YodaPala

I'll second that...Yummy!!

swerks

I believe Toyota makes a green coolant as well as the red. Im not sure of the difference but I know they offer it.

CJM

Last I checked, all coolant has ethyl glycol in it..

surf4runner

my 22RE had over 260k and i used green in it since 90k. as well as other japanese engines w/ aluminum heads...
ethylene glycol is the major component in anti-freeze.
perhaps you mean an additive to protect aluminum???

Beartracker

Not all antifreezs contains Ethylene Glycol. Peak for example along with others does not have it. Use what you want and I hope you all have no problems at all but I will stick with what the Toyota enginers call for and believe that they know more than I about there products.

gpcollen1

Maybe OT but yeah the Red barrely smells like antifreeze...

And what is with the RainX orange Washer fluid - ˟˟˟˟˟˟, we cannot even go by colors anymore!!

Nic

I have 264K on my 84 Camry and have used the green stuff ever since I had it. Bought the car with 120K on it. I had the timing belt replaced last year and had the water pump replaced. I didn't replace the water pump on the previous timing belt change, and as far as I know it has never been changed. I did replace the radiator last year because the plastic on top started cracking. I'm not trying to start an argument, but I have used Prestone for a long time and never experienced any problems.

I think if you change it out on a regular basis before it becomes acidic, you should be fine. I usually drain and refill every year.

CJM

Some of Peak antifreeze still uses glycol, they use propylene glycol!

Bottom line, I have never ever in all my years used anything but prestone green and mixed it 60/40 (coolant/water). No car has ever had problems with cooling ever, its what I use in my 25k corvette for gods sake.

Beartracker, unless you can provide solid evidence why we should use one coolant over another your info has no bearing. Are you a mechanic, have oyu personally seen the inside of a radiator before, did someone screw up your radiator flush and ruin it and now your paranoid, did somebody tell you that hogwash?

I am not trying to be a jerk, but again you have no evidence to support your claims. I have changed plenty of coolant in my life on many different cars-all of them were fine, no build up in the radiator except for a guy who used his well water that is heavy in mineral deposits..mineral deposits are what cause the problem-not the coolant!

I had over 155k on my camry and all its first flush came at 50k, thats 100k on prestone coolant, my F250 its entire life of over 200k on the same radiator was regular old prestone. Samething for everyone else..no problems with any coolant and its all been the green stuff..Now the organic acid coolant..run from..perhaps thats what you mean?

deserttoy84

I run the prestone dex cool approved stuff. I think im going to do a major flush after i drain out the dex cool prestone. Do u guys recommend pink or red for a 22r motor? Do dealers have this readily available by the gallon jug?

SteveD0603

Maybe it's not the right stuff, but I removed old Toyota pink coolant and replaced with Peak brand green nearly 80,000 miles and several years ago. Things are still in great shape, as far as I can tell. Original water pump and hoses with many miles, radiator looks good near the top, and no problems. Of course, it's definitely time for a flush! Looks like maybe I should be safe and buy the Toyota pink, because after reading all of this I'm pretty confused! Whew!

deserttoy84

im with you... I dont understand anything that everyone is saying but it sounds like pink is the best for any toyota.

mkgarrison5

i talked to a reputable toyo dealer here in town and he said as green is fine. he runs it in his. he did mention that you have to change it out more often. just as long as you dont mix 50-50 you are fine.

MTL_4runner

There's clearly alot of confusion here so I'll do my best to help sort it out.

The conventional green (containing silicates......since there are no real color standards I have to be specific) or the Toyota red or pink coolants will all do fine. The conventional green silicate-based and Toyota red phosphate-based coolants will both protect against aluminum/iron cooling system corrosion very well, but both must be changed about every 2-3 years (to ensure maximum protection) and the conventional silicate based coolant also can act like an abrasive wearing out seals and such. Both of those have been used extensively, but I prefer to run the Toyota red in mine for the above reasons (and it's not really that much more expensive). Now Toyota pink is essentially the same as the Toyota red with the exception of having OAT (organic acid technology) added to it which does increase the lifespan of the coolant (increasing the change interval to about 5-6 years).

As for coolant makeup, most coolant on the market is made of about 80-90% ethylene glycol (the rare exception is propylene glycol found in more environmentally conscious types like Sierra or Amsoil coolants......also don't go mixing ethylene glycol and propelyene glycol in your engine). You won't find any mass marketed coolants for vehicles with any other type of antifreeze main ingredients (it's the corrosion inhibitors that change from type to type and give rise to all the different acronyms....OAT, HOAT, phosphate, silicate, etc). As with any mixed coolant, you always want to use distilled water, using regular tap water can remove much of the protection from the coolant upon mixing (this is especially true with hard water......you can often see the precipitates immediately). The mix with water shouldn't ever go past 60/40 (in warmer climates) to ensure good cooling system protection and at the other end of the scale up to 70/30 can be mixed for colder climates that may see very low winter temps.

Beartracker

Jamie, Good explanation on the difference in antifreeze and there additives. The corrosives is whats bad and I have seen the inside of two of them thanks to (Barberton Radiator repair in Barberton, Ohio) along with other crud plugged cores due to mixing antifreeze and also from using non distilled water. You may get away with it for years but sooner or later it will catch up to you.

CJM, I'm not hear to argue with you or to start some sort of trouble. I have been at this stuff for about 45 years of driving and working on my own vehicles. My statements are based on fact as stated in the manual and they are the statements of the Toyota engineers. If you choose not to believe them or you feel you know better then they do then that's fine, but don't put me down for pointing out what they state in person and in the manual. They do point out what to use and what not to use and that's what I was stating here.
My goal was not to upset you for any reason and I apologize if you took my statement to be directed at you alone. That was not my intention, Mike

deserttoy84

so u guys are saying pink and red is fine for older toyotas too? I change my coolant out prob once a year

itsmeagain5789

u guys scared me, i guess its about time to go to the red stuff. but can u only get that at toyota?

BruceTS

After I blew up my first engine, I replaced the coolant with green. during my trip in Maob a few years ago, I noticed a leak comming from the back of the block and couldn't locate the source. After I got home, I flushed my system and used Toyota red, since then my leak has gone away.

Now your asking why? very easy red will leave a stain in the location of the leak and will stop small leaks, green won't. Simply put I'll never run green in my engines ever again.

MTL_4runner

Yes, it is fine for older Toyotas as well although with the Toyota coolant you shouldn't need to flush it that often unless you are traveling over 30k miles per year.

rdharper

Since the original question was with respect to Prestone 50/50 (extended life), I'm adding this clarification. The green colored coolant they make is not silicate based. You qualified your statement, so your statement is correct for green silicate based coolants (but not green Prestone 50/50).

Here is Prestone's comments on this.

Antifreeze/Coolant is completely safe for use in both foreign and domestic vehicles. For those consumers who would feel more comfortable using a phosphate-free antifreeze, our Prestone? Extended Life 5/150 Antifreeze/Coolant is phosphate, silicate, and borate free. This coolant uses a special chemistry and technology that extends the life of the corrosion inhibitor package so that it lasts for five years or 150,000 miles (whichever comes first), and is safe for all cars and light trucks (old or new).

Note they used neither silicates, phosphates or borates despite the green color.

Personally, I tend to believe Prestone, as the problem with silicates has been around long enough, as have the problems with modern aluminum engine design. Probably why they do not used silicates.

Prestones survival as a company (since 1926) depends on the quality of their products. That is called a speciality. They do real research, not just an adjustment to a problem created after the fact, as in the head gaskets in our 3vze engines.

The 50/50 is highly convenient as I don't have to guess whether the water source is as advertised.

And it is less expensive, because they sell in volume.

And it is convenient to most people, since you don't have to go to your dealer. Any auto-section has it... even Walmarts.

Now I realize this is an article of faith for most people. Much like the brand of oil, gasoline and tires.

But for me, I'll go with Prestone 50/50 Extended Life. Based on the above reasoning, and on faith.

MTL_4runner

Richard, I appreciate the clarification, but I believe the Prestone Extended Life 50/50 is based on OAT technology only (which is why it contains no Silicates, Phosphates or Borates) and this makes it easy to mix with other coolants as the public so often does. That is also why they claim to have such a long change interval (OAT technology actually increases protection with time, but the short term or in the case of cavitation is where you have issues). If it is OAT as I suspect, that would also make it a close cousin to Dexcool.