kirkerik

Anyone ever try this stuff? I have flushed w/ distilled water and filled with autozones universal coolant. I searched for this brand coolant on here but did not find it.

It is green if that matters

Is this an OAT (organic acid technology) coolant? I assume it is not.

I know this stuff may not be the best but i need to get rolling after my radiator crapped out. Besides i plan on doing the valve cover gasket, water pump, oil pump seals, timing chain etc etc. At that point i can replace with some good stuff.

Opinions good or bad on this stuff?

Gamefreakgc

I've been told by several mechanics as well as those here that the Toyota red coolant is the only one you should use. If you look at my rusted out radiator, you'll learn that green coolant does bad things to it. It reacts with the metal of the radiator. You cannot mix red and green though so you'll need a full flush with water with a hot engine before putting in the red.

I guess you could keep it in for a little while but plan on changing it soon. I had green put it (before I knew anything about it) and in 2 months the coolant was all brown. It corrodes very quickly.

kirkerik

The red stuff is darned expensive though, and if im out on the road and i need some coolant then it'll be easier to find the green stuff, right?

donomite49

agree, that's why i used the universal stuff too ( o-reillys) when i did my swap. been in coming up on a year and still green as the day i put it in, with a new radiator.
keeping my eye on it though.

Gamefreakgc

If you have a new radiator or are planning to put a new one in, it may not react to the green coolant like the OEM radiators do. So if that's the case, green may be ok to use. It was $22 a jug at the dealer compared to $17 at autozone out here, so not that much more for peace of mind and no corrosion. The FSM warns not to use green and only use red, I doubt they put that in there just to make a few bucks of their own coolant...

a4runnerfreak

I just looked at the FSM for my '94, and it doesn't give a color coolant to use, just use a good brand of elthylene-glycol base engine coolant, and mix it according to man. directions. And I don't believe Toyota had a red coolant in 1986, (but I could be wrong on that.)

blakefogt

I say stick to the red that factory calls for.... why cheap out on something as critical as a cooling system? :/ (opinion)

Turd Furgeson

As far as I know they used green all the way up to the mid /late 90's. I don't know what all this talk about ONLY using toyota red. All I've used is green and my cooling system is in great shape. Probably because I'm a radiator repairman and see the inside of radiators on a daily basis,and see them failing prematurely from people not taking care of them. I do a drain and fill with the 50/50 premix at least once a year. Most of the time more than that because I have my radiator out to fab/change something that's easier to do with the rad out. So after I drain it to pull it out,I put new stuff in no matter what.Even if it's only 3 months old,I just put new stuff in rather than re-use the old stuff. Whenever I get a vehicle I take it down to the shop and flush the system out with our "power flush" gun to knock all the crap out,and then add 50/50 recycled pre-mixed green stuff we have at work. My cooling systems are in better shape than anybody I know. All I do is keep up on it (actually change sooner than needed) and have no issues. May seem like a waste of money to people with how much antifreeze costs,but it's a whole lot cheaper than the rest of the cooling system,just ask a lot of the customers that complain how much it's gonna cost to fix their radiator (the right way).

combatcarl

Dude. I've never seen anything but green in my radiator, change once a year, inside of my rad is nice clean brass, no rust anywhere in the system. So...I think green is fine. Just no green/red mix.

Sent from my LG-P505 using YotaTech

bob200587

Mine went over 200,000 miles on nothing but parts store green coolant.

Coolant is coolant.

wyoming9

iTrader: (1)

On my 3.4 engines I run the Toyota Red coolant.

On the 22rec engines I have been running the normal green coolant that is only made in a few places in the country. The only problems i had with radiators was just old age .

I have been in a place that filled the gallon jugs for private label antifreeze it pretty much all comes out of the same railroad car.

Now this was quite a few years ago now with all the different formulas I would guess it has to be slightly different.

waskillywabbit

iTrader: (-1)

I run Toyota Red as it's no more expensive for me than any other.

:wabbit2:

snobdds

My 1988 came from the Factory with the green elthylene-glycol coolant.

I have used it from day one and it has not caused any problems. Any coolant breaks down over time and turns acidic.

Moral of the story...change it often with what ever you have and you will be fine.

SPARKS89

iTrader: (1)

I just replaced mine yesterday after changing my coolant lines and thermostat. I had the green stuff to begin with and after a good flush with distilled water I replaced it with Presone that had almost a yellow color to it. It says it's compatable with ANY coolant so mixing it shouldn't be a problem. The green came out clean as a whistle after a year of it being in there so I don't see any evidence that it hurt my system.

loko ino

I got red stuff at Napa...compatible with Toyota red

kirkerik

Cool, thanks all for your posts

I thought i read somewhere that red was much more expensive? Maybe not, i might check it out. But i don't mind sticking with the green stuff, and keeping an eye on it.

Happy trails

a4runnerfreak

it all comes down to personal preference. I'll run the Prestone green all makes/model stuff as long as I have the 3.0. IF and when it's time to go the 3.4 route, I'll start fresh with the red, or the pre-mixed Toyota "pink". And as for the cost, some stealerships charge an arm and a leg, and some don't. Best way to find out prices is to pick up the phone......

rworegon

Zerex Asian formula? Other?