Coolant change

Hey guys getting ready to change the coolant on my 2nd gen V 6. I have seen where everyone is saying to use the no spill fill funnel to burp out all the air. Then I saw a video on the Vacuum fill tool. They said it's easier and more effective on getting all the air out of the system. My question is is it best to use the vacuum system to get all the air out or will the vacuum system be better ? This is my first time doing it my self and I am concerned about getting all the air out . What are your thoughts and experience with both ?

 

The funnel/vacuum system really works. Also, if you can get the nose up as high as possible, it help a HUGE amount. I use a little steep hill in my yard with about a 15-18'' rise, point it down to drain, point it up to fill properly, works with every vehicle I own.

The kit I bought has enough adapters to do everything I own. Also, use the correct antifreeze, there are many different ones on the market and some don't play well with others or with the materials in your specific coolant system. Not a place to cheap out.

 

That's what I have read as well. I am concerned because I have heard horror stories of not being able to burping the system completely. Yes I agree I only use Toyota brand coolant. I thank you my good sir for your help! May just go this route and call it good .

 

I use the spill free funnel. It works good but I get a problem when it does this glup glup thing causing the coolant to pop up. To keep that from happening I hold the plug straw above the hole.

Fill until full. Start the engine, heater on, run a minute or so, top off, fill reservoir slightly overfilled. Then after a couple warm up cool down cycles, refill the reservoir. That always gets all the air out. Some engines have a petcock bleeder on the water pump, I’m pretty sure not on the 4.0.

I’ve never used a vacuum filller but hear it makes it easier.

For coolant, I think zerex Asian is the same as Toyota.

 

I own the vacuum full but never use it on Toyotas. Just use a funnel and patience. Don’t install the cap until you have heat in the cabin. Ideally you wait until thermostat is open.

 

This. I just did mine last weekend, it worked fine. A little bit of burping, other than that, no trouble using this method.

If your radiator cap is original, replace it. It’s time, even if it seems to be working perfectly.

 

Well I guess I don't need to invest in a vacuum refill tool . That's good news . I do have the no spill funnel. I will proceed with that process . Thank guys for all the tips and advice ! Very much appreciated!!

 

22mm 6-point socket and a spill free funnel is all that's need.

Use the 22mm socket to help break the coolant drain valve open.
It catches the "wings" and makes it much easier on your fingers.

No need to use the wrench or socket when tightening it back up. Finger tight is good.

 

No need for a fancy funnel. Just park nose uphill on your driveway, if everything is flat just park up on some blocks/jack the front up slightly. Drain radiator and passenger side block drain (dont bother with the pain in the ass driver side block drain... if you drain from the other two you only get ~ 1/4 quart more of fluid).

Fill with zerex red asian coolant, start with cap off and let the truck heat up some, top off as needed, Make sure overflow tank has been drained and fluid added to high fill make. Cap radiator off once things have heated up enough for coolant to be flowing at the top of the rad.

Drop truck to the ground and let cool. Before your next drive have a look at the coolant overflow tank and see how much coolant got sucked in, top off overflow tank.

 

I need to ask where you purchased your radiator cap from. I tried my local Toyota dealer and they didn't have one but referred me to an Auto parts store down the road. He said there were two available, 13 or 16 psi., I'm sure mine is the 16 psi one as I have the tow package. When I looked up the part number in the parts pdf I have it states 16401-46610, but the parts guy came back and said it's been superseded by 16401-30020. I ordered one from Amazon which took forever to get I received a completely different number and it appeared as fake and I sent it back. Same with Rockauto, I thought I was ordering an OEM one, but when I received it didn't look like my OEM.

 

I ordered my from Larry Miller Toyota on line parts . You can also try Sparks Toyota or Camel back Toyota on line parts . I have use all of these for one part or another. You can call them to verify the correct part number for yours.

 

Thanks

 

Hate to complicate this common job but if you only drain the coolant using the radiator stop-cock, nearly 60% of the old coolant stays in the system.

That's fine of course, it's not going to cause any immediate problem if you change less than half of the coolant in the system, but as you might imagine if you leave >50% of the old coolant in there you are not getting the benefit of a complete coolant change.

The only way to get a complete drain of the old coolant is to open both of the block drains on the engine block. This isn't rocket science but it's not trivially easy either, esp. on the passenger side, due to the # of extensions and swivels needed. If you try this, use extreme care not to over-torque the block drain nuts.

Extensive details & photos on how my complete drain-and-fill went, here:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...olant-level-right.789685/page-2#post-28299332

 

Appreciate the info and thank you for the video ! I had definitely planned on doing the engine block drains aswell .

 

Yeah, that's fair, I drained mine on the flat-level garage floor. If you have a sloped driveway to work on it'd definitely be easier to skip the driver-side block drain.

 

When I did mine, I used Toyota 50/50 fluid and the following funnel, worked great:

EPAuto Spill Proof Radiator Coolant Filling Funnel Kit

$20 EPAuto Spill Proof Radiator Coolant Filling Funnel Kit

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01I40ZQWE

 

The ''gator'' socket also works great.