coolant question

after offroading i went from almost full to just barely above the low line. just curious why that happened? it doesnt seem that there is any leaks or anything that i can tell from.

then another question: i fill it up from the coolant cap (metal one) then does it overfill itself into the reseviour or do i stop when it gets full then pour more into the reseviour?

thanks

 

To make an observation: the metal cap doesn't seem to want to come off it just turns 1/4 turn. And also there seems to be quite a lot of dry coolant on the top of the reseviour if that means anything?

Also is it ok to mix the pink stuff with yelloew peak antifreeze?

 

To answer your filling question, you should fill it up in the overflow reservoir and not into the radiator.
If I remember right, when your coolant is hot it will push some of the fluid into the reservoir, and when it cool's off it will bring it back into the radiator. So this is why it changes.

When you fill it up, make sure to use distilled water, or the radiator fluid from the auto parts store.


EDIT: and also don't ever take off the radiator cap off when It's hot, it can push all of that hot water up at you. Wait for it to cool down.

 

can you mix the factory coolant (pink) with say peak 50/50 coolant (yellow)

 

I would stick with the OEM coolant. They are about $15 a gallon from the dealership. I have read that other coolants can damage our engines, they have some chemicals that can damage our engines.

 

thx

 

Do you have pics of your Tacoma?

 

what kinda pics you looking for?

 

Any kind of pics is good. I like see pics of Tacomas, especially ones in AZ. I try too keep an eye for other TW members on the road.

 

let me look around and ill post some up. theres some in the offroad section from mogollon rim but im sure i can scavange some more up

 

thanks man i went to the stealership and they wanted to charge me 25 bucks im like f that man seriously? 25 bucks..15 bucks!

 

sometimes you really got apply some force to get the cap off, also kinda push down on it as you unscrew it...but yeah, be careful when unscrewing the cap when the engine is hot

 

when you fill it fill it in both the rad(metal cap)and in the overflow.there will be a line onthe overflow bottle that says full cold fill it to that line if the engine is cold.there will be another line that says full hot if you fill to this line when cold you will have a mess when it get's hot.

 

If you are still above the low line why are you adding fluid??

 

because i dont wanna forget about it then be out of coolant/antifreeze

i cant get that damn cap off

 

Are all "red" coolants compatible with one another? I have a gallon of Mopar long-life stuff that I got for my wife's van; any reason why I can't use it in my Tacoma?

 

I think they're designed that way to discourage owners from taking the cap off. That way we'll all add coolant only through the overflow reservoir the way we're supposed to.

If you are really determined to take the cap off, try turning it counterclockwise until it stops, the 1/4 turn you mentioned earlier, and then push down real hard while you turn it counterclockwise even more. That's the way most of them work, but it's still best left alone unless you have a really good reason to remove it.

 

yea you really gotta press down on the cap

 

That sucks! Did you get the lid off?

 

no i didnt get the lid off ill try the press down and rotate in the morning as it is hot right now. and they i got them down to 15 bucks!