Car Care Nut -Why you shouldn't wait 100k mi to change coolant on a Toyota UR series V8.

[RAVL]

I had a 7 year old car with 230k, a couple actually. At the same time

That pretty much accurately describes all our RAM 1500's at work, they were almost all 2011/12's and were at around 200,000 miles by the time they hit ~11 years.

Those are commercial vehicles or vehicles used in a business. I thought we were talking about personal vehicles based upon the motors in question - I am not aware and could just be unaware of an application this motor is found that is typically a commercial vehicle.

I don’t really care that much one way or the other it is just having taken cars and trucks to 300k, I would not do it again if given the choice - too much goes wrong and you wind up too invested in the car either with money or time.

Take care.

 

[OVERKILL]

Those are commercial vehicles or vehicles used in a business. I thought we were talking about personal vehicles based upon the motors in question - I am not aware and could just be unaware of an application this motor is found that is typically a commercial vehicle.

These are "personal issue" trucks, basically a company vehicle as a perk for higher-up staff, they are not used in commercial service, FWIW.

My wife's RAM 1500 accrues about 15,000 miles per year, so she'll be at 165,000 miles approximately by the time it's 11, not quite the 200,000 mile threshold but not THAT far off either.

 

[RAVL]

These are "personal issue" trucks, basically a company vehicle as a perk for higher-up staff, they are not used in commercial service, FWIW.

My wife's RAM 1500 accrues about 15,000 miles per year, so she'll be at 165,000 miles approximately by the time it's 11, not quite the 200,000 mile threshold but not THAT far off either.

It is what it is. I guess you either are dealing with long commutes or live in the country. We all do what we have to do. I resolved a number of years ago to drive less for health and financial reasons. Take care.

 

[OVERKILL]

It is what it is. I guess you either are dealing with long commutes or live in the country. We all do what we have to do. I resolved a number of years ago to drive less for health and financial reasons. Take care.

Naw, she just drives a lot. We have three kids, my son's girlfriend lives in the country, my wife likes to drive into the GTA to go to the mall when she's got a day off...etc. Just different behaviours. I wish we could drive less, would save lots of gas money

Point being, it's not really that unusual.

You take care as well.

 

[burbguy82]

I still wonder what he's using to measure tenths.

I do not know. With a straight edge, the only way I could see it done is with feelers and extrapolation. or using stacked feelers and basic subtraction or addition

an inaccuracy of a measurement could easily be a culprit.

I am with you.

 

[loneryder]

Doesn't that assume everyone has a working knowledge, or better, on just about everything?

Everyone has a brain, some better than others. If you don't know about something, there's a thing called research. I'm not saying everyone will do it but it Is up to individuals to determine what is true or not. This happens every day on this blog. Someone posts something, an argument ensues and everybody has to decide what is true to them.

 

[JeffKeryk]

Everyone has a brain, some better than others. If you don't know about something, there's a thing called research. I'm not saying everyone will do it but it Is up to individuals to determine what is true or not. This happens every day on this blog. Someone posts something, an argument ensues and everybody has to decide what is true to them.

I agree with personal responsibility; we are responsible for our actions and decisions. I also believe in finding trusted people to work with so that I do not have to do a deep dive into what they are doing and/or telling me.

 

[drtyler]

It's because what Toyota calls a coolant service, only consists of draining and refilling the radiator, which is only a partial change.

No, the Toyota service for this engine calls for draining the coolant from radiator and also from the engine block via two block drains.

 

[PWMDMD]

FWIW...I have 55k miles on the 2020 Tundra and 60k miles on the 2019 RX 350, neither has ever had their coolant changed or any coolant added, and using the test strips, the RX has a pH of 11 and the Tundra a pH of 10. I'm not worried about 100k-mile coolant intervals.

 

[Shel_B]

I started watching it with interest as an owner of a vehicle with that particular engine. If he has a point, I’m interested.

At the end of my effort, and despite all of the post here, I’m still struggling to find that point.

I have yet to see a cogent summation of his point.

You've made your point which could have been made just as well with one comment about TCCN coming to his point. We all sometimes repeat ourselves when trying to convey an important idea, give a set of instructions, or just feel that what we have to say is important enough that it warrants repetition.

 

[nthach]

I commute in Phila and it’s not good, but it’s not as bad as NYC, DC, nor Atlanta. The lack of registrations on vehicles and tinted windshields adds to stress though

Ditto in the Bay Area. I much prefer taking public transit if I have to venture into Oakland or SF. Less worries about bipping and sideshows.

 

[cyfi66]

Recently tore down the 5.7 in my 2011 Sequoia that I just bought. The head gaskets were not blown or leaking, I pulled the heads purely for inspection since I already had the motor 90% torn down for cam tower resealing. The motor has 220,000 miles and unknown service history.

Everything looked to be in good shape with just a little bit of the coating degrading around the small coolant holes mentioned in the video. These head gaskets were fine in my opinion and would have run a long time more.

Personal preference - I will not be running Toyota SLLC because I know it has sebacic acid in it which has questionable compatibility with plastics and coatings. I also don't care to leave the same coolant fill for 100k miles.

 

[John105]

You guys never cease to amaze me with what you can check upon, "while you're in there."

 

[Shel_B]

Personal preference - I will not be running Toyota SLLC because I know it has sebacic acid in it which has questionable compatibility with plastics and coatings. I also don't care to leave the same coolant fill for 100k miles.

What "plastics and coatings" are inside an engine that can be affected by sebacic acid? BTW, I've never heard of sebacic acid. What purpose does it serve in a coolant?

What's to prevent you from changing the coolant before 100,000 miles? TCCN suggests more frequent coolant changes. What coolant would you choose?

 

[burbguy82]

Recently tore down the 5.7 in my 2011 Sequoia that I just bought. The head gaskets were not blown or leaking, I pulled the heads purely for inspection since I already had the motor 90% torn down for cam tower resealing. The motor has 220,000 miles and unknown service history.

Everything looked to be in good shape with just a little bit of the coating degrading around the small coolant holes mentioned in the video. These head gaskets were fine in my opinion and would have run a long time more.

Personal preference - I will not be running Toyota SLLC because I know it has sebacic acid in it which has questionable compatibility with plastics and coatings. I also don't care to leave the same coolant fill for 100k miles.

View attachment 250553

View attachment 250554

View attachment 250555

View attachment 250556

View attachment 250557

View attachment 250558

View attachment 250559

View attachment 250560

View attachment 250561

View attachment 250562

Wow. What a job. i dont think there is anything special about Toyota koolaid, but one thing that I do like is the crusting up effect when there is a leak. Like, being an operative word. It allows you to easily see where a leak is. Other than that I see nothing special about it, nor do I see any benefit from other types of coolant. It is a pretty color for sure, there is that.

Good on you for doing such an in depth job yourself. Did you get it all back together?

 

[D60]

So, is the Toyota pink technically a long life OAT?

If so, the instructions included with a Wix 24106 kit specifically say it is not for use with this:

I tried this on a '15 Tundra today with 87k miles, and, if accurate, came up with a pH of ~7:

I followed instructions of dipping for two seconds, shake off and started a stopwatch on my phone for 25 seconds, then compared colors.

But does it even matter, ie is this an accurate test given Wix' explicit caveat??

 

[D60]

@nthach any thoughts on above? I figure you drink antifreeze for breakfast (I'm not that tough), so you might have theories?

 

[nthach]

@nthach any thoughts on above? I figure you drink antifreeze for breakfast (I'm not that tough), so you might have theories?

Toyota pink coolant is a long-life coolant. Those strips are for old-school green coolant with SCAs. The lower pH of LLCs usually leans towards the acidic side of things.

Firestone used one of those as an “inspection” while getting my wheels aligned. They said I needed a coolant flush. This was with barely year old Peak 10X with a little Cor-Guard mixed in.

 

[millerbl00]

Why take chances. Just change the coolant regularly. I heard this is happening on all of them. 4, 6 and 8 cylinders.

 

[edyvw]

It is not bad job. Maybe 1 1/2hrs. If I lifted it on quick jacks, it would be faster. The biggest pain in, you know what, was the skidplate since this is the first time I am taking it down, and it seems that the dealer, when it was changing the oil, twisted those hooks that go into the frame.
When I opened first drain pipe on passenger side block, some 1 1/2gallons got out:

Petcock: some gallon:

Driver side block, some 1/2 to 3/4 of a gallon:

I would say after two cooling down periods, it took almost 3 gallons. Just little bit left in third canister: