Lexus Coolant

[bryanc83]

Hey Guys,

I am a new member and I have really enjoyed reading through your forum. I just bought a 1999 Lexus LX470 last week. It has 98K miles and still runs great!

I do have a couple of questions:

When I purchased the truck, I noticed the coolant tank was a little low. I poured some standard (green coolant) mixed with water into the tank. Two days later, I read that I am only supposed to use the red Lexus coolant. Is this bad? Should I get the coolant flushed?

I realize that I am also due for the 90K service. I am thinking about holding off on the timing belt/water pump replacement and doing everything else. I'm a little short on cash right now. I noticed that nobody is suggesting a transmission fluid flush for the 90K service. Is this correct? I usually have flush the trans fluid of my other vehicles when they hit 100k.

Any opinions are greatly appreciated.

[mburnickas]

Lexus coolant (long life) is 99% the same as the green stuff. I have mixed, in my 98 ES and been fine. The red in the coolant is a dye. Now the new collant super long live is not the same as normal EG.

You do not have to flush but I would drain, refill,filter etc.

Welcome to LOC! :D

[Jim_Chow]

Lexus coolant (long life) is 99% the same as the green stuff. I have mixed, in my 98 ES and been fine. The red in the coolant is a dye. Now the new collant super long live is not the same as normal EG.

You do not have to flush but I would drain, refill,filter etc.

Welcome to LOC! :D

I would avoid mixing red & green. The green is typically not silicate-free. I inadvertently did this back in '00 on my 4runner (forgot to flush the heater core but flushed the radiator and block w/ water); radiator sludged and clogged up in 6 months. Whenever you change coolant brands & color, make sure you flush the entire cooling system (radiator, both V-banks, and heater core(s)) with distilled water until it runs clear.

By "flushing," I mean use steam distilled water (ideal) or at least reverse osmosis bottled water. Don't use tap water. I've yet seen a shop that uses distilled water to save time/money, including the dealer. Whatever you do, NEVER use a flushing agent/additive. If you drain both the left V-bank and radiator, it's about 11 qts of the 16 qt capacity in the LX. Make sure you have the front & rear heaters cranked when you run the engine. The lexus coolant is Toyota coolant. Buy it from Toyota and save $$. Ditto with other parts, like brake pads/shims, oil/air filters, etc. Same parts, same packagin, lower price.

Check out

http://forum.ih8mud.com/80-series-tech/453...ed-coolant.html