Last time I replaced my radiator I flushed the system all out. To get a 50/50 mixture I put in what I thought was half Toyota red thinking I'd fill the other half with water. Well when I got to the water stage it took a lot less than I thought it would for some reason. So my ratio is more like 70% Toyota red 30% distilled water.

I've been having issues with my truck getting hot while wheeling...flexalite's suck BTW and I know water cools better than radiator fluid. I was thinking of draining some of my radiator and filling it back up with distilled water to dilute it some. They recommend 50/50 but think there's any harm running like 60 water 40 fluid??? I live in Cali and my rig will never see freezing temps.

 

I would say 70/30 is fine, but I'm not an expert on Toyota red by any stretch of the imagination.

Are you sure there aren't any air bubbles trapped in there and that everything is truly full? Toyota radiators are deceiving - through the radiator cap, they look full but aren't - need to make sure there is some in the overflow bottle.

My next recommendation would be something like WaterWetter. Since the fan is marginal, you're probably going to need all the heat transfer you can get!

 

Buy these: http://www.cooltrak.com/

Play with mixture 'til you're content.

 

This maybe just a dumb question...does it really matter what color/type of coolant you use as long as the mix is right for the area you live? Why use the red over yellow over green??? Will the normal green eat aluminum?

After asking this I did a bit of searching and found this...
http://www.search-autoparts.com/sear...27/article.pdf

.

 

Red last longer, better formula. Also, it helps find leaks because it dries up red and crusty and is easy to spot leaks.

Nothing wrong with green though. Thats what I use. Toyota wants WAAAAY to much for red.

 

" It is not recommended for use with any type of red or orange dyed coolants."

FAIL

 

As for red vs orange vs green, I will say this. FORGET those specialty coolants! Sure, flushing the green stuff every year or two is kinda PITA, but it is NOTHING compared to what happens when those "long life" coolants go bad. My Impala has essentially an entire new cooling system due to the Dexcool crap.

IF you use these "new" coolants, you MUST MUST MUST MUST MUST use distilled water! You MUST MUST MUST MUST carry distilled water with you just in case!

 

Nice. I grabbed the wrong link. If you actually wanted to be useful, you'd have done more than just typed "FAIL".

http://www.gwrauto.com/RadStrip1.htm

 

I've used the long life coolant for years with no trouble. GM had a problem with compatibility between the coolant and their gaskets. There was a class action suit filed http://www.stuevesiegel.com/CM/Resul...ON-LAWSUIT.asp

I put 68 000 kms on my Prestone long life coolant before changing it (new rad and electric cooling fan) and when drained, it looked as clean as new.

The most important thing to remember is that some long life coolants aren't compatible with green stuff and will gel when mixed together.

 

As long as you have a fan and a shroud you should be pulling air threw the radiator. You may want to look into the thermostat being clogged or not functioning properly. It could also be your water pump not pushing the water. Does your heater still work?

 

I have a flex a lite electric fan with the shroud. My radiator, thermostat, and pump are all new. The flex a lite just cannot move the amount of air required to keep her cool. The only time it heats up is when I'm getting it while wheeling and it's hot out. If I stop and let it idle for a minute and slide the heat knob to high the temp comes right back down. It also will heat up when I'm up in the Sierras at 7000 feet rodding it up a hill. My system is fine.. need a Taurus fan.

 

I am assuming that you have the V6 because of your grill. But if that is a replacement grill and you have the 22re I have a spare fan. You are only a few minutes away.

 

i probably am ~70/30 water/coolant.
no issues, even with weekends trips to the snow.



next time get an empty coolant jug and split the new coolant into both, top both off w/distilled and carry the remaining 50/50 with you.

ive had new(aftermarket) fail out of the box