The flush chemical loosens and suspends corrosion and scale so it washes out of the system easier. Rinsing with distilled water alone won't do that. You probably don't need the chemical, but it couldn't hurt. Even my well maintained system spat out flakes and tinted the water brown when I used a flush chemical.
coolant change based on years/mileage
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How many times should I do a distilled water flush switching to peak global lifetime And follow up change in 5 yrs, same question?
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At least one full flush with distilled water.
Fill it up and run the engine until it warms all the way up, then let it cool down and drain. After that you can refill with coolant.
Fill it up and run the engine until it warms all the way up, then let it cool down and drain. After that you can refill with coolant.
There is no one-answer-fits-all. In a few instances, I have had to do about 6 drain/fill/run up to temperature (to open thermostat-circulate coolant)cycles to finally get the water to come out relatively clear. Since the OP is changing to a different type of coolant, he needs to be even more careful to get most of the old coolant out. Some coolants don't play well together.
Since the OP's vehicle is 11 years old with never a coolant change, it will be interesting what the results are. Check some of the Toyota forums to see if air pockets are a problem with drain and fills on your model. Please follow up when finished and tell us how it went.
There's another contingent here that have cars since brand new and just do radiator drain and fills more often, maybe at about 1/2 to 2/3 the manufacturer's recommendation. Their idea is to never let the coolant additives get below a critical level and to maintain the system pristine always. I'm considering this route for the first time.
Others remove the thermostat and use a Prestone type backflush kit to get most of the coolant out. On some of today's cars, the thermostats are complicated and/or hard to get to.
Again, please tell us how your adventure goes.
EDIT: On some systems, especially ag.and industrial equipment, I have found the owner's manual total system capacity to be WAY off. So much that I finally bought a refractometer to accurately measure the concentration. They are really nice to use.
Since the OP's vehicle is 11 years old with never a coolant change, it will be interesting what the results are. Check some of the Toyota forums to see if air pockets are a problem with drain and fills on your model. Please follow up when finished and tell us how it went.
There's another contingent here that have cars since brand new and just do radiator drain and fills more often, maybe at about 1/2 to 2/3 the manufacturer's recommendation. Their idea is to never let the coolant additives get below a critical level and to maintain the system pristine always. I'm considering this route for the first time.
Others remove the thermostat and use a Prestone type backflush kit to get most of the coolant out. On some of today's cars, the thermostats are complicated and/or hard to get to.
Again, please tell us how your adventure goes.
EDIT: On some systems, especially ag.and industrial equipment, I have found the owner's manual total system capacity to be WAY off. So much that I finally bought a refractometer to accurately measure the concentration. They are really nice to use.
I recommend you first buy a coolant tester like (https://www.amazon.com/Prestone-AF-1420-Antifreeze-Coolant-Tester/dp/B000BOA9RY). Test the coolant, if its broken down. When I wanted to change coolant on my 2006 Sentra last year, I asked on another board and I got exactly same answers as you got here. My coolant was not broken down. The tester showed that it is still good. I never changed but since I got the car pre-owned without a service history, I decided to change. After draining, I realized that my coolant was really in tip-top shape.
The first drain was half of the total capacity but I never managed to drain that much again. All I did was kept refilling distilled water until I got clean water as drain liquid. Took abt 8 drain and refills. Once I got clear water as a drain, I refilled with a gallon on concentrate and topped off with distilled water. I checked with a coolant tested again to be sure that it is not too diluted. (Luckily, the capacity of Sentra's system is abt 2 gallons, so it was easy for me just to dump a gallon of concentrate. Otherwise, it would be really tricky to use 50-50 when there is a water left in the block).
There should be air vent somewhere. It was necessary for me to remove this vent every time I refilled so that the air pockets are least possible. I ran the car on water for 2-3 days every time for complete circulation.
After a week or two of refilling with a concentrate and water, I just topped off with 50-50 to keep the coolant reservoir to the right capacity.
Before you do anything, just make sure of all openings, drain, air vent etc. Confirm those over and over.
The first drain was half of the total capacity but I never managed to drain that much again. All I did was kept refilling distilled water until I got clean water as drain liquid. Took abt 8 drain and refills. Once I got clear water as a drain, I refilled with a gallon on concentrate and topped off with distilled water. I checked with a coolant tested again to be sure that it is not too diluted. (Luckily, the capacity of Sentra's system is abt 2 gallons, so it was easy for me just to dump a gallon of concentrate. Otherwise, it would be really tricky to use 50-50 when there is a water left in the block).
There should be air vent somewhere. It was necessary for me to remove this vent every time I refilled so that the air pockets are least possible. I ran the car on water for 2-3 days every time for complete circulation.
After a week or two of refilling with a concentrate and water, I just topped off with 50-50 to keep the coolant reservoir to the right capacity.
Before you do anything, just make sure of all openings, drain, air vent etc. Confirm those over and over.
I got this truck used so not sure about coolant history, oil changes were up to date as they showed up on Carfax, but nothing about coolant was shown. That is why I am going to do a complete flush and start over. I did not know time was so important rather than mileage for coolant or I would have done this right away when I bought truck a yr. ago.
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....How many times should I do a distilled water flush....
As noted earlier, until the radiator drain water runs clear, or close. Can't give an exact number of times, but distilled water is very inexpensive.
IME unless the system has been completely neglected and in bad shape, simple distilled d&f's should be fine.
....How many times should I do a distilled water flush....
As noted earlier, until the radiator drain water runs clear, or close. Can't give an exact number of times, but distilled water is very inexpensive.
IME unless the system has been completely neglected and in bad shape, simple distilled d&f's should be fine.
My definition of a flush is to drain as much of the old stuff as possible, flush the cooling loop with a garden hose or use any flushing chemicals along with rinsing out/neutralizing any of the flushing chemical, followed by another water flush and refilling with fresh premix or concentrate.
If the cooling system is in good shape with no to little flotsam in the overflow/surge tank and nothing but OEM fill or a compatible for that automaker's coolant is used(NO Prestone or AMAM coolant was ever added to top off), I think even a drain and fill would do a decent job of refreshing the inhibitor package. However, glycolic acid/glycolate - the acidic breakdown product of ethylene glycol is a threat - but does glycolic acid form that quickly in an automotive cooling system? It's a common thing that's tested for in a a heavy-duty coolant analysis.
If the cooling system is in good shape with no to little flotsam in the overflow/surge tank and nothing but OEM fill or a compatible for that automaker's coolant is used(NO Prestone or AMAM coolant was ever added to top off), I think even a drain and fill would do a decent job of refreshing the inhibitor package. However, glycolic acid/glycolate - the acidic breakdown product of ethylene glycol is a threat - but does glycolic acid form that quickly in an automotive cooling system? It's a common thing that's tested for in a a heavy-duty coolant analysis.
Ok, I am on my fourth flush, water is still a little pink. It is taking me a few days as I doing things in between, only driving truck 20 min trips to open thermostat . I tried filling radiator from resovoir botlle but it did not go into radiator so I have been adding water directly to radiaitor. Once it is clear I have a couple of questions. I understand I fill 1/2 capacity with concentrate and rest distilled water, then run and fill back to top with water once it goes down a little. When I fill resoir water bottle with 50/50 this will ad a little more than 1/2 concentrate to system if I fill 1/2 directly into radiator, is this ok, since it isn't much? And also, should I fill resivoir to low, middle, or full when engine is cold?
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I think they usually drop in level over the course of a week. So you could maybe overfill slightly or just check back later.
I have a question.
Would running the engine with the radiator drain open and a garden hose in the overflow/tad cap be a good thing to do?
I have a question.
Would running the engine with the radiator drain open and a garden hose in the overflow/tad cap be a good thing to do?
Originally Posted By: ugabulldog
Ok, I am on my fourth flush, water is still a little pink. It is taking me a few days as I doing things in between, only driving truck 20 min trips to open thermostat . I tried filling radiator from resovoir botlle but it did not go into radiator so I have been adding water directly to radiaitor. Once it is clear I have a couple of questions. I understand I fill 1/2 capacity with concentrate and rest distilled water, then run and fill back to top with water once it goes down a little. When I fill resoir water bottle with 50/50 this will ad a little more than 1/2 concentrate to system if I fill 1/2 directly into radiator, is this ok, since it isn't much? And also, should I fill resivoir to low, middle, or full when engine is cold?
I ended up flushing 8 times and it still had a slight pink tint. When adding concentrate, should 1/2 coolant capacity include whats in the reservoir, or just the radiator and block? Owners manual doesn't specify.
Ok, I am on my fourth flush, water is still a little pink. It is taking me a few days as I doing things in between, only driving truck 20 min trips to open thermostat . I tried filling radiator from resovoir botlle but it did not go into radiator so I have been adding water directly to radiaitor. Once it is clear I have a couple of questions. I understand I fill 1/2 capacity with concentrate and rest distilled water, then run and fill back to top with water once it goes down a little. When I fill resoir water bottle with 50/50 this will ad a little more than 1/2 concentrate to system if I fill 1/2 directly into radiator, is this ok, since it isn't much? And also, should I fill resivoir to low, middle, or full when engine is cold?
I ended up flushing 8 times and it still had a slight pink tint. When adding concentrate, should 1/2 coolant capacity include whats in the reservoir, or just the radiator and block? Owners manual doesn't specify.
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Do it mathematically. My truck total capacity is about 16 quarts. When I drain the radiator, about 2 gallons (8 quarts) comes out. With the starting ratio of anti freeze to water 50%, draining and replacing half the coolant with distilled or RO water brings the used anti freeze down to a 25% ratio. Doing that twice, brings the ratio to 12.5% anti freeze and 87.5% water. One more time, and while still slightly tinted brings it to a 6.25% anti freeze and the rest water. That's always been good enough for me with a clean, non problem system. After that, you are just being um, a word I probably can't use.
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