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Then topoff with OEM coolant. Once you mix long life with regular coolant you lose the long life properties and now your change intervals have changed.
Never saw a coolant for Toyota that was purple. BUT it should have Toyotas version of DexCool in it.
I had a BMW motorcycle that I changed the coolant on. BMW coolant was blue, I think it was ethylene glycol though. (but then BMW stands for Bring My Wallet)
Almost all antifreeze is primarily ethylene glycol, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's all compatible because there are important differences are in the anti-corrosion additives. You also can't rely on color because it's just dye, and there's no consistency between the additives and the colors. For example, old Toyota red antifreeze was very different from reddish GM Dexcool and was closer to conventional green. But some cars come with green that's a lot more like Dexcool but is actually a Ford antifreeze, and Valvoline makes it in both blue and red versions.
It's best to stick with the same kind of antifreeze because switching to a different type can dissolve deposits left in the cooling system and soon turn the coolant into mystery murkiness. Those deposits may not be removed even with a strong cleaning chemical meant to be left in the cooling system for hours. Also those chemicals can turn tiny leaks into big ones, and that can be a disaster if the water pump leaks, especially if it's driven by the timing belt or chain.
If you want correct information about antifreeze, contact their manufacturers, like Valvoline (Zerex) or Prestone.
Last edited by larrymoencurly; 04-14-2016 at 07:34 PM..
Almost all antifreeze is primarily ethylene glycol, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's all compatible because there are important differences are in the anti-corrosion additives. You also can't rely on color because it's just dye, and there's no consistency between the additives and the colors. For example, old Toyota red antifreeze was very different from reddish GM Dexcool and was closer to conventional green. But some cars come with green that's a lot more like Dexcool but is actually a Ford antifreeze, and Valvoline makes it in both blue and red versions.
It's best to stick with the same kind of antifreeze because switching to a different type can dissolve deposits left in the cooling system and soon turn the coolant into mystery murkiness. Those deposits may not be removed even with a strong cleaning chemical meant to be left in the cooling system for hours. Also those chemicals can turn tiny leaks into big ones, and that can be a disaster if the water pump leaks, especially if it's driven by the timing belt or chain.
If you want correct information about antifreeze, contact their manufacturers, like Valvoline (Zerex) or Prestone.
That article is 12 years old! A lot of things have changed since then. MOPAR went from HOAT to OAT in 2013. The OAT mentioned in the article is not the same OAT MOPAR uses today. And if you mix HOAT with OAT, you'll have a big gel mess to deal with. The best advice is to read the owner's manual and make sure you use the right stuff.
Zerex has different colors for the same antifreeze. FORDs yellow, is the same as MOPARS "pink" (That could be different now, I haven't kept up with it much in the last couple of years), John Deeres (Old formula) green, and one other that slips my mind at the moment, but its blue. All the same Zerex G05.
Zerex has different colors for the same antifreeze. FORDs yellow, is the same as MOPARS "pink" (That could be different now, I haven't kept up with it much in the last couple of years), John Deeres (Old formula) green, and one other that slips my mind at the moment, but its blue. All the same Zerex G05.
Yes, it's different. MOPAR OAT is purple and is not compatible with any aftermarket coolant at this time.
this pickup had the waterpump and timing belt changed at recommended 10year or 100k recently at toyota store and dealer maintained, just noticed that it could use a little topoff..
Man, I would top it off with just distilled water, or go to Toyota and buy a gallon of the dead-nuts correct coolant. You *can* get away with "universal fit" aftermarket coolant, (probably) but for relatively little trouble you can have the right stuff.
For that matter you should be able to prevail on the shop to top it up for free.
Question is, if it needs topping up repeatedly, is this due to evaporation (which happens but is slow) or do you have a leak somewhere?
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