Coolant change Anyone? - Toyota Tundra Forums : Tundra Solutions Forum

tommie · #1 (**permalink**) 03-03-2002, 04:33 PM

Has anyone changed their coolant??? I see it is the orange stuff.. I know that 95% of all road-related breakdowns are cooling system related. that is overheating from leaks, belts, hoses, pump failures.. etc. I think now at 65k miles I'm going to do a flush and a re-fil.. any thoughts??

thombiz · #2 (**permalink**) 03-03-2002, 04:51 PM

The consensus with Tacomas is only, and I stress ONLY use Toyota coolants and distilled water if you want to avoid corrosion problems with the head. Since its not a big money item, it makes sense. Just my .o2.

tommie · #3 (**permalink**) 03-03-2002, 04:57 PM

I've seen what happens on vehicles that never had coolant changed.. gives me the

shivers...I know what you are saying about Toyota only coolant but wonder if that is another sales pitch or whether name brand "orange" coolant is just as good.. either way I'm going to get that stinky stuff changed real soon!!

Buzzard · #4 (**permalink**) 03-03-2002, 05:36 PM

Toyota manual recomends "Toyota life long coolant" I have no idea what "life long" means. Does it mean you never have to change it? It goes on to say to use "ethylene glycol" I worked in a chemical plant that made and bottled ehhylene glycol antifreeze. We would bottle one brand for a couple of hours, change bottles and bottle a different brand. its all the same, if its ethylene glycol. BUY PRICE. It may be a different color but if its ethylene glycol its all the same.Just dont use an alcohol base antifreeze.---Buzzard

calitundra · #5 (**permalink**) 03-03-2002, 05:49 PM

I was changing mine this weekend and bought the Prestone dexcool. After flushing and starting the engine many times I soon realized that I could not get all the antifreeze out. I was not sure if this would mix ok with the Toyota antifreeze. I just decided that I would use the Toyota brand. On the Prestone bottle it states that if you can't get all the antifreeze out then you will not get the 5yr, 1500,000 mile use. I know in my tacoma I had some 70,000 miles and 5 years and when I pulled off one of the heater hoses, there was a bunch of white junk coating the hose. I used Prestone heavy duty cleaner and then refiled with good results. I think in the long term it is just easy and cheap to change the fluid every 2 years.

thombiz · #6 (**permalink**) 03-03-2002, 05:55 PM

I changed the coolant in my Tacoma last August after I saw some posts on the subject on www.tacomaterritory.com and on http://www.t4x4pickup.com/dgroup/messages/93623.html. I think I paid about $16 per gallon and used either one or two gallons (sorry, brain failure) anyway, the consensus on both boards was the Toyota antifreeze had additives to resist the corrosion to the head and head gaskets. I hope this helps.