joeyfett

Looks like its time for a drain and fill!

After reading countless threads I couldnt seem to find a definite answer on what coolant to use. Red or pink? Seems like everybody has opinions on which to use

burny

do pink, long lasting. Red is just 30k I believe

Kyle Harty

iTrader: (17)

I'm using Zerex Asian vehicle coolant, seemed to be the best option short of buying from Toyota/Lexus when I researched.

joeyfett

Is it ok to switch from red to pink?

lyonkster

Yeah, you can use either. But if your car is one of the older ones, designed for red coolant (30K change interval), you will still have to use that interval even if you put in the pink coolant. In other words, it's not the coolant color that determines the change interval, it's the car it's going into.

From Toyota:

So you can use either coolant, but stick with the 30K interval. As for using Zerex, I am not too familiar with it, but personally I spend the extra few bucks and use the Toyota brand coolant.

islexusred

Definitely go with the Red! Its specially designed for our cars at that time and period. just did mine a week ago, i got the none premixed one ( $30 ) at the local stealer and 6 gallons of distilled water ( $7 ) from Wally. Flashed it with the water and topped it off with the coolant. took me bout 2 hours more or less.

joeyfett

How many gallons of water and coolant do I need of each to do a drain and fill?

ttaylor993

If I am not mistaken, the red and the pink are basically the same. The red is the undiluted, 100% coolant and the pink is the 50/50 mixture. They both are free of silicates (which is why you can't mix them with some of the greens). Two gallons should fill it up; one gallon of red and a gallon of distilled water or two gallons of pink. I just changed the timing belt on my car, had to take out the radiator. It took two gallons to refill it (after burping).

lyonkster

It's a bit more subtle than that. The red coolant is full strength, as you said, so it needs to be diluted 50/50 with distilled water. And the pink is already diluted 50/50 and should not be diluted further.

But as I said earlier, the red is rated for 30K intervals, and the pink is rated for 100K intervals (in post 2002 cars), so they are not the same. But if you use them in a pre 2002 cars, then either one can be used and replaced every 30K .

When I did my last drain and refill, including the block and the reservoir, I used a total of 10 qts on my GS430, so a bit more than 1 gal of coolant.

repugnante

This is what I don't understand. Post 2002 cars? The 2001 & 2002-2005 GS engines are the same. Same water pump, t-stat, radiator/hoses and coolant temp sensor. What makes the 2001 models any different to using the pink than the 02+ year models?

islexusred

Just run straight distilled water(fill and drain) till clear water comes out. It's gonna take at least 4 or 5 run for the old coolant to completely come out! Then when you see clear water coming out, drain the radiator one last time and fill it up with only coolant. Don't forget to top off the overflow container(half water half coolant) til the full mark. Take the car for a short run and top off as needed. Just make sure the car is on a leveled ground with heater on high

burny

Yo Einstein, 10 quarts = 2.5 Gallons

lyonkster

Thanks for the insult bud, but per my calcs, 10 qts = 2.5 gal = 1.25 gal coolant + 1.25 gal water. And if I recall, 1.25 gal coolant > 1 gal, hence my comment that it's slightly more than 1 gallon of coolant.