How to verify a coolant flush?

[2001CorollaS]

This is a weird question. I took my 2001 Corolla S in to have the coolant power flushed, and some other stuff inspected. The paperwork was switched with another vehicle and I am uncertain if they actually flushed it. Before I take it back to the dealer tommarow and make an ass of myself, I was wondering if somebody could tell me obvious signs I should see if they performed the work properly.

When I inspected the cooling system, it looks untouched. Same dirt marks on all hoses, and coolant looks a pale greyish pink. The overflow tank is empty. The PH is perfectly neutral still as it was before. But I thought they would have to at least move a hose to flush it. I see zero signs of anything under the hood being touched. Isn't the Toyota red coolant, uhm RED? Because the stuff that's in there now looks nasty compared to they way it was new.

Can somebody point out where to look for signs of recent activity before I go back and make a fool out of myself? I have a weird history with the local Toyota dealer.

[punter]

Yes hoses should have been of the radiator, the fact that the overflow tank is empty would worry me, something is not quite right.

[2001CorollaS]

On closer inspection (after it cooled down) I've found that the hose clamps were moved, judging from the imprints on the hose. There is a low level of fluid in the tank now. I don't like it's color, but it's there. I'll get them to top it off at least when I see them tommarow.

I have weird luck with this. It took 4 trips before to replace a door handle due to improperly labeled parts at a warehouse.

[toyotaspeed90]

if they don't have a coolant flushing machine, then generally the way to do it is to pull a heater core line off and run straight water through the lines both ways.... (also while the drain petcock is loosened)..... then redrain it..... and add new coolant/water

if done correctly the reservoir should be topped off fully and the coolant should look nice & clean, and no rusty color

[brandilaine]

Actually, Toyota does not recommend coolant flushes. Just drop and fill, same as the tranny fluid. Their idea on flushing is: if there is deposits somewhere, then flushing will only loosen and move them and possibly cause a blockage. This is what our Toyota rep tells us at work anyways. If there is a problem, then yes, but for just regular maintenance it is drop the old coolant and replace with new. Like I said this is what we are told at work...thought it might help???

[toyotaspeed90]

Originally Posted by brandilaine

Actually, Toyota does not recommend coolant flushes. Just drop and fill, same as the tranny fluid. Their idea on flushing is: if there is deposits somewhere, then flushing will only loosen and move them and possibly cause a blockage. This is what our Toyota rep tells us at work anyways. If there is a problem, then yes, but for just regular maintenance it is drop the old coolant and replace with new. Like I said this is what we are told at work...thought it might help???

wow.... that is absolutely terrible

with time, coolant degrades..... it's freezing and boiling temperatures will rise/drop (respectively).... also, ALL coolants (especially the specially formulated GM crap) will cause some sort of rusting in the system.... which can cause a blockage on their own....

the best way to do this is to flush it..... FLUSHING THE SYSTEM consists of running coolant/water through it until all of the contaminated fluid is out of the system.....

[alltracman78]

My dealership flushes.
However, a flush is more than just running water/coolant through the system.
We put a cleaner in the coolant, let it run for a bit, then run it through the machine, flushing out the old and putting in the new.

As far as color, Toyotas new extra long life coolant is pink, not red.
A 01 is borderline. But I believe it uses the red, thought the pink won't hurt it at all.

Toyotaspeed, note this.

but for just regular maintenance it is drop the old coolant and replace with new.

We do NOT flush every time we replace coolant. Nor does Toyota recommend this. Only if the customer aproves do we flush.

[toyotaspeed90]

^^^

well, most shops will have either drain old (from radiator) and refill

however, it's pretty stupid to do this.... on a FWD corolla there is about 2-3 gallons total in the system..... if you loosen the drainpetcock you'll lose ~1-2 gallons...... leaving quite a bit of old coolant in the engine and the heater core..... then you're just diluting the crappy coolant.... hardly bettering your position


i'm the type of person that believes using chemicals to clean things/fix things is a bad route to go.... if it's to the point where you need to use a chemical to clean your radiator out... it's probably time to replace the radiator.....

[alltracman78]

The point of the chemical is to clean it BEFORE you need it.
Same for any other flush.
To maintain the system correctly, you clean it BEFORE it NEEDS to be cleaned.
Same thing with oil. You change it before it NEEDS it.

[toyotaspeed90]

Originally Posted by alltracman78

The point of the chemical is to clean it BEFORE you need it.
Same for any other flush.
To maintain the system correctly, you clean it BEFORE it NEEDS to be cleaned.
Same thing with oil. You change it before it NEEDS it.

......

comparing an oilchange to using an injector cleaner to get a better spray.... or a chemical cleaner in the radiator to remove rust..... or an engine flush..... isn't exactly the best comparison

oil degrades... but almost never would I reccommend using an engine flush (at the most maybe a quart of dex 3 to help a sticky ring... but that's generally after the fact that something bad has happened).....

if it's to the point where MOST people think they need to use a "magic cleaner" then it's usually too late.....