LEXIE Posted April 15, 2004 Share Posted April 15, 2004 i want to replace my coolant. i have decided to go with a 4 to 5 ratio of lexus specified antifreeze to distilled water. i live in fl and dont need anymore protection. i.e. i dont need a 50/50 blend since we very seldom see temps below 20 deg F. my system capicity(sc400) is 9 liters dry..... will either of these concepts work??? i plan to run the car continuously and open the radiator drain !Removed! and purge the system for about 30' with household water getting rid of all old coolant mixture. now i would like to purge all the water remaing in the block w/o messing with the block drain plugs. can i do either of the follwing: disconnect the large feed hose to the top of the radiator and lift up and pour distilled water into the hose and force the old mixture from the block into the radiator and out the drain. with engine still hot the thermostat should be open and allow this to happen. my other thought was to blow the water out of the block by using a pressurized garden sprayer tank (empty but pumped to max air cap). i have a rubber plug that will fit the large hose and i can mate the pressure sprayer hose end to the rubber plug by drilling a proper sized hole. if necessary i can slide the hose clamp up to secure the plug from blowing out. as in above case the car must still be hot enuf to insure thermostat is open for fluid to leave block and return to radiator. if i can empty my system of all fluid, it will be very nearly full and close enuf to my ratio of 4/5( actually 3.750/ 5.250) by adding a full gallon of coolant and filling to max with distilled water. i know it sounds like a long way to get from point a to point b but as i said i prefer not to bother with the block plugs. appreciate any comments, lexie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monarch Posted April 15, 2004 Share Posted April 15, 2004 Lexie, you just removed, rebuilt and replaced your power steering pump all by yourself. That was a very complicated task compared to the simple job of finding and unscrewing the two engine block drain plugs. So perhaps you might want to reconsider going the block drain plug route. The Toyota / Lexus engineers have recommended a 50-52% antifreeze solution for all vehicles and all climates going back to the early 1970's. This concentration of antifreeze is necessary to provide good corrosion protection and good lubrication of the water pump seal. The factory thermostat will keep the engine temperature at 180 degrees F (plus or minus 15 degrees F) regardless of the antifreeze concentration or outside temperature. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LEXIE Posted April 15, 2004 Author Share Posted April 15, 2004 monarch-- thx for your reply. i guess your point about the lube and corrosion protection are well taken...i will add another qt. the reason i cut it short was because another post pointed out how much more efficient the heat transfer was of the mixture being closer to the water side..i.e., with water being much better than 100% ethylene gycol. i'm sure the tradeoff is not worth it. could you direct me to about where these drain plugs are located on a SC400. i assume i would have to drop the splash shield to get to, right?? any idea what size wrench. lexie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rookie Posted April 21, 2004 Share Posted April 21, 2004 Don't know about the SC's and it sounds like they are different if there are two, but on the LX450, it is on the US drivers side of the engine block about midway down. It's brass plug, and you can see if by lifting up the back skirt in the wheel well. Need about a two foot extension and I'm guessing 17mm socket. Get a flush kit, about two feet of heater hose and two hose clamps. Just follow the directions and you'll be golden. Put the dogs up and flush it down good. Rookie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monarch Posted April 21, 2004 Share Posted April 21, 2004 could you direct me to about where these drain plugs are located ona SC400. i assume i would have to drop the splash shield to get to, right?? any idea what size wrench. http://www.saber.net/~monarch/engblock.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LEXIE Posted April 21, 2004 Author Share Posted April 21, 2004 rookie, monarch thx for the info. i'm paying close to $16/gal for the rec lexus coolant which i buy here at the toyota dealership..... seems a bit high?? i remember reading on another forum where toyota runs a special ever so often on the coolant. if i could get it for around $10, i would stock up on the stuff since i plan to keep this machine forever. L ps: still have the '65 mustang 289 coupe (totally renovated, 98k act miles) that i bought new 40 yrs ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rookie Posted April 26, 2004 Share Posted April 26, 2004 http://www.saber.net/~monarch/engblock.jpg Yeah.. that looks different than the 450. It's got just a plain brass bolt without all the extra bells and whistle. Rookie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsmith8918 Posted April 28, 2004 Share Posted April 28, 2004 Is going with the Lexus coolant really necessary as opposed to any of the other, standard, less-expensive stuff? By the way, the stuff I have in my LX450 right now has a red color to it; does that indicate that it's the factory coolant? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rookie Posted April 30, 2004 Share Posted April 30, 2004 I've come across mixed opinions on this. The safe bet is to stick with Toyota red, but they do get you at about $15 a jug. The consensus I've seen on this is don't ever mix the green and red or do a simple drain and fill from one to the other, as there seems to be a link between this and advanced corrosion. Frankly, when I did my flush, I went from red to green, as the opinions I saw were that it's not the color that is as important as flushing all the old stuff out and the frequency of the flushes.. every 1 1/2 to 2 years max. After a thorough flush, refill with a 50/50 mix of coolant and distilled water. Rookie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
99lsguy Posted April 30, 2004 Share Posted April 30, 2004 Is going with the Lexus coolant really necessary as opposed to any of the other, standard, less-expensive stuff? By the way, the stuff I have in my LX450 right now has a red color to it; does that indicate that it's the factory coolant? IMHO, Absolutely so. Use the Toyota long life cooland (red) exclusively!!!! Yes, if may cost more....but just a few dollars - you've already saved yourself $50+ by DIY :D And as Rookie has said: premix 50/50 with distilled water - this is the absolute best for your car! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsmith8918 Posted April 30, 2004 Share Posted April 30, 2004 Thanks! I'm a newbie to our recently acquired '97 LX450 and I'm glad I checked here before actually doing the job. I bought the green stuff, took off the cap to the coolant recovery tank and went, "What in the world is this red stuff in here?" Again, thanks! I think I'll return the green and go for the red. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsmith8918 Posted May 3, 2004 Share Posted May 3, 2004 Here's what I found out today: most non-factory repair facilities now do the drain-and-fill rather than flush. I thought this was due to environmental concerns, but I found out today that apparently the flush causes corrosion of the heater cores that the drain-and-fill prevents. And regarding the fluid: use the red fluid from Lexus. Apparently the green fluid is not compatible with (and actually attacks and corrodes) the Lexus head gasket material! So in summary: Drain and fill (don't flush), and use the factory red-colored coolant rather than switching to the green fluid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rookie Posted May 7, 2004 Share Posted May 7, 2004 Apparently the green fluid is not compatible with (and actually attacks and corrodes) the Lexus head gasket material! There are many theories out there regarding what causes the somewhat commom head gasket failures in these engines, and using green coolant is one of them. One of the cruiser addicts on another board, purchased his 97 new, had performed flushes regularly (max interval of like 18 months) using only Toyota red, and can be counted as one of many premature head gasket failures. This failure can be associated with almost any combination of coolant types/maintenance interval combinations you can think of. There is serious speculation as to whether coolant plays any role in it whatsoever. Toyota coolant is a top notch product, but I wouldn't go running out the door if you've got the green stuff in there. Rookie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgriffith Posted May 14, 2004 Share Posted May 14, 2004 I researched this recently as well. I stuck with the toyota red (that was in my 99 rx). I have records that indicate that the previous owners had the coolant flushed during the proper intervals. In the RX forum, the most highly recommended course of action was to drain the radiator once a year and clean out the plastic holding tank as well....then just refill with the appropriate amount of coolant. Their theory was that by doing the regular maintenance you are keeping all of the coolant in your system fairly fresh. I have done this yearly and been pleased with the results. Just don't forget to tighten the radiator cap completely as I did the first time....I got lucky and only had to replace the thermostat...it could have gotten a lot uglier! I will be intereseted to see everyones opinion on this procedure. If you have any concerns or know of potential problems the please do reply. Hope this helps some! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monarch Posted May 14, 2004 Share Posted May 14, 2004 sgriffith, just draining and refilling the radiator every year with a 50/50 mix of Toyota Long Life coolant 7 distilled water will keep the whole cooling system looking like new for decades and unlimted miles: http://www.saber.net/~monarch/89thermohouse.JPG http://www.saber.net/~monarch/238..JPG http://www.saber.net/~monarch/toyred.jpg There's no need to clean out the coolant overflow jar because the jar will stay dishwasher clean too. About every 5 years or 100,000 miles replace the cooling system thermostat and radiator cap with factory original replacements. There is no need to replace any cooling system hoses for at least 15 years or 400,000 miles because Toyota uses such high quality grades of rubber in their hose and the best quality hose clamps in the business. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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