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Old 03-23-2011, 01:49 PM   #1
Camberix
 
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Alternatives to Toyota "pink" super long life coolant

My girlfriend's '07 Yaris is piling on the miles, and I was researching alternatives to the OEM "pink" Super Long Life coolant/antifreeze that seems to only be sold pre-mixed in 50/50 concentration. The dealer route is annoying, as it's expensive and the car's capacity is about five quarts - a gallon jug is only four quarts.

The factory service manual calls for a coolant with "nonsilicate, non-amine, non-nitrite, and non-borate engine coolant with long-life hybrid organic acid technology." While most anti-freeze is similar at the basic level, the corrosion inhibitors used can be very different. I found that a Japanese company called "CCI" engineered and apparently contract-produces the correct type of coolant for late-model Toyotas, and it has been adopted by several other manufacturers.

If you want the same life/wear characteristics as prescribed by OEM, you can also apparently go with:
  • Mazda FL22 - only sold as pre-mixed 55/45 gallon
  • Zerex Asian - can only find as pre-mixed 50/50 gallon (Tech bulletin here)
  • Motorcraft Specialty Green Engine Coolant - PN# VC-10-A premixed, VC-10-A2 concentrated
The Motorcraft coolant should in theory be available at any local Ford parts counter. When the time comes, I'm going to flush the OE pink coolant out and mix my own with distilled water from the Motorcraft concentrate. Anyone else researched compatible coolants?
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Old 03-23-2011, 04:18 PM   #2
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I changed the coolant in "Crashy", since after her demise someone topped her off with the green stuff. I bought a Napa product that met the Toyota specs.
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Old 03-23-2011, 05:43 PM   #3
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Just out of curiosity, what was the resulting color topping off with the green stuff?
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Old 03-23-2011, 06:07 PM   #4
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Old 03-23-2011, 06:16 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tk1971 View Post
Just out of curiosity, what was the resulting color topping off with the green stuff?
It actually was fluorescent green in the radiator and top hose, but then what came out of block was red. I don't think it ever was run for long enough for the thermostat to open before I changed it.
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Old 03-24-2011, 12:44 PM   #6
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Now that OEMs are "branding" their own P-OAT type coolants by color (Toyota pink, Ford dark green), color can't be trusted for content. Per Valvoline's own tech bulletin, Zexel Asian "is dyed light violet to distinguish its unique chemistry from traditional coolants and to promote color compatibility."

According to a Mazda tech bulletin, its own P-OAT coolant (FL22) is backwards compatible with regular green ethylene glycol coolants. Still, they tell techs "if FL22 coolant is mixed with existing Orange coolant, coolant color will turn black. For customer satisfaction, DO NOT mix FL22 coolant and Orange coolant."

Things were simpler for shadetree mechanics when all antifreeze was neon green and the same for every car!
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Old 03-24-2011, 05:19 PM   #7
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Toyota Coolant

I purchased two gallon jug of toyota pink antifreeze last year and they cost $17 each. But if you don't drive a lot of miles and change it every 50,000 miles, the cost is negligible for a peace of mind
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Old 03-24-2011, 07:23 PM   #8
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the only thing you gain by staying with the toyota coolant is the pretty color and the longer life. it is probably also nicer to the hoses & plastics. realistically, you can get the prestone or certain store brand anti-freezes from parts stores that don't contain most if any of the harsh additives you described.
oh, and most of them are good for 5 year flush intervals and are aluminum head & block safe.
the reason why most dealers stay away from full antifreeze is because not all distilled water you can find is pure enough whereas a 50/50 mix is going to have the most pure form of water already inside you can find.
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Old 03-24-2011, 09:41 PM   #9
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Research?....Yes. Sticking with the Toyota pink.
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Old 03-28-2011, 02:17 PM   #10
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Distilled water from the jug at Walmart may be cleaner than what goes into the "demineralized" water mentioned on the jug of premixed.

Distillation specifically boils and leaves behind metals, and "demineralized" can imply any number of filters or processes. Since no one will drink the anti-freeze and the bacterial/organic content doesn't have to meet drinking requirements, antifreeze manufacturers will use whatever method is cheapest to mass-produce a water base with sufficiently low metal content.

I bet both methods are perfectly fine, and I'll take a grain of salt with any advice from somone selling me two four-quart jugs of premixed at $50 w/ tax or shipping to fill a system with a max capacity of around five quarts.

On Saturday I bought a gallon of normal concentration Motorcraft Specialty Green coolant from the local Ford parts counter to mix my own. Refilling with a P-OAT is probably overkill, but the service manual will be followed and I won't have to deal with it again for a long time.
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Old 03-30-2011, 11:42 AM   #11
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This is what I use, and it meets all manufacturers standards plus has a greater change interval than most others. It's made by Texaco under the Havoline brand, not sure if it's availible world-wide at this point in time. http://www.havoline.com/na/products/...ntifreeze.aspx I have used it in all my Imports over the years, zero issues to date with this stuff! Look under Products heading and find Dex-Cool anti-freeze, the one with a 5 year warrenty!!!!!

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