Coolant Flush

14165 Views 57 Replies 30 Participants Last post by beerhunt, Nov 24, 2021

LebaneseCam

Discussion Starter · Jul 29, 2004 (Edited)

Coolant Flush - Need help asap

How can this be done with just me and my friend, any links or faqs would be perfect.

1 - 20 of 58 Posts

amerikim

· #2 · Jul 29, 2004

I just tried to do it on my 3VZFE and i botched it.

I found the drain for the radiator easy enough but the engine block drain plug eludes me. Where its supposed to be is on the rear bank but I just cant find it as there many things in the way, like the distributor, etc etc.

I got the car with green coolant, so I went to Toyota and bought a gallon of red coolant for about $16 and 2 gallons of distilled water for $2 from supermarket.

I ended up just draining the radiator, flushing what I could with tap, then added a gallon of distilled, ran the car, then I drained and filled with distilled and coolant.

Going to try again to find the damn drain tap and do it again.

Also ratio of coolant is notless than 50%but no more than 70%. Toyota says...

LebaneseCam

Discussion Starter · #3 · Jul 29, 2004

the problem Im facing now is getting into th engine as well, we are trying 2 get the theromstat forced open so it can get in the engine but no luck yet. This is getting really frustrating.

88 LE

· #4 · Jul 29, 2004

^ The thermostat won't open till the engine gets hot enough.

So just let it run till it gets hot.

The fan will kick on and the upper radiator hose will be hot.

Make sure the heater is turned on, otherwise you'll have old coolant left in the heater core.

Mighty~Mart

· #5 · Oct 26, 2004 (Edited)

amerikim said:
I just tried to do it on my 3VZFE and i botched it.

I found the drain for the radiator easy enough but the engine block drain plug eludes me. Where its supposed to be is on the rear bank but I just cant find it as there many things in the way, like the distributor, etc etc.

I got the car with green coolant, so I went to Toyota and bought a gallon of red coolant for about $16 and 2 gallons of distilled water for $2 from supermarket.

I ended up just draining the radiator, flushing what I could with tap, then added a gallon of distilled, ran the car, then I drained and filled with distilled and coolant.

Going to try again to find the damn drain tap and do it again.

Also ratio of coolant is notless than 50%but no more than 70%. Toyota says...

ok so i think its about time to revive this thread

i want to "properly" flush my coolant... original coolant in the vehicle since i picked up the car...abt 2 yrs ago

my question... should i follow these directions?

what's up w/ the distilled water? is that necessary?

also would my local pep-boys have red coolant? or i have no choice to get it at the "stealership"?

thx fer the help

88 LE

· #6 · Oct 26, 2004 (Edited)

Mighty~Mart said:
my question... should i follow these directions?

1. Remove radiator cap and start the car. Let it warm up to normal operating temp, with the heater on.

2. Open the drain on the radiator (its on the lower left hand corner).

You'll want to have a water hose handy for this. You need to fill the radiator while its draining. Keep doing this till you get nothing, but clear water running out of the drain on the radiator.

3. Shut off the engine and let the remaining water in the radiator drain out.

Close the drain on the radiator.

4. Get a clean bucket and mix a gallon of antifreeze with a gallon of water (distilled water). This will give you a 50/50 mix.

Fill the radiator.

5. Remove and flush out the coolant overflow reservoir.

Reinstall and fill with the mixture you made in step #4.

6. Start the car and let it warm up to normal operating temp with the heater on.

7. As the engine runs air will get worked out of the cooling system. So you'll need to fill up the radiator as necessary (with the mixture you made in step #4).

8. Reinstall radiator cap.

what's up w/ the distilled water? is that necessary?

Its not necessary, but its better to use distilled water.

also would my local pep-boys have red coolant? or i have no choice to get it at the "stealership"?

Goto a Toyota dealership.

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Mighty~Mart

· #7 · Oct 26, 2004

88 LE thanks for the help!

YOU ROCK!:banger:

97&02camryleI4

· #8 · Oct 27, 2004

88 LE said:
1. Remove radiator cap and start the car. Let it warm up to normal operating temp, with the heater on.

2. Open the drain on the radiator (its on the lower left hand corner).

You'll want to have a water hose handy for this. You need to fill the radiator while its draining. Keep doing this till you get nothing, but clear water running out of the drain on the radiator.

3. Shut off the engine and let the remaining water in the radiator drain out.

Close the drain on the radiator.

4. Get a clean bucket and mix a gallon of antifreeze with a gallon of water (distilled water). This will give you a 50/50 mix.

Fill the radiator.

5. Remove and flush out the coolant overflow reservoir.

Reinstall and fill with the mixture you made in step #4.

6. Start the car and let it warm up to normal operating temp with the heater on.

7. As the engine runs air will get worked out of the cooling system. So you'll need to fill up the radiator as necessary (with the mixture you made in step #4).

8. Reinstall radiator cap.

Its not necessary, but its better to use distilled water.

Goto a Toyota dealership.

Very detailed and easy to follow. I will definitely refer to this when I need to flush the coolant. :thumbup:

terrastrife

· #9 · Oct 27, 2004

very nice indeed, my car hasnt EVER had a coolant flush in its life... 10 yers, the coolatn is black =) ill do this today ^^

Pineapple

· #10 · Oct 27, 2004

One easy way to keep the thermo open, take it out. Bolt the neck back. It'll leak a bit but you'll be able to flush the engine. Remove top hose on engine size. Put garden hose in top hose and keep filling rad with water. Start the engine, turn on the heat and watch coolant come out from engine. Wait till it come out clear then stop engine. You should have most stuff come out this way.
Make sure you put thermo back.

97&02camryleI4

· #11 · Oct 27, 2004

Pineapple said:
One easy way to keep the thermo open, take it out. Bolt the neck back. It'll leak a bit but you'll be able to flush the engine. Remove top hose on engine size. Put garden hose in top hose and keep filling rad with water. Start the engine, turn on the heat and watch coolant come out from engine. Wait till it come out clear then stop engine. You should have most stuff come out this way.
Make sure you put thermo back.

If I take out the termo and bolt the neck back, do I still attach the lower radiator hose to the neck? And the part where you said remove top hose and fill with water, do I remove the top hose from the radiator or the engine? Sorry just a lil confused.

88 LE

· #12 · Oct 27, 2004

97&02camryleI4 said:
do I still attach the lower radiator hose to the neck?

Yes.

And the part where you said remove top hose and fill with water, do I remove the top hose from the radiator or the engine?

Engine.

CrawlingEye

· #13 · Oct 28, 2004

amerikim, if you couldn't find your engine drain plug and you have a 5sfe, I could help you out. It took me a while but doing my own scouting, I found it on mine a while back.

KILRCAM

· #14 · Oct 28, 2004

What if your heater doesn't work? My system only runs cold air, the switch broke awhile back but I don't use the heater anyway... i'm in Florida.

95camguy

· #15 · Oct 28, 2004 (Edited)

probably not a bad idea to at least replace the lower radiator hose while doing this. i decided to replace both the upper and lower. however, probably the lower hose is more important. the lower hose is only $16( i forget the exact price of the upper hose, wasnt much...) from the dealer and you can grab the red coolant while your there. if the lower hose goes then you can kiss all ur new coolant goodbye... :hammer: up to u though.

'95 camry LE V6
126K miles

csaxon

· #16 · Nov 1, 2004 (Edited)

Some good info I found. Anti-freeze' properties last the life of the coolant - but additives deteriorate with time. Additives include anti-foaming agents, surfactants (to improve the 'wetting' of the coolant and hence give better heat transfer) and anti-corrosion additives.

1. Ethylene Glycol - this is the traditional stuff. It uses silicates to stop corrosion by passivating the metal surface. This type of anti-freeze is suitable for most European cars, but not Japanese cars. Japanese manufacturers normally recommend a low- or no-silicate formulation due to the nature of the seal materials that they use. Service life of 2-4 years.

2. ETHYLENE GLYCOL: Low or no-silicate formulation. Used by Japanese cars. OEM Nissan, TOYOTA RED etc. This antifreeze uses phosphates rather than silicates to inhibit corrosion. Silicates are abrasive and the use of high silicate antifreezes in Japanese cars may result in premature failure of seal materials. Service life of 2-4 years.

3. Organic Acid Technology (OAT) - e.g. GM 'DexCool' is a recyclable and biodegradable antifreeze based on organic acids and is silicate and phosphate-free. But, the chemicals it uses can attack certain seal and gasket materials and therefore should only be used in vehicles for which it is factory specified. OAT antifreeze (DexCool) MUST NOT be mixed with the types listed above.

The bottom line is to refill your engine with what the factory supplied and do a flush-and-refill every 4 years maximum. If you have a Japanese car, stick to the maker's brand since non-OEM coolants may contain higher levels of potentially damaging silicates.

If mixing your coolant from a 'concentrate' then use demineralised or distilled water. Tap water often has a lot of dissolved minerals in it which can leave scale deposits inside the engine's coolant passages causing eventual blockage.

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Reactions: 1

janeir36

· #17 · Nov 7, 2004

CrawlingEye said:
amerikim, if you couldn't find your engine drain plug and you have a 5sfe, I could help you out. It took me a while but doing my own scouting, I found it on mine a while back.

Was this a complicated procedure and can you post it, please?

Toysrme

· #18 · Nov 7, 2004

Just a word of advice to anyone with an iron block. (VZ boys) When you flush your system, you really *really * REALLY need to buy a few cans of cleaner and have the block cleaned out as much as possible.

Reactions: 1

VVT-i Owns

· #19 · Dec 17, 2004

And please think of the animals, don't just let the coolant runoff into the sewer system. make sure it goes in a bucket.

Reactions: 1

97&02camryleI4

· #20 · Jan 7, 2005

eh I tried to do a "coolant flush" today but did a half-assed job. Everything went smoothly until I filled up the radiator with 50/50 mix and then started the car. Had the heater on HIGH and MAX but I couldn't get the fans to come on even after waiting for 10 minutes or driving around the block a couple of times. If the fan didn't come on, does that mean the coolant did not circulate back into the radiator? The top hose was hot but what eludes me was that the fans did not come on even after the car was at normal operating temperature. Can someone help...?

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