Badgerbear Posted August 25, 2017 Share Posted August 25, 2017 1989 Dolphin V6 auto 64,000 What the heck is this coolant? Is it a mix of red and green? So I bought this Dolphin last fall and love it! I have taken it on a couple 3hr trips (one over mt. Hood) and a number hour or so trips and never had issues with heating up. I also remodeled it and made it my full time home=) A month ago on a extremely hot day I noticed the temp rising above normal on the hwy, but the needle never got much above halfway. It seems to be heating up more often now while climbing up hills at low speed 35-40 but the needle never quite gets to half. I haven't tried it out climbing a hill on the interstate except driving it over hood last fall and it didn't heat up at all then. I Finally went to replace the coolant today as an attempt to see if I could determine anything about my heating up issue and because I have no idea when or what is in there! So this ugly looking stuff came out and I'm quite confused on what it is and what I should do next. I read there is some controversy over coolant types ect.., Ive only seen green and didn't know they even made other colors. When I shake it froths up with bubbles that last a second, then it goes flat again with no bubbles. I have not seen bubbles in the overflow tank or anything. I have been pretty paranoid about head gaskets since I bought this rig with the V6 but it has been pretty decent to me so FAR. P.s there was a TINY bit of oil coating the pan that I drained the coolant into. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WME Posted August 25, 2017 Share Posted August 25, 2017 (edited) Looks like rusty water. Can you use an AF float checker to see if it has anything. If its just water start flushing till its clean. OLD time flush, remove the thermostat and add water and a cup of Tide. Run a few days drain and redo a couple of times WARNING this will flush out a lot of junk so keep the heater OFF so you don't plug the small tubes. WARNING 2 Many cities frown on pouring the flushings down the sewer. Check with the city sewer people about this. BEFORE PS just let it sit in the jug for a day or two. The red and green mix will eventually separate. Edited August 25, 2017 by WME Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badgerbear Posted August 26, 2017 Author Share Posted August 26, 2017 Not meaning to stir up a coolant debate, but can I go with green? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WME Posted August 26, 2017 Share Posted August 26, 2017 Green is OK if you maintain it correctly. Toyota Red will withstand more abuse. Toyota Red was not available when you rig was made so it came with green. Flush with just water a couple of times and see what comes out. If it doesnt clear up fast then do a chemical flush. Fill with correct ratio of green stuff. Red will cause problems if there is any green left in the system. Flush the heater by removing the hoses and just run water through a min or so.DO NOT FLUSH THE BLOCK THROUGH THE HEATER. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WME Posted August 26, 2017 Share Posted August 26, 2017 . A disheartening side effect. Pure water cools better (removes more heat) than a typical antifreeze mix of 50/50. Use a ratio needed for your climate and a good new pressure cap Of course it has no protection in cold weather and will boil sooner. . What kills an overheated engine is not necessarily the temp, but that steam pockets form in the cooling system. The pockets offer no cooling so there parts of the engine that get way hotter than the actual coolant temp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted August 26, 2017 Share Posted August 26, 2017 Yep that's why they don't shut off locomotives in freezing weather however many have wised up and use small generators and electric heaters now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badgerbear Posted August 27, 2017 Author Share Posted August 27, 2017 Flushed 3 Times and went with prestone green for the refill. Still heating up a tad on climbing up hill. Its not bad, but I the needle does move a bit out of normal temp. Guess I probably should have replaced the thermostat in the process. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WME Posted August 27, 2017 Share Posted August 27, 2017 Without having a temp gauge marked in degrees, your looking good. Plus you got piece of mind and one less thing to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted August 27, 2017 Share Posted August 27, 2017 The only really hot is the red zone. Your post shows normal to a little cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badgerbear Posted August 28, 2017 Author Share Posted August 28, 2017 Ok great. Worryin for nothin=) y'all are the best! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odysseybernard Posted September 21, 2017 Share Posted September 21, 2017 My 91 Odyssey v6 had and has Toyota red, which I also used after flushing 3 times with distilled water. Supposedly produces less rust with iron block engines than the green coolant per the yotatech forums. Supposedly need to change the green more frequently due to rust formation. I always use Toyota red in my 97 previa altrac (best snow vehicle I have ever driven), 89 mr2 supercharged, and 02 ls430. My temp gauge is always below halfway unless going 60 on the highway with the a/c on, when it gets just past halfway but no where near the red zone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronb1953 Posted October 8, 2017 Share Posted October 8, 2017 You should be using the red coolant. It is designed for aluminum blocks, heads and radiators. The green is for cast iron engines with brass radiators. The green stuff tends to oxidize the aluminum causing plugged up water jackets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted October 8, 2017 Share Posted October 8, 2017 It's best to check the antifreeze, color is not the best method like yellow is fine for AL parts generally red is what Toyota uses but the mix maybe the same in some other color. The change time may also be effected with mixing it's gotten pretty confusing. Pretty much everything now is compatible so they don't have to have so many mixes. VW uses G13-14 antifreeze it's pink on all their aluminum stuff and some of it is lifetime antifreeze. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek up North Posted October 8, 2017 Share Posted October 8, 2017 Toyota also had a pretty pink coolant. Personally, I believe Toyota developed their 'Red' (there are 2 versions) because on new metallurgy in their engines developed after our engines and there's no NEED (but no harm other than to your wallet) to use anything but green Ethylene Glycol, as called for in the Owners Manual and FSM. A TSB recommending otherwise might make me reconsider, but I've found none despite spending too much time looking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjrbus Posted October 9, 2017 Share Posted October 9, 2017 11 minutes ago, Derek up North said: Toyota also had a pretty pink coolant. Personally, I believe Toyota developed their 'Red' (there are 2 versions) because on new metallurgy in their engines developed after our engines and there's no NEED (but no harm other than to your wallet) to use anything but green Ethylene Glycol, as called for in the Owners Manual and FSM. A TSB recommending otherwise might make me reconsider, but I've found none despite spending too much time looking. My FSM does not call for green ethylene glycol, it simply calls for ethylene glycol coolant. I did a bit of reading on this and one switched from "red" to "green" coolant in an older Toyota pickup with like 200,000 miles on it. within a couple weeks the radiator started leaking, he swore it was the green coolant that ruined his radiator! Can't help but chuckle over that one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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