Hi, everyone this'll be my first post so thanks for all the great info so far! Just recently bought a 2002 LS430 220k from a family friend. When I had a mechanic check it out they said couldn't see any coolant in the radiator so I brought some from home to fill it before I drove it off. Later I realized I'd mixed universal coolant that day not realizing the car needed toyota red or pink. I figured I might as well try to drain and refill the coolant as I start to get the maintenance done on this vehicle. I found the pdf from the repair manual and tried to go ahead and get it done myself in my garage. Draining the radiator was easy enough but once I tried to find the petcocks on the engine block I was completely lost. I've searched a bit and couldn't find much more info than that pdf I'd mentioned. So now I come here to beg anyone for a better description of the coolant petcocks on that engine block or even pictures if anyone is willing to help me out. Also I ended up filling the radiator with full strength red once I'd given up finding the engine petcocks, only remembering to add water towards the end. Anyone know how I'm supposed to test the coolant mixture? Thanks in advance for any help!

 

Sorry, can't help with the petcocks and I always skipped that on my Nissan, for an irrational fear of either breaking them or not being able to tighten down....

But with the coolant, I got my '06 with 81k and there was also zero coolant in the reservoir nor any to be seen in the radiator. Flash forward 17k no issues etc., also a water pump/timing belt job AFTER I had had Lexus do a drain/fill

Random thoughts:

What I have learned in my coolant journey was green is universal, red is the old Toyota, pink is the new sllc2, and orange is Dexcool which one is never supposed to use with non Dexcool motors.

Also, some Toyota techs themselves prefer red and changing every 2 years.

The best source I've found for pink is Walmart, with 50/50 being around $9 (Zerex). Toyota OE is about 3x the cost, also 50/50. Even personally, if red is $24/gal. and pink is $24/gal., pink is 2X as expensive. Although some old school folks prefer red, seems like pink Walmart is the most economical and longest lasting.

Last note...I took mine to Lexus who charged me $129, and the paperwork says "drain/fill...."

edit: pink is 2X as much @ $24 because it only comes in 50/50. I thought that somehow in Canada pink is 65/35, but I have never confirmed that. Even though we wouldn't need below -34F, I would use 65/35 if available, and I even mixed my Nissan with green to that number. After 70% antifreeze, anti freeze properties get worse, anti boil would get better, but it would be self defeating to go beyond 70%, so I do like 65% (71 is worse than 70, so why get so close and end up over 70...)

 

Petcocks are pretty far back on the engine block. Might even have to remove the cover over the rear engine/transmission.

I know that someone has posted a picture of the petcock in another thread but I don't have time to search for that right now. I do know that you would have drained >90% of the coolant in your system once you drain the radiator and both petcocks...

 

sounds like you got a mix of stuff in that cooling system at this point. If it were me, I'd be draining the whole thing and starting over. The petcocks are not that hard to see or get to, but you do have to remove the plastic engine undercover. Used a regular 10 or 12 mm wrench to loosen and tighten them, probably around 15 ft lbs, not very tight at all. I disagree that 90% of the coolant is in the radiator, it took quite a while to drain out of the petcocks, at least a quart out of each IIRC. Used just regular old toyota pink, the 50/50 stuff to refill.

 

If you don't want to wiggle under or back in the engine the alternate method is to keep diluting it till it runs clear. Fill with distilled water let run, drain, etc. The ideal ratio is 50-50 and with the unmixed Toyota red you can bias towards more coolant to compensate. The pink being pre mixed will be slightly off ratio with the water back in the deeper passages of the engine. I don't know what amount of remaining fluid is left to come up with a ratio. Ideally keeping as close to 50-50 is desired and the Toyota red would be my suggestion. The next drain with the premixed pink you'll be fine.

Although one can do extended intervals on the coolant, good practice is to check the thermostat every 30K/2 years. This was in discussion with the LS400 but applicable to thermostats in general when left for extended intervals:
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...hermostat.html

 

So do I. Now if that is what you thought I wrote I suggest you go back and read it again...

 

Here is the link to the thread that I read last year that described where the drain plugs were...

 

Thanks for all the info! Let's see if I'm able to make the time and find the courage to give it another go. Really wish I could find pictures though, the pdf drawing didn't help me very much

 

Here is a picture of the drain plug on the passenger-side. There is another drain plug on the drive-side at the same location. Just look in between the exhaust manifold and the motor mount on the engine block. You should be able to access them with the front wheels removed.



Here's another picture. The drain plug is right next to the front O2 sensor.

 

70/30 is the maximum coolant to water ratio, there's nothing wrong with more than 50/50, but since 70.1 is worse than 70.0 or 69.9, I usually stop at 65%. With the Toyota pink being sold only as 50/50, I have no choice. You're always going to increase your antiboil properties with a greater concentration, even at 100%. However, your antifreeze property declines at 70.1%....my .02

edit just looked at the chart, and from a practical sense, antiboil only goes from 265F to 276F when one goes from 50/50 to 70/30, but antifreeze from -34F to -84F, so it's really the antifreeze protection one is looking for when exceeding 50/50. Most parts of N America are ok with 50/50. I just helped my neighbor put antifreeze into his outside pipes (his idea) and totally forgot to tell him his 100% mixture won't protect as well as 50/50 would...just texted him the chart, looks like 100% antifreeze may freeze at 14F. What is odd is how different charts are slightly different? Also, we're in a society now where most of the charts show cooling capacity and how many quarts to add to get to what temp, as if nobody can relate to % or concentration anymore? Buddy says HS has changed since we were there, we were doing this bs in 9th grade...but I remembered the 70% ratio so I guess Mr. Aldrich did his job.

 

Yes. Many of us unless at the extreme ranges won't have issues with ratio deviations. There is a good tolerance level to work within.

 

When they do a Timing belt/water pump, do you think they drain the whole motor and radiator or just radiator? My timing belt was done about 40k and I'm thinking it's time to change the fluid but was thinking that I might just drain the radiator only along with a new radiator cap. I'm also assuming to drain the radiator the underbody cover will have to be removed as well?

Looks like Walmart has some Preston pink 50/50 for Toyota for $7 a gallon.

 

pet peeve, I think they merely do a drain and fill. Unless the word "FLUSH" appears on the paperwork. I know the time I took the LS to the Lexus dealership the invoice says drain/fill. Same with my wife's GM vehicle. BMW, it explicitly states "flush all coolant." I will say this, the Lexus and GM cost less, whereas the BMW was $149. The thing that kills me? All 3 vehicles show 2 gal. of coolant at roughly $25 gal. (BMW price includes that). I am not so sure 2 gal. is used in a drain/fill. We can get into 50/50 or 100% and part numbers....BMW is 100%. Lexus is 50%. GM I am not sure would have to look....shady!

 

Probably safe to assume the only coolant replaced during the TB service is that which escaped removing the water pump and rad.
Draining the radiator is very easy as there is a short hose attached to the petcock on the bottom. The undercover has a hole specifically for this hose to poke through. There's no guarantee everything is still in place so if you can't find it from below reach down from above and position the hose properly in the hole.
This pic shows the radiator petcock with the undercover removed...

 

Nothing wrong with a drain and fill. You don't need to flush the system unless you vastly exceeded the time and mileage interval. If you do regular drain and fills per your maintenance schedule, and you use genuine Toyota red or pink, then a flush is pointless and a waste of coolant and money. With Toyota Pink Super Long Life Coolant, doing a drain and fill every 5 years or every 100k miles should be fine. Just use the Toyota pink pre-diluted SLLC and call it a day. Or mix Toyota red LLC 50/50. You'll need 9.5-10.0L total to fill the radiator, engine, and overflow reservoir to the MAX line. Note the overflow reservoir goes down over time naturally.

There are arguments on the Internet about how the formulation of the red is technically superior, but Toyota TSBs have clearly stated you can mix red and pink with no adverse effects, and that pink is the standard now and made for longest life.

Coolant ages over both time and mileage, the 2002 Lexus spec says to replace it every 24 months or 24,000km (this was for red, before pink was the standard). See http://www.motorweek.org/features/go.../coolant-check for how to test your coolant (pH test strips, specific gravity, and voltage comparison of the same formulation new vs used). See https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forum...esting_engine_ for limitations of the voltage check method.

Three 4L jugs of Toyota pink coolant is $60 CAD, and it is real simple to do a drain and fill (2 petcocks on engine block, 1 on radiator). You need to set your heat on maximum beforehand to ensure you open the valve to the heater core. You also need to take off the plastic underbody shielding to get to the engine block petcocks. I believe the radiator one has a hole you can get your hand up into, but if you want to do it with the wheels still on the ground, you can undo just enough of the front left bolts on the underbody shield to get to the drain spout - you don't need to remove the entire shield (I do this every 8000km for my oil+filter changes).

Don't bother trying to save a few dollars by using a non-Toyota coolant. Just read the Internet to see your exposure to potential problems. Save dollars by testing your coolant and changing when the anti-rust agents have expired. There are significantly fewer problems (i.e. none) when using Toyota red or pink.