Another coolant thread.

[ofogao]

I have a 2004 rolla with 195 000 kms.

I've spent countless hours reading the many threads on coolant flushes and so on.

I finally decided on a simple drain and fill.

My rolla has the Toyota pink coolant in it and I bought a 4 litre jug (50/50 premix) of the stuff from the dealer.

I'm planning to drain the old coolant from the valve at the bottom of the rad.

After I've drained the coolant all I'm going to do is replace it with new coolant.

Some questions:
I'm just wondering if I missed anything? How much coolant will drain by opening the peacock valve only? Will a jug of 4 litres pre-mix be enough?

Any feedback would be welcome.

cheers

[invader]

Drain the engine block too, by opening the valve in the back with a hose on the spout.

[ofogao]

Originally Posted by invader

Drain the engine block too, by opening the valve in the back with a hose on the spout.

Is that necessary?

[invader]

Well, why would you not? May as well do it right and get all the old coolant out before refilling it with new coolant. Total coolant capacity is 6.9 US quarts (6.5 liters).

[invader]

Drain you coolant reservor too, rinse it out with water, then refill it to the "Full" line... You can also refill your cooling sytem with distilled water and run the engine a bit, then drain again to rinse it out before refilling with new coolant.
You could save by buying full strength coolant, and mixing it 50/50 with distilled water.

[mikered30]

How did your 04 come with pink? I thought it should be red, what does the manual say? Is this the second time changing the coolant? If you insist on draining the rad, 4 L is enough.

[ofogao]

Originally Posted by mikered30

How did your 04 come with pink? I thought it should be red, what does the manual say? Is this the second time changing the coolant? If you insist on draining the rad, 4 L is enough.

Sorry, my bad. You're right. I should have said red coolant and not pink.

Thanks for verifying that 4L would be sufficient if only drain the rad.

[mikered30]

Originally Posted by ofogao

Sorry, my bad. You're right. I should have said red coolant and not pink.

Thanks for verifying that 4L would be sufficient if only drain the rad.

No problem. So I assume that you did not get the 50/50 premix from the dealer? If you did red and pink should not be mixed. Red is sold as straight coolant, not diluted. You know about turning on the heat after you refill?

[ofogao]

Originally Posted by mikered30

No problem. So I assume that you did not get the 50/50 premix from the dealer? If you did red and pink should not be mixed. Red is sold as straight coolant, not diluted. You know about turning on the heat after you refill?

Again, confusion on my part.

The coolant in the car is red and the coolant I bought is pink, 50/50 mix bought from the dealer.

A few years ago my mechanic changed the coolant in my car and I guess he put red coolant in the car.

Which means I can't simply drain and fill, correct?

I need to get all of that red coolant out, which also means that I need another 3.7 L jug.

I hate flushing out coolant, pain in the arse.

I know there are many coolant threads but can anyone suggest one?

As for the actual procedure, this is what I'm going to do:

1. Drain red coolant from rad valve and from back of engine block.

2. Fill rad with distilled water and run engine with heat on.

3. Drain rad and block again.

4. Fill rad with distilled water and run engine with heat on.

5. Drain rad and block again and then fill rad with pink coolant, all two jugs.

Did I miss anything?

Cheers and thank you for your help.

[mikered30]

Originally Posted by ofogao

Again, confusion on my part.

The coolant in the car is red and the coolant I bought is pink, 50/50 mix bought from the dealer.

A few years ago my mechanic changed the coolant in my car and I guess he put red coolant in the car.

Which means I can't simply drain and fill, correct?

I need to get all of that red coolant out, which also means that I need another 3.7 L jug.

I hate flushing out coolant, pain in the arse.

I know there are many coolant threads but can anyone suggest one?

As for the actual procedure, this is what I'm going to do:

1. Drain red coolant from rad valve and from back of engine block.

2. Fill rad with distilled water and run engine with heat on.

3. Drain rad and block again.

4. Fill rad with distilled water and run engine with heat on.

5. Drain rad and block again and then fill rad with pink coolant, all two jugs.

Did I miss anything?

Cheers and thank you for your help.

You could return the pink and get the red and save a lot of hassle. The problem with changing the red to pink is that you have to remove all the red and flush it, which means draining the block, which you did not want to do initially. The other problem with that method, is that when you flush, you will have to use 100 percent distilled water. You will not get all of that water out and then you want to add the pink, which is 50/50 premixed with water. The pink from the dealer provides protection down to -34 degrees F. Not sure where you live in Canada, but if you even approach that temp where you live or travel I would stick with the red.

But if you were at that point, when you add the pink, you will dilute it when you add it to the cooling system as some of the distilled water is still in the system. This would raise the freezing point of the coolant, which you dont want, depending on where you live, may not even be a problem. Not sure how much water is left in the system, but some dilution would occur. When you use the unmixed red, you can set your own level of freezing protection according to the chart on the back of the jug.

The 03 and 04s were born red and the 05+ were born pink. The mechanic was correct when he put in the red. The pink can go much longer time and mileage wise in the system.

invader is from Canada, he may chime in, I believe he uses amsoil's coolant.

[ofogao]

Originally Posted by mikered30

You could return the pink and get the red and save a lot of hassle. The problem with changing the red to pink is that you have to remove all the red and flush it, which means draining the block, which you did not want to do initially. The other problem with that method, is that when you flush, you will have to use 100 percent distilled water. You will not get all of that water out and then you want to add the pink, which is 50/50 premixed with water. The pink from the dealer provides protection down to -34 degrees F. Not sure where you live in Canada, but if you even approach that temp where you live or travel I would stick with the red.

But if you were at that point, when you add the pink, you will dilute it when you add it to the cooling system as some of the distilled water is still in the system. This would raise the freezing point of the coolant, which you dont want, depending on where you live, may not even be a problem. Not sure how much water is left in the system, but some dilution would occur. When you use the unmixed red, you can set your own level of freezing protection according to the chart on the back of the jug.

The 03 and 04s were born red and the 05+ were born pink. The mechanic was correct when he put in the red. The pink can go much longer time and mileage wise in the system.

invader is from Canada, he may chime in, I believe he uses amsoil's coolant.

Thanks mikered, that's what I feared.

I'm about an hour north of Toronto so I'm not too worried about the -32 rating.

I'm more concerned about the work that is needed in order to flush all of the red coolant out.

I do a lot of work on my car but flushing out coolant is something that I hate to do, that's why I was hoping to do a straight drain and fill.


Do you know what the product number is for the red coolant from the dealer?

Now to figure out what I'm going to do with this jug of pink coolant?

mikered, what's better for a 04 rolla the pink or red?

As for what I'm going to do:

1. Drain red coolant from rad valve and from back of engine block.

2. Fill rad with distilled water and run engine with heat on.

3. Drain rad and block again.

4. Fill rad with distilled water and run engine with heat on.

5. Drain rad and block again and then fill rad with pink coolant, all two jugs.

Does this seem right to you?


Cheers and thanks so much for helping me out

[invader]

As long as it's all the same type of coolant. Either way, the proper way to do it is to get all the old coolant out before refilling with new coolant... You also want to drain the reservoir.

[mikered30]

Originally Posted by ofogao

Thanks mikered, that's what I feared.

I'm about an hour north of Toronto so I'm not too worried about the -32 rating.

I'm more concerned about the work that is needed in order to flush all of the red coolant out.

I do a lot of work on my car but flushing out coolant is something that I hate to do, that's why I was hoping to do a straight drain and fill.


Do you know what the product number is for the red coolant from the dealer?

Now to figure out what I'm going to do with this jug of pink coolant?

mikered, what's better for a 04 rolla the pink or red?

As for what I'm going to do:

1. Drain red coolant from rad valve and from back of engine block.

2. Fill rad with distilled water and run engine with heat on.

3. Drain rad and block again.

4. Fill rad with distilled water and run engine with heat on.

5. Drain rad and block again and then fill rad with pink coolant, all two jugs.

Does this seem right to you?


Cheers and thanks so much for helping me out

I guess long term the pink is better since it lasts way longer than the red. Part number for the red is 00272-1LLAC-01. The chemistry is slightly different between the red and pink, but I don't believe anything was changed in the cooling system from 04 to 05. What you plan to do sounds right.

[ofogao]

One last question, mikered.

I just figured out what to do with the pink coolant!

Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't 2010 Corolla take the Toyota pink coolant?

I'm pretty sure it does.

One last thing. What does toyota sell the red coolant for in your neck of the woods?

Cheers

[mikered30]

Originally Posted by ofogao

One last question, mikered.

I just figured out what to do with the pink coolant!

Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't 2010 Corolla take the Toyota pink coolant?

I'm pretty sure it does.

One last thing. What does toyota sell the red coolant for in your neck of the woods?

Cheers

Red coolant costs around 30 USD from my local dealer but that price has gone up substantially since the pink came out.

10th gen takes pink super long life but you will probably have to wait a few more years to change it, make sure the jug stays sealed until that time if you want to keep it. It will be cheaper to hold on to it now than to pay for it in 5 years but additives in unopened coolant has a shelf life of 3 years. I believe all newer toyota/lexus vehicles take pink coolant.