Toyota Long Life Coolant (Red) same as GM Dexcool?

[XS650]

quote:

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Originally posted by VaderSS:
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Keep in mind that the closer to 100% distilled water you have, the better WW works, and at 50/50, it does not do much good.

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Vader, Redline claims about an 8F advantage with WW in a 50/50 water, glycol solution. Do you doubt that or not consider 8F much good?

I just filled my LT4 with 50/50 and WW, unfortunately I also did enough other cooling system work at the same time that I have no idea what improved things. Not that 80F weather tells me much about how the system is working anyway

 

[ekpolk]

quote:

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Originally posted by RavenTai:
I just picked up 2 gallons of Toyota red at my local dealer for just over $12 each or about twice the cost of standard Prestone, call arround prices were from 12 to over 20 at the local Toyota dealerships, also grabbed 10 gallons of distilled water at Walmart for .58/each

and the obligatory question anybody used RedLine water wetter with Toyota red? any problems? I am going to assume it will be ok as Toyota red appears to be standard chemistry with a few tweaks

the Toyota I am using it in has a history of head gasket problems if it overheats, hoping the water wetter will give me slightly better chances

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Raven:

Last year, I had RLWW slime up the coolant in my then three month old '03 Camry V-6. After system was completely flushed and refilled, I decided to try again, this time with Purple Ice (a Royal Purple product). There's a parallel thread on this you ought to look at, if you haven't already. No problem this time, and it's still in my car today. Coolant still looks like freshly mixed ruby juice.

 

[Spector]

HAd the system flushed last week and unloaded the Toyota Red. Not only did it have a habit of seeping at the hoses/clamps, mimic power steering fluid as to color but after a year the overflow tank consistently had a grayish sludge build up in the bottom. The OEM on this was green ethelene glycon and dealer insisted on putting in the red after 10 years. It simply did not perform IMO.

Back to the old standard.

 

[RavenTai]

ekpolk hmm wish I had seen that earlier, already put WW in the Toyota red, any specific symptoms to look out for? Fluid looks good, was this sledging apparent from the overflow or cap?

Spector, what vehicle? Land Cruiser owners have a very similar grey sludge but it is not limited to Toyota red it shows up randomly in all coolants. Some have more than others but no one has been able to discern any pattern to it nor a positive idea of the cause

 

[ekpolk]

quote:

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Originally posted by RavenTai:
ekpolk hmm wish I had seen that earlier, already put WW in the Toyota red, any specific symptoms to look out for? Fluid looks good, was this sledging apparent from the overflow or cap?

Spector, what vehicle? Land Cruiser owners have a very similar grey sludge but it is not limited to Toyota red it shows up randomly in all coolants. Some have more than others but no one has been able to discern any pattern to it nor a positive idea of the cause

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I had this stuff in both the expansion tank, and as far down into the radiator as I could see (not very far). It's hard to describe, but if you can envision something the color of pale butter and having a very slightly, almost pumice-like grittiness when rubbed between the fingers.

I'm very curious to see how this turns out for you. I hope it works well, of course, proving perhaps that some other factor is responsible for what I had.

If you do start to see the "sludge", dump and flush right away, it will progress further if you don't.

 

[SteveS]

quote:

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Originally posted by VaderSS:

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and the obligatory question anybody used RedLine water wetter with Toyota red?

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I am running WW, RMI-25, Toyota Red, and 75% distilled water.

Keep in mind that the closer to 100% distilled water you have, the better WW works, and at 50/50, it does not do much good. Basically, look at the coldest temp you can reasonably expect to subject your car to, and use enough anti-freeze to protect to that temp. In my case, 10F is plenty of protection, so 25/75 it is.

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Vader SS, remember there's more than one function of an engine coolant. Ideally it should be called an engine coolant/anti-freeze/corrosion inhibitor.

When using reduced mixes, such as the 25:75 you are using, there is less of the corrosion inhibitor in the final mix than is needed to prevent corrosion.

Basic rule of mixing engine coolant, 50:50
unless you're operating in really cold conditions then use up to 60% coolant.

So I'd recommend that you replace your coolant with a 50:50 mix next service.

 

[Amkeer]

quote:

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Originally posted by Spector:
HAd the system flushed last week and unloaded the Toyota Red. Not only did it have a habit of seeping at the hoses/clamps, mimic power steering fluid as to color but after a year the overflow tank consistently had a grayish sludge build up in the bottom. The OEM on this was green ethelene glycon and dealer insisted on putting in the red after 10 years. It simply did not perform IMO.

Back to the old standard.

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All I have been using for years is the RED! The stuff is excellent! Make sure DISTILLED is used only and you will not get the deposits.

Daily Drives:
-2003 Toyota Tacoma PreRunner XtraCab, 2.7 Liter , Mobil 1 Synthetic SS 5w30.
ODO 8700 Miles.
-1995 Toyota 4-Runner 3.0 V6, Mobil 1 Synthetic SS 10w30.
ODO 85500 Miles.
http://community.webshots.com/user/amkeer

 

[ekpolk]

quote:

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Originally posted by Amkeer:

quote:

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Originally posted by Spector:
HAd the system flushed last week and unloaded the Toyota Red. Not only did it have a habit of seeping at the hoses/clamps, mimic power steering fluid as to color but after a year the overflow tank consistently had a grayish sludge build up in the bottom. The OEM on this was green ethelene glycon and dealer insisted on putting in the red after 10 years. It simply did not perform IMO.

Back to the old standard.

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All I have been using for years is the RED! The stuff is excellent! Make sure DISTILLED is used only and you will not get the deposits.

Daily Drives:
-2003 Toyota Tacoma PreRunner XtraCab, 2.7 Liter , Mobil 1 Synthetic SS 5w30.
ODO 8700 Miles.
-1995 Toyota 4-Runner 3.0 V6, Mobil 1 Synthetic SS 10w30.
ODO 85500 Miles.
http://community.webshots.com/user/amkeer

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You're right, it's vital to use distilled water. What still has me puzzled is that the Toyota Red mix that sludged on me when I added the RL Watter Wetter was the factory fill. Don't know if my situation was an anomaly, but I do know that it was a serious mess!

 

[Spector]

My experience is in a Camry V6. It has been a week now and the overflow tank is finally beginning to function normally. It appears that the tech that flushed the system did not get all the trapped air out. Overflow tank would never rise but next morning the tank level would drop. I have been adding 4-8 ounces of coolant a day but now the tank seems to finally be filling up when hot. Never realized trapped air could be such an issue. I was fearful that the head gasket was totally gone to suck up that much coolant every day. No vapors of any kind out the exhaust though.

Amazing how few jobs are done correctly anymore the first time.

 

[ekpolk]

quote:

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Originally posted by Spector:
My experience is in a Camry V6. It has been a week now and the overflow tank is finally beginning to function normally. It appears that the tech that flushed the system did not get all the trapped air out. Overflow tank would never rise but next morning the tank level would drop. I have been adding 4-8 ounces of coolant a day but now the tank seems to finally be filling up when hot. Never realized trapped air could be such an issue. I was fearful that the head gasket was totally gone to suck up that much coolant every day. No vapors of any kind out the exhaust though.

Amazing how few jobs are done correctly anymore the first time.

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What year is yours? My 2003 V-6 Camry has a radiator with no cap at all. Apparently in recognition of the problem you described, which I've heard of from others, and which I guess was common enough that Toyota decided to change the design. The filler cap on mine is atop a funky cast aluminum piece that juts up from the middle of the "V" and is plainly intended to make the filler opening the undisputed highest and easiest to reach point in the cooling system. The upper hose snakes DOWN from this piece, over the front bank, to the capless radiator. The oflo tube goes from the cap (as expected) over to the tank. When I look under my hood, I get the distinct impression that the engineers were asking themselves, "how can we make sure that even a careless mech [EDIT: softened words...] can get this thing properly filled first time, every time?"

[ May 25, 2004, 11:48 PM: Message edited by: ekpolk ]

 

[VaderSS]

quote:

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Originally posted by SteveS:
Vader SS, remember there's more than one function of an engine coolant. Ideally it should be called an engine coolant/anti-freeze/corrosion inhibitor.

When using reduced mixes, such as the 25:75 you are using, there is less of the corrosion inhibitor in the final mix than is needed to prevent corrosion.

Basic rule of mixing engine coolant, 50:50
unless you're operating in really cold conditions then use up to 60% coolant.

So I'd recommend that you replace your coolant with a 50:50 mix next service.

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That's what the RMI-25 and Water Wetter are in there for... With those two products, the cooling system is still protected even with 100% distilled water

Besides, if you look at the label on the Toyota red, it shows that concentrations as low as 35% provides the necessary protection, even without additional additives.

[ May 26, 2004, 11:53 AM: Message edited by: VaderSS ]

 

[rbraughn]

I just did a Flush/fill on my Mom's 98 Avalon that had the Toyota Red.

The car has 34,000 miles, and I believe was the factory fill making it about 6 years old, and it looked perfect when I drained it. No discoloration of the overflow tank, and the same exact red color as the new stuff I replaced it with. Looks like good stuff to me.

The color is kinda freaky though. Looks like Rasberry Kool-aid.... I kept wanting to taste it

 

[VaderSS]

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I kept wanting to taste it

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Just keep in mind the incredibly painful death you'll face if you do drink it...

[ June 19, 2004, 10:07 PM: Message edited by: VaderSS ]

 

[Tommy2]

I have also used the Toyota Red antifreeze in my '95 Taurus SHO with great results.
I have had it for a about 2.5 years 20k milesin there now, when is it a good time to change it?

 

[RavenTai]

on a Toyota Land Cruiser forum I frequent the consensus is every two years

 

[FL-400S]

Well not knowing any better, I just filled my '94 tercel with 50/50 Peak and water. My owners manual says nothing about toyota coolant, but when the water pump was changed in '99, Im pretty sure that was what they put in. The stuff I drained was a bloody red. And I put in the fluorescent green Peak.

 

[RavenTai]

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Originally posted by FL-400S:
Well not knowing any better, I just filled my '94 tercel with 50/50 Peak and water. My owners manual says nothing about toyota coolant, but when the water pump was changed in '99, Im pretty sure that was what they put in. The stuff I drained was a bloody red. And I put in the fluorescent green Peak.

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yes toyota red is a blood or cherry red, looks very similar to ATF, I have to feel it on my fingers to tell the diffrence

did you completely flush the system to remove all the red, including the heater core and overflow bottle? if so you are OK,

it is suposely a bad thing to mix Toyota red with other coolants, the PO of my vehicle did so red+green= thick murky brown looking coolant. I don't know if it would do any real harm but it looks bad,

I flushed all the old mixed stuff out and went with new toyota red and it looks good

 

[Amkeer]

You will get pretty good corrosion from mixing the two. Its always best to stick with the Toyota red and DISTILLED water.

 

[Ray H]

Whenever in doubt about whether some mystery fluid is coolant/antifreeze, SMELL it (but don't ever taste - especially concentrate!). Dilute or concentrate coolant/antifreeze actually smells pleasantly sweet due to the ethylene glycol base. PS fluid smells like petroleum. Avoid extended inhalations, but a quick sniff is harmless. Also, when going from extended life fluid back to regular green or to one of the extended life products from regular green, do a complete flush back to clear water (preferably with distilled or de-ionized water) before refilling with the alternate juice. Yeah, doing that's a pain in the butt, but it saves later, more involved, cooling system problems.

I noticed my local Walmarts are no longer carrying Havoline DEXCOOL, but they are now carrying a SuperTech branded extended life (5yr./150,000 mile) coolant/antifreeze concentrate. It does not state that its DEXCOOL/GM Approved, but the formulation listing on the reverse side of the jug reads exactly the same as Prestone's DEXCOOL/GM Approved coolant/antifreeze concentrate does. Someone else on another thread indicated that the new Walmart extended life juice is not orange, but green instead, and like Prestone DEXCOOL/GM Approved juice, specifically states that it's compatible for top-up with ALL extended life formulations. My speculative take is that Prestone makes this stuff for Walmart, but avoids problems with GM over the DEXCOOL license by not calling it DEXCOOL or using orange dye. (A rose by any other name is still DEXCOOL...) $5.64/gallon.

 

[Brian Reid]

quote:

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Originally posted by RavenTai:
Toyota LLC is supposedly an ethylene glycol coolant but with added properties to reduce corrosion

sounds similar to Dexcool are they the same? if not what is a suitable substitute? I would hate to hate get coolant a the dealer

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There's another thread related to this on "What's so great about Toyota's Red Coolant".

There are couple of on-line articles on the various coolants from national magazines:

http://silverstone.fortunecity.com/ferrari/464/coolant.htm

"Keeping it Cool", Motor Magazine, August 1999

http://www.popularmechanics.com/automotive/sub_care_sat/1999/3/right_coolant/print.phtml

"Choosing the Right Coolant", Popular Mechanics, March 1999

The red Toyota formula is "Conventional Japanese coolant (green or red) contains no silicates, but has a heavy dose of phosphates and other inhibitors, including a modest amount of one or two organic acids." This stuff is the same as the green Toyota coolant, which was never sold in the U.S. in quantities and which everyone replaced with conventional green U.S. coolant (like Prestone).