I know how picky our engines are with coolant, and to only run the red oem stuff from the dealer.
so, before I dumped a bottle of that "10 minute" coolant flush stuff that you can buy at the local auto parts store, I wanted to log in here and make sure first.

Or, should I just dump and refill?
I usually drain, fill with water, run for a bit, dump water and keep doing that till everything red is out of there, then refill with red stuff.

was considering doing the 10 min flush stuff too this time

 

How well has your coolant been maintained? Probably not much need to use a cleaner product, if you've flushed and refilled every three years or so using distilled water.

I've used it on my truck with no adverse effects that I can see. I chase it with 6-8 gallons of distilled water, drain the radiator, and refill with a gallon of coolant. Also, a good time to clean out the overflow tank.

 

I would follow what the fsm says. should be simple and straight forward

 

I do a detergent (prestone super flush, sodium citrate being the active cleanser) flush for about 20 min, drain and flush 3 times with dH20 then refil with coolant. Works like a charm!

Did you guys know that you can test the coolant with a DMM? stick the positive lead into the coolant (don't touch anything but the coolant itself) and then the negative to any ground; if it reads .2 to .6 it is 'good', .7 or higher means it's starting to go and needs replaced.

I would recommend Zerex also instead of the $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$toyota coolant, same stuff at 1/3 the price. NAPA carries it I believe.

I think I normally go thru about 6-7 gallons of dH20 including my refill, doesn't take that much. by the 3rd rinse, the fluid is nice and clean with minimum scales/dirt.

 

We use the Valvoline flush at work and have never seen anything bad come of it.

The DVOM method does work for testing just one thing though, it checks how much electricity the coolant is conducting from the break down in the anti-electrolysis agent and just keeps the dissimilar metals from swapping electrons and breaking down the system, it does nothing for testing things like actual freezing protection or any of the breakdown of other agents that help protect your cooling system.

 

I flush all my cars when I first get them since I never trust what the PO says about anything. Better safe then sorry. Get the superflush bottle, it is bigger. Also like said above distilled water.

Then I just drive the truck for a day or so like that to let it get cleaned out real good. Drain, refill with distilled water drive for a little longer (although not real hard till you get antifreeze in there again since it could boil, same goes for when the flush is working).

Flush with water again and then refill with antifreeze.

Worked great for me and ensures everything is in tip top shape. In Texas you have to make sure the cooling system is working perfectly or you will overheat.

 

What do you mean when you use the term "flush?"

For some reason I was under the impression that I shouldn't go from the green fluid the PO was using, back to the red. If it's this easy, may as well.

 

I see no reason not to go back to the red stuff after flushing it out. The newer green stuff is compatible with the red anyways.

 

I would certainly go back to red, too easy.

Flush= fill with dH20 and run the truck for anywhere from 15 minutes to 50 miles or whatever you prefer. Drain and repeat until satisfied with the system, then fill with the correct amount of coolant and top of with distilled water.

make sure to give a little time to allow the system to cool down before cracking the seal or you will eat hot coolant!

 

I just did the cooling system on mine since it has been in storage for the past6 years while I was stationed overseas. I used 6 gallons of distilled water to clean out the gunk from the system. Drained old coolant, filled it up with distilled water, run it for a few miles and the drained it after letting the engine cool down a bit. Did this three times and then filled it up with Toyota red and distilled water. Burp it and good to go.

 

When you do the final refill, the mix should be 50% coolant and 50% distilled, right?

 

Correct, that is the standard mix. The toyota coolant comes pre-mixed, Even though the pre-mixed stuff is more expensive I usually get it because it is hard to judge exactly how much of each you should put into the system. Usually end up with more of one then the other either because it takes more or less then you planned on.

Pre-mixed takes the guess work out.