Coolant: From Green to Red

Has anyone had success flushing the green generic “all makes & models” antifreeze out and replacing it with the OEM red?

Or does changing from green to red require a new radiator?

 

@Taco critter

 

So your truck has green in it now? I’ve always gone with the pink/red “Asian Vehicle” stuff…

 

Correct, it currently has the green Peak All Vehicles coolant. My dad took good care of the truck before selling to me but was cheap with stuff like that.

Now I’m trying to figure out the safest way to switch back to OEM red.

 

Drain all the green coolant, fill it with distilled water and run it (don't forget to turn the heater on so the heater core gets flushed). After it cools down completely (DO NOT OPEN THE RADIATOR CAP WHILE THE SYSTEM IS HOT YOU WILL GET INJURED), drain, fill with water, and run again. Do that two more times or so and it should be good to go. The big thing to look for is that it comes out clear with no sign of green coolant or sediments.


I took the radiator out and flushed it out with the garden hose so I could get after it more thoroughly.


I did this and 5 years later have no signs of issues. Don't forget to rinse out the overflow tank.

 

Nice

That’s basically what I was hoping I could do but just wanted to make sure someone else tried it first without something bad happening.

Thanks for taking the time to help!

 

Does the block have drain plugs?

 

I’m so glad you brought that up.

The repair manual says it does but so far I haven’t been able to find it for the 3.4 5vz-fe motor. The “illustration” shows it somewhere by the power steering reservoir.

Anyways, if I can find it, would I drain that after each water flush as well?

 

On OLDER vehicles many times they were plugged and you needed a heavy wire or coat hanger (no hammer & chisel...) to bust through the sediment once the plug was removed. Once through you could remove a lot of sediment from the block through those drains. "After each flush", if it is easy to access and you are energetic and enthusiastic, why not...

 

Do you happen to know the location of the drain plug on the 3.4L engine block? I've looked everywhere but I’m having trouble since I only have this crappy image for reference.

 

To be honest I don't even know if there are any. I've just purchased my first V-6 Taco less than a year ago. My experience is with old American iron that had a drain plug on each side of the V block towards the center (front to back) just above where the pan bolted on... It looked like a standard threaded plug. I wouldn't be surprised if there aren't any. You know Toyota trying to save a nickel per unit.

 

I've got to do the same green to red/pink on my 2.4L Taco. Just dredding the process. Previous owners went cheap.

 

Does your truck still have the original radiator or water pump? I just had my pump replaced last year but unfortunately I hadn’t learned about the red coolant yet or I would’ve switched then.

 

Green coolant is not ideal but it's OK to run. I have worked on plenty of Toyotas running green because lazy/cheap shops use it.

You just don't want to treat green and red as the same and mix them in appreciable quantities. Incompatible coolants can cause chemical reactions resulting in corrosion or cause sedimentation that clogs up coolant passages.

 

OMG how were you running non OEM coolant and you engine didn't explode?!

kidding.

Why tho? It's coolant, not rocket science. If you're going to switch, just flush it until the water comes out clear.

But green works just fine. Hell, get whatever color you like. If you want to spend 2x on OEM red coolant, be my guest I guest.

That sounds like a lot of unnecessary work. When I did my timing belt, I drained all the red stuff, flushed it once, and tossed in some green stuff, whatever O'Reily's had on sale. Green is still perfectly florescent green under the cap, ~5 years on.

 

I do get your point that it’s not always necessary to pay extra for OEM.

But you have to admit, it most certainly is better to use OEM parts and fluids when you can. It’s not like I’m picking new coolant based on my favorite color. I’m picking it based on what the actual engineers (aka rocket scientists) determined to be best for the vehicle. After spending over a grand on a new water pump last year, I’m more than okay with paying extra for the better coolant.

 

I think you underestimate how much influence the engineers have on the end result.

Is it engineering? Or marketing? Probably both.

For sure, there are lots of things that you should spend OEM money on. Like engine internals or other critical parts (I got all OEM parts when I did my timing belt and water pump - though I spend ~$300 for everything).

For consumables? I just don't see a great reason to spend the extra money on some stuff just because it has a Toyota logo on the box.

OEM clearly isn't the end all be all, in all situations. I mean, look at our lower balljoints. Those rocket scientist engineers really screwed to pooch on that one... Don't get me started on where they put the clock.

 

I should also say that OEM is not always more expensive (but usually is, lol). For my entire life I had been running Fram oil filters in all my vehicles. One of those things I learned from my dad. If it ain't broke, don't fix it, I guess. I just liked that grippy stuff on the end, made changing it easy.

I always thought people who bought OEM filters were dumb until I realized I could get them for cheaper (at least for my 1st gen Taco). That's what happens when you ASSume.

 

Ya that’s a good point about the ball joints.

I’m definitely not a chemistry major or anything so I couldn’t tell you what’s better or worse about each coolant. In these types of situations I try to follow the repair manual and/or general consensus.

 

Yeah, search around enough and you'll find whatever you want to hear (confirmation bias). There are few things that have a true consensus. I think the location of the clock is one of those few things. I have a whole soapbox on balljoints on my build thread (link below) if you are bored.

I'm not saying DON'T get the Toyota stuff, just adding to the pot my anecdote that using the cheap green stuff from the auto parts store works perfectly fine for me. Seems to have worked for you as well.