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Howdy everyone. Read up a little bit on coolant and it seems split between toyota red and the generic green. When my alternator went out I removed it the first time by draining the coolant and dropping it out of the bottom with the lower hose out of the way. While the coolant was drained I figured I would flush the system and "upgrade" to toyota red coolant. Unfortunately, I swear after the coolant swap I have created more leaks than before. The top of the radiator seam leaks, one of the water pump bolts leaks, and there is the smallest leak at the lower metal tube that connects to the lower radiator hose (the hose clamp might be a little lose so I'll check that again). I have a front main crank seal leak that I need to fix and I am planning to swap in a new radiator (oriely or napa $100 one to get me by) and possibly pull the water pump and fix the gasket while I'm at it. My question is should I flush the system and go back to green coolant? The engine needs some head work and I just want this think leak free for the time being. Any input is appreciated.
Thanks!
I think the leaks where just pure chance . Though anything is possible
Now I run the Toyota Red in the 3.4 engines
Most of the 22R series engines used the normal green antifreeze when ever I do head removal I switched to Toyota Red with no problems or just good luck
Antifreeze has really got brand specific in the last few years as well for the newer engines
Green works just fine, green is cheap, green is available at any gas station. I use green. I doubt that the leaks are associated with the coolant change. Chances are you just noticed them as you were inspecting your work. Make sure no matter what coolant you use you mix it with distilled water, don't use tap water.
Toyota red seems to be the way to go. It's not much more then the auto parts store green and my motor with 240,000 miles was in very good condition with the red. Very little corrosion in the cooling system and even the head and block cooling passages are in great condition. My oil cooler was also free from clogs that tend to happen on 3VZEs.
I have been told you do not want to mix the two different colors. Always do a good flush when switching. I would make sure the block and heater core are flushed if I was swapping from one to the other. Heater core, I would remove the hoses from the firewall and flush with garden hose. Sometimes a lot of gunk will come out of the core and can help with heat in the cab.
Terry, that is what I have read. I think I did a pretty good job flushing the system, so I don't think the leaks are from cross contamination. I'm curious if anyone has experience with going from green to red? I think my problem is that I should have stuck with the green. Plus this is not the oem radiator, though it is still brass.
Here are some pics of the coolant leaks..
Probably too late to be of much help, but don't forget the rear heater (back seat heater) if its a 4 runner. And those tubes underneath if you're trying to pull those hoses off, they're a (family edit). And that exchanger in rear seat is copper I think, very thin, very bendy.
never gone from green to red, but i've gone the other way. just be sure to flush everything until it's well beyond clear, with the heater running to get water through the cores, and you should be fine. i went from toyota red to green in my 80 series since it's a mostly cast engine. the red is designed for aluminum engines and is great for those. 80s are known for head gaskets blowing around 100k, but i've had two and know many others who switched to green early on and never had head gasket issues.
if you want to go with another red coolant besides toyota, shell rotella sells an antifreeze that is supposed to be safe to mix with green. it's the rotella elc nf (nitrate free)
If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Go with what your FSM tells you to use.
There are exceptions, There are things that Toyota did wrong out of the factory. Yes, we fix those
Did the conversion from green to red last year. Almost immediately I had secretions from around several good condition hoses. Within a month the original radiator started to seep coolant at the top rim below the cap spout.
This spring I installed a new radiator and all new hoses and switched back to green. No leaks, drips, or loss. If anyone wants a gallon of unopened red, send a PM.
Green or Red, color does not matter. Phosphated OAT the proper type of coolant to run. In fact color is more of a marketing tool now vs an accurate depiction of type.
Hers the why:
HOAT or OAT do not contain additives since these may harm your Asian vehicle. Do not mix with other coolants (especially silicated coolants), as this may cause gel formation and clog your radiator.
to the people who had leaks: you most likely had clogs from formed debris due to using the high silicate coolant. When you flushed the system you washed the clogs away hence you seeing the leaks.
Advyota, I read about that when researching the "toyota red" coolant. In fact, that thought came to mind too that there might have been some buildup that got flushed away. Still leaning towards just running green though.
07-24-2016, 10:38 PM
