car talk: a question for the automotively inclined

Hardcoregirl · Post by **Hardcoregirl** » Thu Jul 31, 2003 4:03 pm

I bought a used '96 Toyota Paseo that for some reason has some of that pink dex cool type antifreeze in it...yet at autozone they tell me my car takes the green stuff.

The level is getting low, is it ok to pour in the green on top of the other? Will it break my purty new car?

div · Post by **div** » Thu Jul 31, 2003 4:33 pm

there's a lot of contraversy over dex-cool... some say not to mix (and that it'll turn into gel if you do), and some say it mixes fine, but lowers the required flushing from 150,000 miles to 20,000...

My personal opinion - have your system flushed (or better yet, do it yourself...) and refill it with the green stuff. there are a lot of people driving around on dex-cool with no problems. there are also a lot of people who've had nothing but problems out of it. save yourself the headache of possible problems and go with something known to be reliable.

oh, and for what it's worth - i had dex-cool in my rx7 when the system clogged causing the engine to overheat and melt every seal in it. I ended up haveing to replace the entire engine and radiator. was it the fault of dex-cool? i don't know, but i'm sure as hell not using it again.

Hardcoregirl · Post by **Hardcoregirl** » Thu Jul 31, 2003 7:01 pm

Erm, ok, who wants to flush my radiator ?

creapyrob · Post by **creapyrob** » Thu Jul 31, 2003 8:25 pm

I'll do it, and I'll show you how so you can do it next time.

What you doing this weekend? PM me and we'll set up a time.

My rates are:
6 pack an hour, and 12 domestics equal 1 sixer of imports

You pay costs:
you buy a kit (if you want to keep it, or I'll buy a kit for me fi you don't want one)
a water hose,
some green stuff coolant

Hardcoregirl · Post by **Hardcoregirl** » Thu Jul 31, 2003 9:00 pm

Hmm..I work most of the weekend...10-6 on Sat, 1-5 on Sunday...

How much does one of them thar kits set ya back?

Learning how to do that, even change my oil, that would be uber hardcore...

creapyrob · Post by **creapyrob** » Thu Jul 31, 2003 9:45 pm

Buttercup wrote:Hmm..I work most of the weekend...10-6 on Sat, 1-5 on Sunday...

How much does one of them thar kits set ya back?

Learning how to do that, even change my oil, that would be uber hardcore...

The kit is usually no more than $20. A really good one would be a bit more.

You could go cheap and do the following:

Drain radiator, refill with water, run motor for a minute or 2. Watch the temp though. Drain, refill with water, repeat. Drain, refill, repeat. Then drain the radiator again, fill with green stuff and some water, like 50-50 or 60-40.

Oil changing is way easy. I can show you that in like 5 seconds.

Post by **DarkVader** » Fri Aug 01, 2003 9:27 am

ok, I'm going to say stick with the dex-cool.

I've got it, my truck has over 200,000 miles now, and only 2 coolant changes. absolutely no problems appear to have been caused by it.

in fact, the only cooling system issue I've had at all was the water pump giving out a few months ago - and I consider 203k miles on a water pump to be pretty good.

littlepockit · Post by **littlepockit** » Fri Aug 01, 2003 10:53 am

also, try calling the toyota dealer in oak ridge, when in doubt. ask for service and parts.

but, it is a good idea to flush the radiator anyhow. when buying a used car, its always best to put in new stuff, taht you know is new...

loves you morgan.

briarus · Post by **briarus** » Fri Aug 01, 2003 1:49 pm

you may also want to flush the transmission fluid if it's an auto.
lady at work just got set back 2200.00 because the used mustang she bought never had it changed

Hardcoregirl · Post by **Hardcoregirl** » Fri Aug 01, 2003 8:15 pm

Ok, so, would it be ok to just keep using dexcool (or is it just for GM vehicles?)?

Oh, and its a stick shift briarus.

creapyrob · Post by **creapyrob** » Fri Aug 01, 2003 8:48 pm

You'll be fine just using the pink stuff, it all thats in it is the pink stuff. If its mixed you're in trouble. But the pink stuff will work fine.

Post by **DarkVader** » Sat Aug 02, 2003 9:29 am

I tried to find a source on the net for what that car should run - no luck.

I keep thinking that toyota built some cars that shipped from the factory with dex-cool... I'm not sure why I'm thinking this, so I'm not sure it's valid.

I do think the system flush/fresh coolant thing is probably a good idea, unless you know it was done and/or your're sure the coolant types are not mixed. I think it would likely be a bad idea to mix the green and pink stuff.

creapyrob · Post by **creapyrob** » Sat Aug 02, 2003 3:02 pm

DarkVader wrote:I think it would likely be a bad idea to mix the green and pink stuff.

I can assure you its a bad idea.

I'll hit the autoparts place today and find out what coolant you should be running, I need some brake line, oil, and a filter anyway.