coolant flush necessary?

[caineroad]

I was at toyota dealership and they told me coolant flush is needed but i want to ask on this forum first, my coolant color looks like new, is it still nescessary to change? The official toyota schedule maintainence is to change coolant everyy 120,000km, my car is at 142,000km right now. No problem in cooling, should i still change it?

If so what would the the economical way to do it? Dealer charges over $120

Btw im at dealership changing the drive belt, its making squeaking noise when i start the car. They charge $25 for the belt which sounds reasonable then $55 for half hour labour which also sounds reasonable.

[fnkngrv]

Factory service interval is 100k on the first and then 50k or 2 years there after. It has nothing to do with it "looking" good. This is like the misconception that oil "looks" dirty because it is dark. The point of reference is the molecular composition after the interval in question passes. There are plenty of great products out there to use, but personally I would either stick with the OEM coolant or go with the AMSOIL offering. If you go the AMSOIL route then it is guaranteed for 250k miles or 7 years depending on how harsh the environment is you are driving. Either way it is a suggested practice to flush prior to adding in new fluid otherwise it is like going to the bathroom without wiping.

[caineroad]

I heard it damages the radiator to flush, is it ok to just drain and fill?

[ron3]

If the coolant looks good and the system has no crud build up drain and refill is OK.

[Astroman]

This thread belongs in service not general. Moved.