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How often should the engine coolant be changed? - READ ONLY

35 messages,  Last post on May 10, 2002 at 9:54 PM

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Messages Page 4 of 4

#26 of 35 red coolant by abovewood

May 03, 2002 (5:17 pm)

It is time to change my Toyota truck's coolant, and I can tell the old coolant is red, so what brand coolant I would buy? is DexCool ok?

#27 of 35 ugh by swschrad

May 03, 2002 (7:51 pm)

unless your manual says DexCool all over, DON'T use it. nasty stuff in the wrong circumstances. and a system that has ever NOT had 100% pure Dex is "broken" and should never get it again. sigh.
 
everything else is ethylene glycol (some fraction of 1% is Sierra brand, a less-toxic glycol.) virtually all of it has the same silicone-silicate inhibitor to delay breakdown and seal minor weeps at connectors.
 
green, yellow-green, or red are just dye colors. get whatever "meets major car makers recommendations" (tm) that fits your price.

#28 of 35 abovewood I'd replace with original factory by gsleve

May 04, 2002 (9:08 am)

coolant it is long lasting and better than some the aftermarket stuff, however I've found that havoline coolant is far superior than most on the market, if you wanted to use a coolant other than factory I'd use havoline.

#29 of 35 Dad's Ford Falcon by fedforester

May 04, 2002 (9:28 am)

Visited pop back in Appalachia and noted the radiator in his old Falcon was full of rusty liquid and advised a change. Hell no, says pop, it had permanent antifreeze in it when it came. Turns out his rear springs rusted loose from the frame before the radiator went so he felt he was right. Went out and bought himself a maverick to abuse.

#30 of 35 there y'go, lifetime warranty again by swschrad

May 04, 2002 (8:49 pm)

another example of when it breaks, the lifetime is over.

#31 of 35 Anti freeze lubricants by glenn43

May 05, 2002 (11:40 am)

I've been using standard Prestone and distilled water in my radiator for years. When draining, my anti freeze always looks clear with no signs of mudd or dirt build up.. I haven't, however, been adding lubricants. My water pump has 125k. Have noticed no problems thus far. Should I be using some sort of lubricant along with my anti freeze changeouts?

#32 of 35 no, I wouldn't use af lubes... by davedave1

May 10, 2002 (6:56 am)

in newer vehicles.
Years ago, mechanics told me i was crazy not to use them; 'will make your water pump last longer' they said. this may have been true for big block v8's with big coolant passages but the newer engines have smaller ones that can develop build up and cause problems. Engines run hotter these days too.
  case in point; 84 pontiac sunbird, thought i was doing it a favor by using waterpump lube... about a year later head gasget blew. I pulled i apart in the driveway (easy enough) and the head gasget had deposits that had cooked into crusty material in the coolant passages, and at one point of the hotest part of the head, had completely plugged a coolant passage. Guess where the head gasget rupture was? Right where the coolant passage was plugged.
  No I'll never use anything other than dealer AF and filtered distilled water (from my home a/c). [I am sure dealers don't use distilled water if they install the coolant!!]
  I am really not sure if coolant 'flushing' really cleans out the deposits or just pushes stuff into the radiator. Unless you pull the lower radiator hose off after flushing, how do you know all the debris is pushed out of the system or just settles there to recirculate?

#33 of 35 Overflow tank deposits by opera_house_wk

May 10, 2002 (9:52 am)

When I bought my 97 Explorer(100K miles)in December, the overflow tank was dry and it had a bunch of white powder in the bottom of the tank. At first I thought it was some stop leak product. Now I just figure it is oxidized aluminum from the engine. I've cleaned tanks before. Usually it was just nasty dark colored stuff.

#34 of 35 RE: overflow tank deposits by dtownfb

May 10, 2002 (11:08 am)

I would check the level of coolant inthe radiator immediately. You should have coolant in that tank. If it is dry, it could mean you have a leak somewhere and are losing coolant which could lead to overheating or damage to the radiator.
 
davedave1: I think you are right about the distilled water. I can't imagine the mechanics taking time outto use distill water for the antifreeze. Plus if you change the coolant between 30k-50k miles, i doubt any deposits form regular tap water will do any damage to the cooling system.

#35 of 35 white powder in the tank and flushing by swschrad

May 10, 2002 (9:54 pm)

I would suspect that's lime or magnesium deposits from tap water in the tank, opera house, at least that's the case around these parts.
 
as for flushing, the general idea is that you run pressure through the system so the flakes and goop are kicked loose and flow out. certainly there will probably be some creepy crud in the bottom of the radiator bells and behind the freeze plugs in the bottom of the block that doesn't get the message. unless you get in a serious crash, that crud in those areas is not really likely to get loose and settle someplace else.
 
just like little kids and white carpet, you'll never get all the dirt out.

Messages Page 4 of 4

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