Coolant Flush - 1st Gen Tacoma - Beginners Guide

No worries, let us know how it turns out. If its within your the budget I would do the therm and hoses why I had it apart as you said.. I drained my block cause I just got the truck in may and wanted to have a good baseline on maintenance. I went through and changed all the fluids for peace of mind. My old 2000 Tacoma had green coolant in it and still running strong with 200k miles when I sold it.

 

Well I never got around to this when I said I would, but was about to the other day. Thats when I saw my radiator was cracked! I've got a radiator due to be delivered on Saturday and a rad. cap and thermostat already in the garage. Anyone had luck with Daystar hoses?

Lets hope its here Saturday so I can dig in on Sunday

 

I'll probably use toyota's coolant next time, but pay castrol to flush and use their coolaant for years in all my cars without a problem. 20k miles with castrol pink coolant in my tacoma with no problem.

 

I bought one of these funnels a few years back, Highly recommended!

$21 EPAuto Spill Proof Radiator Coolant Filling Funnel Kit

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01I40ZQWE/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8

 

Didn't want to make a new thread for this. My 04 Tacoma was serviced at a Toyota dealer until I bought it in 2016. I had the water pump and timing belt done because there was no records of those being serviced before. I don't use the Toyota dealer in my area because of a previous experience with my Camry and had another shop do it. Prestone coolant got mixed in with the Toyota coolant by that shop. I recently changed the p/s, a/c, alternator belts on my truck and lost a bunch of coolant in the process. I'm at a point where I don't know if I should keep adding in the Prestone coolant or flush it and go buy Toyota coolant from the dealer.

 

I have always read that it is a bad idea chemically to mix the red/pink with the yellow/green coolants. If I was in the situation you describe, I would flush the system entirely to ensure there are no 'mixed coolants' in the system.

 

And would I be all clear to just use the greenish Prestone (chemicals seem to match up with the Toyota coolant) after a full flush? I see conflicting information in other posts about that. I'll probably end up giving the prestone I have to my father and just go get Toyota super long life.

 

Toyota coolant is usually red, bout sure how's they match up.

 

Good post. I just did this on my 96 5 lug. Used Zerex Asian, but gonna put Toyota Red in sometime.

But I was wondering, why is it necessary to turn on the A/C when burping the system? A/C doesent have anything to do with the engine cooling. I always put heater on full blast and that worked fine. Is there a special reason for using A/C as well as the heater?

 

FYI coolant can dumped in the toilet, but check with your city first. This is not the same as a storm drain so don't dump in there.

 

Great guide, thanks for posting. I'll be doing my timing belt/h20 pump this weekend, so this is handy. Cheers.

 

Last year I did full flush for my 95.5 2.7 truck. I would add few corrections/info to the procedure:

1. No need to turn heater fan for full blast or A/C. It is enough to turn the cabin temperature to highest setting. Our trucks don't have automatic temperature control, all you need is opening the heater core valve which is controlled only be the cabin temperature setting.

2. When you drain the radiator and (optionally) engine block for the first time measure the amount of coolant drained. Then consult your owners manual for the cooling system capacity. This will give you idea how much coolant is left in the system. My 2.7 95 engine leaves about 3.8 quarts if I drain from radiator only and about 1.2 quart when I drain it from the engine block (only bolt with no way to attach a hose, so it it messy pain in the a$$.). This number is very important as it will tell you how many times you need to flush it with distilled water to flush at least 99% of old coolant, and also will tell you how much condensed (not diluted) coolant you need to add to achieve overall 50-50 diluted coolant in your system at the end. For my 95.5 2.7 I drained only from radiator (not messing with the bolt in the engine block) and I calculated I need to do flush it 5 times (5 quarts of distilled water every time) to get 99% of old coolant out. If drained from the engine block every time I would need to drain it 3 times (drain old coolant, add water and drain it again, add water and drain it for the last time) to get 99% old coolant out.

3. When flushing after you fill the truck with distilled water run the engine (with cabin heater set to max heat) till the engine gets to operating temperature (at least 176 – 183 F) so the thermostat opens allowing for good mixing of remaining coolant with flushing water that otherwise would stay only in radiator.

4. After the final drain, when you get at least 99% old coolant out the engine will contain some amount of distilled water (see point 2). You need to add the same amount of condensed coolant first and then top off with 50-50 diluted mixture.

The procedure I used is here: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...k-or-rysium-build.457350/page-5#post-17477499

 

Good luck measuring the coolant you drain from the block. I pulled that plug once...ain't no catching that lol.

I used Zerex Asian coolant from O'Reilly's....works good for me. It's prediluted, but turns out to be same cost as a jug of Toyota coolant and water.

 

It is so messy that I did it only once. Doable with wide catching pan and releasing it slowly. You don't need every drop, few ounces lost will not make big difference.

Once I found there is still over a quart left and need to flush it a couple times anyway I don't pull that block plug anymore. Takes longer with draining radiator only but cleaner and relaxing. I don't do it for living so I can take my time.

 

I remember the block drain on mine having a spout/tap I could slide some hose over to drain without spilling coolant everywhere. The 5VZ in my 1996 4Runner did not have this and just had a hole on the side of the block which is a lot more mess.

 

May be a dumb question, but in the procedure provided in the OP, do you let the engine cool down after each "distilled water flush" before draining and refilling ? Concern is warm engine and cool distilled water. I have seen a couple of Youtube posts that advise letting the engine cool before draining.

 

I think if draining only from radiator (not the block) the coolant should be hot enough to have the thermostat opened, otherwise it will not drain the coolant from engine block (at least that what my take on it is). Refilling is the other story. I guess engine should not be super hat, but I don't think that 20-30 C difference would qualify as a "thermal shock". But I might be wrong here.. Anyway even with thermostat closed the block will be filled up by the top radiator hose.

 

$150 for a good full system flush at Toyota dealer and their expert technicians
they do not remove hoses, just radiator cap and put they machine onto it
yay or nay

 

I did it myself for less but that’s not bad. No way my dealer would do it for $150.

 

you have a machine to flush through heater core?
did not get a glimpse at the machine they use
just wasn't sure how they flush it out and put new coolant back in through just one opening
i would figure the next go around I can get new lower hose on myself and just drain and fill radiator