Engine Coolant

[jamerson]

Hi all,

I'm a newbie to the forum and had a question... When do I need to replace the engine coolant? I have a 02' IS300 with 63K. I do alot of day-to-day driving amd I want to make sure my car is kept in great condition. Thanks for your help in advance.

[monarch]

There are tons of threads in the archives on coolant. Basically, if your car still has the factory original red coolant mixture (50% Toyota Long Life Antifreeze & 50% distilled water) you can maintain the system in like new condition for decades to come by simply draining the radiator and refilling it with this exact mixture every year or two. Since the factory coolant is virtually 100% effective in preventing corrosion (if the radiator is drained and refilled as described above every year or two) there is no need to ever flush the system or drain the engine block because the system and coolant never get dirty.

On the other hand, if you would rather not have to bother changing the coolant for 3 years or 45,000 miles then you should drain both the radiator and engine block every time you change the coolant. Of course, draining the block is more complicated and beginner do it yourselfers commonly run into problems when they attempt it.

Keep in mind the exterior fins of the radiator and air conditioning condenser do get filled with bugs, leaves and road dust over time. So approx. every 5-10 years or 100,000 miles the radiator should be physically removed to clean off this debris with the garden hose. Removing the radiator gives you room to access and clean off the AC condenser fins too.

Toyota Long Life Coolant can be purchased at any Toyota dealer parts dept. Any large grocery store carries distilled water.

[bartkat]

Every 2 years or 30,000 miles.

[jamerson]

There are tons of threads in the archives on coolant. Basically, if your car still has the factory original red coolant mixture (50% Toyota Long Life Antifreeze & 50% distilled water) you can maintain the system in like new condition for decades to come by simply draining the radiator and refilling it with this exact mixture every year or two. Since the factory coolant is virtually 100% effective in preventing corrosion (if the radiator is drained and refilled as described above every year or two) there is no need to ever flush the system or drain the engine block because the system and coolant never get dirty.

On the other hand, if you would rather not have to bother changing the coolant for 3 years or 45,000 miles then you should drain both the radiator and engine block every time you change the coolant. Of course, draining the block is more complicated and beginner do it yourselfers commonly run into problems when they attempt it.

Keep in mind the exterior fins of the radiator and air conditioning condenser do get filled with bugs, leaves and road dust over time. So approx. every 5-10 years or 100,000 miles the radiator should be physically removed to clean off this debris with the garden hose. Removing the radiator gives you room to access and clean off the AC condenser fins too.

Toyota Long Life Coolant can be purchased at any Toyota dealer parts dept. Any large grocery store carries distilled water.

Thanks for the advice!

[Thanks for the advice. Think i'll get it changed.

[bartkat]

The manual also calls for a brake fluid change at the same intervals.