So how bad is doing this (coolant)?

[DM616]

I know a shop that will 'flush' the coolant, and what I mean about that is they use some kind of machine to suck out all the old coolant. I'm not really sure if they rinse it out with water, they might, or might not. Hey it's cheap <_< $30

My coolant is currently some-what red, some-what brown, rust probably got in it.

Anyways, am I better off to go with the $30 or go spend $70 more on someone who properly flushes it? Then again anybody over here doesn't sound sure of what they're doing. I told them I want the radiator and engine block flushed with water and all that over the phone, they're like what.

(I'm not a car expert guys like you lol, I don't think I could drain it myself)

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Also, I got a general question. I got an aftermarket thermometer, it says to place the sensor on the rubber of the driver's door but I heard that's very unaccurate. I heard the front bumper or cowl was best...so how do I wire it to the front bumper or cowl? 1997 camry.

[Darchrow Enigma]

if toyota put the coolant it, their brand of coolant is red. if your coolant indeed has rust and dirt in it, it probably jacked up a whole lot of other things...hoses, water pump, etc.

you don't necessarily "have" to ever flush the coolant. $30 sounds good to me, considering the whole process doesn't require much labor, just attach something to the radiator and flush out the fluids, then just pour in a gallon of new coolant. sounds nice, but i never really opted to do it myself. however, i had to get a new radiator so the coolant was flushed out anyway.

as for engine block flushing...never heard of it. i recall a scam from local lube shops that upsold it to their customers which ended up damaging the engine, and toyota commenting to reporters that were investigating the "scam" that they don't recommend an engine "flush"

thermometer...you'll need to drill a hole. if you have an aftermarket alarm like Viper, you'll already have a hole. just got to line the wire along wherever it's coming from, feed it through the hole, then line it up nice and pretty along the chassis to the front bumper or grille.

also regarding everything i just mentioned...get a second opinion.

[DM616]

Well I've seen toyota red, and it's not supposed to be this dark. It's a mix between brown and red. Thanks though, I'll probably get it flushed for the hell of it to make sure it's all good, unless someone thinks it's a waste of money.

Now, my car has an alarm, do I know if it's aftermarket, not sure, where would the hole be? It's not a firewall hole like by the brake right? I'll check once you say where it would be at, thanks!

[Darchrow Enigma]

installers drilled a hole at the driver's side firewall. when i open my hood there's a huge horn there with wires coming out of it, and going through the hole. where the brake booster lines are. if it's a factory alarm, i have no idea.

when's your next scheduled maintenance? coolant flush is included in that, so might as well get the other fluids topped off...otherwise if you go in for a tuneup/preventive maintenance/scheduled maintenance, tell the shop to skip the radiator flush and give you a discount.

you should probably also figure out how the coolant turned brown so it doesn't happen again.

[Stillrunning]

Coolant should be changed on a regular basis depending on the coolant type. It looses its ph and becomes acidic and may get rust/deposits in it. Flushing is difficult unless you use a machine because you can't get all the old stuff out unless you remove the block drains. Prestone makes a flush kit which uses a garden hose hooked to your heater line, but that uses a lot of water and makes it difficult to dispose of all the coolant water properly. I've used the Prestone and also removed the block drains but don't like either, so I have paid about $70 for an initial flush with the machine then once each year drain and re-fill the rad with Walmart's 5 year 50/50 mix coolant. It's easy and in about 5 years you've flushed the entire system while keeping the proper ph. I also add the appropriate amount of Prestone additive to help lubricate the water pump.

[DM616]

Well it's a factory alarm since it says 'TOYOTA SECURITY' with the red flashing dot. Anyways, the coolant was 'flushed' a few years ago, but the car was never really driven, it sat a lot, it was owned by an old guy lol.

Any ideas for the thermometer sensor? And I don't have a next scheduled maintenance >_> but I think I should get new of all liquids before school. Here's a picture of the driver's side car hood (if there is the hole, can you re-upload it with a red circle lol?) :

http://img826.imageshack.us/img826/268/0822101757.jpg

[Darchrow Enigma]

that thing with the red wire is a loud phone that beeps like hell when the car senses "trauma"
the thin red wire goes into a tiny hole a local alarm sharp drilled.
to the right is a significantly larger hole that i drilled to install subs (which i removed because it was heavy.)

i've personally never really seen a toyota factory alarm...not really on the top of my mind when in the few chances i even do look under the hood of other camrys. which is never.

[DM616]

So mine has none? I got to take a better look before digging and drilling around but this seems like more trouble than it's worth. I feel like if I don't drill in the right spot or correctly I will screw something up.

[Darchrow Enigma]

i think you might be able to do it w/o drilling.

there should be a rubber lining around the firewall that prevents water getting into the engine bay...remove that rubber trim, run the thermostat through, then put the trim back in.

[DM616]

Alright, now, the firewall, that's right by the brake, correct? I'll take a look. Also I was researching about and I found something about a wheel well and that there is a rubber piece or something like that covering a hole, where is this 'wheel well'...?

I also think my alarm is connected to my horn somehow since it just blows the horn repeatedly.