hey guys, just talked with my local dealership and mentioned that i wanted pink instead of red (bc they use tap water mix with the red and i dont want tap water) he told me that i cannot use the pink (btw i drive an 02 v6 4x4 taco) bc the system was not designed for it.. is there any truth to this?? he told me red only.

 

You can use whatever you want.

The 02 vehicles came out before the super-longlife coolant was introduced in 04.

If you substitute SLLC (pink) in place of LLC (red) don't expect 5 years out of it, you'll have to change it in a couple years anyways due to mixing of the new/old coolant.

Toyota says, 5 years for initial, then 2 year intervals afterwards.

Me, I'd use regular red LLC (red) and filtered or distilled water and be done with it. LLC chemistry isn't as aggressive as SLLC and therefore is nicer to your skin, etc.

Generally, tap water is a no-no, but filtered water is fine.

 

the only difference between the pink and red, the pink is already cut to 50/50 and cost's the same. around $22 a gallon.

my 03 takes pink/red and my 98 took el-cheapo green.

 

I have never heard of PINK coolant...just red, green and orange

 

wrong the pink is the extended life version and is mixed 50/50 and yes it is different than red in more ways than one. but is it harmful to my taco??

also my local dealerships (all 3 of them) use tap water and have been since they have been open (15+ years) and they swear that tap water is ok with yota red coolant as long as you flush / change every 30kmiles..

i am having them change my tbelt, waterpump and thermstat changed thats why i asked them.

 

never had a problem with tap water, NEVER!

 

Like I said in another post, my shop uses tap water and no issues.

 

yup. you're right......learn me sumfin new everyday...

what I was reading says the pink is "aluminum engine" friendly and is silicate free....is it really good for 100k?

 

no probably not. i would half that to be honest. nothing really goes as far as they say it goes OEM wise imo.. it really depends on how you drive your vehicle. the rougher you are (city, 4x4, ect ect) the more often you should change fluids, grease and oil.

 

Nope, he's full of it. Running pink instead of red will not damage your engine in any way.
The two coolants are very similar except that the pink has added OAT technology.

Ask him why, I'd be curious what sort of reasoning he comes up with besides "that's what called out in the computer".

 

i agree with you and i did ask. he said that the pink is harsher for the pre 2004 vehicles and that when toyota switched to pink they changed a few things in the coolant system in order to use the pink... my side question is would the OAT be the "issue" that he talks about??

 

OAT = Organic Acid Technology
Yes, I'm sure that's what he was talking about and that is what gives the coolant it's "super long life".

Here's some good reading on the subject of coolants:
http://www.ultimateyota.com/index.ph...26&topic=328.0

What exactly is he claiming they "switched out"?

 

pink is the right color for tacos

 

I'd go for yota-PRESTONE in the yellow jug.

 

wow!!! i had no idea tap water was bad...do this mean only on new cars or any in general??? cus i bought the green presto or whatever u call it, and i mixt it with tap water...

 

We use tap water also at our shop

 

well i am not going to take my chances with tap water. i will buy 2-4 gallons of distilled water and have them mix that water with the yota red. i am going to have them write it down on the service sheet to make sure they do that and stress it. they seem pretty reasonable as far as what i want done to it and how i want it done so ill cross my fingers..

-- btw i do have prestone "any make, any color" in there now. it has only been in there about 20k miles or so. time to get rid of it.

 

Seems like alot of trouble for nothing.
I'd just fill it with the long-life pink and forget about it.

 

i called the guy again and he changed his mind and said this "i guess it would be ok to use the pink BUT we have to make sure all of the red is out of your truck first"... i mean come on man.


i am going with the pink and just tell them to drain what they can out of the coolant system. this is rediculus.. i would rather have the pink anyway and change it every 3-4 years

 

tap water is fine for the most part...just do NOT used softened water