozzyleven]

Was going to add that if the fluid is pretty clean and not gunky and rusty looking, you could probably just drain and fill. Then you have the piece of mind that the fluid is new and mixed right.

 

[turboSR5]

Toyota Red is excellent, I won't use anything else. One thing to keep in mind is never use it with tap water or else it turns into mud. Use distilled water to top off and mix with.