O'Reilly's Universal Coolant

I've been working on getting my '03 Tundra back on the road again and after changing out the radiator I filled it up with O'Reilly's Universal coolant. I never even thought there were different types of coolant until I went into NAPA to pick something up and saw the bottle of PEAK Toyota Red coolant which made me curious about whether I should switch or not

Any downsides to the universal? Will my radiator explode

 

It won’t explode, but Toyota specifically calls for red or pink for your Tundra. It’s compatible with the various metals that it will come in contact with. Mixing coolants can cause the coolants to interact poorly with each other and potentially cause deposits to form. Flush the system and go with the red or pink.

 

My truck had green (universal) coolant in it for years, and it was fine. That said, it had ENTIRELY green coolant in it. I'd be worried that you've mixed the Toyota red coolant with the green stuff you put in.

Definitely flush it and replace with red/pink.

 

Is there that much coolant in the engine?

Should I drain it from the engine (I really don't want to do this) or just run distilled and drain a few times?

 

The system holds just over 3 gallons. How much green coolant did you put in?

 

I bought 2 gallons of concentrate and have slightly more than half a gallon left so that would put me pretty close to a little under 3 gallons

 

It’s important to always use the coolant chemistry recommended in the vehicle owner’s manual. Toyota is telling you exactly how to keep their engines alive for the lifetime.

Purge it responsibly. Flush it with water. Refill with red or (better yet) pink.

There is no such thing as “universal” coolants. I know they make them. But they are NOT universally suitable for all engines.

 

Just run distilled & drain. I wouldn’t be removing the block drain cocks unless you’ve done it before. One of mine partially broke off at 5k miles when new. May have been a defect though.

 

Welp this just sold it for me. Toyota coolant is HOAT, correct?

 

I would do distilled water as many times as needed to get a reasonably clear colored drain. Then fill with the proper ratio of Toyota approved coolant. I think universal coolant refers more to compatibility with other coolants, not necessarily compatible with all engine requirements.

 

Again. There is no such thing as “universal” coolant. From Google:

 

I've used green, universal, pink and Toyota specific and a combination of some of them at once. Never had any issues with the iron block Toyota engines, 3.4 or the 4.7.

It's all the same stuff, just different inhibitors based on the material type of your engine... iron or aluminum. You have an iron block.

 

Tell that to @Tundra2 with his rusty coolant saga. He would think otherwise.

 

He is walking evidence of why you don’t/cant mix coolants, and should use only what the manufacturer recommends. Good lord his cooling system was a mess. Looked like someone packed every coolant passage on his truck with pollen infused with mud/clay.

 

Not discrediting anyone here, but I'd like to hear what happened. I've mixed everything except dexcool.

 

He’s got a build thread on it. Let me see if I can find it.

https://www.tundras.com/threads/tundra2s-lifetime-project.65626/page-6#post-2324945

 

https://youtu.be/fQrWd-5pl-g?si=GgRSplD5_LKOgKdX

it's called science.

but the cliff notes: changing the boiling point of the coolant and mixing of additives can degrade rubber and metal

Think of it like this.
Yes you can drink soda and only soda for literal years and not die, but you're not doing yourself any favors in "longer life catergory", your insides probably look like shit, you look like shit, but your alive.......for now.

same logic here. Use the proper coolant for the engine to maximize its lifespan

 

Specifically, the following is from previous conversation on the topics with direct links to what he found throughout his entire coolant system because the crackhead/dumbass who owned his truck before was pretty clueless. It happens to mirror that screencap @FishNinja posted clearly.

In case it needs to be said, you cannot (should not, unless you want problems) run yellow coolant in these trucks. Different colored coolants are formulated for different engine/internal types, using the wrong one can lead to rust, nasty buildup from precipitates, leave passages blocked, etc. The 2UZ-FE takes red (or better yet the pink long life) coolant.​

You also should not mix coolants, lest they react and the combo of that and my last sentence lead to this exact type of buildup, that crap ended up jammed in everything on Tundra2's truck, in everything, like the throttle body bypass, the lines to the oil cooler, clogging everything up to the oil cooler, clogging the internals of the oil cooler, completely clogging cooling hoses, one radiator hose, another radiator hose. This was the consistency of it. His previous owner was a dumbass and didn't understand you can't mix coolants and there's no such thing as "universal" coolant.
​

 

there are 2 independent shops in town that specialize in asian cars, and they use universal
i run yota concentrate, cause I have to mix it for minus 60

 

Soda is sooooo good though......

 

I used to think the same thing.







then I quit being a fat fuck.

 

Hahaha; touche'. I am pleasantly plump I suppose, but haven't reached fat fuck status yet..........I don't think. I have drastically reduced my intake and switched to the zero products hoping that the different taste eventually turns me off completely. It is NFL sundays with crown royal and cherry coke that is my weakness!!!!!

 

ok off topic: but do juices and water for like a month. Then try a soda. It'll taste unbearably sweet. And usually (if you drink a few since your like "woooo soda!" ) you'll get a really upset stomach.


But yea. Put the right coolant in your shit you twats. You didn't engineer these engines, so quit acting like you're smarter than the guys who did.

 

So I drained the coolant but only about 1.5 gallons came out? I definitely put in close to 3 gallons when I filled up the new radiator

 

You mean you drained the radiator, I think.

 

Yeah so is that normal? should I be disconnecting and draining the large hose on the bottom as well? drained and filled with distilled, did a couple laps around the neighborhood and repeated again but it still isn't completely clear

 

I havent done it myself, but I will this weekend and from the little research I’ve done it takes some work to get it all out. If I remember correctly some members have flushed easily upwards of 10 times. There are engine drain plugs, but I believe they are difficult to work with and can’t remember what the consensus is on whether or not it’s worth it to use them. There are some great threads on here about the flushing process.

I had universal green coolant in mine that the previous owner put in and it ran fine, great temps even with a bad fan clutch, for at least the 3000 miles I’ve had it until now. But I’d like to be safe and keep my engine running strong so I do what shifty says.

 

Drained and filled it 6 more times so 8 in total and it's finally coming out water only... now my question is since the total volume of the coolant system is a little over 3 gallons should I just buy concentrate and put in 1.5 gallons? I'm not sure what I did the first time but i'm getting nowhere near 3 gallons when I drain it through the radiator and I wouldnt have to mess with the 2 drain ports. Each drain and fill I was only able to put in 1.5 gallons of distilled before it filled up

 

I ain't gonna lie. I popped off my upper rad hose, loosened the clamp and twisted it so it was facing upwards and filled from there. Got nearly all of the 3 gal in there. Took it for a spin, got it warm/hot. Let it settle then finished by filling via the rad cap.

and I personally think the "long life pink" would be ideal? But if you got concentrate. Yes. Your math is corrected.