Coolant worry, reasurance needed.

[si tate]

Hi all, got a bit of a worry with the coolant, im hoping its nothing too serious but knowing my luck..........

I check all the trucks fluid & oil levels on a regular basis plus the condition to make sure everything is tip top.

I went to the caravan on monday "85 miles", been driving all week with no problems & covered about 400 miles, anyway i decided to check everything this morning before we set off home & noticed that the coolant has gone from a nice clear deep red to a mucky brown in the space of a week or so.

Ive never changed the coolant since owning the truck but now i think its a matter of urgency, im hoping its just the coolants way of saying "change me" but could there be something more sinister afoot.

Cheers in advance, Si.

[charvell]

hello mate, mine did the same it went a clear/dirty colour i did a flush and put new in and it has been good as gold since, it seems that it was just old, i have got in to the habit of changing it once a year now, so dont worry just flush and replace with the same colour you had in, mine is blue.

[si tate]

hello mate, mine did the same it went a clear/dirty colour i did a flush and put new in and it has been good as gold since, it seems that it was just old, i have got in to the habit of changing it once a year now, so dont worry just flush and replace with the same colour you had in, mine is blue.

PHEW! It just seemed strange that it would change colour so quick.

Im a stickler for things being right with the truck so to lift the bonnet & see a dull brown colour was a bit of a bum twitcher to say the least.

I'll be on it first thing in the morning, thanks for the reply mate.

[charvell]

no problem mate

[andycook]

is your surf an auto?

as there have been problems with landcruiser Colorados with the ATF cooler in the main rad leaking internally and ATF fluid getting into coolant & coolant into autobox
the 3rd gen is very similar to the colorado,

so something to check for as ATF fluid can be reddish brown....

[si tate]

Well i think ive done everything right, only thing is that the manual says it holds 10.5 litres but after a good flush through with the hose i can only get about 8 litres in. I asume its because of whats left in the block, anyway i filled it up & left it to tick over for 20mins then took in for a good run & all seems good, i,ll keep an eye on it for the next few days.

P.S The rad & ATF are fine but thanks for the heads up andy.

[MattF]

You can get more out if you open the drain plug on the block but it's an absolute arse to get to. Don't worry too much about it. Just top the overflow bottle up to 1/2 or 3/4 full and keep an eye on the level for the next few days.

[si tate]

You can get more out if you open the drain plug on the block but it's an absolute arse to get to. Don't worry too much about it. Just top the overflow bottle up to 1/2 or 3/4 full and keep an eye on the level for the next few days.

Ye i took one look & thought better of it, should be ok though.

[MattF]

Ye i took one look & thought better of it, should be ok though.

Provided you flushed and back flushed thoroughly, you should be fine.

[si tate]

Provided you flushed and back flushed thoroughly, you should be fine.

I did.