ethylene-glycol in a 1998 Corolla?

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My 1998 Corolla's book says to use just ethylene-glycol. Anyone have any ideas what color the original coolant was, the car was bought at an auction, but it is red?

I thought ethylene-glycol was green and I want to buy some and would hate to think someone put red Dexcool in it because then it would be mixed and probably brown(been there before).
 
Ethylene-glycol is the main ingredient of all factory fill coolant. The color is just a dye. The additive package is what makes the difference between Dexcool, G05, Toyota Red, etc.

Saying to use ethylene-glycol is saying any anti-freeze is OK.

Propolene-glycol is an alternative, but it is not factory fill. It is the more "environmentally friendly" alternative. It would probably not hurt to use it, but most factories have not approved it. One of the labels it is sold under is Sierra.
 
Thanks, but is there any way I can tell what's in there now? It is red, but can it be Toyota red or Dexcool red. The reason I ask is because I was having it flushed and the mechanic assured me he would use Toyota red. Then I saw a jug of Advanced coolant and thinking he just heard "red" and ignored the Toyota part I canceled the service. It now seams that is the usual theme.

Now if I drain and fill with ~$22.00 gallon Toyota red and if what's in there is Toyota red I'm ok, but will it hurt if it isn't? Can I just repeat over time and eventually be OK?

Please forgive the nube, but everything maintenance wise else is up to speed.
 
Dexcool is orange. It should be easy enough to tell the difference.

If in doubt about what is in there now, the premium answer is to flush it with clean water until it is clear, then drain and put in the coolant of your choice.

Would it have hurt if it was filled with some sort of "all makes and all models" coolant? Probably not.
 
Don't worry about what is in there, drain it, fill with water, drain it again, repeat until it is clear. Drain it again.

Then calculate the capacity of the cooling system (say 7 qt), divide that by 2 (say 3.5 qt), add that amount of pure coolant into the tank, then top off with water to that amount. This will make your car 50/50 with new coolant when the old coolant is flushed.

You don't need to use Toyota anything for a 98 corolla. If you flush, anything will work.
 
If it is red, it is probably Toyota coolant. They are red (not pink). There is another version of Toyota coolant used in the newer Toyota (IIRC 03+) that is pink.

But previous suggestion by Panda is good.

To drain properly, find the block drain plug if it exist in addition to the radiator drain plug and the lower radiator hose.
 
Here is what I found out, as told to me by a Toyota certified mechanic. In your 1998 Corolla the original coolant was red and is just ethylene-glycol as specified in your owners Manuel. It has no chemistry that newer coolants do. The only difference between that "Toyota red" and the old green coolant is the dye. Toyota simply wants you to return so the system can be looked at any suggestions made.

He also believes the newer coolants are long life because of our ecosystem in regards to harmful waste.

That sounds accurate to me...anyone else? But I still wonder if you can do a drain and fill with green on top of Toyota red. I realize it will look funky brown.
 
Originally Posted By: Big Jim
That technician is uninformed or confused.
Please, how so What part(s)of his explanation is wrong?

Has anyone had "Toyota Red" coolant tested and compared the results to the green stuff?
 
VicMatson,

Here is a good article that explains all of the coolants:

http://www.gates.com/brochure.cfm?brochure=2822&location_id=2877 See the chart on last page,, if nothing else.

According to it, the Japanese green AND Toyota red coolants contain no silicates, but rely on phosphates.

Toy red: phosphates, no silicates
Conv. U.S. green: phosphates, low silicates
G05: no phosphates, low silicates

As you can see, there is no American direct replacement for Toyota Red. Your decision between Toyota Red, Conventional Green, or G05 will depend on if you are a "by the book" type of guy or you are in the "other" camp....that it doesn't matter.

What is important is to do a good flush if you change chemistry.

A lot of people here claim good results with using stuff other than the Toyota Red. I'm a skeptic and wonder if there are long term negatives.....to each their own.
 
Originally Posted By: doitmyself
VicMatson,

Here is a good article that explains all of the coolants:

http://www.gates.com/brochure.cfm?brochure=2822&location_id=2877 See the chart on last page,, if nothing else.

According to it, the Japanese green AND Toyota red coolants contain no silicates, but rely on phosphates.

Toy red: phosphates, no silicates
Conv. U.S. green: phosphates, low silicates
G05: no phosphates, low silicates

As you can see, there is no American direct replacement for Toyota Red. Your decision between Toyota Red, Conventional Green, or G05 will depend on if you are a "by the book" type of guy or you are in the "other" camp....that it doesn't matter.

What is important is to do a good flush if you change chemistry.

A lot of people here claim good results with using stuff other than the Toyota Red. I'm a skeptic and wonder if there are long term negatives.....to each their own.

Thanks for the reply and the explanation through the link.

I did use Toyota red because there wasn't enough of a price difference that would make willing to put up with the posabile costs later on.

From what was said the difference between Toyota red and US Conventional green is the ammount of silicates(low to no). So it apears that some think/know that it matters.

Now my next question is could I of done a compleate exchange with Toyota pink?
 
Originally Posted By: VicMatson
Originally Posted By: Big Jim
That technician is uninformed or confused.
Please, how so What part(s)of his explanation is wrong?

Has anyone had "Toyota Red" coolant tested and compared the results to the green stuff?


The Japanese generally don't like silicates so they rely on phosphates. The Europeans generally don't like phosphates (doesn't react well to their generally available hard water).

Believing that there is no such thing as "long life" coolant is truly a matter of having his head in the sand.

All factory fill automotive coolant is nearly all ethylene gylcol. By itself, it is nasty stuff and attacks metals. An additive pack is needed to tame it. The older additive packs didn't last all that long and you were in danger of a toxic brew attacking your cooling system if you left it in too long. The newer additive packs (mostly based on OAT, organic acid technology) take much longer to break down, and hence the term "long life coolant".

Maybe your guy hasn't been around long enough to have seen the damage done by some of this old chemistry if it wasn't changed often enough.
 
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