Hello all. First radiator flush...planning on distilled water then Asian red coolant. thoughts?

First radiator flush. Planning on distilled water then Asian red coolant. Thoughts??

 

I don't think you really need the flush with DI water. I would just drain and fill. Make sure you locate the drain valves on each side of the block.
When I did mine I drained and refilled exactly 2 gallons of coolant.

 

Distilled water won't hurt anything, but not sure how much it would help. Agree with mike s on measuring how much you initially drain. If you do plan on distilled, I would drain old, fill with tap water (unless you have "bad" local water), drive at least 10 miles, drain and fill with 2 gallons of distilled, idle long enough to warm up engine (or drive truck again), then drain and put in new coolant. Don't forget to drain/flush overflow tank. Main objective is warmed up so thermostat opens, and 2 water changes to get (almost) all of the old stuff out.

 

So it's a 2007.. is it still on the factory fill of the coolant?

 

First a thanks to all. Yes a 2007 83K. Had it nearly two years and I'm not sure if it is factory fill. My tap water is high in iron. I could flush twice w/distilled and the cab heater on high. I will pay attention to volume taken out. Thoughts....

 

I prefer to mix the water with the antifreeze before putting it in to ensure I get the proper mixture in case it doesn't all drain out.

 

Not sure if meant Aisin or Asian.

 

Don't think that's what they talking about- especially if they have already mixed coolant

 

Good point Azreb Perhaps a reason not to flush w/distilled water? The Asian is a 50/50 product made specifically for Toyota,Nissan ,etc. Not sure who manufactures it.

 

Using the blood of your enemies works better. The iron content helps the cooling process.

 

It doesn't promote rust?

 

In an aluminum motor? Nah

 

How much fluid is left inside if I don't utilize the drain plugs on the block

 

Will other components rust? Thanks to all for your input. My OCD prompts me to over analyze.

 

Toyota coolant is pre-mixed. Drain the radiator, top it off, drive it around, repeat. The secret additives are all that you are replenishing. I do it every 40k when I do the trans fluid

 

You should utilize the two engine block drain plugs!

It will complete the drain and reduce old coolant contamination (>1 quart) with the new. It is not hard to do if you have a couple of 6" 3/8" socket extensions and a 3/8" universal joint. It is worth the trouble.

 

If I drain with the plugs is it necessary to flush w/distilled water?

 

Flushing depends on if you feel the current coolant is contaminated in some way, or if you plan on changing coolant chemistry (example going from ethylene glycol to propylene glycol).

If the current fluid is crystal clear, but just old, the most conservative and easy way to do a changeout is multiple drain and fills. Buy some 1 gallon jugs of 50/50 premix Zerex Asian formula or Toyota SLLC, drain the radiator using the lower petcock, and then top off with new fluid at the overflow reservoir. Go drive around for a week, repeat. You can stop at 2 fills or keep going until you believe there is enough "new" fluid in there.

We don't know if your truck is still on the original coolant, but Toyota SLLC is supposed to be a 10 year coolant which means you're right at the limit to change it out.

 

Counterpoint: Never put in OEM, or Toyota red, coolant again. Go with a universal coolant which will require the distilled water flush procedure.

At the recommended coolant change, all of my Toyota products (including the Lexus) started using a universal coolant (SuperTech or Prestone). None have ever had cooling problems and, except for the Sienna, all still have the original water pump. At about 220K, I replaced the water pump in the Sienna as a preventive measure when the timing belt was replaced for the 3rd time.

When coolant was changed, I also replaced hoses, thermostat and serpentine belt, or hoses (Sienna).

http://www.aa1car.com/library/2004/us120426.htm

 

Even the flush may not be required, as long as you go from an EG to a EG, or a PG to a PG.

IMO, the only people who seem to run PG coolant are RV owners and motorcycles. I'd bet 95% of the "consumer gas engine vehicle coolant market" is EG.

And yeah those Prestone ones will work just as fine. Most coolants now are going to be a OAT or HOAT formulation which makes them almost universally compatible with a vehicle made in the last 30 years.

As long as the OP doesn't care about having brown colored coolant, you can mix red and yellow and blue and whatever. The color has nothing to do with the chemistry.

To add a final point, my old F150 came from the factory with traditional low-silicate Green coolant, but it was right on the cuff of FoMoCo changing all vehicles to OAT coolant, so they retroactively changed the spec on my old truck so that I could go with the yellow/gold coolant (Zerex G05).