Alternative to Toyota Red

[SchniperJB]

Don't use pink

What about Toyota pink? Any experience using it in an 80? It is designed for much newer Toyotas.

The pink is for newer radiators, and not formulated for our outdated trucks. Red or Green only.

Search is my friend.

 

[reconranger]

I've read the older threads and am running Prestone green for the last year.

Have had no problems with cooling. I haven't rechecked hoses or radiator for precipant.

The driving force was availability.

I did have some leakage at hoses and clamps. In places far from home. On weekends and holidays.

Green coolant everywhere. Couldn't find red at local stores/conveniences.

 

[Dave 2000]

This time of year, you're fine with nothing but water and an additive like water wetter. I only run a 20% mixture of anti-freeze anyway since it rarely freezes here.

So water wetter contains corrosion inhibutors?

Toyota Red is silly money, here in Spain antifreeze is sold ready prepared, pink = 5% Dark green 25% and yellow (untill it's poured from the bottle then it turns green, yeh I know?) is 50%.

I use the Yellow, I just gotta have inhibitors man!!

reards

Dave

 

[AfricanToy]

check this: http://www.toyotapart.com/ENGINE_COOLANT_COLOR_CHANGE_T-PG010-02.pdf

 

[Timpanogos Slim]

check this: http://www.toyotapart.com/ENGINE_COOLANT_COLOR_CHANGE_T-PG010-02.pdf

So, we know that Toyota Red is an acid based coolant. And we have a Toyota TSB that says the pink is compatible with the red.

Here's an MSDS sheet for the pink showing that it is an acid based coolant with bitterant:

http://www.worldpac.com/tagged/Antifreeze-Coolant_00272SLLC2.pdf

I don't see any reason not to use the pink.

Actually I am tempted to do a full flush and then use VW/Audi pink, which is also acid based, and then both of my vehicles would be running the same coolant.

Both vehicles are cast iron block w/ aluminum head.

I can also get genuine VW/Audi G13 for about $10/gal less than Toyota Red.

Or pentosin or hepu for even less.

The VW/Audi stuff is pretty much glycol and 2-EHA and pretty much all of it is really manufactured by BASF.

Toyota claims a proprietary mixture of inorganic acid salts and organic acids. I'll bet that it contains 2-EHA and a trace of borax as a detergent.

 

[Timpanogos Slim]

Following up with new information.

Had a talk with a parts guy at Ken Garff Toyota / Scion yesterday. He said he has a '93 with 190+k on it.

Says when he got it, it was full of green, so he flushed the system and put in pink.

And then every hose on the damn thing leaked. So he asked the techs about it, who told him that the pink coolant is a lower viscosity than the red.

He says that he's just replacing the clamps on every leaky hose as he finds them, but the techs insist that they've seen it before and switching to red would solve his problem.

So, there's another data point.

fwiw he said he was considering switching back to green in case he's on the road and needs more coolant. I considered mentioning that i keep 1.5qts of HEPU G12+ (2:1 concentrate) in a little compartment under the carpet in the back of my GTI for exactly that reason, but thought better of it. I think if i had a catastrophic loss of coolant in the GTI i would be waiting for a tow truck regardless, but it's a much newer vehicle that will never be off-road.

 

[FirstToy]

Just use Pentosin Toyota Red equiv. Cheaper and compatible.
avail at local auto parts stores

 

[Timpanogos Slim]

Just use Pentosin Toyota Red equiv. Cheaper and compatible. avail at local auto parts stores

Huh. Well, Pentosin is probably really manufactured at the giant BASF facility in germany, so, I'm sure it's a quality product. It's OEM for VW/Audi/Porsche. Different formula (slightly) I'm sure.

O'Reilly carries that stuff, at $26/gallon.

CarQuest seems to sell actual Toyota Red at $28/gallon. I've not yet tried to buy it from a dealership so i don't know how it compares. They call it FLEET/FinalCharge but the picture is clearly a toyota jug. says toyota right on it.

NAPA doesn't seem to carry any foreign car specific coolants, just green stuff, RV stuff, and dexcool.

Advance (we don't have those guys here in utah) oddly does carry Pentofrost ++ which is identical to the Hepu G12++ in my GTI but doesn't carry an asian-specific coolant. They do however carry Pentofrost SF which is silicate free and probably compatible, but in the same little 1.5l bottle.

Henderson/PartsPlus is living in the 90's so i would have to pick up the damn phone in the morning to see what they have.

What's really interesting is that PepBoys carries "OEM Concentrate extended life Red radiator antifreeze coolant" at $20/gal. Made by Recochem - see here:

http://www.recochem.com/us/index.ph..._premium_extended_life_red_antifreezecoolant/

MSDS sheet here: http://64.26.129.203/_profiles/_msds/86-174ROEM.pdf

If i get a hankering for red coolant when i do my heater hoses i will probably go stop by Pep Boys.

 

[Paul_L]

Yes, water wetter has corrosion inhibitors.

http://www.redlineoil.com/product.aspx?pid=74&pcid=10

 

[Timpanogos Slim]

Yes, water wetter has corrosion inhibitors.

http://www.redlineoil.com/product.aspx?pid=74&pcid=10

MSDS sheet here: http://www.redlineoil.com/content/files/tech/MSDS WaterWetter 6-11.PDF

as dumb as "waterwetter" sounds, wetting agents are a thing. it's a thing about reducing surface tension.

Does it work? hell if i know i never tried it.