Hey all
I am planning to replace the radiator coolant. The last replacement by previous owner was 08/15 and 186k miles. Now I am at 239k miles.
Are the instructions similar or is there a write up for 2nd Gen?

Also I see different but is this the one recommended?

I have uploaded the pics to imgur as I was not sure about the coolant used. Any guess is that Toyo LLC? and also the last thermostat replacement as 183k and 02/15. Should I replace that as well?


Thanks

 

 

The prior owner sure took all the services by the dealer. The fluids were regularly replaced in excess at about 20K intervals. Why so many battery replacements too? Anyway...well maintained for sure.

That Toyota coolant is fine. The ready to go or one you have to mix is fine.

My thought for those of us in the mild climates of CA with regularly maintained cooling systems: getting every last drop of coolant out is critical. If you don't want to crawl under the car to get those block plugs, drain the radiator then a week later drain off some more and replace.

 

>Why so many battery replacements too?
From Orange Country. So summers are real.

>If you don't want to crawl
Is that difficult. I do my own engine oil replacement and did PS Pump and Brakes couple of months ago. If there are instructions, I am sure I could do that. Or is this something trick and I should seek a mechanic assistance/ I am first time car owner and I would take the forum advice.

 

Yup,thats the car you want,great service records!!

 

Can understand the heat. Friends in NV, AZ and NM have that routine too. The sun belt states at the higher temps are hard on batteries.

Not hard to drain from the block plugs. That is the complete method and would be suggested by Toyota-Lexus for a complete coolant change. U-joints and or wobble extensions help too.

 

I live very close to Toyota Headquarter and summers here are real. But my 98 Celsior's current Panasonic battery is now 11 years old and still working strong. May be because I use a home made desulfator. The page is in Japanese but you can find the summary both in English and Spanish at the bottom of the page.

 

The drain plugs on the engine block are not terribly difficult to access at all, You're already going to be jacking the front of the car up anyway to bleed the system (you want the radiator and expansion tank as high up in the air as possible). There's a drain port on both the drivers and passenger side of the engine, I used a 8" or so extension with of course a 10mm socket and crawled/rolled under it to get to them. They are nice little aluminum spigots and the drain is controlled and easy to catch with a pan. Definitely take the extra couple of minutes to drain the engine block.

 

I keep my cars on chargers.My thoughts,only so many cycles and depth of discharges a battery can do,I also use the largest batteries that will fit.My VW had this dinky little batt,and constant discharges for all the electronics,car could only do 18-24 months on a battery.Thats pitiful!

Do you use a solar panel? I do on the jeep,same setup like you linked to,except the desulfation part,instead I use a PWM charge controller.Its fantastic!!

I sent this to nephew,he's learning electronics and could easily make that,thanks Yamae,great project!

 

This instruction works or is there any thread for me please?
http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/cooling/coolant.html

 

Also did the previous owner used Toyo fluids?
https://imgur.com/a/nhpnaaJ

I dont know how to distinguish between.

 

I have a '91, which should be the same as in that tutorial. Not sure how it relates to your '98. But looking at that page, here are some thoughts:

- He does not turn the heater to 85*F until refilling. No idea why not. It should be done before doing anything else, to allow drainage of the coolant in the HVAC system. You don't need to have the engine running to do this. You can just turn the key to ON and set temp to 85*F (max), which will fully open the heater valve, which you can confirm by watching it move.

- Maybe because it is so obvious, but he did not mention draining the coolant overflow tank. You can do that easily by removing the ~3/8" OD black rubber hose coming out of the bottom of the tank. This might also be a good time to remove the tank, tune up any seals, clean it thoroughly to maybe make it as translucent as it probably was when new, etc.

- From my notes on my '91, the two engine block drains are in-line with the steering boots. I don't recall them being different from eachother, but maybe that's just me. My notes say I used a 12" extension and a 14 mm socket. Also, on my car, the right side one had come loose, so I needed to use a 17 mm open end wrench to stop it (the brass assembly) from rotating while I used the 14 mm socket to loosen the actual plug.

- After fully drained, there will still be some residual stuff in there. Probably not much at all. So depending on your OCD, you might want to run hose water through there to flush it clean, then drain again before proceeding.

 

If you do a thorough flush to get all the old stuff out, it won't matter what they used.

 

So prestone super radiator flush?

 

The original Panasonic battery last much longer than replacement car batteries available here in the United States.

I searched online and was unable to find much in the way of Panasonic car batteries.

Toyota and Lexus dealers offer certain Panasonic hybrid car replacement batteries....but expensive.

There are few U.S. based premium brands of aftermarket batteries that last longer than auto parts store brands..

Aftermarket car batteries are like other aftermarket parts...

Sometimes I wonder if low cost aftermarket car batteries are reconditioned by desulfation process.

Insulating and ventilating the battery from engine heat assists considerably with longevity of battery life.

Desulfation is helpful for improving useful life expectancy of lead-acid battery chemistry, but does not appear feasible for lithium ion.(Nickel metal hydride?)

Desulfation charge must be applied safely in measured amount of voltage (and amperage?) for a certain period or time...probably in a well ventilated area.

There is a commercial product available to achieve this?

Anyone with recommendations?