Dealer Asks...

[sha4000]

i asked in my other post but no one answered when i went to the dealer and asked for coolant he asked me if i wantedgreen or red coolant as if i had a option i didnt question him on this and just said red but i did think this was strange since everyone on the forum says use red does anyone care to speculate on this?

[wwest]

It makes not a hill of beans, REALLY!

[Lexls]

Oh man, the green/red debate :whistles: . Both work, red is factory. Don't sweat it, just change it when you're scheduled too.

[ED.]

Remember the Red Green show? Kinda goofy. The laughs seemed too fake. I went to Toyota to get coolant. Saved 17 dollars!

thanks

[monarch]

i asked in my other post but no one answered when i went to the dealer and asked for coolant he asked me if i wanted green or red coolant as if i had a option i didnt question him on this and just said red but i did think this was strange since everyone on the forum says use red does anyone care to speculate on this?

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In 1987 Toyota came out with the Red Antifreeze and filled every new Toyota with it because by then nearly all it's engines had aluminum cylinder heads and other aluminum components and the green antifreeze was not providing good enough protection against aluminum corrosion. In fact, the borates in green antifreeze contributed to pitting of aluminum http://www.saber.net/~monarch/coolantb.jpg This aluminum corrosion problem with the green antifreeze was also causing the metal of the cylinder head coolant passages to erode away and compromise the sealing ability of the cylinder head gasket, especially on big bore engines like the Cressida 7M series engines and Toyota pickup 22R series engines. Other problems with the green antifreeze were that the silicates in then were abrasive to the water pump seal and would also tend to fall out of suspension and coat / partially clog the radiator core tubes http://www.saber.net/~monarch/radjunk.jpg causing the engine to run hotter than normal which in turn leads to other serious problems like heat warping of the cylinder head and subsequence head gasket failure.

The factory fill 50% Toyota Red antifreeze + 50% distilled water coolant mixture solves all these problems. The insides of the radiator and coolant pipes stay clean as new for decades and unlimited miles: http://www.saber.net/~monarch/coolanta.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y189/mastertech/89rad.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y189/mastertech/89hous.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y189/mast...h/89drained.jpg

http://www.saber.net/~monarch/463.jpg

Why do some Toyota dealers sell and even use green antifreeze if it's so bad? Well it's a sensitive question for many reasons. Some owners, for example, wrongly think the Red antifreeze is just a gimmick (that it's just a green type antifreeze that was dyed red) corporate Toyota came up with to justify a $17 per gallon retail price dealers charge for it. Chemical lab analysis, http://www.saber.net/~monarch/titan.jpg however, reveals the Toyota Red is chemically unique. Other owners wrongly think using distilled water with the green antifreeze will solve all the problems the green has / creates. Since the serious problems created by the green don't usually show up until after 5-10 years of use, some owners don't care because they plan to sell / trade their cars anyway before then. For the same reason, dealers may install the green knowing only a very small percentage of owners will - 5-10 years down the road - link their engine overheating problems, blown cylinder head gaket problems, etc. with use of the green antifreeze.

Why is it that no car care internet websites encourage Asian car owners to use genuine Toyota, genuine Nissan and genuine Honda antifreezes? Because car care internet websites depend on sales of aftermarket parts, fluids, filters, lubes, etc. to stay in business. Therefore they try to steer the public AWAY from using factory original parts, fluids, filters, lubes, etc. They need to convince the public the factory stuff is overpriced and not unique.

[sha4000]

great pictures monarch is that your car with all those miles i appreciat everyones input but you are te only one that answered the question about the dealer now what about the dexcool argument because this is what i put in my car 2 years ago when i got it and i didnt haveany problems with it? also i think that i must have messed up my mixture with too much water.bear with me now because i know im all over th place the dexcool is orange but when i drained it yesterday it was red what does that mean

[monarch]

The Dexcool is an organic acid antifreeze that protects aluminum better than the green coolant and it's also free of silicates. However it has new potential adverse side effects that the green didn't have. Namely if air gets into the cooling system via a low fluid level in the coolant jar or radiator or past a worn radiator cap, the Dexcool can begin to turn into a sludge like radiator clogging material called "Deathcool". Apparently this is only really a problem on engines with cast iron cylinder blocks like the early ES300 V6's. But LS400 V8's are all aluminum so this problem should theoretically not develop.

The Toyota Red antifreeze is a hybrid organic acid antifreeze and also has a big dose of molybdenum lubricant that Dexcool doesn't have.

[SRK]

Green will work fine, but it is not a long life antifreeze, and should be changed yearly. The Toyota red is a long life, and is specifically designed for these engines, and as it doesn't have to be changed as often, it is actually less expensive than green.

The green sold in the 80's is not the same as the green sold now. Many improvements have been made. That said, I will stick with the Toyota fluid.

Dexcool is strange stuff. I have put it in some customers engines, but it will create a nasty sludge when exposed to air, and should not be used except in completely sealed systems, which lets out most cars built more than fifteen years ago. And its expensive!

[sha4000]

thanks guys to be honest i didnt know anything about the the toyota red stuff and when i went to the dealer the red or green question confused me so i just used the 2 gallons of dexcool i already had but you guys have really good info so next year i will definitely flush all the dexcool out for the red stuff do you guys think that is waiting too long?