Toyota Red Long Life Coolant.

[movester]

Is it my understanding that I could only buy this from a dealer
and not from any auto parts store chain?
01 Sienna(76k miles). I do plan on doing a coolant flush and fill
sometime next year at my local mechanic but for now I want to have
a bottle to just top off the tank since we are in the middle of a heatwave
here in the northeast. Is it something like $25.00 a gallon?

[TierOneSupplier]

I don't know the cost of the dealership coolant but this article MAY help you decide whether or not coolant available at an auto parts store will meet your needs:

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/m...e_skin;content

[movester]

Good read, thanks.
"We used to say that maintaining the coolant level was more important than which type of coolant to use.
But there's new evidence that we've been too cavalier in that respect.
Sure, for small top-ups or in an emergency situation, it doesn't matter-use what you have.
However, there are possible problems with extreme mixtures."

I am going to buy the Toyota red coolant which is what is in there right now.
Since I don't put many miles on the van a year(5-7k) a 1 gallon bottle should last me well over a year.
I wouldn't carry that bottle in the van though, if there is a coolant leak, best in my opinion to pull over
and call for a tow rather then to continue driving and causing engine damage.

[Billiam]

I don't think the LLC is $25 per gallon...the SLLC may be though. The difference is that the SLLC is already premixed and can be poured right in. The LLC usually requires a 50% mix with distilled water first.

[movester]

Ready for this? It's $36.43 for 1 gallon Toyota red premixed, this is in NYC.
The parts guy at the counter convinced me not to buy it
since I will be doing the timing belt/water pump replacement
sometime next year. The van has a little over 76k miles and
I haven't checked yet if the timing belt was replaced but I highly
doubt that it was. The age of the van(01 Sienna LE) concerns me,
since belts can wear out due to age.

He said that if the level in the recovery tank is ok you don't need to
buy it. He asked me if I had any leaks and I said no. I thought just like
engine or brake oil that after awhile it breaks down and the fluid level goes down

[wiswind]

Maybe you can ask them to replace the coolant in the system when they do the timing belt.
You might also consider having the water pump replaced at the same time....since the water pump is driven by the timing belt....so most of the labor of the water pump replacement is done in the timing belt job.

If you don't ask them to to a complete coolant replacement when you take it in, then they will most likely just replace what comes out when they do the timing belt/water pump job......OR they may even drain some out to get the level low enough and put the same coolant that they drained out back in.

For repair history on your toytota, you can register it at the www.toyota.com website....under "customer care".
You will need the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN).
This will get you access to the owner's manual, any recalls, and any repair work done at any Toyota dealership.
It is FREE to register.

[movester]

Originally Posted by wiswind

Maybe you can ask them to replace the coolant in the system when they do the timing belt.
You might also consider having the water pump replaced at the same time....since the water pump is driven by the timing belt....so most of the labor of the water pump replacement is done in the timing belt job.

If you don't ask them to to a complete coolant replacement when you take it in, then they will most likely just replace what comes out when they do the timing belt/water pump job......OR they may even drain some out to get the level low enough and put the same coolant that they drained out back in.

For repair history on your toytota, you can register it at the www.toyota.com website....under "customer care".
You will need the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN).
This will get you access to the owner's manual, any recalls, and any repair work done at any Toyota dealership.
It is FREE to register.

That is one of the first things that I did after buying the van, and the
latest repair history at the dealer only goes back to 12/2006.

When I go in for my next oil change I will ask my mechanic to check the
timing belt, even though the mileage is on the low side(75k+) it's age is on the high side(10 yrs).
I highly doubt it that it was changed because
the previous owner didn't put on many miles.(26,000 over 4 yrs).

Transmission system flush was done at 50k miles, so I just have to worry about doing the coolant
flush along with the water pump and timing belt, it's going to be expensive but it has to be done, thanks.