Mechanic added universal coolant, radiator flush needed? (1 Viewer)

[htony1]

Last week I had a new place change the oil in my 97LX450 and everything seemed good to go. Sunday morning it was really cold here in SC, and I got up and started it up to warm it prior to heading to church. It was warming for about 10 mins before I came out and found a small puddle of engine coolant on the driveway that. It seemed to come from the drivers side somewhere near the back of the engine. I checked the hoses as best I could in a hurry and couldn't find a leak.

Later that evening I was looking checking things again in the engine bay and saw where the coolant reservoir was full. Before I had it serviced it was near the low mark in the reservoir but the radiator was always full and the 450 never has had an overheating issue (using an ultragauge to monitor temp)

I have been using a 50/50 solution of toyota red and distilled water. So I went back to the mechanic to inquire about the type of coolant they added. Turns out they topped of the reservoir but didn't know the exact brand of coolant used but described it as universal.

I have read that the toyota red / distilled coolant should not be mixed with other types of fluids. I don't know exactly how much they added but i know it wasn't much (receipt shows $3 worth)

Do I need to completely flush the radiator and fill it back with the toyota red / distilled water mix?

 

[Venomous]

Coolants should not be mixed, top up's should be done with deionised or distilled water.
Most coolants are slightly different, even if the colour is similar, so I'd say flush it if you don't know exactly what they put in.

As a workshop, we test the coolant every service and top up with deionised water as required.
We also flush the cooling system every coolant change as we have no idea what the customer/other workshops use, and bad things can happen if coolants are mixed (corrosion, blockages, foaming etc...).

 

[mr jits]

Flush it and bill the mechanic, he should know better.

 

[REKCUT]

X2. You dont mix red with other product. Mechanics mistake

 

[96beast]

I would only want one type in there. Don't ask me how I know, but you will be sorry if you run it like that for an extended period of time. The headache that the sludge can cause is just not worth it.

 

[1973Guppie]

really? I would just run it. Your engine is not going to blow up. I run standard coolant in my trucks and it works just fine. IMO, I think this is overthought here on mud. Remember that these are tractor engines. Next interval, flush it and fill it with your choice. Make sure to use distilled water.

 

[htony1]

Thanks for the response guys. I have one unopened jug of the concentrated coolant, trying to figure out how man more I need. Anyone know offhand how many gallons I will need for the flush?

 

[Gumby]

really? I would just run it. Your engine is not going to blow up. I run standard coolant in my trucks and it works just fine. IMO, I think this is overthought here on mud. Remember that these are tractor engines. Next interval, flush it and fill it with your choice. Make sure to use distilled water.

Oh no. That's not 80-group think.

Replace the engine and both heater cores. It's the only way to be sure.


I'm not a fan of universal antifreezes. I don't use them. But a top off is fine if it's OAT or HOAT compatible, which the universals are. If it's silicate antifreeze, then not so much. Sludge happens when the pH balance is off. The universal antifreeze has the same properties as OAT and HOAT (Toyota red.) Green silicate antifreeze has a far different pH range and will cause the HOAT to be inbalanced and act like it's worn out.

More importantly, why did you have to top it off? Where did the antifreeze go? That's what you should really be worried about. Re-flushing isn't going to solve that problem.


although it looks like you already found the answer you wanted to hear so flush away. It won't hurt anything.

 

[96beast]

Almost the same thing happened to me 2 years ago. A mechanic did my HG and did a "drain and fill" with green, when there had always been toytoa red in there for the life of the truck. I flushed when I found out what had happened, but I didn't know to also drain the block at that time, so I'm sure it was still mixed significantly. 2 years and only about 5K miles later, I noticed my temps were slowly rising over long term. It ran at about 185 after the HG fix, and rose to around 205 after two years. After seeing sediment in my coolant, and my radiator being all banged up, I went with a new radiator and flushed more extensively. This is what I found:

I can't say for sure that the coolant mix is what caused that sludge, but it seems like the most likely explanation. It is relatively easy to flush, and even easier to make sure the same fluid always goes in, so why not do this to prevent any major coolant issues? I will also add that like others have said here, I doubt that red is really any better than the "universal" or green or whatever, but if you switch you should flush thoroughly and stick with only that fluid from thereon.

 

[REKCUT]

really? I would just run it. Your engine is not going to blow up. I run standard coolant in my trucks and it works just fine. IMO, I think this is overthought here on mud. Remember that these are tractor engines. Next interval, flush it and fill it with your choice. Make sure to use distilled water.

While they are "tractor" engines and will run on either, they dont do well with a mix. One or another as Gumby stated.

 

[1973Guppie]

While they are "tractor" engines and will run on either, they dont do well with a mix. One or another as Gumby stated.

exactly, same thing I stated. The dude got his coolant topped off a bit. I think it will be fine. LOL. If you are going to flush it and refill, obviously don't purposely mix the 2. My point was that he could probably just leave it alone till the next service interval with little to no ill effects.

 

[86tuning]

Just pour out the stuff in the reservoir and fill it up with proper coolant/water mix.

If you want to do a flush, bring 2 jugs of toyota coolant to the shop that did the top up. Ask them to do the coolant change for you. Request that they supply labor, you supply parts.

They did what any shop would normally do, top up coolant that looks low. However they didn't realize that you're super picky with fluid brands, as their coolant supplier info says that universal coolant is okay to add to any vehicle.

If it hasn't been very many start/shut down cycles, chances are that very little coolant from the bottle has made it into your cooling system. I'd just dump out the reservoir myself, and refill it. Your next coolant service, just do the regular drain n fill of the rad and block. IMO not enough of the 'wrong' type of coolant is in the system to hurt anything.

/10 cents/

 

[Kernal]

htony1: have you replaced your PHH (pesky heater hose)??

 

[thatcabledude]

If it hasn't been very many start/shut down cycles, chances are that very little coolant from the bottle has made it into your cooling system.

Exactly what I was going to say.

 

[Gumby]

I think the big problem here is the misunderstanding of the term universal. Universal is not "green". You can't mix green silicate based with HOAT. You can mix universal with HOAT, but I wouldn't do it on purpose or very much. I would not flush a "top off" With universal. I would probably flush a drain and refill. I would flush a green and red mix.

A drain and refill with green is not "almost the same" as a top off with universal.

 

[htony1]

thanks for the replies guys; stopped back by the mechanics shop to talk about the situation with the owner. He showed me the bottle and this was the type of coolant that was added:

http://www.quinbyhardware.com/Produ...VE/RADIATOR-and-ACCESSORIES/PENNZOIL-PRODUCTS

Other than this link, I can't find very much information on the coolant. A small amount was added to the reservoir and it has been driven as a daily driver since then. I thought about dumping the reservoir and refilling it with the correct 50/50 yota red mix.

I don't know for certain if the heater hose was bypassed or not. I will have to look through the documentation the previous owner provided.

The mechanic did offer to flush the radiator but I only have one jug of Toyota Red and don't know how much it will take to flush & refill the system. Going to try the local toyota dealership today for another jug.

 

[OG 91 LC]

Don't mean to hijack thread but. I get my yearly flush at Toyota. Do you guys think Toyota knows to use Toyota Red and distilled? Is it standard or is this a Mud thang?

 

[zuluchild]

I agree, it can't be much - run it. Also, anyone experience a leak from the top of the radiator - the seam where the plastic piece sits atop the metal radiator?? I'm leaking a little there. Given it's external, I thought about using silicone or some other water/heat proof sealant as a short-term band-aid. Thoughts?

 

[western flyer]

A leak at the top of the rad at the seam between the plastic and metal does not sound good. How old is this rad? If it is original I would suggest replacing it. If it is relatively new, possibly a rad shop can fix. I do not think an attempt with sealer on the outside will help much.

 

[OLD DAWG]

I agree, it can't be much - run it. Also, anyone experience a leak from the top of the radiator - the seam where the plastic piece sits atop the metal radiator?? I'm leaking a little there. Given it's external, I thought about using silicone or some other water/heat proof sealant as a short-term band-aid. Thoughts?

Fix or replace that radiator soon. Don't ask how I know my wallet still hasn't recovered