ES 350 coolant flush didn't go as expected

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Today I decided the flush my 2011 ES 350, 58K miles and replace it with fresh Asian red from Walmart. Here is what I did:

1. Drained the coolant by opening the valve under the radiator.
2. While draining I started the engine with heat on full blast till the radiator fan kicked in.
3. It was blowing cool air although the temp was set to 85/high.
3. It took a while but was able to drain the whole thing.
4. Flushed it with 2 gallons of distilled water using step 2

5. I started filling with fresh coolant- again using step 2. It took forever. At this point
I suspect air in the system. I located and unscrewed the bleed off valve just enough for air to escape.
6. I was able to fill it with just 1 gallon- the car requires 2.37 gallons.
7. I let it sit for a while and tried to refill with no luck. I could see fluid/air coming out of the bleed off valve.
Note: I heard an intermittent squeaking sound while i had the engine on filling with fresh coolant. The noise subsequently vanished

I took the car for a spin and the temp gauge was in its usual position- almost center. Everything looks normal, the AC heat was behaving accordingly.

What am I doing wrong? Is there something I am missing?
Thanks.
 
You probably should have removed the thermostat which would have made the draining easier.

Not sure where your thermostat is located. Did you get the full capacity added after the initial drain and fill?
 
Don't know where the thermostat is as well. Does anybody know? A schematic or drawing would help.
Did not get the full capacity added.
 
You can follow the radiator hoses to find the thermostat. More often than not the thermostat is where the upper radiator hose meets the engine block. The lower radiator hose typically feeds the water pump since gravity works in our favor.

A trick for bleeding the air from a coolant system is to jack the car up so that the overflow tank is the highest point in the system. Once it is jacked up you can lightly rev the engine to spin the water pump to push the bubble out.
 
Originally Posted By: HampsHump
Today I decided the flush my 2011 ES 350, 58K miles and replace it with fresh Asian red from Walmart. Here is what I did:

1. Drained the coolant by opening the valve under the radiator.
2. While draining I started the engine with heat on full blast till the radiator fan kicked in.
3. It was blowing cool air although the temp was set to 85/high.
3. It took a while but was able to drain the whole thing.
4. Flushed it with 2 gallons of distilled water using step 2

5. I started filling with fresh coolant- again using step 2. It took forever. At this point
I suspect air in the system. I located and unscrewed the bleed off valve just enough for air to escape.
6. I was able to fill it with just 1 gallon- the car requires 2.37 gallons.
7. I let it sit for a while and tried to refill with no luck. I could see fluid/air coming out of the bleed off valve.
Note: I heard an intermittent squeaking sound while i had the engine on filling with fresh coolant. The noise subsequently vanished

I took the car for a spin and the temp gauge was in its usual position- almost center. Everything looks normal, the AC heat was behaving accordingly.

What am I doing wrong? Is there something I am missing?
Thanks.


I’m not sure why you started your engine while draining your radiator. Never heard of that. Fill me in.
 
Yeah I've never heard of draining or filling with the engine running, this does not sound like a good idea to me. Was the coolant that you put in a pre-mix? It's difficult to get all the coolant out through the radiator drain so there was probably some water left in the engine.
 
Originally Posted By: JamesBond
Yeah I've never heard of draining or filling with the engine running, this does not sound like a good idea to me. Was the coolant that you put in a pre-mix? It's difficult to get all the coolant out through the radiator drain so there was probably some water left in the engine.


Sure don't sound good for the WP seal.
 
Originally Posted By: HampsHump
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2. While draining I started the engine with heat on full blast till the radiator fan kicked in.

What am I doing wrong? Is there something I am missing?


So when you say it didn't go as expected, you mean you didn't succeed in wrecking your engine, as would be expected by draining it when running?

Can't win them all. Sometimes they are harder to kill than you'd think.

For example, my Lada suffered total coolant loss due to a water pump failure (my fault) but apparently survived my gf limping it off the motorway and parking it up, completely undamaged.

Assuming you dodged that bullet, you then "took it for a spin" knowing it was more than half empty, and apparently you dodged that bullet too.

Have you considered taking up Russian Roulette on a professional basis, Deer Hunter stylee?

You've apparently got air in it. You'll have to try and "burp" it out by squeezing the lower hose suddenly (or do a vacuum fill, as suggested, but I dunno about them). You might try the funnel in the radiator cap trick, but don't run it for very long more than half empty and don't go for any blasts down the freeway, unless you're still feeling lucky.



I THINK I had stubborn air bubbles in my car, some of which I got out with the funnel trick, but some remained, making me think I had a bad head gasket.

Or I had a bad head gasket, but it seems to have got better so it was probably bubbles.

EDIT : You get big syringe-style things here that are designed for unblocking drains. I might try one of those as a "burper" next time, though there is probably something better built for the job available in the US.
 
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http://carspecmn.com/toyota-and-lexus-3-5l-v6-2gr-fe-coolant-bleeding-trick/

I usually vacuum fill these, but there is a bleed screw.

Don’t mess with the t-stat, it is a pain to reach on these cars. I replace the t-start when I sell a WP.

Not sure why you are replacing the coolant. I never recommend coolant before 100k, never seen the benefit of early coolant changes on the newer Asian products with blue or pink coolant.
 
After owning several Toyota/Lexus vehicles, I never flushed the cooling systems. I ONLY drain & refilled the cooling system with either Toyota RED or PGL. I have also read and understood that Toyota doesn't recommend full flushing as it MAY trap air.
 
I did a coolant change on a matrix at 100k miles, and it took like 90 minutes of idling with the radiator cap off to get all the air out of the system.

I would not mess with another toyota unless I had an air powered bleed tool.

You drained the coolant with the engine running? Wowzers, no worries about killing the engine?
 
Originally Posted By: JustinH
I did a coolant change on a matrix at 100k miles, and it took like 90 minutes of idling with the radiator cap off to get all the air out of the system.

I would not mess with another toyota unless I had an air powered bleed tool.

You drained the coolant with the engine running? Wowzers, no worries about killing the engine?


The exact reason why Toyota/Lexus only requires a drain and refill of the radiator.
 
Originally Posted By: JustinH
I did a coolant change on a matrix at 100k miles, and it took like 90 minutes of idling with the radiator cap off to get all the air out of the system.

I would not mess with another toyota unless I had an air powered bleed tool.

You drained the coolant with the engine running? Wowzers, no worries about killing the engine?


That's bad all the way round, WP bearings and seals don't get cooled (that was probably the noise) cylinder heads get hot and the worst part is if the coolant temp sensor is in the radiator it never shows got even though the engine is hotter than a pistol.
Vacuum filling is the only real quick and easiest way unless you want to start pulling hoses and housings trying to back feed the system.
 
If there’s two things Toyotas hate, it’s running low on oil or coolant even for a few minutes. While I never had a problem with a Sienna and LS400 filling the cooling system via the factory-provided fill point, a vacuum filler like an AirLift is recommended as Trav says.

I have one for the parent’s old Nissan but it’s a invaluable tool for a Prius where it’s imperative to have no air in the cooling loops or you risk expensive repairs.
 
Just did a drain and refill of coolant for my Sienna this weekend. At first there was no heat coming out after the refill. Then I read online that I should run the car with the radiator cap off and with the heat in full blast. That worked. It still took a LONG time to get all the air out, maybe 20 mins ? I can tell the air is burping out by looking at the open radiator hole. I kept refilling slowly and more and more air would burp. Heat first started getting hot in the back and only the upper vents, then slowly full heat was felt with the rest of the vents. I did squeeze the upper rad hose to speed things up. Check the coolant reservior the next and topped it off to the full line. Maybe next time I will raise the front of the vehicle to hasten the air bleeding.
 
You didn't drain the block like Yah-Tah-Hey mentioned above.

I never flush my Toyota's. Just drain and refill. IF you flush with distilled water some will stay in the system and when you add the premixed coolant you have just diluted what was a 50/50 mix. You may end up with 40% coolant and 60% water.
 
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Originally Posted By: Gebo
You didn't drain the block like Yah-Tah-Hey mentioned above.

I never flush my Toyota's. Just drain and refill. IF you flush with distilled water some will stay in the system and when you add the premixed coolant you have just diluted what was a 50/50 mix. You may end up with 40% coolant and 60% water.
On my 04 Camry V6, opening the block drains and radiator drain will get 98%+ of coolant. I flushed my V6 with distilled water and replaced with Zerex Asian Vehicle coolant which is 50/50. Coolant tester still showed a -34F freeze point. Wasn't enough distilled water left behind to change the tester reading. -34F
 
Originally Posted By: Yah-Tah-Hey
On my 04 Camry V6, opening the block drains and radiator drain will get 98%+ of coolant. I flushed my V6 with distilled water and replaced with Zerex Asian Vehicle coolant which is 50/50. Coolant tester still showed a -34F freeze point. Wasn't enough distilled water left behind to change the tester reading. -34F

On most Toyotas, cracking open the block drains and the radiator drain will get most of the coolant out. Exceptions to the rule are SUVs and vans with rear heaters, and the 1st-2nd gen Prius that uses a thermos to store warmed coolant.
 
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