coolant issue

[OursSauvage]

Hi,
Maybe some of you remember my LC is coming from Frisco and now hit the canadian's track.
Watching the next week meteo, -21° Celcius, I just remember I forgot one thing ... flush the coolant.
Could anybody tell me what's the usual min temperature the coolant sold in California is rated for ?
Just want to now if I have time to find a trustable mechanic or if I must run to the first I see
(Usually, I would do it myself, but, without workshop yet and with 15cm of snow... I don't want to )
Thanks

 

[mudlover]

I don't think it varies from state to state. Toyota coolant from dealers is probably sold in just one strength which is to be mixed with water. In stores like Walmart they sell brands that are either full strength to me mixed with water, OR premixed 50% water.
In auto stores you can buy a test device which will give an approximate reading of the temperature rating of the coolant. These cost about $6 to $8.
Coolant should not be used full strength.

 

[1loudLX]

I would check with a local toyota dealership and ask them what they use for the cold weather. If its the normal toyota stuff, and the truck your getting has been serviced over the years with proper toyota coolant, then you shouldnt have anything to worry about except to check the coolant level.

 

[OursSauvage]

Yes, of course... most of you, in north america, are using not pre-mixed coolant... I also forgot that!
Then, all coolant get the same rate, the mix give the final rate( In France, the coolant is usually sold pre-mixed, and usually rated for -25/-30°C only).
The tool is the better choice to be sure.
I'don't know anything about my cruiser services, except the T belt was done , so , I prefer service it thinking nothing was never done.
Thanks for your super quick answers

 

[Jim_Chow]

There's a chart on the back of the toyota long-life red coolant bottle. You should mix it at least 50-50, but you can go up to something like 70-30. If you drain the left side block and radiator, you get ~11 qts of the 16 qts capacity out, so there's still 5 qts in the right block and heater cores. I flushed w/ distilled water until the water ran clear (draining the left block and radiator), then added 9 qts toyota red and 2 qts distilled water. Assuming you currently have a 50-50 mix, and assuming you don't want to flush it over and over, you could just drain the left block and radiator. Now figure you now have 2.5 qts water and 2.5 qts coolant in the system. Figure out what percentage you want, how many quarts that is assuming a 16 qt total capacity, then subtract 2.5 from that and add that much coolant in with the rest distilled water.

 

[OursSauvage]

I'll drain the right block too ... I bought a block heater and the constructor say to install it on the right sid in the the second "pastille de déssablage".
I don't know the english word for that... its one of these holes you have in the engine block, required for construction of the part and closed with a steel lead... core plug maybe.

Another related question... are the toyota llc or slls contain phosphate ?

It's pretty hard to find distilled water here... interrogated mechanics affirm they use tap water and I only find demineralized water in drugstore, for human drinking.
I would prefer melting snow !!
where do you buy your distilled water?

 

[1loudLX]

you can make your own if you really want to, hah.

 

[Jim_Chow]

I'll drain the right block too ... I bought a block heater and the constructor say to install it on the right sid in the the second "pastille de déssablage".
I don't know the english word for that... its one of these holes you have in the engine block, required for construction of the part and closed with a steel lead... core plug maybe.

The problem w/ the right block coolant drain bolt is there is an ATF hard line that passes right over it, so just accessing that bolt to drain the block requires removing the ATF line bracket(s) and kind of prying the hard line a bit to get the wrench in.

Another related question... are the toyota llc or slls contain phosphate ?

Don't know about phosphates, but the Toyota coolants are silicate-free. No, they are not the environmentally friendly (non-toxic to animals) types.

It's pretty hard to find distilled water here... interrogated mechanics affirm they use tap water and I only find demineralized water in drugstore, for human drinking.
I would prefer melting snow !!
where do you buy your distilled water?

In the water aisle in the grocery store! Actually last time I bought distilled water, I could only find Arrowhead steam distilled water for cheap ($5 for 2.5 gal). My local safeway doesn't sell Safeway label distilled water anymore, only "purified" water, meaning reverse osmosis. With RO, the best you get is around 15ppm or residual solids on a commercial system depending on the water source. Still, it's a lot better than tap water. To get an idea, my home RO measures 25 ppm from tap water that measures 450 ppm, so that's 94% of solids removed. If you want 100% solids removed, you have to buy "steam distilled" water.

 

[OursSauvage]

The problem w/ the right block coolant drain bolt is there is an ATF hard line that passes right over it, so just accessing that bolt to drain the block requires removing the ATF line bracket(s) and kind of prying the hard line a bit to get the wrench in.

I havn't look at this area yet, but I was figuring draining the block by the unmount core plug.

Don't know about phosphates, but the Toyota coolants are silicate-free. No, they are not the environmentally friendly (non-toxic to animals) types.

Anyway, I not gonna spread it on the ground, but the block heater manufacture ask for.

In the water aisle in the grocery store! Actually last time I bought distilled water, I could only find Arrowhead steam distilled water for cheap ($5 for 2.5 gal). My local safeway doesn't sell Safeway label distilled water anymore, only "purified" water, meaning reverse osmosis. With RO, the best you get is around 15ppm or residual solids on a commercial system depending on the water source. Still, it's a lot better than tap water. To get an idea, my home RO measures 25 ppm from tap water that measures 450 ppm, so that's 94% of solids removed. If you want 100% solids removed, you have to buy "steam distilled" water.

Ok, you seem to be in touch with that , I'll remember your advise
And What about snow ? It should be solid free, resulting from natural steam... but I'm affraid others chemicals stuff could be melt. ( I have many acres with 25cm of fresh snow right in front of my door !


I tested the coolant... the tool said -43°C
Look fine, even if I tested directly from the radiator, one hour after the engine was turn off.
The coolant is red... red-orange, maybe because I put some Preston in (I don't remember wich one, but the better quality I found in Page Arizona... I owned the LC for only 1 or 2 weeks and didn't know that the cold level must be at "MINi"
I just hope its not the yellow of a burnt red coolant mix with the red-orange preston (I really don't think so... I've just put the quantity from mini to maxi)
So, coolant is fine and its too late for install the block heater (I don't have a workshop yet and the weather is a little bit cold, and snowy ) )
Thanks for yours advises

 

[NMuzj100]

I'll drain the right block too ... I bought a block heater and the constructor say to install it on the right side in the the second "pastille de déssablage".
I don't know the english word for that... its one of these holes you have in the engine block, required for construction of the part and closed with a steel lead... core plug maybe.

"pastille de déssablage" = We call this a "Freeze Plug" for reasons I don't know. Steel plugs inserted in the cast-iron block

I only find demineralized water in drugstore, for human drinking.
I would prefer melting snow !!
where do you buy your distilled water?

At the nearest discount store (Walmart - $0.69/gallon). If you are having trouble sourcing distilled water thats probably why Toyota wants to sell you pre-diluted coolant. Demineralized would be better than tap.

I think by the time you gathered the required amount of snow and melted it it would contain contaminants (dust, ext). Better would be rain water gathered of the roof about halfway through a long storm.

 

[Jim_Chow]

IOk, you seem to be in touch with that , I'll remember your advise
And What about snow ? It should be solid free, resulting from natural steam... but I'm affraid others chemicals stuff could be melt. ( I have many acres with 25cm of fresh snow right in front of my door !


I tested the coolant... the tool said -43°C
Look fine, even if I tested directly from the radiator, one hour after the engine was turn off.
The coolant is red... red-orange, maybe because I put some Preston in (I don't remember wich one, but the better quality I found in Page Arizona... I owned the LC for only 1 or 2 weeks and didn't know that the cold level must be at "MINi"
I just hope its not the yellow of a burnt red coolant mix with the red-orange preston (I really don't think so... I've just put the quantity from mini to maxi)
So, coolant is fine and its too late for install the block heater (I don't have a workshop yet and the weather is a little bit cold, and snowy ) )
Thanks for yours advises

Snow is a no-no, IMHO. There's a lot of junk in snow...think of it as frozen acid rain. Plus last winter, a lot of the snow that fell in the Rockies contained dust from the Gobi Desert & coal combustion pollutants from China, causing the snow to melt faster. So there is definitely silica in the snow.

I don't trust the prestone long life orange. One time back in '00, I flushed the coolant in my 4runner (had prestone green in there). I flushed w/ water, but forgot to blast the heat to flush the heater core. Low and behold, within 6 months, I'd hear this sound of water like when someone upstairs is using the shower and it drains down the pipes in the walls. Turns out that the radiator corroded internally and was 60% clogged, the two coolants mixing together turned into a muddy, rusty color (before that, I drove in the desert in 104F w/o issues, uphill w/ a full load).

I had this shop install a new radiator, and they put a POS $99 one in there. Engine temp was getting hot all the time, even in 80F. I ended up selling it and replacing it w/ a 3-row core Modine, did a lengthy flush w/ distilled water. I removed the drain bolt and found most of the hole was clogged w/ debris (coolant eating away aluminum), used a coat hanger to clear the hole. I used Toyota red LLC and distilled water. 30K mi later, I drained the block again, this time no debris in the drain bolt. I used Toyota red LLC again. Because of those lessons, I only use Toyota LLC or premixed SLLC in my Toyotas.

 

[kyoso23]

Try looking by the bags of milk...

 

[OursSauvage]

You confirm what I was thinking... snow is not as pure as it looks like.
Next "todo" : buy sllc and wait for spring.
I cant imagine work with water with -15°C

 

[justimaginejack]

I find it diffacult to believe that the Local Market doesn't have distilled water. If you look back in the laundry section by the starch spray for ironing, it is usually only a dollar or 2. I know that it gets used for Ironing. Another Alternative is to have it ordered. My local grocer wll order anything buy request. some body has everything in a ware house somewhere, they just need to get it on a truck for you.

Make sure you do a very thorough flush if you have put multiple types of coolent in.
I have a few bottles in the garage. I will check and see if thier are specs on them. if so I will take some pics