Originally Posted By: Or
Originally Posted By: Deontologist
Well I've decided now after reading that guy's horror stories to purchase 5 bottles of Zerex Asian and am currently completing a coolant flush of both cars.
Personally I think that sounds wise. But maybe hold on about how to do the flush a minute, sounds like you bought too much.
We got a Lexus a few years ago that had green in it. I converted it to Red. I studied this and computed concentrations down to the ounce and this is what worked best for me based on science, math, and economics:
a) open radiator tap, and both of the block drain plugs (on a V).
b) refill with $.89/gallon distilled water from your supermarket. To full.
c) run until hot and t-stat opens and mixes with heater.
d) let cool, then dump it per a)
e) repeat b-d)
f) You should NOW be down to having only 2 ounces of the old in your system, and it cost you $5 of distilled water. Good enough. If you wanna get manic, add some citric acid and really clean things in this process. Cheap and super effective. Google it.
g) Now that you are clean, add 60% of this (see link below) to your system total volume. Average system volume on a V6 is 9.7 qts, so that is 5.9 qts. Check what it is for yours. So two of these containers delivered to your door for $25. Then top up with dH2O. You add the concetrate in first to compensate for the fact there is 1.5 to 2 quarts of pure water in your heater core you can't drain out.
This is the stuff to buy:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/OEM-Concentrate-...M-/161475752394
h) you are now at 60% af/dH20 mix, which maximizes your position on the eutectic graph of bp/elevation-fp/depression. So you are protected down to like -60F and not the marginal -30F 50/50 gives and isnt' adequate in the severe northern US tier or Canada. and you have more anti-corrosion and other additives.
And, with the two quarts left over from what you bought, you can also do your 1st drain/fill in 30k miles. Also, with 2 qts of water in your heater core, you can't get anywhere near 50/50 if you use pre-mix. So check the eutectic graph of running 40/60, etc. and decide if you are happy. I would not be.
So take the $50 bucks of diluted Zerex back and do the job right! For less, too.
BTW, the Lexus I converted from green to red, the radiator rotted out 50k later; the plastic/polymer upper reservoir was so weakened from heat and the chemical it did not like, the upper radiator inlet pipe just collapsed.
Previously, a Lexus GS we had did the same with the heater valve; it just disintegrated after being run with non Asian coolant for a while. I understand in the past when you had to pay $30/gallon for concentrate, some people would cheap out and run non-Asian coolant. They won't fail right away, but eventually they will. Now that there are uber cheap and available compatible fluids, it's stupid to run something else.
DexCool might work. BUT - dexcool is more sensitive to oxidation and the expansion tanks on GM vehicles (my parents have two I service) are different than the fully vented expansion tanks on ToyoLex vehicles. I would not run dexcool in a more permissively ventilated Toyota coolant system.
In my parents' GM cars, I check the expansion tank and hoses annually (they are both now 10 years old) to ward this off. There are plenty of horror stories of older GM vehicles where the system wearks, lets in air, and the coolant goes to [censored] in a handbasket. I think dexcool is fine you are under warranty, but it isn't friendly as it ages and systems wear. It's a "just get it out of warranty" kinda product. Just like Toyota WS transmission fluid - might get you to 100k miles and out of warranty (often does not), but it's not a long term fluid like they advertise. -So I'm not picking on GM. toyota and everyone cheaps the [censored] out wherever they can and screws the 2nd or long-term original owner. None of these guys have the long-term owner or 2nd buyer's interest at heart.
Don't screw around. Flush the system twice at least, three is better. Then put it 60/40 with Asian red or pink fluid. Then drain/fill the rad. every 30k. It then might last a half million miles or more.
Thank you for the detailed instructions. So far I've just been opening the lower radiator stopcock. I can't seem to find the drain plugs on the engine block, even after looking at the shop service manual. I've decided to just take ~1 gallon as the amount of water/old coolant left in the block, and I'm planning on buying some full-strength Pentofrost A1 to pour straight into the block to get a ~50/50 mix. Then I'll top off with Zerex Asian. I'll return any unused Zerex later, or just keep it in case my hoses and head gasket have been ruined by Dexcool and I need to keep topping off the [censored] coolant.
