Topic: What antifreeze to use???

[Cheesemaker]

Antifreeze?? 

Do we HAVE to run the Toyota Red special formula?  Cause I don't have a dealership locally.  I have always used regular green.  Then the other day, I drained the son's Scion Xb radiator, and it ran pink/orange.  So I put in some Dex Cool I had, but now I heard that is a no no!  Because I thought that antifreeze only came in orange and green/yellow.  But doing a little reading a few minutes ago, there are alot of cars that take some very special, different colors, and expensive antifreeze. 


So, what it is it?   According my O'Reillys webpage, they carry a Asian antifreeze that is red.  So, is this the reason I blew a headgasket?  I didn't run the right antifreeze? 

[emsvitil]

Dex Cool is GM crap......  no, no on anything other than GM 

I just use the normal green stuff, never had a problem.


50/50 is a rip off  (compare the per gallon prices)


Mix with distilled or RO (reverse osmosis).     After cleaning flushes,  I run multiple RO flushes (fill, drain, fill,drain..... (about 6)) before the final fill

[Gnarly4X]

Dex Cool is GM crap......  no, no on anything other than GM 

I just use the normal green stuff, never had a problem.


50/50 is a rip off  (compare the per gallon prices)


Mix with distilled or RO (reverse osmosis).     After cleaning flushes,  I run multiple RO flushes (fill, drain, fill,drain..... (about 6)) before the final fill

Distilled water and RO water are NOT the same water.

It's common recommended to use distilled water.

Gnarls.

[Cheesemaker [OP]]

I know about RO and Distilled.  We do both at work.



I would love to just run the green stuff in all my rigs.  But I own a GM, and 2 Toyotas (my truck & 2006 Scion) and I run the green in the truck, but will the green hurt the newer Toyota engines?  Or just run green and call it good.  And just change it every year, cause its cheep. 

[Gnarly4X]

I know about RO and Distilled.  We do both at work.



I would love to just run the green stuff in all my rigs.  But I own a GM, and 2 Toyotas (my truck & 2006 Scion) and I run the green in the truck, but will the green hurt the newer Toyota engines?  Or just run green and call it good.  And just change it every year, cause its cheep. 

In your vehicle, I'd use the green stuff.  I've been using it in all 4 of my Toy trucks.  Mixed with distilled water from Wal*Mart.


Gnarls.

[:)bestgen4runner]

Your scion takes Asian pink antifreeze, Toyota calls it Super long life coolant.
It does not have the same chemical makeup as the old green stuff or the Toyota red stuff. Please use the correct antifreeze for the vehicle. Your engines aluminum is not the same as the older vehicles and the head gasket is completely a different design.
Toyota also offers Long life coolant (red) it is not the exact same as the pink stuff.
You can use the greed stuff without issue on your older truck but I will tell you that the Toyota red or Toyota pink is a better option for it. (multiple reasons)
The Toyota pink antifreeze is not offered in anything except prediluted 50/50.
The Toyota red antifreeze is only offered in full strength. (You must dilute)
The last year Toyota used the Red antifreeze in there vehicles was 2003.
Hope that clears things up for you. Best of luck.
Oh and emsvitil is correct dex-cool is horrible and GM knows it but has no option but to stick with it at this point.
I would never use this in any Vehicle except for a GM. But I would never own one of those POS. 
Also, do not use the antifreeze that says it will mix with any antifreeze. It does not!

[Gnarly4X]

I will defer to  :)bestgen4runner's expertise... 

But just for grins... 

http://prestone.com/learn_more/frequently_asked_questions

Gnarls.

[Mudder]

I look at it this way, if I need antifreeze in the middle of nowhere what will be the easiest to find?

[:)bestgen4runner]

I look at it this way, if I need antifreeze in the middle of nowhere what will be the easiest to find?

Water, LOL
 

[mudmaster]

How does water not freeze?? 

[Mudder]

Water, LOL
 

Just don't forget to drain it before it freezes again.

[emsvitil]

How does water not freeze?? 

Keep the engine running........

 

[mudmaster]

I've seen it start to slush up with straight water

[Prismo]

I use the green stuff but change it every spring without fail

[Slabzilla]

I've used nothing but the "green" in all my Toyotas since '89 without a single
"fail" ('77-96ers).  The engines I've rebuilt, all over 200K and in need of rebuild, that ran only green stuff showed no appreciable difference from the red stuff only.  Just my two cents, so do what thou will.    

[Cheesemaker [OP]]

Your scion takes Asian pink antifreeze, Toyota calls it Super long life coolant.
It does not have the same chemical makeup as the old green stuff or the Toyota red stuff. Please use the correct antifreeze for the vehicle. Your engines aluminum is not the same as the older vehicles and the head gasket is completely a different design.

So, I can buy the Zerex Asian Coolant at Oreilly's and use it in my son's 2006 Scion?


For my truck, I have used Green.  I just used Peak this time.  And maybe next time I will switch to the Zerex Asian Coolant.  Its not much more than Prestone or Peak. 

[Mudder]

I use the walmart brand of coolant. Have yet to have a single problem with it.

[Gnarly4X]

I use the walmart brand of coolant. Have yet to have a single problem with it.

That's what I use.

Gnarls.

[Cheesemaker [OP]]

So, I ran down to Oreilly's after work, they are the only place that carries the Asian Coolant.  And all they had was the premix 50/50 stuff.     I just feel like I am wasting money when I buy premix coolant. 

[kneedownnate]

Ditto, like several other posters, I much prefer to mix my own with distilled water.  Just a habit that carried over from motorbikes.  Even if it doesn't help anything, I cannot see it hurting, especially since it's very cheap.

I've run peak or prestone for as long as I've been driving toyotas and have never had issue.  Usually dump in a bottle of redline water wetter, too.

[Cheesemaker [OP]]

Ditto, like several other posters, I much prefer to mix my own with distilled water.  Just a habit that carried over from motorbikes.  Even if it doesn't help anything, I cannot see it hurting, especially since it's very cheap.

I've run peak or prestone for as long as I've been driving toyotas and have never had issue.  Usually dump in a bottle of redline water wetter, too.

Mixing antifreeze is easy, but its a scam to get more $$ from you.  Thinking its a good deal!

I want to keep what is recommended with the sons car, since its all newer and such.  My truck will get the green. 

[blackdiamond]

Is anti-freeze really more expensive than bottled water per gallon?  50/50 may be a great deal when considering the price of bottled water these days...

[Mudder]

Is anti-freeze really more expensive than bottled water per gallon?  50/50 may be a great deal when considering the price of bottled water these days...

Distilled water can be found for a dollar or two for a gallon at walmart or other local stores

[blackdiamond]

Distilled water can be found for a dollar or two for a gallon at walmart or other local stores

An attempt at humor while making the purchase of 50/50 feel better.  Bottled drinking water is more expensive than gasoline.

[mudmaster]

Distilled water is around 89 cents a gallon around me.

[emsvitil]

My parents have a RO filter in their kitchen sink, so I can get RO water free.................

[Cheesemaker [OP]]

At work I can get distilled and deionized water. 

[Gnarly4X]

I always get a kick out of these “coolant” discussions.

Off the shelf distilled water is commonly recommended for radiator coolant mix.

The water from a typical home RO system is not as good as pure as distilled water, and should not be used.

DI water can be used, but probably harder to get.

In my experience, using the good ol’ green stuff pre-mixed 50/50, or mix it yourself, with just plain distilled water changed every 12 months will probably be fine for any application.  But… following the manufacturer’s recommendations is always a good idea.

Using just water, any water, without anti-freeze is not a good idea.  Other than the fact that water freezes at a higher temperature than a 50/50 coolant mix, and water is a better conductor of heat than ethylene glycol or propylene glycol, the ethylene glycol acts as lubricant and protects the coolant contacted hoses and seals - and especially the water pump seal - from leaking.  Coolant also has needed corrosion inhibitors.

The coolant capacity for a 1986 22RE Toyota 4X, manual tranny, is 9 quarts.  A 50/50 mix will require about 4.5 quarts of distilled water.  Why would anyone, DIYer or other, NOT buy and use a $1 gallon of distilled water??

That’s just my opinion – it may be worthless.

Gnarls.

[blackdiamond]

Water is the primary cooling agent in the mix while the coolant is there to reduce the freezing temperature of the water along with providing lubricant and corrosion resistance in the system. All other things being equal, a mix with 60% water is more efficient than one with 40% water. I think 50/50 will pretty much work in any climate, but you won't hurt anything in warmer climates by running more water. I think I have read that the lower limit for coolant is in the 20-30% range without compromising its benefits to the system.

[Mudder]

I know the farmer I work for prefers 60/40 and Ehen I asked why he told me that coolant isn't made the same way it used to be.