flushing coolant.

[h3ctic]

gday guys,

im jus looking to flush out the coolant and refill it. just want to make sure im on the right track with this.

widebody cam

theres a drain plug on the radiator and the engine block. pull out both. let it drain. (do i need to flush out further with water?) plug it back up and refill with toyota long life coolant.

is that abt right?

how much is that coolant btw? where else can i buy it other than at peter warren?

[redracer]

I believe the owners manual has the steps to change the coolant and also the amount needed....I used the red nulon 50/50 mix which I got from supercheap and I'm more than happy with it..From memory it's like 60 dollars all up for coolant also leaving quite a bit remaining.on another note I believe you should turn the heater inside the car To full heat before draining to also flush the coolant out of the heater core...someone correct me if I'm wrong...and I'd also fill it with water once drained to give it a further clean out.

[h3ctic]

the heater part, do i need to actually turn the heater on (ie with engine running)? or do i jus need to flip the temp to heat? and that'll do...

[David the Viking]

Turn the dial to heat when you drain it so the heater core will empty properly. If it has not had the coolant changed for a long time and comes out looking a muddy/rusty colour I would suggest filling with tap water and take it for a drive to get it hot (leaving the dial on heat) then let it cool down and drain again. This will help give it a flush and remove most of the left over coolant. Then refill with the new coolant and it should be all good again.

The heater is like a little radiator and sometimes an air lock can form in side, that is why you need the heater on refilling so the valve (usually near the firewall in the engine bay) is open. I turn the fan on as well that way if I can feel the heat from the vents I know coolant is flowing through the heater core.

Remember to check your coolant level after it has been taken for a drive and cooled down as it may need a top up.

[h3ctic]

also,

how do you guys dispose of your coolant?

[David the Viking]

Some local council refuse/waste stations will take it if in a suitable container.

[Rolla Boy]

Best way to flush your cooling system is to turn to dial to heat and make sure the heater tap is open...

Remove the coolant hose off the heater tap and reverse flush the system using your garden hose and fresh water... Turn on the tap and you'll see the red or green coolant start rushing out of the heater tap... Once the colour is gone and it's just water turn the tap off and open the drain plugs on the radiator and block...

Once drained, tighten plugs and fill with coolant...

Remove radiator cap and run engine till engine gets hot and fan comes on...

Turn engine off, let engine cool down, top up coolant and refit cap :)

[Whip Cracker]

First thing to remember as well:

Allow ALL the bubbles to stop before you put the cap back on. Last thing you need is an airlock. You could be there for a few minutes through to 1/2 an hour or longer!

[h3ctic]

serious?

everyone here hu's flushed their coolant has sat around for 3o mins watchin grass grow until no more bubbles?

[Rolla Boy]

I've made myself a bottle with a hose (Not a bong LOL) to sit inside the top of the radiator to get the coolant higher than the heater tap so all the air bubbles rise to the top and not to get any air locks...

But thats why flushing the cooling system the way I explained is best, very rarely get any locks and with my bottle contraption they always come out without any issues...

Run the car till the cooling fans come on and till the air bubbles stop... Then you know it's all good...

[Agent001]

hi guys,

i've got a camry sv21 which has been in our family since new. 6 months ago, the car overheated, so i took it to a radiator specialist who took out the radiator, cleaned it, cleared an 80% blockage (thats what they told me), and then put new coolant in, which is tectaloy extra cool gold. 3 months ago, i bought new coolant, the same one, topped up the radiator because it was over heating a bit. i estimated i put about 1 litre of coolant in. yesterday, i drove it, it over heated again and was stuck in peak hour traffic, so i had to turn the engine off when the car wasnt moving. so it was on/off for about 20 min until i got to a carpark. anyhow, today, i topped it up again with another 1.5 litres of coolant.

so my question is, in 6 months, it seems that a car would chew through 2.5 litres of coolant. that seems a bit high. in your experience, do you think that is high too. what could be the reason for this eg a leak somewhere

none of our other 3 cars have to be topped up with coolant that often, yet alone that much.

i'm planning a 550km round trip to the coast soon. was wondering if it is ok to drive the car that distance or will the engine blow or something.

i tried it just over 6 months ago, car overheated, hence turned back home after 30km into the trip and it went to the radiator specialist. did the 550km round trip during easter. no problems at all. car stayed cooled the whole time.

ur views appreciated.

cheers

[STYLSH]

umm are there ever any coolant under the car after its been sitting there running or overnight. Thats a lot of coolant. I dont think I needed to top my coolant for like 2 years!

[Agent001]

umm are there ever any coolant under the car after its been sitting there running or overnight. Thats a lot of coolant. I dont think I needed to top my coolant for like 2 years!

thanks mate, i checked underneath the car, there doesnt appear to be any coolant or any other leaks. drove it around today. temp remained between 1/4 to 1/2 (warm), so its keeping its cool

[Hiro]

I've made myself a bottle with a hose (Not a bong LOL) to sit inside the top of the radiator to get the coolant higher than the heater tap so all the air bubbles rise to the top and not to get any air locks...

But thats why flushing the cooling system the way I explained is best, very rarely get any locks and with my bottle contraption they always come out without any issues...

Run the car till the cooling fans come on and till the air bubbles stop... Then you know it's all good...

I do the same thing with a sliced-open Mt Franklin bottle and a crapload of duct-tape...

[Rolla Boy]

Agent001, take your car back to the radiator place and find out where your coolant is going...

Gotta be leaking out somewhere...

[Agent001]

Agent001, take your car back to the radiator place and find out where your coolant is going...

Gotta be leaking out somewhere...

hi rollaboy

i took it back to the radiator place. they looked at it and found a leak in one of the hoses that is leaking on top of the gear box where there is residual coolant there. so all he did was get a screw driver and tighten the hose clamps. that was great. easy fix and no charge for it.

was getting concerned that i have blown a head gasket or something.

cheers

[Whip Cracker]

Mate, you'll know if you've blown the head gasket... you'd have either milky engine oil, bubbles consistently outta the neck of the radiator... white smoke out the back of the exhaust maybe... normally the gasket will either force the coolant into the engine oil or into the exhaust or something like that.

ALSO - make sure both the radiator tank cap and filler neck caps are WORKING! ahahaha... normally the rubber ring on the inside of the cap is worn out or the pressure release valve is not doin it's job anymore. I had to replace my filler cap recently when I found the engine coolant boiling over... found that there was barely any pressure from the cap and was surging back into the overflow resovoir. Replaced the coolant on Saturday, new cap... workin like a champ :P

[Agent001]

Mate, you'll know if you've blown the head gasket... you'd have either milky engine oil, bubbles consistently outta the neck of the radiator... white smoke out the back of the exhaust maybe... normally the gasket will either force the coolant into the engine oil or into the exhaust or something like that.

ALSO - make sure both the radiator tank cap and filler neck caps are WORKING! ahahaha... normally the rubber ring on the inside of the cap is worn out or the pressure release valve is not doin it's job anymore. I had to replace my filler cap recently when I found the engine coolant boiling over... found that there was barely any pressure from the cap and was surging back into the overflow resovoir. Replaced the coolant on Saturday, new cap... workin like a champ :P

fortunately i dont have milky engine oil, bubbles consistantky out of the next of the radiator and white smoke. thanks for pointing those symptons out so i know what what is wrong with my car if any of those things happend.

the radiator cap was replaced about 5 years ago, not sure if it is still ok, but the rubber rings seem fine (based on my untrained eye). when u say filler neck cap, is tthat the clear/white plastic container near the radiator, and is the white thing the overflow reservoir, . so i should replace the cap on that if the rubber rings are worn? cheers

[Whip Cracker]

Hey mate,

Depending on the engine you have will depend on where you have to fill the coolant up... who knows... might be the same as mine.

My filler cap was right next to the engine block, on the top... between the spark plugs and intake plenum, to the left... metal cap.

Having a proper seal on the caps are essential. All rad and filler caps can handle different amounts of pressure. For my 3VZ engine the rad tank uses a 1.1 compression and the filler is 1.0. Just so happens that the shop didn't have any 1.0s in stock so I got a 1.4 lol... stronger's better than weaker!

I'd also be checking that there's no leftover blocks from any residual grit caught up in the radiator. Drain all coolant, get a hose, chuck it in either the top or bottom of the radiator and see if anything bad comes out... should be clear water.

Fill up the cooling system a good 2-3 times with water, let the engine get to normal operating temps to allow the coolant to circulate... crank the heat up on the A/C for the heater core to open up... did it on mine 3 times and still had excess coolant :o hahaha

I'd hit up the Toyota Long Life Coolant with some distilled water... seems to be the best for the Cammas :)

[Agent001]

when my car over heated and i took it to the radiator workshop, they cleaned and filled it up with tectaloy extra cool gold. so when i came to top it up, i went and bought the same coolant, $20 for 1 litre. that coolant works great. the engine temp is alway a bit below the midpoint, sometimes when i drive on highways it sits at the midpoint between cold and warm, and sometimes stays close to cold. so it seems to keep the car pretty cool.

[prometheus]

My Camry is a 1996 , 2.2 L , once warmed up , the temperature would always sit right on the mid point on the guage.

Then overnignt , the temperature started creeping up to two thirds and even three quarters , even in Melbourne's current cold weather. So I knew something was not quite right. To guard against overheating I ran the heater full blast (which did help to bring the temp down) and booked it in with the nearest Toyota dealership ( I could not be bothered wasting time looking for someone else reputable)

As I expected , the thermostat was stuck closed , so they changed the thermostat and I aslo asked them to flush and replace the coolant , which they did.

The guy at Toyota said that my cars coolant was the green coloured coolant and that Toyota only used the red coloured coolant ( can anyone confirm this ? )

Anyway , the problem has been fixed and she is back on the road running ok.

[mbruce]

The guy at Toyota said that my cars coolant was the green coloured coolant and that Toyota only used the red coloured coolant ( can anyone confirm this ? )

Yes that’s correct, the genuine Toyota long life coolant is red.

[Whip Cracker]

Yeah, the Green stuff is useless... always run the Toyota LLC stuff, works a treat.

Make sure that the caps on the radiator and filler area are good too... get all the bubbles out and she'll be sweet.

[Agent001]

just another update since my camry overheated a month ago, it did it again whilst i was stuck at an intersection trying to cross 4 lanes of traffic. engine got close to hot, so i turned left instead and pulled into a quiet street. called RACQ roadside assist. came in 15 minutes which was quick.

he opened the radiator cap, and coz i kept a bottle of coolant in the boot of the car, he told me to fill it up. it drank 1.5 litres of coolant in 1 month. couldnt believe how low it fell considering it topped it up 1 month ago. never had the radiator ever drink that much. its been 8 months since i had the overheating begin and use to drink 1.5 litlres of coolant in 3 months.

so RACQ made a list of things that I should show a mechanic to check. they included check for leak, check water pump, check head gasket. so do u guys think i should take it to a radiator place and get them to diagnose the problem and provide me a quote? coz if i just ask them to find the problem they may charge me.

a mate of mine just told me to keep checking the radiator levels weekly and keep topping it up lately and it should be fine. should i just do this instead? or take it to a radiator place to have it checked out.

when i took it back to the radiator place last month, they found a leak and tightened the hose clamp. obviously now it lost 1.5 litres of coolant in a month, rather than 3 months, so its worse than b4.

other than the overheating problem which began 8 months ago, we have not had any other major problems with the car since we bought it new 20 years ago.

some ppl say it might be time to get a new car,but would hate to dispose of the car since we have had it for so long, and had been so well looked after, and the engine is still pretty smooth and quiet for a old car.

ur views apprciated,

cheers

[DJKOR]

If you're not confident checking all those yourself, I would highly suggest to get someone else to look at them for you ASAP.

Sure you could keep topping it up, but you aren't fixing the problem at all. It may eventually get so bad that it will do costly damage to your engine.