We now have five Toyotas. Four of them use the Toyota Pink Coolant. My 1993 Toyota uses the Toyota Red. Can I flush out the red and replace it with Toyota Pink? That way I only have to stock one type of antifreeze??? Is the Pink better that the Red?
Can I use Toyota Pink in a old Toyota
- Thread starter handyman
- Start date
What is the radiator made out of?
Originally Posted by handyman
... Is the Pink better that the Red?
I thought pink superceded the red? I could be wrong, do dealers even sell red now?
Yes you can use pink in place of red. The dealer told me it was a direct replacement. My dealer doesn't even sell red anymore. I also did online research to verify the dealers statement and I have not heard of anyone having any issues.
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Originally Posted by handyman
We now have five Toyotas. Four of them use the Toyota Pink Coolant. My 1993 Toyota uses the Toyota Red. Can I flush out the red and replace it with Toyota Pink? That way I only have to stock one type of antifreeze??? Is the Pink better that the Red?
I feel your pain. I have 2 cars that use the red and 2 that use the pink. Pink is not merely a diluted red. Pink has Sebacic Acid and Potassium Hydroxide while the Red uses Organic Acid Salts and Hydrated Inorganic Salts. It's the sebacic acid that puts the super in pink.
Toyota says in a TSB that the Red and Pink are compatible. Honestly, I can't say for sure what that means. Does that mean you can use the Pink in a 2000 4Runner? Does that mean you can mix the two together and they won't gel or cause some crazy chemical reaction? Can I use the Red in a 2010 4Runner?
If your cooling system contains copper, brass or lead (older Toyotas) you would get your maximum corrosion protection with the red. If your cooling system is all aluminum, you should get the best bang for your buck with the pink.
Lots of people say they swap coolant and everything works fine. You could use straight water and everything would work fine and your car would actually run cooler. Cooling system damage occurs down the road. Once the corroded aluminum oxide starts flaking off and sandblasting the heater core til it goes bad at 100k and it costs $800 to replace we may have wished we used the correct coolant. My brother says this coolant thing is all a bunch of crap and uses Green in everything and adds tap water to boot.
I ain't saying there are no other coolants for Toyota other than Toyota. There are some good coolants other than Toyota. I just ain't gonna use them.
There are many different opinions on the "red vs pink." The truth is they are not the same. And the truth is any problem is gonna show up way down the line. And we will be led to believe the repair was simply due to the age of the vehicle.
If you continue to use the red, please premix before you add. I use a gallon milk jug with markings at each quart.
Be sure you change based on time/mileage with the emphasis on the time side. You can get some pH sticks to help monitor the life of the coolant.
I decided to just use both the red and the pink. I have 2 gallons on hand.
This is a pretty interesting read on coolants https://www.motor.com/magazine-summ...easy-being-green-or-yellow-or-orange-or/
Originally Posted by Gebo
I decided to just use both the red and the pink. I have 2 gallons on hand.
Toyota says pink can be used in older cars. When I did use SLLC for top-off of red, some of my hoses turned white on a 1991 LS400. It was some kind of bloom. No leaks.
The dealer I deal with for parts still stocks the older red, but they are using Havoline Universal or Peak Full Force for older cars they service. I got rid of my 2 gallons of red, all the cars in the family fleet take pink.
I have a 2002 Toyota Tacoma that came with red. When my mechanic replaced the radiator about 7-8 years ago he switched it to pink. That works out great for me because I have a 2012 Highlander that uses the pink. I've had no ill effects. The red is good stuff, but the pink works well and has a longer life. I'd switch if it will make your life easier. Also, Zerex Asian coolant is basically the same stuff.
Yes
hmm ok but it s not only about the metal parts in your cooling system. Are oldskool gaskets and other composites (headgasket, waterpump impeller,...) compatible with the sebacic acid in the pink sllc? Anybody knows that? Just like 2-eha sebacic acid is moreorless like a plasticizer. To be safe I d choose a phoat based on benzoate and phosphates, like the old toyored llc, pentifrost a1, zerex asian.
Here in Europe, none of these are available. I could get Aisin ullc, which is a phoat. Asked techsupport about it containing 2-eha and was told it doesn t.
Anybody here knows if it contains sebacic?
I remember reading lots of anecdotal reports on the various forums about pink causing water pump drips/leaks in older Toyotas, and some dealer mechanics even recommending newer Toyotas with pink to be switched back to the older red version as a preventative. Whether or not any of this is true, I have no idea. The older models were probably coming due for a new pump anyway so I'm skeptical that the pink was causing issues. That being said I am running red in my older Sequoia and just change it every few years, the Pentofrost A1 version is easily available at Advance auto and I saw no point in changing what has worked fine for 150k+ miles.
Right, but I there s no shop that sells it here. I can order pentofrost or zerex only from us, will cost like 100$ xport, thats crazy. Fact is sebacic acid is a plasticizer. It could work if you know all potential victims in your coolant system are compatible. Mechanical wp seal, headgasket, impeller if plastic, other seals where coolant passes.
I m quite sure when Toyo started mounting the pink stuff, they only did it in engines with revised components.
and that would probably have been true in the timecontext of those days.
