ExtrmeLex

Hello Folks
Is there a DIY for coolant change. I’m approaching 100k miles! It exciting. Already did the trans service. Should I do the diff as well?

Thank
ExtrmeLex

richard203

iTrader: (1)

i did diff and tranny at 60k. im waiting for 100k for my coolant change.

drgrant

Does the coolant need to be charged ever? When I had my Camry I only ever changed it once, and that's only because my water pump failed slowly at 83K and it pissed it out on the road somewhere and I had to use green stuff until the pump was replaced, then from that point onward I used that fill that the dealer did from 83K to 260K with zero issues....

-Mike

2GR

Diff Fluid change is pretty straight forward and worth doing.

I was hoping DIYDan would make a coolant video. Would like to know if there's a trick to burping out all the air from the system.

thallium

It's very easy if you get a Lisle coolant funnel or similar. It comes with various attachments for different radiator caps. The funnel fits into the radiator cap adapter and there's also a plug so if you've overfilled you can plug the funnel and remove it without spilling coolant all over the car. When refilling you just keep adding coolant into the funnel and it will burp itself and you won't slosh coolant all over the place.

I did a more involved coolant drain on a V6 Camry including draining both engine block banks and it was kind of a hassle and probably not necessary.

Recommended change interval in my 2013 GS350 RWD manual is 100,000 miles. I wouldn't feel the need to do anything before then.

I have not done this on my GS yet, but have on a Camry which is very similar.

Steps (be sure engine is cool):

1. Raise the front end on ramps or jack stands
2. Remove the lower splash guard to get access to the radiator petcock valve on the bottom of the radiator. You might also be able to access it from the oil filter hatch if I remember right.
3. If you want it to be less messy you can attach a section of hose to the drain nipple about 3/8" ID I think. Also, I think there is a hole in the splash guard for it to drain through where the hose will fit also.
4. Open the petcock valve and drain into a pan.
5. Remove the radiator cap and let the radiator drain completeley. About a gallon will come out.
6. Remove the overflow reservoir and discard the fluid. Note: If there is any sediment in there, rinse with distilled water and let dry. My Camry reservoir appeared to have sediment from the hoses.
7. Squeeze on the upper and lower radiator hoses to get a little more coolant out and you might also want to lower the front and raise the rear end which might get you some additional coolant out. You can also assess the condition of the hoses when doing this.
8. After draining, close the petcock valve, replace the reservoir and fill partially with some coolant to the low or cold level. I don't know if this is necessary yet but my thinking is that it will prevent the radiator from sucking up air after you've bled it.
9. Place your funnel attachment on the radiator and then the funnel.
10. Fill the radiator with coolant until it comes up into the funnel. Squeeze the hoses again to displace any air.
11. Start the car. Turn the heat all the way up and and let the car idle
12. Continue to add coolant as the car warms up and sucks it in while coolant is flowing throughout the engine, radiator and heater core. You should see burps and bubbles in the funnel and eventually hot air should be blowing out of the vents.
13. When you don't see any more bubbles after a while you're done. Should only take maybe 10-15 minutes.
14. Turn the car off.
15. If there is coolant up in the funnel, plug it and remove the funnel, the adapter and replace the radiator cap.
16. Fill the reservoir to the hot level.
17. Remove jack stands and lower the car.
18. After driving the car several times, check the reservoir level each time. If there was still air in the system it might work it's way out and suck up coolant so you might need to add to the reservoir.

Advice I've gotten from others is that the easiest thing to do is simply drain the radiator each time you do an oil change. I show that the GS coolant capacity is 10.3 qts or just over 2.5 gallons. You might be able to get out 1.5 gallons with this method so replacing over half the coolant. For simplicity, say it's half. After one drain you'd have:

• 1st drain: 50% new
• 2nd drain: 75% new
• 3rd drain: 87.5% new
• 4th drain 93.75% new
• 5th drain 96.875% new
• 6th drain: 98.44% new

If you're changing the oil every 10k miles then after the 6th drain you'd have 98.44% new coolant and just keep doing this as I think the 2nd coolant change is recommended at another 50k miles or 150,000 miles.

Or, you can just do several drain and fills over the course of a weekend or several weeks if you want but if you do this when you do an oil change most of the "hard" part of jacking up etc is shared between the two jobs.

2GR

I agree with the Lisle Funnel, it's a handy tool.
I usually drain/fill the coolant every 5/6 yrs, just to keep it fresh.

JeffKeryk

When using the Lisle radiator funnel, keep the coolant level low in funnel. Less messy this way.
But do not allow the level to drop below the top of the radiator neck.

thallium

Yes I agree with this. However, if you end up leaving too much in the funnel and the radiator won't take any more you can plug it and then fill your overflow reservoir with the remainder.

GSRockstar

i JUST did this myself, my car was in for service to get the cooling fan replaced, it sat at the dealership for 4 weeks and didnt get fixed so i picked the car up and told them id return it when the part came in. drove home and the car started overheating. they drained out about a gallon of coolant .

anyways i filled it back up with the car on a slant in the driveway, front end higher than rear, fillled up the reservoir to full and the radiator then put some in the funnel and ran the car with the heat maxed out until the upper and lower radiator hoses were both hot, that way you know the coolant has been circulating and you got all the air out, there was quite a bit, took more like 30 mins. just keep watching for bubbles and keep feeling and squeezing the hoses

ExtrmeLex

But my 2013 GS 350 Fsport does not have a radiator cap. Am I going nuts?

GSRockstar

brother its on the thermostat housing thingy

svrider20

Great contribution, just a small clarification on your "new" percentages. In between your oil changes the coolant 'ages' so it's not like it'll be nearly completely new after 6 oil changes. At your 10K oil change interval, that's 60K miles on the coolant since the first 50% new swap. I'm not going to take the time to do the math...I understand the point you're making. Short version: yup, it'll be fresher coolant and the precision of % is really not that big of a deal. We'll, a big enough deal to upset my OCD, but not a deal breaker.

peasodos

iTrader: (1)

Coolant change is relatively pointless on modern cars. I've had a car with over 200k miles and never had a coolant change. The actual benefit to a coolant change is so marginal it doesn't matter. On my 2013 450h the recommended coolant change is 150k miles.

GSRockstar

did you measure the acidity of the coolant or by what metric did you decide it was useless?

peasodos

iTrader: (1)

Fact that we drive a car 232k over 13 years on the original coolant and had no issues at all, with engine temps where they need to be. All I'm saying is there was no need to change the coolant and changing it would have very marginal difference in the real world.