Coolant question for extreme temp

Hello, i am going to be heading out soon to Fairbanks and northern alaska for a couple months and am in the process of making sure my truck is fully ready for the winters.

My questions is, i want to change coolant ratio to 60/40 to make sure that if i am to run into extreme cold then it will not freeze or gel up. I currently have pink coolant in the car, is it ok to drain radiator and refill with red coolant and water to mix system to 60/40. I know draining radiator wont get it all out, so im just curious if the red is compatible with the pink?

 

Toyotas after 2005 all use pre mix thats good to -50 so just stick to that, flush it out and replace it with Toyota Super Long Life.

In alaska you'll want to run synthetic oil to help with cold starts, Tacoma 4.0 can use 0W30 or 0W20, it makes a big difference.

A block heater will help as well, they are fairly common, a bit difficult to install though, you have to sneak it in under the exhaust on the back of the cylinder head.

 

thank you

I'm under the impression that super long life premix is good to -35, which might just be cutting a little too close for comfort for me. Do you have anything that proves -50? Currently i have the pink premix in.

Thats another idea i had, just wasnt sure if the thinner oil was going to be an issue for anything.

And i already got the block heater installed, wasnt super easy, but its in.

 

Have a really strong, fresh battery if getting into COLD temps. My truck's 930 CCA 92ah AGM really had to work to start it when it was -10 to -17 degrees F (-23C to -27C). Don't forget your washer fluid, too. That was a slushy in my reservoir and completely useless.

 

Yessir, Will be buying a new interstate agm battery in the next week or so as im not risking it with current battery on the truck. No idea the age of it and i'd rather not get stuck in northern canada or smalltown alaska on drive up.

 

Don't forget most AGMs require higher voltage than a Tacoma normally puts out to fully charge. Under normal use they'll still be an improvement over a regular battery, but to fully charge them they'll need higher voltage. I use a physical voltage booster. 3rd gens can have the voltage adjusted upwards with a tune.

Not mandatory, but a strong suggestion if you want to get the most out of an AGM!

 

Red and pink are not compatible. Don't mix them and dont convert your newer style engine vehicle to the old style red. IIRC in short red is for iron block w/ mixed metals cooling systems and pink is for the newer style aluminum block & cooling systems. Stick to the premix pink and add a block heater and you should be solid.

The 7M in my 87 Supra is allergic to anything except Toyota red and it is not advised to switch. I would apply the same logic to your 1GR and keep it pink.

 

and make sure you have a newer spare tire and its aired up properly as well as a decent jack. and of course cold weather gear in case you break down!!

 

It’s -34. Just looked at a jug I have setting here.

And I tested mine after just doing a drain and fill. NOT a full flush. So I had a mix of 130k miles and 13 year old coolant mixed in. I got about -20/-25ish when I tested it afterward. Using one of those shitty floaty ball tester. (How ever good they are )

 

Ok so if I shouldn’t mix concentrated red coolant to change ratio and lower freeze point even more then what are other options? I have the block heater which will absolutely be used if needed, just really want to make sure that everything is checked off and if that is probably enough then I’ll roll with it.

 

I’d buy buy the undiluted coolant and mix it at about 65/35 or so.
That’s all you can do if you are looking for -50 protection.
You don’t want to mix it stronger than necessary, you can in “theory” add too much.
But luckily, our trucks are still “stupid” and tolerate “less than ideal” better than newer vehicles.

I mean, Dodge and Chevrolet will throw a code is the engine doesn’t heat up “fast enough”.
On the Ram 5.7, it’s usually a bad thermostat stuck open.

 

With Toyota only offering a 50/50 mix in the pink, that makes it harder to source OEM if you are sure you will need lower than the -34F deg protection. A quick google search said the Toyota pink coolant is glycol based, so as long as whatever you get is also glycol based in a concentrate and will work with an aluminum block, aluminum core radiator and whatever your heater core material is (and provided you do a full flush) you should be able to convert it over to a compatible concentrate to get the mixture you need. Just try to find info on the chemical makeup of the OEM antifreeze and compare it to option you're looking at. I think a 70/30 coolant to water mix can get you protection down into the -60F range. The main benefit to the Toyota pink is it is long life (5 years installed), so if you convert to something else, you will just need to drain and refill it more often to keep it working at peak performance. I've converted cars in the past from factory coolant to aftermarket with no issues but just look up the specs to make sure whatever you're converting it to is of the same base type and compatible with your cooling setup.

I live in AZ, I only run about 35% coolant on my concentrate cars as we don't need it for the freezing properties, only system lubrication, so this cold weather requirement is new to me.

If you know anyone there, check with them to see what they do for the extreme cold engine protection.

 

I think you should be fine with 55/45 but you can go up to 65/35.

My old man ran 55/45 in the Land Cruiser back in Edmonton.

 

You could probably mix it in a measuring cup to get it exact.
I’d mix it by “guessing” while pouring it into the radiator.
I’m a hack, close enough is good enough for me. I’d error on the “heavy” side.
I’ll take a check engine light over a cracked block.

 

Is there any reason to avoid just draining ~2qts of pink and replacing with 2qts of red, to make it 4qt water 6qt coolant at 60/40 since total is 10qts. Or is it necessary to flush pink. They seem to both be glycol based and made for aluminum, just with different service life, but I do maintenance more frequent than manufacturer recommends anyways .

 

Maybe is rated for -35 but whenever I test it, I usually see -50 on all my tools.

 

I’d say your equipment is better than mine.
It doesn’t get that cold here in Tn. Maybe -5 every 15 years or so. If that…..
Plus, what can you expect from a $5 tester? lol……

 

Always be careful that the more coolant/antifreeze you mix with water you are actually losing the coolant property of the mixture and you might begin to overheat once you hit running temperature. Keeping your stuff from freezing is only half of the equation, as anyone who has run very dilute coolant or just water in a race car will tell you.

 

Here is a TSB I found, seems like I should be fine to mix, I’m not going to be in Alaska for very long and this pink coolant I have in currently is only 4-5 months old, so i really don’t want to flush out yet.

 

With ethylene glycol, it doesn’t start going down until over 80%. It does go down fast after that
For max freeze you want 55-80% by volume, that will give you at least -50f protection. A lot of people up north shoot for 60%. That would give you about -55f. I do believe you lose some heat carrying capacity when you get higher in the glycol mix