Coolant flush question

drypowder

drypowder

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Doing some maintenance on my mother's 2004 Camry. It's got almost 90k miles, so it's due for a coolant change. Prior work was performed at a Toyota dealer, so I assume they used Toyota coolant.

In this case, is flushing worth the effort? If so, how many flushes with distilled water should be performed? If I don't drain the engine block (4-cyl), after flushing with water, can I fill the radiator and reservoir with straight Toyota coolant and be close to 50/50? I suppose I can look at the manual for system capacity, then measure how much is drained from radiator and reservoir, and use those figures to calculate how much straight coolant needs to be added to obtain a 50/50 mix given the distilled water in the engine block.

Or is this wasted effort that the dealer doesn't even bother to perform, and should I just drain radiator and reservoir, refill with 50/50 premixed Toyota coolant and call it good?
 
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Is the coolant nasty looking? I've always flushed with a hose, and filled up with cleaner/water hose.. ran it a day or 3 to clean out any gunk, then drain... Fill with distilled water, run a few minutes, drain.. add coolant.

I wouldnt add straight coolant in hopes of it being the proper mixture. I personally use the wal mart brand coolant, its the same as any other, mixed with distilled water. Very cheap. Last's atleast 5 years as well.

If its really dirty, drain it all, fill with water and a cleaner, run for a day or two, as long as it doesnt get below 32 at night. drain, fill again with water to rinse the system and drain again, then add coolant.

If it isnt dirty or brown looking, I'd just drain it, and refill with a 50/50 mixture. buying and mixing your own is way cheaper than buying pre mixed BTW.

Just how i've always done it.
 
If it has never been filled from a creek, or had oil or fuel in it, and you're not switching to a incompatible coolant just drain as much as possible and refill.

Drain in something clean so if there's anything off you can see it and take further action if neccesary.
 
I agree with the above.

Diesels are a bit different. They can build up iron deposits and other things if not properly maintained.

When doing a coolant change in a diesel I have a piece of pvc with a water hose attachment on one end that is the right size for the bottom hose off of the radiator.

Drain the coolant, remove the thermostat but hook the housing back up, then detach the bottom hose, attach pvc and a water hose and let it run until the water runs clear out of the radiator.

Next, reattach the bottom radiator hose. Refill the radiator with water and add a cup of powdered cascade dish detergent. Crank the engine and get up to operating temp and let run for about 10 min.

Then repeat the drain and flush, but flush for about 3 min after clear to make sure all the detergent is out.

Then put in a new thermostat, hook everything back up and fill with coolant.
 
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I've had plenty of luck just draining the radiator and filling. If you do this every...100k/10 years or whenever you coolant begins to look rusty... you should be OK.

Gotta run, I give a little more info in a bit.
 
I b back.....at any rate, lets say drain and refill. Let the engine run with the heat on until the thermostat opens ( the temperature gauge will climb to operating temperature and then drop slightly). About time the gauge drops slightly......kill the engine. Let it cool down for 30 minutes or so and then remove the radiator cap to check the coolant....it should be the old stuff. Drain again, refill and keep going for about 10 years or 100k. Just my opinion
 
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If.......the coolant is severely rusty lookin....from never changing it. I would refill with water ( when temperatures are above freezing of course)and the flushing product available at auto parts store. Run that for a few days or as directed and drain-refill with water until its mostly clear. After that... Drain and refill with coolant.
 
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I use my shop vac on exhaust with nozzle inserted into the overflow tank with a rag to force out any old coolant in the system.
 
I’ve always just drained everything I could and filled it back up. But I buy straight antifreeze and mix it myself. Buying it pre mixed means you’re paying for water
 
Drain radiator. Pull the tstat. Disconnect the top radiator hose and stick a hose into the radiator. Use some kind of hose or pipe to extend the radiator hose you just dis connected. Run the engine for 5 minutes or more. Flush complete. Fill with distilled water and run. Drain. Fill with 50/50.
 
Button Pusher said:
I use my shop vac on exhaust with nozzle inserted into the overflow tank with a rag to force out any old coolant in the system.
Click to expand...
Good call...... I havent thought of that. I have a transfer pump and a mighty vac that would do that....

Next time....imma give it a try
 
Antifreeze is to control freezing and boiling, provide pump lubricant AND stop electrolysis. The last part is really important where aluminum/brass/steel come together. Old coolant will turn your engine into a battery and eat the metal away. One way to test is to put one lead of a volt meter on the engine, and the other in the coolant. If any voltage is being generated, flush and refill the coolant.
Pull thermostat, drain, fill with hose, run for 5-10 min. You can pick up a flush kit for a few bucks that includes cleaner if you like. Rinse everything out thoroughly, usually there will be 1-2 gallons in the block if you don't pull the block plugs. Fill with straight antifreeze and check the concentration levels with a hydrometer before it's full to get the ratios right.
I've got a hydro you can borrow if you don't have one, I go to church near NC State, PM me.
 
The hoses can develop pinholes due to electrolysis, the rubber compounds are a lot better today.
 
Damned, ya'll complicated... Here's how I do it.

1. Call Dealership, make appointment.
2. Be on time for appointment.
3. Entertain yourself by staring at the receptionist butt and having dirty thoughts about a threesome with her sister.
4. Pay cashier, go home and fap to the thoughts you had about the receptionist...
 
Its a 90k Toyota, drain, refill and ride. Heck for the average person I just recommend premix You dont have to worry about mixing it or spilling it while mixing it (where your retarded pug can drink it) or ratios. They have a coolant flush machine at my old shop that would cycle 4 gallons through the system after you ran a strong cleaner in it for 30 minutes. It worked really good.
 
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