so my 95 v6 temp gauge went crazy on friday driving it to work but i made it there without over heating and then home 4 hours later and i thought the thermostat was sticking so i am draining the fluid as we speak. it looks just like adirty brown green color of water and not like fluid. i replaced the radiator like 5000 miles ago and my dumb ass put in prestone 50/50 instead of toyota red so i feel like a douche and dont know if it went crazy because of that or if i should still proceed with checking the thermostat that i dont want to replace with an aftermarket one

 

Prestone antifreeze won`t hurt your engine, as long as its changed regularly. Check you thermostat and make sure its not sticking, or just go a head and replace it, also the temperature sending unit can go bad and cause the temp gauge to not read properly, ive had this happen before.

 

quick question: I saw some red coolant at the store the other day. Twas for RVs, though. Is the RV red coolant the same as toyota red coolant?

 

no its not dont get rvs but yeah i changed the tstat and it seems to stay in good temp.

 

Surfer,
I am the technical training manager for prestone coolants. You likely plugged your thermostat from the new coolant cleaning corrosion from your system and mixing with the old stuff left in the block. You should have used a good flushing agent when you replaced the radiator. The red Toyota coolant wasnt even around when your truck was built. Back then Toyotas still used the old style yellow/green silacated coolant with two year or 30k recommended change intervals. If i can help you solve any cooling related issues, i am more than happy to supply information to keep you truck running cool.
Have a great day.
MotorKing

 

UMM...
My 92 had red coolant in it.....

 

I have a similar problem, except my truck does not appear to heat up. When it is started in climbs, then a little while later it falls way off. (Them opening I am guessing) Where is the Temp sending unit located?

 

I have used Prestone yellow/green coolant for 25 years and have never had a problem. I change the coolant every three years and it comes out looking new, with no sign of rust or contamination. I think it's a myth to use the red stuff.

 

no it wasnt the coolent it what the blown head gasket they did a block test after i replaced the tstat and everything ran fine but the truck runs fine but i guess its blown