tundra engine coolant (changing flush)

[Tundrav8yamaha]

I dont know if this is the right method to do but today i changed i own coolant on my tundra today and tryed to flush it all out..My first attempt was to just change the fluid's but i think the best method was to flush it out so i got a kit to do that which involved tamping into the house behind the engine and adding a tee shaped clamp which is suppose to get raid of all fluid's. I then proceeded to turn my engine on (with the garden hose on the tee) and it flushed out the system of coolant intill it looked like water ..I then put all the part's back on like cap's etc and put 1/2gallon of new coolant as well as take the recovery tank and add new fluid's after that was done i added water(h20) and filled all level's to proper level's turned on my engine in which i noted some weird sound(proberly the water pumps lack of water in the system??who know's and after that the sound went away and everything was back to normal.my question now was what sound did i hear when i had everything done all fluids replaced and everything back to normal during the first startup with new fluid's???

[stryker_20]

May I ask why you are changing your coolant. Toyota red coolant is the best coolant you can get (dexcool eats head gaskets and many other things) and in most cases doesn't need to be replaced. I know toyota recommends that you replace it every xk miles, but in all actuallity, the coolant will run the life of the engine if you watch/inspect it regularly. You made a major mistake by cutting into the factory hoses. Just think, you created 2 more places for which could start leaking. Most toyotas don't leak to begin with, however, when you go chopping on the hoses and teeing in with plastic couplers, your asking for corrosion/leaking problems down the road. Believe me, my dad and I have see many many vehicles with the flushing tee that is broken/corroded/leaking. I just hope the noise you heard wasn't the seal in the waterpump running dry. If it was, then you might as well save up to replace your waterpump. whoever told you you needed to have your coolant changed needs to have their head examined or at least their motive for suggesting it. good luck

I dont know if this is the right method to do but today i changed i own coolant on my tundra today and tryed to flush it all out..My first attempt was to just change the fluid's but i think the best method was to flush it out so i got a kit to do that which involved tamping into the house behind the engine and adding a tee shaped clamp which is suppose to get raid of all fluid's. I then proceeded to turn my engine on (with the garden hose on the tee) and it flushed out the system of coolant intill it looked like water ..I then put all the part's back on like cap's etc and put 1/2gallon of new coolant as well as take the recovery tank and add new fluid's after that was done i added water(h20) and filled all level's to proper level's turned on my engine in which i noted some weird sound(proberly the water pumps lack of water in the system??who know's and after that the sound went away and everything was back to normal.my question now was what sound did i hear when i had everything done all fluids replaced and everything back to normal during the first startup with new fluid's???

[mike.elmes]

I was considering getting my coolant flushed and changing the thermostat as the heater temps have been not that great.A fellow TSer suggested the AC mod also and that is where the A/C is disconected from the defrost cycle.For what it costs the coolant is suppose to be changed every 2 years.Is that not the case?
mike

May I ask why you are changing your coolant. Toyota red coolant is the best coolant you can get (dexcool eats head gaskets and many other things) and in most cases doesn't need to be replaced. I know toyota recommends that you replace it every xk miles, but in all actuallity, the coolant will run the life of the engine if you watch/inspect it regularly. You made a major mistake by cutting into the factory hoses. Just think, you created 2 more places for which could start leaking. Most toyotas don't leak to begin with, however, when you go chopping on the hoses and teeing in with plastic couplers, your asking for corrosion/leaking problems down the road. Believe me, my dad and I have see many many vehicles with the flushing tee that is broken/corroded/leaking. I just hope the noise you heard wasn't the seal in the waterpump running dry. If it was, then you might as well save up to replace your waterpump. whoever told you you needed to have your coolant changed needs to have their head examined or at least their motive for suggesting it. good luck

[DW]

Go by the book. Use the Toyota Red (or the new Toyota 'longer-life' coolant as per the T.S.Bulletin) and follow the owner's manual for time/mileage recommendations. The Toyota engineers came up with a pretty good pickup in the Tundra and they ought to know how to keep it in tip-top shape better than anyone...and that includes even dealership mechanics. I'm no longer a kid at 58 YOA, but I still do all my own maintenance and have found that following factory maintenance recommendations works. I just, for example, sold an '89 Caprice I'd bought new with 248,000 miles on it. Still a tight body and not half a quart down on oil at 4,000 mile changes...I'd followed all fluid changes according to GM...and if a GM will last that long, no telling how long a Toyota'll last...and my vehicles travel rough dirt roads in very dusty West Texas. You bet! Do your coolant changes by the book as to fluid recommendations and time/mileage intervals.

[KLS]

I opened the radiator drain and the right side block drain ('cuz the left side is too hard to reach), opened the heater, and drained and refilled with water three times. After the third drain, I closed the drains, added 1-1/2 gallons of Toyota red juice, topped off with water, and ran it until warm checking that all the air was out and the level right. I also cleaned the overflow bottle.

I also subscribe to the 2 year coolant (and brake fluid) change plan.


Ken

[Tundrav8yamaha]

May I ask why you are changing your coolant. Toyota red coolant is the best coolant you can get (dexcool eats head gaskets and many other things) and in most cases doesn't need to be replaced. I know toyota recommends that you replace it every xk miles, but in all actuallity, the coolant will run the life of the engine if you watch/inspect it regularly. You made a major mistake by cutting into the factory hoses. Just think, you created 2 more places for which could start leaking. Most toyotas don't leak to begin with, however, when you go chopping on the hoses and teeing in with plastic couplers, your asking for corrosion/leaking problems down the road. Believe me, my dad and I have see many many vehicles with the flushing tee that is broken/corroded/leaking. I just hope the noise you heard wasn't the seal in the waterpump running dry. If it was, then you might as well save up to replace your waterpump. whoever told you you needed to have your coolant changed needs to have their head examined or at least their motive for suggesting it. good luck

first of all i did use the toyota red stuff (which i got) second of all i didn't cut period into my rubber lines which was the line behind the iforcev8 ..the line was already cut it had a clamping coolant hose which leads into something maybe a sensor (possibly) all i did was take both side of the hose off that and lead it into the tee which i purchased . after the flushing was done i put those two rubber clamps back on the fire wall and put the two hoses back onto the factory coolant inlet near the firewall and bingo back to normal...I changed coolant for two reason number one i live is a dusty area and per the toyota manual it was needing to be done althought it looked brand new coming out and no sign whatsoever is any metal shaving etc i was glad to get the new coolant back in since this was orignal coolant since i got my tundra brand new about the noise i heard that's normal to hear it was a brief sec on the water pump no water and from what he says (dealer part dept manager) will not damage a thing since it was a short amount of time and pulling water in pump is running fine and in fact when they performe a flush it does the same thing with them too....

[DJ]

I just changed the coolant in my '00 Tundra and '01 Sequoia. I, too, just drained it via the radiator and the right side block drain with the heater valve open. I couldn't get to the left side block drain.

My reason for changing it (other than it's a recommended maintenance item) is that the coolant contains additives that react with the parts it contacts to prevent corrosion and seal wear. Because the additives "react with the parts it contacts", that means the additives get used up over time. So, I change the coolant, hopefully before the additives are gone, so the additives are fresh and active. That's why it's called "preventive" maintenance.

I used the Toyota "red stuff" and pre-mixed it 60/40 with distilled water. It's easy -- I used a two quart Pyrex measuring cup. It's marked in "cups", so I filled five cups of coolant and three cups of water, stirred well, then poured it in. I live in snow country (it was 15 degrees last night) and I want the best cold protection I can get.

I didn't flush it with "hose water" because I don't think that's necessary. The old fluid isn't "bad" (I change it before it gets "bad") and there is very little of it left in the engine. If I did flush it first, then the engine would have an unknown amount of water left in it, and I wouldn't know what the final "mix" really is. Moreover, I don't want our "hose water" in the engine, I want distilled water, since there's nothing in distilled water to react with the additives in the coolant.

Is it overkill? Maybe. But, I've had a couple of water pump failures in previous vehicles (not Toyota), all of which were using Prestone "green stuff". I"ve read nothing but praise for the Toyota "red stuff", so I'll stick with it and overkill it. I've read some articles which state that Prestone uses a different additive package than Toyota, and that Prestone's additive can cause water pump seal failure.

[arkie6]

...I then put all the part's back on like cap's etc and put 1/2gallon of new coolant as well as take the recovery tank and add new fluid's after that was done i added water(h20) and filled all level's to proper level's...

You oinly put 1/2 a gallon of anti-freeze/coolant in the system after you flushed it with water? The system holds a little over 12 quarts (3 gallons) with a recommended minimum concentration of 50% coolant (higher ratios provide more corrosion protection and freeze protection - to a point ~70% - but lower ratios provide better heat transfer since water is better at transfering heat than coolant). You would need about 1.5 gallons of anti-freeze/coolant to get to a 50% ratio after a flush.

I recently drained the coolant on my truck (did not flush it - don't think it is necessary on a relativey new vehicle) and refilled with Toyota red coolant at approximately 3.5 years and 40,000 miles of service. I drained the radiator and both sides of the block (and yeah, that driver side block drain is a pain to get at - I used two 3/8" drive long extensions and a wobble joint with a 10mm socket to get it open and closed). I then added 1 gallon of new Toyota coolant, 1 gallon of distilled water, and topped it off with about 1 gallon of the water/coolant mix that I initially drained out (poured it through cheese cloth to filter and let heavy particulate settle out on bottom of bucket before pouring back in truck to top off radiator).

I had purchased the coolant and planned to do this task at around the 3 yr /36,000 mile mark, but just never seemed to get around to it. I plan on doing the same procedure again every 2-3 years.

[Tundrav8yamaha]

I just changed the coolant in my '00 Tundra and '01 Sequoia. I, too, just drained it via the radiator and the right side block drain with the heater valve open. I couldn't get to the left side block drain.

My reason for changing it (other than it's a recommended maintenance item) is that the coolant contains additives that react with the parts it contacts to prevent corrosion and seal wear. Because the additives "react with the parts it contacts", that means the additives get used up over time. So, I change the coolant, hopefully before the additives are gone, so the additives are fresh and active. That's why it's called "preventive" maintenance.

I used the Toyota "red stuff" and pre-mixed it 60/40 with distilled water. It's easy -- I used a two quart Pyrex measuring cup. It's marked in "cups", so I filled five cups of coolant and three cups of water, stirred well, then poured it in. I live in snow country (it was 15 degrees last night) and I want the best cold protection I can get.

I didn't flush it with "hose water" because I don't think that's necessary. The old fluid isn't "bad" (I change it before it gets "bad") and there is very little of it left in the engine. If I did flush it first, then the engine would have an unknown amount of water left in it, and I wouldn't know what the final "mix" really is. Moreover, I don't want our "hose water" in the engine, I want distilled water, since there's nothing in distilled water to react with the additives in the coolant.

Is it overkill? Maybe. But, I've had a couple of water pump failures in previous vehicles (not Toyota), all of which were using Prestone "green stuff". I"ve read nothing but praise for the Toyota "red stuff", so I'll stick with it and overkill it. I've read some articles which state that Prestone uses a different additive package than Toyota, and that Prestone's additive can cause water pump seal failure.

all of your guys saying the left side was hard mine was easy to get off the drain plug is loacated on the driver's side and was easy to get off about the right hand side opening i didnt find that where is that loacated at and why is there another opening? About the coolant i mixed it right and there is enought in my system....

[DJ]

You oinly put 1/2 a gallon of anti-freeze/coolant in the system after you flushed it with water? The system holds a little over 12 quarts (3 gallons) with a recommended minimum concentration of 50% coolant (higher ratios provide more corrosion protection and freeze protection - to a point ~70% - but lower ratios provide better heat transfer since water is better at transfering heat than coolant). You would need about 1.5 gallons of anti-freeze/coolant to get to a 50% ratio after a flush.

I recently drained the coolant on my truck (did not flush it - don't think it is necessary on a relativey new vehicle) and refilled with Toyota red coolant at approximately 3.5 years and 40,000 miles of service. I drained the radiator and both sides of the block (and yeah, that driver side block drain is a pain to get at - I used two 3/8" drive long extensions and a wobble joint with a 10mm socket to get it open and closed). I then added 1 gallon of new Toyota coolant, 1 gallon of distilled water, and topped it off with about 1 gallon of the water/coolant mix that I initially drained out (poured it through cheese cloth to filter and let heavy particulate settle out on bottom of bucket before pouring back in truck to top off radiator).

I had purchased the coolant and planned to do this task at around the 3 yr /36,000 mile mark, but just never seemed to get around to it. I plan on doing the same procedure again every 2-3 years.

I filled it 'til it was full, and I never "flushed it". I simply drained it, and then mixed coolant with distilled water 1/2 gallon at a time in a 1/2 gallon Pyrex measuring cup. That way, I knew that everything I put in was new and was mixed at the proper ratio. All told, I used exactly three gallons of coolant for the two vehicles.

[4.7-4V]

First, don't ever use anything but Toyota red coolant. It's the best there is.

Buy 3 or 4 gallons of distilled water. (the stuff is cheap at Wally World.)
Drain the old stuff out and tighten the drain. Start the engine. Add about 2 gallons of pure distilled water until the system is full and the thermostat opens allowing the pure water to circulate a little bit. Stop the engine and drain the water. Add about a 50/50 mix of 'Yota red coolant and distilled water making sure to bleed and burp all of the air out of the system. Test the coolant for at least -40 degrees protection. Top off the expansion tank and you're good to go.

Adding tap water is not a good idea. It contains minerals that can start an electrolysis type situation in the engine. Cutting factory hoses and adding cheap plastic flushing Tees makes me nervous, too.

Coolant DOES wear out over time. It's anti-corrosion properties deminish over time. Replacing it every 3 years or so is cheap insurance.

[DW]

It's the corrosion protection that wears out. Toyota (and most modern engines) have aluminum heads and/or blocks. They don't rust in the same manner that cast iron does and the corrosion protection is even more critical than on older cast-iron engines. AND we're not even talking about the remainder of the cooling system, such as the radiator, water-pump seals, etc. These are the reasons to use Toyota 'Red' or the Toyota coolant approved in 2004 for our engines AND to change it as per Toyota recommendations as to mileage and time intervals. Also, while admitting it may be overkill, I also agree with the recommendation to avoid tap water, mixing the anti-freeze only with distilled water.

[Alan]

So I completed my second coolant change this weekend.

About the little draincocks on both sides of the engine block...a couple 3 foot pieces of 3/8 O.D. x 1/4” I.D. vinyl tubing from Home Depot will fit snugly over the nipples and allow you to route the coolant into a catch pan. As mentioned above, that will drain pretty much 80% of the coolant very quickly and cleanly.

Using the engine drains also prevents what I did a couple years back, whenI first tried it – pulled the plug on the bottom of the radiator and had a cartoon style gusher of coolant...very messy. You can also slightly open that plug and let the coolant drizzle out from the weep hole on the bottom of the radiator, but that will take forever.

Anyway, I filled up and bled the system and the truck runs great. All prepped for summer.

But the reason for the post – as I “bled” the system according to the manual, I started wondering exactly how this takes place. Can someone explain what it is about warming up the engine with the radiator on that allows air to be bled out of the system?

[RockLobster]

It ciculates the coolant thus it circulates all the air bubbles. And to circulate them thru the radiator thus allowing the air to escape through the cap the engine must be warmed up so the thermostat is open and allowing coolant to flow through the radiator.

Havent played with the tundra cooling system yet but all the other vehicles i have owned have had cooland air bleeder valves for bleeding the air out at the highest part of the system. Thus bleeding would be done by opening that valve and running the truck until warm with the coolant cap on.

[RockLobster]

And if you mean by radiator the heater for the cab then turning the heat on circulates all the bubbles out of the heater core and heater hoses. To a point where they can escape.