Coolant Flush ?

I've been getting rdy to do a coolant flush on my 00 Taco. I've done some research and have found the following.

Use toyota red and dilute with distilled 50/50.

Drain the radiator
Drain the block - See below for ?
Fill with distilled water. Run with heat on max to flush coolant from the block X 2 times
Refill with new coolant with truck running. Rev engine to help remove any air bubbles.

My only question is people that recommend to drain the engine block. Wouldnt running the car w/ heat on max drain all the old coolant from the block once the thermostat opens up? If so, is there any reason to physically drain the block by removing the plug?

Thanks!

 

I had the same question... Never ended up draining the block though. I just ran radiator cleaner then distilled water until it ran clear.

 

I just did mine this weekend, drained, filled and ran 2x with distilled water. Drained again. Refilled with 50 /50 red Toyota coolant. Also replaced both radiator hoses since they were the originals and getting a little soft.

 

I would assume if you can get the 2 gal of coolant back in on the refill the block drained right?

 

Did you physically drain the block by removing the plug?

 

I knew the block drained when the fluid was completely clear.

 

I did not drain the block, but after the second flush with distilled water the fluid came out clear. Each time I filled it with just distilled water I drove around for about 15-20 minutes with the heater on high, and waited for the thermostat to open to make sure the whole system was getting flushed.

 

I've heard Red is what's supposed to be in there too
I just bought mine 2 months ago, and it's got Green
I'd like to get the recommended stuff in there; but, know that any mixing of the Red and Green causes world's to collapse

Anyway, like other's have said:
I've always just drained-refilled with distilled-ran for 20 mins-repeat; until it runs clear
Then swap

Gotta make sure you find a (legal) place to get rid of the coolant, though
Otherwise, if you don't do it right and get caught, you'll get slapped with some nice Federal Offenses

 

That is the reason I just did mine, I bought it about a month ago and it had green in it, and when I drained it you could see it had a mixture of green and Toyota red. I don't think there is anything wrong with using green coolant in our Tacomas, I just didn't want a mixture of the two.

 

What line do you undo to flush out. The return line to the radiator?

 

There is a drain valve at the bottom of the radiator on the passenger side. There is a white plastic knob that will open the valve. I put a 1/4" rubber tube on the valve to let it drain into my drip pan.

 

Did mine today. New hoses, coolant, 170F thermostat and o-ring.

Temp was 198-202F with original 180F thermostat...



Now its 188-192F with the 170F thermostat...

 

Draining the block is a piece of cake.

 

Just did this too, found out that the jiggle valve on thermostat must be at 6 o'clock. Search jiggle valve and read thread. Temp seems higher if installed incorrectly.

 

THIS ^^^ is very correct. When I did my water pump I installed the tstat at the 12 o'clock position, something that I had typically done (assuming air bubbles rise). My water temp was then 5-7 degrees above what it normally was (189-193). Rotated it to 6 o'clock after some further research and numbers were back to normal.

 

Lol... Took. Me awhile to find that little nipple on my 02' 2.7 to drain.

 

Adower,

I would not bother trying to find the coolant drain plug on the block. Remember these first generation Tacoma motors are now very old so it could very likely be frozen to the block at this point. The other thing to remember is that if this is your first time doing this maintenance, you might want to replace both the upper and lower radiator hoses. I do the radiator flush every three years on our Tacoma, which has the 3.4 Liter V6 motor. Are you sure you mix the Toyota coolant with water? I am almost positive all of the Toyota coolant comes premixed.

These are the steps I do when flushing then cooling system on our old Tacoma.

1. Always use Toyota coolant

2. Drain the entire cooling system from the drain cock on the
radiator

3. Replace upper and lower radiator hoses

4. Fill the entire cooling system back up with distilled water

5. Drive it around for twenty minutes with the heat on full blast

6. Repeat Step 1

7. Fill both the radiator and the overflow reservoir to the
appropriate levels with Toyota coolant

Good Luck,
Paul






Paul