Green Coolant!

[vroom8]

I JUST HAD MY RADIATOR FLUSHED AND MY TRUSTED MECHANIC WHO HAS NEVER DONE ME WRONG PUT GREEN COOLANT IN MY LS!!

I TOLD HIM THAT IT NEEDS THE RED STUFF, BUT HE SAID IT DIDN'T MATTER.....!!

WILL THIS HURT MY ENGINE?? SHOULD I CHANGE IT ASAP, OR CAN I CHANGE IT NEXT FLUSH?

[cjmeyer]

I JUST HAD MY RADIATOR FLUSHED AND MY TRUSTED MECHANIC WHO HAS NEVER DONE ME WRONG PUT GREEN COOLANT IN MY LS!!

I TOLD HIM THAT IT NEEDS THE RED STUFF, BUT HE SAID IT DIDN'T MATTER.....!!

WILL THIS HURT MY ENGINE?? SHOULD I CHANGE IT ASAP, OR CAN I CHANGE IT NEXT FLUSH?

Green was all we had for years and we survived!Get it swapped with the next flush.As an aside,I drive a 18 wheeler for a living and we used red coolant in our fleet when we purchased 04' Freightliners and the coolant actually etched the cylinder liners causing major engine damage to about 25 of them.I am not sure who the supplier was but after that episode I am not too hot on the red stuff!

[python]

better go with the red

[SW03ES]

I personally would re-flush the coolant and replace it with the red Toyota long life coolant...

[djspawn00]

remember red doesn't mean used dex-cool or whatever that trash is that turned to mud in my catera and blazer

red = toyota long life coolant.

[python]

Nulon Red Long Life Coolant is the preferred coolant to use in cooling systems that are fitted with aluminium radiators. It is a genuine 100% OAT based, long life coolant. RLL is dyed its distinct red/orange colour to instantly distinguish its unique chemistry from traditional green coolants. It should not be mixed with other coolants. As it is a concentrated coolant, it is to be used at 33% to 50% by volume in soft or demineralised water. Nulon RLL provides maximum protection against cavitation erosion of wet cylinder liners in diesel engines. Nulon Red Long Life Coolant is not recommended for use in cooling systems that have a copper/brass radiator (in such vehicles, use Nulon LL, which is green). If changing from any other coolant to Red Long Life Coolant , always thoroughly flush the system first as cross contamination will reduce the life of Red Long Life Coolant .

Benefits:

* 5 years or 250,000 km service life (whichever comes first) when used as directed

* Guaranteed to suit every vehicle where red/orange OAT based coolant has been specified

* Provides optimum, long term protection against corrosion of all cooling system metals

* Compatible with hoses and rubber fittings

* Expands operating temperature range of cooling systems (see details below)

* Eliminates the need for supplemental coolant additives (SCA) in diesel engines

* Reduces the incidence of nucleate or hot spot boiling

* Not aggressive to water pump seals as is often the case with silicate based coolants

* Performance of OAT inhibitors does not diminish with time

* Particularly effective in controlling cavitation erosion wet cylinder liners in diesel engines

[vroom8]

thanks everyone!

I usually use Mopar red, is that a good one?

From what everyone has suggested, I assume it should be flushed and changed, but no great hurry.

Where do I find Nulon Red Long Life..? Any Auto Store?

How do I tell if the radiator is aluminum?...I think it is the origional..

[python]

its aluminum...use toyota red

[vroom8]

:D THANKS

[jcrome04]

Toyota OEM red.

Get it re-flushed ASAP.

They SHOULD do it for free since it was the mechanic's negligence.

Green is not good for aluminum.

[eatingupblacktop]

Vroom, it's always a bit discerning when a "trusted mechanic" makes an error. He may not be familiar with Lexus which is different in many respects from NA cars. If that's the case you can read up here on any service you plan for your car or you can suggest he login to: http://alldata.com/ for LS specs before starting any service. If he insists otherwise, you may have to look for another tech.

[vroom8]

thank you---thank you!!!!!

I am not going to take any chances with this car- it runs perfect...gets great gas mileage, and i have alot of time and $$ into it...I will get it flushed ASAP>

Thanks everyone- I really appreciate all the great info you have all taken the time to help me with!!

[SW03ES]

I wouldnt hold it against him as long as he's willing to flush it and put the proper coolant in for free.

Every service manual for the car specified the red long life coolant. It was his mistake...

[vroom8]

HE IS A GREAT MECHANIC---THE CAR RUNS GREAT...AND I REALLY AM NOT GOING TO CONFRONT HIM WITH IT.

I'LL JUST TAKE IT SOMEWHERE AND HAVE IT FLUSHED AND NEW COOLANT PUT IN.

IF HE ASKS ME LATER, I WILL TELL HIM. HE USES THE COMPUTER FOR ALL HIS RESEARCH, SO I DON'T KNOW HOW THIS HAPPENED. O WELL.

[pauljcl]

My $.02 worth. I had taken my RX300 to Lexus to be serviced (60K miles) and they included - they said - change of radiator fluid. Well, now at 68K miles, I notice the fluid looks 'greenish-grey' and only comes to 'minimum' at the overfill tank when hot. A Lexus 'diagnostic specialist' sees it, suggests a little more fluid, comments that it was 'green' fluid that was in the radiator - not the Toyota long life (red). He kindly offers to fill up the water overfill tank a little, adds Toyota red fluid, tells me when I ask him if it is a problem mixing them "Not at all, but you may not like the resulting colour". I asked whether one or the other was best, and the reply was "Not". So, I would not worry about the colour of your radiator fluids. Enjoy life and your car.

[SW03ES]

Well, the service manuals for the car specify only Toyota red long life coolant, say specifically they cannot be mixed, and all the literature you can find says green coolant is not good for aluminum radiators which the Lexus has.

I think that "Lexus diagnistic tech" is mistaken.

[RI-Lex]

It will not hurt the engine, but i would stick with the toyota red stuff for peace of mind

[SW03ES]

Its not going to hurt the engine, but according to everything I've ever read it will gum up and damage the radiator and cooling system.

Can you point us to something that says the green coolant won't gum up radiators when changed at the factory reccomended interval?

The question os obviously not the color, its the composition of the coolant. If you flush the green coolant every year you're probably not going to have a problem, but the Toyota long life coolant is specifically designed for Toyota's cooling systems and for the replacement guidelines in the factory service manual. PLus its about the same cost...why take a chance?

[eatingupblacktop]

I'll go with "Mortimer" on this one. With the cost of changing out the water pump, why would you want to take a chance? Where's the payoff? Risk is usually associated with return. You risk capital to gain profit for example. Assuming a risk for no return is simply foolish. Like jumping off a bridge to see what temperature the water is.:whistles:

[SW03ES]

Mortimer knows his LOL

[LXPearl]

It is the coolant composition that matters. The Toyota LL is red and is the specified coolant. The common green coolant is not the same. In the many Toyotas I have owned, the results speak for themselves. When I used the green stuff, I replaced hoses, thermostats, water pumps, etc on a regular basis, along with periodic flush treatments (there always seemed to be a "normal" level of gunk that precipitated out of the coolant). In contrast, with the Toyota red LL coolant, I have gone over 100K miles on several vehicles without replacing any of the components in the cooling system, some I did not remember to replace the coolant until about 50K miles.

I always use distilled water for diluting the coolant. I have seen Toyota dealerships who used the green stuff and mechanics who claimed there was no difference except the color. Not true. I would replace the green stuff asap and flush with distilled water, then add the Toyota LL coolant. It is not worth the risk of the gunk and repairs encountered down the line.

[JENunnez]

It user to be that coolants did not mater, but that's old school and does not apply to modern engines.Almost all car manufacturers now have there own blend of coolant to protect there own specific components.

VW and I think Audi, if you use a different coolant it turns into jello, overheats and there goes your engine.

GM, the intake falls apart.

Caterpillar, you get cavitation on the cylinder liners.

Honda, degenerates components.

Etc.

Go with OEM it's the same price as any coolant and you won't have any problems and allways use distilled water( no minerals to deposits).

[vroom8]

My $.02 worth. I had taken my RX300 to Lexus to be serviced (60K miles) and they included - they said - change of radiator fluid. Well, now at 68K miles, I notice the fluid looks 'greenish-grey' and only comes to 'minimum' at the overfill tank when hot. A Lexus 'diagnostic specialist' sees it, suggests a little more fluid, comments that it was 'green' fluid that was in the radiator - not the Toyota long life (red). He kindly offers to fill up the water overfill tank a little, adds Toyota red fluid, tells me when I ask him if it is a problem mixing them "Not at all, but you may not like the resulting colour". I asked whether one or the other was best, and the reply was "Not". So, I would not worry about the colour of your radiator fluids. Enjoy life and your car.

interesting!!......i have green fluid in my toyota truck, and i used to always have green in my 95 camry....they both ran fantastic!...I still think i will switch in the Lexus, however....I like to baby this one.

[jcrome04]

You should save your money and have him re-do it...

I don't see why you'd want to waste more money having it done a second time. If he is a good guy and a good mechanic he should thank you for the knowledge and of course re-flush it at 100% no charge.

Reminds me of my fuel filter fiasco I had at the beginning of the year. for some reason my "trusted" tech decided to try and move the fuel tank because he thought the filter was underneath it. Then he said he changed it. after he realized it was in plain view, and unbolted my tank and moved it around. My car was at the dealership for 3-4 weeks, and THANK GOD almost $2k dent in HIS wallet (for a new fuel tank and carbon canister system). I decided to replace the crappy generic filter with a high quality AMSOIL WIX filter.

And the filter on the vehicle was the stock toyota one...... I will NEVER go to him or recommend him to ANYONE again. I can't believe I went through all that BS and he was just jerking my leg around and didn't even change the filter. wooooooooooow D-bag mechs are the worst!

I think you should take it back to HIM. The was he reacts to it should be your deciding factor on whether or not you shoud EVER go back to him!

[blake918]

Can you point us to something that says the green coolant won't gum up radiators when changed at the factory reccomended interval?

Certainly, the factory repair manual for my former '95 says that the coolant only needs to be ethylene glycol type; never do they make any reference to a specific brand or color coolant. I'm sure if the engineers thought the green coolant was going to harm the engine/radiator/etc., they'd say to use only the red Toyota coolant. The doom and gloom stories about what might happen if you don't use the Toyota coolant are somewhat comical to me since I've had green coolant in my past '95 for over 150k miles with no cooling issues at all--it'll idle all day long in 105* with the ac going without over heating. Around here, green coolant is less than half the price of Toyota coolant even if you buy it at the Toyota dealer.