What Happens if You Add Red Antifreeze to Pink?

[i_am_jim]

Recently I learned about the change from red to pink antifreeze. I'm not sure whether I have pink or red. It's a 2004 Camry and apparently some 2004 Toyotas had one and other models had the other. I think it was the pink because it says you don't have to change it for 100k or so miles.

So, here's my situation. When I got the car I didn't know there were two kinds. When I saw the reservoir and it looked red/pink I assumed it was the same stuff I had been using, so I've been topping off with diluted red. Has that ruined my cooling system? Will it still go 100K? Should I rush out and change to the pink at breathtaking cost? What?

[vasy]

I once read a Toyota publication about their pink antifreeze. It says if you mix the pink with the red where the pink is factory fill, the 100,000 or so mileage replacement interval is reduced to the same as the red stuff, which is 50,000. I don't think any harm is done except for a shorter service life of the coolant. Red and pink are considered "compatible", meaning it's not going to ruin the cooling system.

[fenixus]

here is what i've learned from Toyota Parts techie. he said that both coolant are similar, however they should NOT be mixed, because they have different salts (check labels) ... but i think no great harm would have been done in your case if it was only topping off.
worst case scenario, you should change coolant soon to a fresh fill. the tricky parts is to get it done correctly, as radiator holds only 1/2 of capacity (the rest sits in the engine block).

you can go with either one, but it's easier to do with RED coolant and distilled water if you plan flushing the system with only distilled water and doing the job through radiator only. the idea is to fill system with distilled water (flushing 2-3 times) and than drain only radiator and fill up with RED coolant, so after mixing in system it becomes a 50/50 mix.
here is how:
Coolant flush: Do you remove engine block drain plug?

but if you can easily drain system completely by flushing also engine block (2 plugs on V6) then you can go with PINK one (or flush system throug radiator a few times but using PINK coolant instead of distilled water.

Last option is bring car to dealer and ask for a complete cooling system flush (or complete drain plus fill up).

[BlackCamSe]

ur wheels are going to fall off

[i_am_jim]

Thanks