3rd & 4th Generation (1992–1996 & 1997–2001)Toyota Camry Discussion for years: 1992-1996 & 1997-2001
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I was doing a coolant flush on my camry (2000, 4 cyl, 95k miles).
Coolant was drained and filled 2 years back. this time I planned to do a full flush. Gone throught the threads here, got the yota red coolant, 3 gal distilled water.
Radiator drained.
Removed front engine drain valve..nothing came out.. So tighten that and decided to go through the flush via thermostat.
Removed thermostat. A lot of coolant came out.
Removed upper rad hose. Poured in 2 gals of distilled water. Water finally came out clear through thermostat housing.
Put the therostat back, connected upper rad hose
closed rad drain valve.
used coolant looked good, no deposit or flakes etc.
All good so far..
I mixed the yota red coolant (1 gal) with 1 gal distilled water to make it 50/50. Filled radiator with this mixture.
After filling, it hit me...dang..there is still distilled water in the engine block. So now my 50/50 fluid is going be like 25/75.
Dealership is closed on sunday.
So I took a chance and started the car, burped the rad, drove for 15 min (temp is steady at half mark)
Top of the radiator (after an hour). Took for another drive, everything is good.
So my question is, since it is not 50/50, should I drain and fill it with a full concentrate (or make a 75/25 and fill) or leave it as is for now.
waiting for all coolant specialists' opinion on this.
By chance, do you have a coolant density tester??
It takes a sample of your coolant and weighted balls will float to indicate coolant concentration 0r a weighted needle to indicate how much glycol you have in the mixture.
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2004 RX330 Sport
2003 Cam I4 XLE
2000 Cam XLE Gold Edition V6
1998 CamCE I4 Super Commuter!
Those coolant density testers are the only way to do it with any accuracy, AFAIK. They're cheap; like $5. Or perhaps you could stop at an auto repair shop and ask them to test it?... probably take like 5 minutes, so if they charge anything at all, it shouldn't be much.
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1992 Camry LE, V6 (3VZ-FE), ABS brakes, 330k miles, dark emerald pearl, owned since new.
1996 Avalon XLS, ABS brakes, moonroof, white, acquired w/ 139k miles, now at 261k.
2001 Yamaha FZ1, Ivan's jet kit, resprung all around, Ohlins in the rear, Race Tech cartridge emulators in the forks, 45k miles.
The Following User Says Thank You to BMR For This Useful Post:
My opinion is that if you're not overheating, it's fine. Come winter, though, you'll want to fix this. I see you're in CO and you don't want to bust a freeze plug. For your winter I'd even do 60/40.
any mixture below 30% or above 70% is dangerous in terms of long-term components protection or thermal efficiency (too low ratio) or corrosive mixture.
get the 5-ball type Coolant tester from Autozone or any other parts store. basically you need to suck up a little mixture into the baster thing and count the balls floating on surface for the tester. anything above 3 balls is not bad, best if you can see 4 or all balls floating.
you are probably OK for now (Summer), but fix the ratio before Winter though as noted above.
__________________ '02 Solara SLE V6 1MZ-FE/A541E Coupe .: Denso/NGK : Akebono SP : Philips 9011 HIR (low+high) : Toshiba HIR2 9012 (fogs) : Magnefine :. @ 131k
'00 Solara SE 5S-FE/A140E Coupe .: NGK : Hawk HPS : Philips XP : RCEng : Magnefine :. @ 82k
4SALE: connectors for Camry Headlight Wiring Harness and ECU
get the 5-ball type Coolant tester from Autozone or any other parts store. basically you need to suck up a little mixture into the baster thing and count the balls floating on surface for the tester. anything above 3 balls is not bad, best if you can see 4 or all balls floating.
Thanks, going to get this meter and get that sort out this weekend.
If you're not screwing up occasionally, you're not really doing DIY
I was teaching my son how to change the oil in the Cam this past weekend, and gave him a rundown of all the ways I've managed to screw up a simple oil change over the years. I think I may've scared him And I was so busy yakking we managed to overfill the engine by a quarter quart Not enough to matter, but still...
If you're not screwing up occasionally, you're not really doing DIY
I was teaching my son how to change the oil in the Cam this past weekend, and gave him a rundown of all the ways I've managed to screw up a simple oil change over the years. I think I may've scared him And I was so busy yakking we managed to overfill the engine by a quarter quart Not enough to matter, but still...
I hear ya, man. I bet I've changed oil a couple 100 times. But about a year ago doing one on the Avy, I forgot to check that the filter gasket came out with the filter. So there were two in there. Started 'er up and got a fan shaped fountain of oil spewing outta there like freakin' Old Faithful!! Gawd, what a f'ing mess!!!
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1992 Camry LE, V6 (3VZ-FE), ABS brakes, 330k miles, dark emerald pearl, owned since new.
1996 Avalon XLS, ABS brakes, moonroof, white, acquired w/ 139k miles, now at 261k.
2001 Yamaha FZ1, Ivan's jet kit, resprung all around, Ohlins in the rear, Race Tech cartridge emulators in the forks, 45k miles.
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And I was so busy yakking we managed to overfill the engine by a quarter quart 
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