wlee69

I'm doing pieces of the 30K maintenance myself (brake fluid flush and coolant replacement). I'm wondering if there is anything special for the coolant replacement and is the Lexus/Toyota antifreeze still a 50/50 mixture with distilled water? Also, does anyone have a DIY procedure for the replacement?

Thanks in advance,Will

V8_Fan

If you use the long life toyota red, mix 50-50 or a tad more coolant vs distilled water. Use steam distilled water, not reverse osmosis, as the latter isn't 100% pure. It's a LOT faster if you drain the block and radiator rather than just the radiator. I changed the coolant on my LX over Xmas. Assuming the cooling system is the same capacity (mine is 16.2 qts w/ front/rear heater), you get about 11 qts drained by draining the left block and radiator. I couldn't access the right block drain bolt since there's a mounting bracket for the transmission fluid lines that cover the right drain bolt. To see the drain bolt, remove the big skid plate under the vehicle and slide underneath and look straight up. If you just drain the radiator, you get about 6 qts of coolant. To get the rest out, you have to fill it w/ distilled water, run the engine until hot, and keep draining and refilling until the fluid comes out close to clear. Since you are doing this the first time, it's not that critical to flush all the old coolant out since it's factory pre-mixed. It's only if the dealer has done it that it's more critical, since they all use tap water (BAD!!!) unless you bring your own distilled water. I had to flush & fill w/ distilled water 3 times since the dealer did it before for the previous owner, and I'm sure they used tap water as all dealers do.

An even easier way...buy the Toyota pre-mixed SUPER LONG LIFE coolant (not sold in some states). This is the stuff the factory uses. If you're feeling lazy, you can just drain the radiator and refill. My local toyota dealer does a drain & fill only.

If you want to flush the entire system, make sure the front and rear heaters are "on" and cranked. It takes a long time to heat up the engine. Even after the heater is blowing hot air, the thermostat won't necessarily be open since the v8 has an enormous coolant capacity.

koolaidman

there is nothing to replace...except for the fluid.

drop the front splash sheild.

ull see a white plug on the radiator
remove that

this will drain the radiator. now look for a bras fitting with a small tube...it should be a 10mm bold. this drains the block

if u use toyota red...u need to mix 50% water and 50% coolant. if u go with the new coolant just pour it into the radiator...


once coolant is filled start vehicle. turn on MAX HEAD and make sure u set it to fresh air and full fan.

monitor the coolant in the radiar...it will drop quickly keep filling until it the radiator fan kicks on 2 times. after that ur done

wlee69

Thanks for the replies, on the GX are there two blocks to drain also? Sounds like there is on an LX, but is it the same on the GX. If there is only one, is it on the drivers or passengers side?

If the GX and LX have similiar capacity, sounds like I have to buy about 2-3 unmixed gallons to do a full switch, or if I just did the raditor drain, then 2 gallons would do....

V8_Fan

I would guess 2 block drain bolts on the GX, too. After all, it's a V8, meaning two cylinder heads, and each bolt drains the coolant from one head. It's just on the LX w/ 5speed, the right side drain bolt is harder to access. I got lazy and just drained the left side. On the LX, you need to drop both skid plate #1 (the steel one up front to access the radiator drain ****) and #2 the big plastic one that covers the oil pan/front driveshaft area (to access the block drains). I was not able to access the block drain bolts from the top. It's located close to one of the rear engine mounts.

For brake fluid flushing, I haven't done it w/ the electronic booster on the LX yet (had the dealer do it since I was having the AHC flushed), only the traditional way w/ vacuum boosters. I've asked both lexus and toyota techs, though. The rear bleeds differently than the front. Lexus tech said if you hold down the brake pedal continuously, the pump will continuously pump fluid out, but the toyota tech suggested pulsing it for a second or two on, few seconds off, etc., to give the motor some rest (so you don't burn it out). The fronts are supposed to bleed in the traditional way (pump each time) or you can use a Toyota/Lexus tester or ABS SST to bleed. I might try it this year, since I typically bleed my brakes every year or every other year at the worst on my cars.