1992 3vz-fe coolant

[wifiabc]

Hi,
I took the car to a radiator shop to get a coolant flush and to replace the coolant. I didn't remind him to use Toyota red coolant because I thought him being a specialist would know what coolant to use, especially when the car had red coolant when I brought it to him. When I went to collect the car, I found he had replaced it with green coolant.

Is it safe for a 1992 Camry/ES300 with a 3VZ-FE engine, stock radiator, to use green coolant for 2 years until my next scheduled flush?

I searched the forum using keywords "3vz-fe green coolant" but a lot of the threads are not specific to 3vz-fe using green coolant.

Thanks

[BMR]

My Camry's been running with green coolant ever since the original radiator died at about 140k miles. The second rad lasted until last summer, around 280k miles. So I don't think running green coolant does any harm.

[ZaLiTH]

The colour of the coolant doesn't really make any difference, the coolant itself is generally clear to start with, the manufacturers actually add colour dyes to help identify it. (Toyota use red, Ford use yellow, etc etc).

I asked about the same thing when I got my radiator reconditioned about 2 months back. Same situation as you; it had red coolant, when it came back it had green. Don't worry about the colours, they're just for identifying the source of the coolant, a radiator specialist wouldn't use it if it didn't work for your car... It is, after all, their area of expertise (as long as you go to a decent specialist, of course, but that's just common sense there).

[chronoti]

you be fine but toyota red is the best because it doesn't contain silica which extends the life of the pump

[ZaLiTH]

Originally Posted by chronoti

you be fine but toyota red is the best because it doesn't contain silica which extends the life of the pump

That isn't necessarily true... It depends on the engine. I know this is from a rather old article, but there is still a lot of truth to it. Here's a quote from an article I found ages back when I was researching this topic:

So why even use silicates? Because they’re really good at what they do, especially in iron block/aluminum head engines. That’s why some manufacturers still specify using coolants with silicate corrosion inhibitors. It took almost 20 years of OAT development to make a coolant that would effectively protect against corrosion without using silicates at all.

Source: http://www.search-autoparts.com/sear....jsp?id=159744

[wifiabc]

Thanks everyone. It's a relief to know that it's OK.

[azcat90]

I don't think Toyota Red was invented in 1992 - mine takes green.

[JohnGD]

If you use an aftermarket water pump made in the US then it should be fine. The main concern about green silicated coolant is the cheap rubber seals of Asian pumps are easily damaged.

Bosch pumps at Pep Boys for example, even include an instruction sheets saying ok to use low silicate coolant. If you don't want Toyota Red fpr whatever reason then Valvoline's G-05 used by Mercedes for a long time now is a good choice too if your water pump has a carbide seal like it should.

I'd stay away from 2EHA inhibitors that can soften seals and plastics, like Death-cool (I mean Dexcool) and other similar All-Makes coolants.

Originally Posted by wifiabc

Hi,
I took the car to a radiator shop to get a coolant flush and to replace the coolant. I didn't remind him to use Toyota red coolant because I thought him being a specialist would know what coolant to use, especially when the car had red coolant when I brought it to him. When I went to collect the car, I found he had replaced it with green coolant.

Is it safe for a 1992 Camry/ES300 with a 3VZ-FE engine, stock radiator, to use green coolant for 2 years until my next scheduled flush?

I searched the forum using keywords "3vz-fe green coolant" but a lot of the threads are not specific to 3vz-fe using green coolant.

Thanks