Toyota Pink in a Honda?

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tropic

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Earlier this month I loaned the Honda to my brother so he could squeeze one last weekend out of the ski season. He returned the car to me washed, waxed and vaccuumed. He also "topped off" the coolant reservoir with undiluted Prestone All Makes coolant. I suspect he filled it to the top, which would explain the mess in the engine compartment. Now I'm in the market for a coolant flush.

I was thinking of substituting Toyota's Super Long Life Coolant for the Honda Type-2. It seems to be the same thing--contains phosphates but no silicates, borates or 2-EHA--but at $12 a gallon instead of the $23 that my Honda dealership charges for their own stuff.

Any other cheapskates try this in their Honda? I would consider G-05 (non-diluted coolant = easier proper ratio in a ghetto flush), but Valvoline recommending their Dexclone over their G-05 for my car doesn't instill confidence. I'll admit the thought that pink coolant is enough to miff my dealership but not quite enough (hopefully) to kill a warranty claim is also very appealing.
 
an 08 honda shouldnt have lost any coolant at all. The little bit of coolant that sucks back and forth in the overflow is very small. I'd just buy a gallon of honda coolant, drain and refill the overflow, and not worry about it. Youre talking about ounces at most, into a gallon or two. Drain and refill before too many hot cycles, and youll minimize infiltration.

Given that you live in NM, Id just suck out everything in there, refill with distilled pure water, and then figure out how to get a few splashes of the Honda coolant. Buying a gallon will likely be the easiest way...
 
Were you the one who posted a while back about your Civic losing coolant ?

You can find Honda coolant online much cheaper than what you would pay at your dealership. Your brother should of just added water instead of adding Pestone coolant.
 
Thanks for the replies. I haven't noticed any coolant loss in the Civic, and I don't think it was low when my brother added the Prestone. The overflow reservoir on the R18 has its Max and Fill lines towards the bottom; it looks nearly empty when you peer at it from above.

I suspect JHZR2 is right about nipping this one in the bud by draining the overflow tank. Perhaps I could safely ignore it, too. OTOH, this is the first car I bought brand new off the lot, and my head is full of 2-EHA munching on seals/plastic and corrosion inhibitors precipitating out of solution. After three weeks I've pretty much decided to do the poor man's flush of a few drain/fill/heat cycles with distilled water and a final fill of coolant. I cannot achieve a 50/50 ratio with the pre-diluted stuff Honda and Toyota sell, but I think it'll be close enough.

Honda's Type-2 is much cheaper online until you add $9/gallon for S&H. I'd like to do the pink stuff at $12 a pop if possible, but if that's not a good idea I'll go with Honda's Big Blue.
 
I have been frustrated by the fact that the Japanese manufacturers have not been forthcoming about the composition of their OEM coolants provided by CCI, which appears to have a virtual monopoly on the Japanese OEM coolant industry. As far as I can tell, there is no significant difference between the various CCI super long life coolants. In fact, the MSDS sheets suggest that Mazda and Nissan use exactly the same coolants. According to corporate press releases, Honda and Toyota collaborate with CCI to customize their coolants but I have not seen a single reference anywhere on the internet to any salient difference between Honda/CCI and Toyota/CCI coolant chemistry.

I would not hesitate to use Toyota Super Long Life coolant in place of Honda Type-2. Even if there is a small difference, it is miniscule compared to the difference between Honda Type-2 coolant and any non-OEM aftermarket coolant including G-05 (European coolant chemistry, no phosphates, some silicates) and Peak Global (no phosphates and a HOAT/OAT additive package of unknown origin).
 
The thing that frustrates me most is that you can only buy Honda's and Toyota's newest coolants in pre-diluted form. Yes, it's a good way to make sure people don't affect the coolant's integrity by mixing it with regular tap water, but it's a royal pain in the rear to get a proper mix without a flushing machine.

I'm tempted to buy the red Toyota concentrate and have done with it.

Originally Posted By: Dan55
I'm pretty sure it does but just need confirmation.

I believe the same, but I cannot find any hard evidence. Most authoritative articles seem to take it for granted that the Japanese auto manufacturers use phosphates.
 
Yeah, I saw that in an Acura March 2008 Service New Article. My gut feeling is that it's undiluted Type-II. The math works out: replace 20% of the 50-50 coolant's volume with concentrate to bring it to a 60-40 concentration. Then the usual warning: mixing the concentrate with water can lessen the service life and damage cooling system components, never ever exceed 60% concentration, driving in exceptionally hot conditions may cause the engine to overheat, etc. It sounds like the real thing, but I'd hate to do a 50-50 mix and find out later that I'm driving around with distilled water and some freezing point depressants but no corrosion inhibitors or anti-wear elements. At $80.19 shipped for a gallon of the concentrate, I'll probably never find out, either. Major bummer.

If you have links to info on a Toyota pink concentrate, I'd love to see them.
 
Hard technical data on Japanese coolants is scarce on the internet. The following is the best I have found

There is a patent application at the World International Property Organization site with the following URL

http://www.wipo.int/pctdb/en/wo.jsp?IA=WO2007050568&WO=2007050568&DISPLAY=DESC

that states:

Fluid F is Toyota's Long Life red coolant, an organic acid based
coolant containing benzoic acid, phosphoric acid, molybdate, azoles,
2-phosphono-butane-1,2,4-tricarboxylic acid, nitrate, dye, antifoam,
and water soluble calcium and magnesium salts, but without water
soluble polymer.

Phosphoric acid is "phosphates".
 
i got honda coolant for my 06 and while i dont remember how much it was..it definetly was NOT 23bucks. Somewhere in the 10dollar range.
 
Originally Posted By: Dan55
Prestone?


Ya, can someone tell me whats wrong with just running prestone universal prediluted 50/50?

Honda says to only use their fluid for everything but I know you dont really have to.
 
Originally Posted By: ponderosaTX
I have been frustrated by the fact that the Japanese manufacturers have not been forthcoming about the composition of their OEM coolants provided by CCI, which appears to have a virtual monopoly on the Japanese OEM coolant industry. As far as I can tell, there is no significant difference between the various CCI super long life coolants. In fact, the MSDS sheets suggest that Mazda and Nissan use exactly the same coolants. According to corporate press releases, Honda and Toyota collaborate with CCI to customize their coolants but I have not seen a single reference anywhere on the internet to any salient difference between Honda/CCI and Toyota/CCI coolant chemistry.

Who is CCI? Toyota coolant is an OAT like Dexcool isn't it? So does that mean Honda's is also?


Quote:

I would not hesitate to use Toyota Super Long Life coolant in place of Honda Type-2. Even if there is a small difference, it is miniscule compared to the difference between Honda Type-2 coolant and any non-OEM aftermarket coolant including G-05 (European coolant chemistry, no phosphates, some silicates) and Peak Global (no phosphates and a HOAT/OAT additive package of unknown origin).

So does anyone know if G-05 is really much different than Honda coolant? What will it hurt if using G-05 considering it has silicates and no phosphates?


My '04 Civic has 42,500 miles and probably the original coolant (I bought it in '07). There is none in the overflow, and I don't see any in the shallow radiator filler neck. I am driving out of state tomorrow so I want to add something. Should I just add water or get some Honda coolant? I plan to change it ASAP anyway. I also have a couple gallons of Prestone AM&M.
 
Why can you not use preston universal????? In fact why even have this descussion? If they say any car, any engine, any color isent it ok with ANY car???? Why even worry if someone elses fluid is compatible that dosent claim to be, that you have to go to a dealership to buy when you can buy prestone at ANY gas station, grocery store, or auto parts store? I guess I just dont get it. Maybe I just dont know what I'm talking about but if someone claimes that and its widely availible and has been for a long time and you dont see hundreds of cars on the side of the road with coolant issues why not just use it? Even if you dont trust it and are crazy you could just change it once a year or every 2 years.

I'll just make my own thread and ask this question. I should add that last year I had problems with my 05 honda element. It sounded like a coffee percolator when I would turn. Come to find out thats a common problem in 05 elements. The coolant
they used clogs passageways and creates air pockets that flow between the radiator and the heater core that make it make coffee pot noises. When I looked at my reservoir there was nothing in there, just like the person who posted before me. I dont know if it was never filled at the factory or it was using antifreeze? All I know is I wasent going to use honda antifreeze when it had already let me down so I put prestone universal in and a year later It hasent used any and when you start the car and let it idle till the water pump clicks on it dosent bogg the engine down when it does it.
 
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