Yes it should have been some shade of red, but then I had a dealer put green prestone in my car some years ago. If the car is high mileage then just use it and don't sweat nails. If you want to dump it, get a few gallons of distilled water to help flush it out, but it isn't all as b ad as some guys here would like to preach. New car-pour it out and flush, old car, hold your nose and drive it.
No way I'd have that piss-ant green color coolant in my Toyota. It'll add a full second to your 0-60mph time, wear out your tires in half the mileage, and cut your gas mileage in half.
Personally I use only Toyota replacement parts and fluids for my car assize from engine oil. I work at a shop and could get other parts and fluids much cheaper. But they are inferior quality vs oem. Toyota engineers designed the fluids for their cars for a reason. Only problem I see is you no longer have the luxury of an extended drain interval. And if all the Toyota pink/red wasent flushed out of the engine as well it may cause problems. Red doesn't mix with green very well.
A lot of aftermarket coolants are "universal" now. And one company now is actually Green. Messed me up when I did engine swaps in two newer fords and the coolant was that bright green color.
Pretty much, make sure the coolant is compatible. Mixing traditional green antifreeze with Orange(Dex-cool) will cause silicone build-up and clogged radiator.
Drain your system by opening radiator and block drain/drains. Flush two or three gallons of distilled water through the system and then fill with Zerex Asian Vehicle coolant available from NAPA. This coolant is very close to the OEM coolant at half the cost. Chech protection to see if you are good for -40F. Regards
Zerex Asian looks good as a Toyota Red alternative. However it is not a match for the Toyota Pink in price or chemistry.
Zerez Asian is the same price as Toyota Red. The Red is a concentrate, not a pre-mix like Toyota Pink and Zerex Asian. Once you mix the Red the price is cut in 1/2. So its about $12 a gal, same price as Zerex Asian pre-mix.
Zerex Asian is closer to Toyota Red than it is Toyota Pink in chemistry. Zerex Asian and Toyota Red use DIETHYLENE GLYCOL. Pink does not.
Zerex Asian and Toyota Red are long life coolants. Toyota Pink is a Super long life coolant.
So its really a wash. Whichever is easier to find.
What did the bottle say RE compatibility to Toyota coolant spec? That is the most critical part -does the coolant manufacturer certify compatibility with manufacturer's needs.
Mixing chemistry of coolants is a recipe for disaster, especially if significant amount of the old stuff is still there. The issues you will face are:
Seal compatibility for water pump. This engine has the water pump seals as a weak point - chemistry mistakes can get you into more frequent water pump swaps.
Corrosion. This engine has Al block and FE liners. Good potential for a galvanic cell. This could also contribute to head bolt problems (assuming they are related to corrosion).
Build-up/precipitation of clog-making chemicals that plug up the radiator and heater core.
The labels "long life" and "super long life" are marketing terms. Don't confuse MARKETING terms with antifreeze performance.
My '04 requires Pink. It has a 100k/10yr, whichever comes 1st, change interval for ONLY the 1st interval. Every subsequent interval is 50k/5yr for Pink. Makes you wonder why SuperLongLife is better from the factory and only half as good as a replacement for the parts dept?? The '04 is filled with Lifetime Peak Global.
My '99 requires Red. Its interval requirement is a 30k/2yr interval. Sound like a short life coolant :rofl2: It is currently filled with Zerex Asian.
Zerex Asian is a 5yr/150k fluid. Peak Global is so-called 'Lifetime' but recommends the OE interval.
Price? I haven't found a local dealer that can match Napa for Zerex or Peak(concentrate or 50:50).
I can find Peak Global 50:50 EVERYWHERE, including the local supermarket or pharmacy.
I get 2 gallons of 50:50 Zerex for $25 which is what 1 gallon of Pink costs.
I can mix up 2 gallons of Peak for $15, or buy 2 gallons of Peak 50:50 for $20.
I won't even consider the Red 2yr/30k stuff.
Quit drinking the Toyota Coolaid. I would put Zerex or Peak on par with or BETTER than the Pink.
BTW, Red and Pink are completely compatible. The only issue when you mix coolants is that you are stuck with the 'lesser coolant' change interval.
My 2004 XLE V6 came factory filled with Toyota RED coolant, not the pink coolant. I only recently replaced (most of) the original factor fill RED coolant when I had the timing belt and water pump replaced at 117,000 miles. The original RED coolant had always tested good, looked nice and RED and I saw no reason to replace it. Maybe that's why my water pump was still going strong at 117k even though I decided to replace it when the timing belt was replaced. I'd say that kind of performance for 117k+ miles (and still going strong) is great, and have no problem with Toyota calling it either a long-life coolant...or a super long-life coolant.
The look of the coolant means nothing with the OAT and HOAT fluids. UOA it! Most of the newer coolants tolerate negligence better than the past, when vehicles had winterizing(usually meant silicate coolant change yearly before winter).
Both of my '04s had Pink. Glad because the red in the '99 left me unimpressed. I found corrosion and rust in the '99 and it was well maintained.
I haven't had to replace my WP yet on the '04. And, my 99's wasn't leaking when the original WP at the 2nd t-belt job was replaced just because of the mileage.
I prefer changing my coolant when compared to failed radiators, water pumps, heat cores, head gaskets.... and all those 'cooling system' or overheating problems that are here, with pretty much daily new threads showing problems. $25 in coolant every couple years vs rebuilding your cooling system in 10?
I still will recommend the aftermarket fluids unless you're trying to match some under hood color scheme. Honda type-2, or was it Nissan, is for those that want 'blue'.
My 2004 was special ordered by me and came in around Labor Day of 2003, which is early in the 2004 car [model] year. This probably explains why my 2004 had the RED coolant and your '04 (assumed to be made a little later in the 2004 car year) had the PINK coolant. That said, I personally like the fact that the RED coolant in my vehicle was the pure full-strength coolant that was not to be diluted with water. That kept any water (distilled or otherwise) out of the entire coolant system. In the case of the PINK coolant (which is prediluted with 'supposedly' clean and distilled WATER to 50/50 concentration) it is my opinion that the PINK coolant has a much greater likelihood of being contaminated during the manufacturing process by adding water, or during any type of servicing the owner may have done...compared to a vehicle with pure full-strength RED coolant.
Have you or any service attendant/mechanic/tech (Toyota or otherwise) ever added water (distilled or otherwise) to your coolant system?
Have you ever flushed your coolant system using water (distilled or otherwise)?
How pure was the 50% volume of H2O that was used to originally dilute the PINK coolant when it was manufactured?
How pure was the 50% volume of H2O that was used to dilute the PINK coolant when your vehicle was factory-filled?
My RED coolant has always been 100% pure full-strength RED coolant - the same RED coolant that was factory-filled in the vehicle in 2003 when the vehicle was made and came off the assembly line. The coolant system had never had any coolant or water added until just recently...and only pure RED coolant was added when the water pump and thermostat was replaced during the timing belt replacement. Whatever amount of RED coolant was lost when replacing the water pump and thermostat ONLY RED coolant was used to replace that lost coolant. There was no flushing with water, no mixing of another coolant - just replacement of pure 100% RED coolant with new pure 100% RED coolant. There was (and is) no chance that any contamination due to water (distilled or otherwise) can damage/corrode anything in the entire cooling system...unlike the high likelihood of that happening in a vehicle using the PINK coolant that is a 50/50 concentration with water. I'll take the 100% pure full-strength RED myself.
I strongly doubt your car had full strength from the factory. It was likely diluted to 50/50 when it was built (that doesn't mean it wont look red). Coolant is there for corrosion inhibiting and anti-freeze. The main job of the coolant mixture with water is to remove heat (hence 50/50 mix). Pink just does this step for you. Red is made to be diluted with water. Honda sells there Type 2 (pink equivalent) as a Full strength and pre-mix. It's the same coolant just one will give you 2 gallons of mixture and one will give you 1 and are priced accordingly.
Well, I know that over the 9 years I've owned the car (since it was brand new) no water has ever been added to the coolant. I also know that when the water pump was recently replaced the lost coolant was replaced with pure 100% (undiluted) RED coolant....with ZERO water added or ever touching the coolant or system. So...make of it whatever you wish, but for 118,000 miles and 9 years of driving the coolant has never had any water added/used to dilute, flush, clean or anything else pertaining to the coolant system. No chance of bad water corroding anything in my coolant system!
PS - I am in Dallas, TX, which has many 100+ degree days in the summer. Last year in 2011 we had 40 consecutive 100+ degree days. For 9 years my cooling system (RED coolant, water pump, fans) has kept my temperature gauge's needle perfectly steady whether I was traveling at highway speeds or stop-and-crawl, bumper-to-bumper traffic for an hour in 107 degrees. And of course on the rare days here in Dallas when the temperature drops below freezing my RED coolant protects the coolant system just fine...
Only I have service all my vehicles. The dealer has performed recalls and has never added anything since I make sure all is fully topped off.
The Red antifreeze is mixed 50:50 with water by the factory and your dealer during servicing. Running it without diluting it with distilled or deionized water is a mistake. Water is the best coolant but has problem with 'temp' and 'corrosion' and is why we used the additized antifreeze. Running antifreeze at a higher than 70% reduces its cooling ability as pure EG under pressure doesn't conduct enough BTU's. Pure 100% waterless coolant has about 65% of the heat capacity of pure water. 50:50 is about 85% of pure water and is what the cooling system is designed around. Pure EG is foolish for a hot climate as you effectively knock off 20% of your cooling capacity when comparing 100% EG vs the 50:50 that the vehicle shipped with from the factory.
NPG and NPG+ are the ONLY waterless coolants that I'd consider but require mods to utilize effectively.
If I was in a warm enough climate, I'd would use 100% water mixed with just a corrosion inhibitor, or at least 70% water to improve my cooling capacity.
Canadian Pink is blended 5% stronger than the ~50:50 Pink that the USA gets. This provides additional freeze protection.
Don't confuse the higher boilover capability of higher concentrations of EG, to the amount of heat that is capable of being removed.
If your vehicle is being serviced by a professional, they would add 50% water whether they tell you or not, just like your factory fill.
I agree that running 100% is a bad idea.
I have nothing else to say in this thread.
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