Coolant or water

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76 Tico BJ40

76 Tico BJ40

10 Year 15 Year
Joined
Jan 24, 2007
Threads
8
Messages
32
Location
San Antonio, TX
I live in Central America and just run water through my coolant system on my BJ40. No chance of freezing, but are there advantages to running a specific coolant over just plain water?

If so, what types of coolant should I use in a BJ40 w/ a 3B.
Thanks
 
crushers said:
aluminum water pumps need an additive...no?
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Dude my water pump could be made out of wood for all I know. (I am bashing me, not you) so I have no idea.

I assume you are telling me my BJ has an aluminum water pump. Okay, fine. What kind of coolant should I run?
 
Coolant has anti corrosion properties that prevent buildup of rust in your water jackets. Coolant also has lubricating properties for the water pump. It also will help your engine run cooler- better heat adsorption than ordinary water. Soooo- if you don't want rusty buildup inside your coolant passages, you don't want your water pump to fail prematurely and you think running cooler is better, I'd say find yourself a good heavy duty coolant that is compatable with diesels.
 
mac said:
Coolant has anti corrosion properties that prevent buildup of rust in your water jackets. Coolant also has lubricating properties for the water pump. It also will help your engine run cooler- better heat adsorption than ordinary water. Soooo- if you don't want rusty buildup inside your coolant passages, you don't want your water pump to fail prematurely and you think running cooler is better, I'd say find yourself a good heavy duty coolant that is compatable with diesels.
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¡Muchas gracias amigo!
 
Always run coolant. I've seen what happens to the cooling system of Central American vehicles running only water. I had to replace a cooling system fitting on one of the teachers vehicles at the school I work at in Guatemala. The steel fitting looked like swiss cheese with pin holes all through it!! I kept it to show students why coolant is better than water.
The ONLY time I run water is for a few minutes if I'm trying to flush the system otherwise it's coolant or antifreeze regardless of expected temperatures.
 
mac said:
I'd say find yourself a good heavy duty coolant that is compatable with diesels.
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Toyota red coolant is the best;)
 
toyota red coolant may be the "the best" but when you are cruisin around costa rica, you'll be hard-pressed to find toyota red coolant...

go with a brand name that you see in more than one taller around wherever you live. that way, when you spring a leak or need to top off, you can be confident that you'll be able to add the same type of coolant.

For some coolants (toyota red included) it can cause problems if you mix a different brand of coolant into the system. Not sure why, something about different chemical properties.

Pura Vida
 
sandcruiser said:
toyota red coolant may be the "the best" but when you are cruisin around costa rica, you'll be hard-pressed to find toyota red coolant...


Pura Vida
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I agree, ehthelene glyclol (green s***) is everywhere. That's all I would bother with IMOP. Especially on an old truck.
 
TOYOTA RED USE IT

Been there done that. Two years of overheating problems on a HZ60. Just two weeks ago, I paid to have the system purged and Toyota Red added (versus 50/50 mix of glycol and distilled water). My overheating problem is easily 25% better now (the ultimate test is still out AC/Summer temps/Highway speeds).

Bob
Red convert now
 
BlueHZT60 said:
TOYOTA RED USE IT

Been there done that. Two years of overheating problems on a HZ60. Just two weeks ago, I paid to have the system purged and Toyota Red added (versus 50/50 mix of glycol and distilled water). My overheating problem is easily 25% better now (the ultimate test is still out AC/Summer temps/Highway speeds).

Bob
Red convert now
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might also be possible the purge cleaned out the passages and it flows better too........ Hard to straight up compare after the purge.
 
mac said:
Coolant has anti corrosion properties that prevent buildup of rust in your water jackets. Coolant also has lubricating properties for the water pump. It also will help your engine run cooler- better heat adsorption than ordinary water. Soooo- if you don't want rusty buildup inside your coolant passages, you don't want your water pump to fail prematurely and you think running cooler is better, I'd say find yourself a good heavy duty coolant that is compatable with diesels.
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Just a few additions/corrections.

yes, coolant is anti corrosive, and lubricates the pump.
no, water has better heat adsorption capoacity than coolant. However, coolant raises the boiling temp of the liquid significantly, so it works better at high temp ranges.

j
 
the question here isn't "Is Toyota Red better than E glycol (green)"

The question is: if you are in a third world country, is there any chance at all you'll be able to get Toyota Red anywhere but A) two locations in downtown San Jose (La Uruca and Paseo Colon, for those interested) or B) Liberia

Those two spots are within 4 hours of most of the country, but when you are out of coolant in the hills somewhere (or the beach)... they aren't close enough.

So, in light of the signficantly less-developed supply network here, it probably makes more sense for most people to run regular old green coolant.
 
my truck came with green, so i replaced with green. should i have gone red or pink?
 
JohnnyBoy said:
my truck came with green, so i replaced with green. should i have gone red or pink?
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There are all fine but as Sandcruiser points out, if you are in the boonies the green stuff will be easier to find.
 
I doubt it's all that critical to have coolant immediatly available unless you have a very skinny radiator. 76 tco bj40 mentioned that he has been running on water so his need for coolant is definitely not critical. As such, it's a matter of whichever you most believe in and the attendant cost.

Me, I would choose the brand most readily available.


Kalawang
 
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