Before my head gasket blew I was using just regular green coolant. After the rebuild I will be putting in Toyota red coolant. Obviously the engine and rad are empty but I assume the heater core is still full. Will this be a problem mixing the 2 different kinds of coolant? I'm not even sure how much would be in the heater core.

Should I fill with hose water to flush it out and dilute the green coolant before I add the distilled water and Toyota red coolant? Or will it even be a problem?

Thanks,
Jason

 

I thought you where supposed to fill up with just water for the first firing..

 

Hmmm...I've never heard that. Anyone else?

 

Just make sure your heater is on full blast and fill the system up with just water. Run it for a bit then drain it all out and do it a second time(not necessary). Then on your final do a 50/50 coolant/Distilled water mix.

 

I also remember reading that it is best to use straight water to break in a new head gasket because antifreeze is too slick to allow it to seat properly. It makes sense, but I am not sure about that. Toyota red antifreeze is suppose to be compatible with green antifreeze, but I would flush out the heater core anyway just to get rid of the old coolant. It is also a good idea to use distilled water in your cooling system, not tap water. You can get it for $.66 per gallon at Wal Mart, and mix it 50/50 with the Toyota coolant.

 

When you say use straight water to break it in....how long is the break in? It's getting cold at night and I wouldn't want to freeze anything.

So I can flush with straight tap water and just use distilled water and coolant for the final fill?

Thinking about that water wetter stuff too. It's one of those things where some say yes and some say no. I guess if it works in some situations then why not, right? Any thoughts?

Jason

 

ive run water wetter and red coolant in my bike since ive had it, and its never gave me problems... cant hurt?

 

I am not sure about how long to run it with just straight water, but I would think just warming it up with water and then draining it would be enough. Basically just seating the heat gaskets properly. I would not want to leave straight water in there for too long because antifreeze helps prevent corrosion and helps keep the water pump lubed. Tap water would probably be ok, but some will stay in the block. Being that distilled is cheap, I would always use it from the beginning.

If your cooling system is in good shape, you should not need water wetter for normal driving. Using it would probably not hurt anything, but could be a waste of money. Personally, I would not want to use water wetter without knowing exactly what is in it. Part of the advantage of Toyota red coolant is that it is better for seals because it does not contain silicates that are in regular antifreeze. If the water wetter contains something like that, then it would defeat the purpose of using red antifreeze.

I would do the following to the cooling system when installing new head gaskets to avoid one blowing again:
Make sure the radiator is in good shape with no clogs, leaks, dents, etc.
Use all new hoses, including the heater hoses
Use Toyota Red antifreeze with distilled water
Make sure the fan clutch works perfectly
Use a genuine Toyota thermostat
Check the accuracy of the temp gauge or install a good aftermarket one

I am sure that all of this is not entirely necessary, but it just my $.02.

 

you can put the hose directly into the radiator opening & idle the engine for about 20 mins with the water running slightly & the heater on. This will completely flush anything left in the system. then proceed as usual.

 

^yes.
OR...

& since you replaced the thermostat (right???)
run it w/o it and water only to operating temp for ~15min, empty and replace thermostat and add coolant.

 

Thanks for all the help guys. Cooling system should be in good shape. New radiator, new Toyota thermostat, Toyota red coolant and I'll use distilled water for sure. I didn't replace all the hoses though. Just whatever showed signs of wear or breaking down.


Jason

 

If your coolant was clean (ie, not mixed with any oil etc) then you can just fill with Toyota red and not worry about a thing. A small amount of old coolant mixed with the new stuff won't hurt a thing.

Next year, before winter, do a coolant change with Toyota red again, and you're fine for the next few years after that.

 

Jason,

You could always phone Langley Toyota and talk to Mark, the Service Manager.

Do you need my exhaust? Are you going to try and fire 'er up this weekend? Get your crossover yet?

Scott

 

I got a question here.

Fluid racing through the heater core at cold start idle....... or is it the transmission over filled??. not too sure

anyone out there have or had this going on with their rig?

Thanks
Nate

 

So you can hear the water running? I wonder if your thermostat is stuck open?

 

Jason mentioned that he got a notice in the mail of a delvery at canada post. Pretty sure its the x-over. I would love to come by for the first firing, if Jason can get it together by saterday - then I can pick up my wires too.

 

No i dont think its the thermostat sticking I just replaceed it 3k ago

I think its too much tranny fluid

The wierd thing is when I depress the clutch it doesnt stop though ....
mystery I guess... I know it started after i topped off my tranny so ....

 

I have the same thing, fluid (sounds like water, heatercore) racing at start. Not much in idle. Gets worse when accelerating but pass over after about 10 seks. Dont think its the tranny.

 

It could be a few things. If the heater core is getting clogged then it will make noise, so will a small leak somewhere that is allowing air in it. A leaking head gasket could also cause exhaust to get into the cooling system that could end up in the heater core.

 

I'm pretty sure that the crossover is in, but Monica hasn't picked it up yet. Hopefully tomorrow. I have my father in law fabbing up a new exhaust bracket out of 1/8" steel. He should be able to do it on saturday.

I probably have to work on Saturday so I don't know if I will be able to fire it up on Sunday or not. It will be really close though. I still need your exhaust Scott. Hopefully I will be able to pick one up pretty soon though. Just need to decide on the setup. I'd love the LCE one if they would just friggin admit that it will work on a v6.

As it stands right now it will have to be a play-it-by-ear type of thing. If it ends up that you're busy then I'll just push it back a couple days. I can't believe it's this close....seems like I've been working on this thing forever.

Jay...the father in law will have his welder here too. He might be able to run a bead on your control arm if it's still cracked. I'll ask him, unless it's fixed already?

Jason