Does anyone here use the Toyota Red Concentrate coolant (00272-1LLAC-01) instead of the pink stuff (50/50 mix) - 00272-SLLC2. My coolant levels are stable and planning on a preventative drain and fill through the Radiator drain. Toyota Parts guys really recommends the pink stuff from my 2007 LS460. Conflicting messages on all the forums and would appreciate your guidance.

 

The internet is littered with debates and misinformation on red vs pink. The bottom line is that it should be a HOAT (Hybrid Organic Acid Technology) coolant, which is said to be a combination of OAT (Organic Acid Technology) and IAT (Inorganic Acid Technology). Supposedly, HOAT has additives to increase aluminum protection as many newer vehicles have more aluminum parts/radiator than older vehicles.

A few years ago, we purchased some concentrated pink coolant to flush/fill/top-off the 5 Lexus (and a 2015 Camry with over 200k miles) vehicles in our family. Obviously, the concentrated form is more economical when a large quantity is required. We did not go with Toyota pink because we could not find concentrated available, so after some research and talks with local friends/users, we went with this: OEM Extended Life PINK Antifreeze/Coolant - Recochem

Manufacturers may utilize different colors for the various coolants, and I do not believe there is an "industry standard". So I would be sure to read the label and make sure you get what is recommended for our cars.

 

I go to O'Reilly's and buy the pink stuff. ¯\_ (ツ)_/¯

 

HOAT. If it's concentrated use distilled water to dilute. Also use distilled water if you are cleaning out the system. Never tap water.

 

Use Pentosin pentofrost A4 premixed if you want the best, that what I use in mine and other cars since it is designed for being used as a replacement. They spec it to perfectly match stock when added to an older car

 

Car came with Super Long Life. Using Pentofrost may be fine or maybe not, unless it has been in use for 10 years and then tested no one can say it is as good as the proven coolant from Toyota.

 

Its superior, they blend it to compensate for an old system. Initial testing of pentosin has shown it to have more additives than anyone else and it's OE for a hell of a lot of brands with heavy demands placed on the coolant.

 

How do more "additives" compensate for older cooling systems? What additives? The job of coolant is to be inert.

 

Anti corrosion, anti scale, seal lube and anode. All needed to prevent electrical erosion, aluminum corrosion, seal failure, and buildup.

Coolant isn't just there to be inert, it provides many other critical functions that is dependent on brand/parts/seals present. If inert was all that was needed you could just use whatever, more additives are used to compensate for you not power washing all the disassembled parts to remove any/all buildup and anything left over in the system. You know since older systems gave buildup and degrade and all that? That's why coolant intervals change even in the factory manual after the first change. They know this and bake it into their non-OE fill, that's why I use them for any high end cars and my own cars.

For whatever type cars and people who really don't have money I use generic peak brand stuff that matches their car. It's good enough

 

Is anyone aware if changing coolant at a high frequency will delay the valley leak? Or any other measures?

 

Outside of heat transfer that is the most critical aspect. Zero reaction to anything it is in contact with means nothing breaks down*. That's why the generic stuff is so harmful it reacts with everything, those materials end up being mixed with the coolant creating a complex chemical reaction. Some may say, just use distilled water because it is pure this is the worst thing because it is highly ionic. This is why you should not drink distilled water for any length of time it sucks minerals out of your body. I'm not apposed to other coolants besides Toyota but I have no reason to switch. I know their coolant is excellent, it even works incredibly well in 70's Toyota's no more radiator and water pump issues.

On LL vs SLL some say the older stuff slows down gasket degradation in trouble prone engines. I can't verify this.

*there is a limit to this of course, everything breaks down eventually.

 

Okay all you did was agree with me in a roundabout way. Coolant isn't inert or it wouldn't perform its functions, you just admitted that's why universal is not ideal. Like I explained it has a variety of jobs to perform and that's why it needs to be application specific.

That's why I said to use Pentosin, it's better than anything else unlike factory Toyota that is made by Zerex for US dealers. It's totally fine sure but it's not as good

Changing the coolant won't effect the valley plate failure issue in a negative way, it can only help try and prevent an acidity issue that can attack the factory bead. The real problem is the factory sealant is not applied correctly

 

Looks like we do basically agree, yes.
AFAIK there is no confirmation on who makes coolant for Toyota. What matters is the coolant itself, what Zerex sells OTC is not necessarily the same as what Toyota sells. This is a very common mistake people make when seeing OEM brands they assume same brand means same quality part. Parts are made to a certain demand/spec.
Some claim Pink eats away at RTV more than Red.

 

There are regional differences, Zerex is who makes it for us stateside. Unless you buy from overseas it's them, spec is fine and all that but spec is formulated around a new fill/new car.

That's literally why the factory maintenance guide says 10/100k for the first and reduced interval after that, they know what the spec is and they also know how the system will age and that's why the shorten the 2nd and all following services. Pentosin makes two distinctly different coolants in each type, one for new cars and one for servicing post initial build.

The Germans do this with a lot of their parts/fluids, they also don't hide who makes what unlike the japs do. However if you do some digging you can figure them out as well

 

You just think everything squarehead is better. No repair at a dealership involving fipg is allowed to fully cure ever, Independent shops and factory builds are probably the same. Its just not practical to have vehicles sitting waiting to cure before adding fluid or oil.