2 different vehicles this weekend need advice?

[Buford T. Justice]

I can't be sure about the Lexus, but your Ford used the old style green coolant. You can safely use the Zerex G-05 in it as it is the direct replacement for old green coolant. In fact, Ford and Dodge now use it in their cars and Mercedes has been using it for 20+ years.

As for the Lexus, you can probably also use G-05 but check the owner's manual to verify what type of coolant it came with.

 

[mcrn]

ok my truck is a 96 ford ranger with the 2.3 liter engine i am changing my fluid out mainly because my thermostat is stuck open and running very cool. its been like this all winter I have just come to realize how bad this is for my engine. so about a year ago i had the water pump replaced along with the timing belt and its been running very cool ever since. So my question is what type of fluid is recommended for this application?
Now my friends car is a 92 lexus SC400 with the 4.0 V8. we live in florida. he just got his car so we have no idea about what kind of shape the radiator is in. I know mine was not in the best of shape. TIA we both have a little over 150K miles.

 

[jmacmaster]

First, fix the thermostat so it isn't stuck open. Replace it if necessary. They are very inexpensive.

I'd do a good flush of each vehicle and put G-05 in both.

 

[Kestas]

^^^ Exactly what jmacmaster said.

 

[Ray H]

"Fix"??? Automotive thermostats aren't considered repairable - they're either good or they're bad. If "frozen" open, REPLACE. For an early nineties era Toyota product I suspect it was originally filled with some variant of silicated ethylene glycol regardless of orginal color. Any of the currently available reduced silicate level standard antifreezes would work OK for a 2 yr./30,000 mile interval. (think "green") Toyota's pink long life antifreeze is a hybrid (OAT/phosphate), but only available through dealership distribution. Zerex light yellow G-05 would probably be an acceptable substitute for less $$$. Use distilled water to dilute whatever you decide on for maximum coolant life and lowest mineral introduction. Minerals eventually cause scale. Scale acts as an insulator that compromises heat transfer efficiency and also acts as a corrosion accelerant - never a good combination in a cooling system. (and, yes, even aluminum will corrode)

 

[mcrn]

cool thanks everyone i appreciate the tips and will be putting the G05 into mine for sure and will tell my friend to do the same up to him if he wants to use the advice. One more question though should we both do a flush? I know mine was done about a year ago and flushed well. His on the other hand is hard to tell. TIA