Brown coolant

[Foxhill]

Have noticed brown coloured coolant in expansion bottle, should I flush and replace or leave alone as temperature gauge has so far read under half. If I change is it best to go to Halfords Or Toyota, red or green preferred? Can I do it myself or as I dont feel confident could I trust Halfords or similar.

[Vagrant No2]

Have noticed brown coloured coolant in expansion bottle, should I flush and replace or leave alone as temperature gauge has so far read under half. If I change is it best to go to Halfords Or Toyota, red or green preferred? Can I do it myself or as I dont feel confident could I trust Halfords or similar.

Brown coolant tends to show inadequate coolant inhibitor/antifreeze . I would suggest any good antifreeze/inhibitor for your Surf . I have used Halfrauds own brand in many vehicles with no complaint . Remember to open both heaters (if fitted) to hot and flush with a hose till clear . Then fill slowly and allow system to 'burb' if required . When full , start engine and continue to fill till it is full . Fill via rad cap only . Road test and allow to cool and recheck coolant level via rad cap .Top up again if required .

Rick

Rick

[Foxhill]

how to flush

Thanks Rick,

Would I have to remove bottom engine cover to empty radiator. To flush out would I put hose in top of radiator. Anti freeze quantity 9 ish litres but would I have to dilute with tap water or distilled or use Halfords antifreeze straight from container. Sorry I,m a lost cause but dont want to end up in trouble. Any advice appreciated. Neil

[Vagrant No2]

It depends how easy access to the bottom hose is to undo the clip . As for the mix , I use 33% antifreeze to water . That should be sufficient for low temps in this country in winter . You could go upto 40% , but I would not go any further as the cooling propertys will be lowered due to high antifreeze content . I have got a pre mixed coolant from a company called 4Life which you put straight into rad with no dilution and top up with the same only . It is red but changes to yellow if there is a head failure or gasket failure .It is a bit pricey at £15 for 5liters , but would know if I had a head/gasket problem . I am using this in Tam's Triumph Herald at the mo as it had a overheating issue . It has a chemical which also lowers the running temp of engine , which I have noticed . Gauge used to go just over midway but now sits at 1/4 .

Rick

[Foxhill]

Halfords

Thanks Rick,

I'm going to have a look around Halfords and see what they have. I think I'll have ago myself as it sounds quite easy and will make sure heaters are open.

Thanks again Rick

Neil

[Koi]

Thanks Rick,

I'm going to have a look around Halfords and see what they have. I think I'll have ago myself as it sounds quite easy and will make sure heaters are open.

Thanks again Rick

Neil

Good idea to change stat and rad cap as well, for flushing I flush out via stat housing and out through top rad hose, then via top rad hose and out through stat housing. Then disconnect heater matrix on bulk head and flush it via this hose out through top rad hose. Fill system with water and drain again. Flushing via several hoses will remove more of the old stuff.

[Foxhill]

Not so brown

Finally drained radiator to find coolant was not really brown after all, a discoloured expansion bottle missled me.
So I have removed and cleaned outside with WD40 and inside with a can of coke then rinsed.
Have drained anyway for peace of mind, flushed out and flushed again with halfords fluid, used there antifreeze but was surprised that including distilled water only got seven litres into system.
Toyota manual recommends 50% but have ended up with about 70% antifreeze, hope this is going to be okay as on antifreeze bottle it says no more than 70%. I have checked the level and it seems okay in expansion bottle.
I will check again and also radiator cap after doing more miles.
The heaters are red hot so should be good in winter.
I know there is also a drain plug on engine but did'nt want to go that far, could there have still been a couple of litres left in engine when I topped up?
Interested in any opinions, meanwhile hope it does'nt all go bang.

Neil :