Coolant

I heard a while ago about extended life antifreeze in GM's trucks. they were having alot of problems with the coolant breaking down or something and almost geling? My dad says that time has more to do with coolant breaking down then milage does? My truck is an 05, I will change out my coolant sometime in 2010. 5 years seems good to me.

 

Toyota has two different coolants Long Life I call Gen 1 it’s dark reddish pink it is coolant concentrate. The second coolant called Super Long Life I call Gen 2 is pink in color and a 50/50 blend formula. I say use the coolant Toyota approved for your truck and check it at every oil change and make sure you top it off with Toyota coolant only all coolants are not the same. Also in regards to any warranty engine mechanical problems we may have if it has something other than Toyota in it you got some splaining to do. Now I know at 25 to 30 dollars a gallon that’s a bit much but if you keep an eye on it and maintain it you might just get those 100 thousand miles out of it Toyota claims and if you need it topped off stop by.

Now mixing the two coolants gen1 and gen2 I don’t recommend it turns a funky brown color kinda like if you Mix gen 1 coolant with green coolant. I have seen the causes of mixing coolants or using the wrong coolants the corrosion it causes’s on coolant sensors and engine parts it isn’t good.

If you guys and gals don’t have one of these for flushing a spill-free funnel I love this thing no air pockets.

 

yeah my coolant is pink, and it is almost to LOW seriously.

 

The Caterpillar engines as well as Detroit Series 60 motors use an additive called DCA2 and DCA4 in the coolant. But those monsters also have spin on coolant filters which also have the additive built into the filter.
I use only the Toyota coolant on my engine. A while back I did see minor leakage out of the petcock on the right side of the block. If you are low I would first check that area.
I've heard of the GM Dexcool problems and know that formula has some amount of alcohol in it which evaporates out and causes frequent "top offs".
Toyota's coolant looks and smells very similar to the Porsche coolant. If it is the same, suffice to say, it's the s*&t. Good stuff.

 

I bought some of the Toyota brand coolant cause it was below the full line and i put 50% water and 50% coolant like the bottle said. I filled the resvior and now some times when I open the hood I can see that the coolant sprayed like out of the resvior. Was i suppose to fill the radiator or was i just suppose to fill to the full line. and finally is this a serious problem.

 

The general rule of thumb is that coolant- even the "long life" stuff is good for around 2-3 years max. Afterwards it becomes contaminated with metals and acids. I change mine every two years, or usually around 40-50k. I have the old Tacoma. My wife has a newer car- an 02' Corolla with the pink stuff. I read that the only difference between the pink and other stuff is that the pink is non-silica based. I can't imagine there's all that much of a difference. I used the pink anyway.

 

I have this same problem. It appears to me that this is due to parking on an extreme incline on a regular basis, although I could be wrong. I wouldn't say it is sprayed all over the place, but there is a fair amount of coolant around the reservoir location and I was having to fill it up quite frequently. I have since stopped topping it off, and it stays right where it has been for the last 5 months.

 

The coolant level in the reservoir will fluctuate between hot and cold engine temps. Its best to fill it when the engine is cold. As you can see that the "full" line is in the middle of the tank, you'll notice that often times the coolant will almost fill it to the top when warm. So if you fill it when warm, the coolant will more likely overflow when the engine cools down. Sounds stupid, but that's how it works.

And yes- you only fill the reservoir, not the radiator. I'll also say that I used Dexcool years ago. I don't know what they put in that stuff, but after 2 years in my truck it really clumped up. That was 5-6 years ago, and even now after several coolant changes, I still get chunks of hardened dexcool floating to the top. Stay away from that stuff!

 

So when would you all recommend to change it out? I have 46k on her now, but I have not changed it yet and this will be the 3rd summer with the factory fluid in it. I am leary about a so called 100k anti-freeze. Those components of the protection have got to break down eventually.

 

I'd change it. Its cheap and easy to do. Make sure and pull the brass block plug as well. The worst part is getting rid of the old stuff because pets are attracted to it, and if they drink it- they will die. ( we back home had a gravel driveway and would drain it there and then water the hell out of it but this is not suggested advice) but generally, repair shops will take it.

 

AND ONCE AGAIN, Chris changes the thinking of an entire generation...

 

So 3 years should be the max to run my coolant for? I was planing on 5 years, but it looks like I could be wrong. My truck only has 25000 mi, although I would think time is more a factor then actual milage for coolant?

 

108,000 & I haven't changed it. But planning on doing so maybe this weekend along with rear dif fluid.