52K and never done maintenance -- what now?

[Andrew]

Oh.

So the Dawn I poured into my coolant -- bad idea?



Seriously -- didn't know about the high-pressure part.

For the coolant (which I'm doing myself), just filling it with plain water should be enough, right? Drive a half hour or so, then drain and put in the coolant mix.

Is it worth using something like Prestone Super Flush, or does my aluminum block mean it's a waste?

[bronzemaxell]

Oh.

So the Dawn I poured into my coolant -- bad idea?



Seriously -- didn't know about the high-pressure part.

For the coolant (which I'm doing myself), just filling it with plain water should be enough, right? Drive a half hour or so, then drain and put in the coolant mix.

Is it worth using something like Prestone Super Flush, or does my aluminum block mean it's a waste?

did you have a chance to read the Tuturial section for coolant flush?
toyota also recommend use red oem coolant for proper aluminum corrosion protection and lubricate the h20 pump.

it doesn't matter how well u flush it, it is not going to be 100% clean, there always some old coolant in the system,
i would just drain the coolant out at the bottom passenger side of the radiator, and then refill a little red coolant, and add distill water, for 50% 50% mix, and repeat the process until it is full, i found one gallon of pure coolant is plenty after mixing with distill water. drive a few block or leave it running for a few minutes and check for coolant level, and pour the rest of the coolant in to the coolant reservior.

toyota recommend replace timing belt every 90k miles on 97+ v6.

[Andrew]

I read the tutorial, but as I recall it didn't mention draining from the block -- just the radiator. I gotta dig my Haynes book out of the box (I HATE MOVING) for those directions.

Elsewhere on the board I read that Prestone Orange and Toyota Red are good buddies, which is why I went the Prestone Route.

Your suggestion sounds right. Been a while since I did this, but my memory is coming back: Add coolant, run engine, add coolant, etc. till it's full.

And keep the cats away.

[bronzemaxell]

I read the tutorial, but as I recall it didn't mention draining from the block -- just the radiator. I gotta dig my Haynes book out of the box (I HATE MOVING) for those directions.

Elsewhere on the board I read that Prestone Orange and Toyota Red are good buddies, which is why I went the Prestone Route.

Your suggestion sounds right. Been a while since I did this, but my memory is coming back: Add coolant, run engine, add coolant, etc. till it's full.

And keep the cats away.

it is not necessory to drain the coolant from the engine block,
you can access the radiator drain plug right below the radioator fan toward passenger side, or take off the dust/mud cover underneath the bumper, and you will see a white nut with two tab, i don't know how they call those plugs.

you can add a little coolant, and water, and repeat until it is full, then turn on engine. and check fluid level,
i really would not recomend you to start the engine if the cooling system has no enough fluid.

[Andrew]

Ahhhh. I misread your original message. Got it.

So why do I see people talking about draining from the block, too? 'If you don't drain from the block you've got a lot of old coolant still in there' and whatnot.

[bronzemaxell]

Ahhhh. I misread your original message. Got it.

So why do I see people talking about draining from the block, too? 'If you don't drain from the block you've got a lot of old coolant still in there' and whatnot.

i agree with you, that is why i said can never flush to 100% clean, not just the engine, the heat core also contain coolant.

if you have 1 or 2 hours to spend, you can run an garden hose to radiator, and keep the engine running, let the fluid circulate enough flush to as much old coolant out as possible.

if you take to local shop, they probably just drain radiator and refill only, because probably they do not wish spend a few hours on your car.

[Andrew]

All righty then! This weekend it's time to drain and flush and refill the coolant. Too bad I won't notice any difference -- my favorite jobs are the ones that end with a smoother ride or more power or something.

Thanks for all your help!

Andrew

[townboy2]

m... I got my car with 37K on it and now is 75K which i only changed the break pad on all 4 when i got it and the KN air filter... i'll wait till some where around 80K-90K to get them all done cause most of them (90% were freeway mileage).

[Stevarian]

This is probably going to be a really dumb question, but what is a "k&n air filter"???

Steve

[Whatever]

go to the dealer near you and they'll give you a huge list of what to do.