How to Check Your Radiator in a Toyota

Toyota Motor Corporation uses a silicate-free antifreeze for the cooling systems on its vehicles. A distinctive pink-colored antifreeze, it features a longer lasting shelf-life than the standard green glycol-based antifreeze. There is a little more to checking the fluid level in the radiator of your Toyota to ensure it is working properly, full of the proper antifreeze and not corroding. A properly maintained radiator will last as long as the life of the vehicle.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

things you'll need:

• Toyota Long-Life Antifreeze
• Funnel
• Flashlight or drop light

1. • 1

     Check the fluid level in the radiator of your Toyota only when the vehicle is cold. Removing a radiator cap to inspect the fluid level when it is hot can cause serious injury.

   • 2

     Remove the radiator cap slowly to allow any pressure inside the radiator to purge from the radiator. This will prevent the system from spilling poisonous antifreeze onto the ground, driveway or garage floor.

   • 3

     Inspect the radiator cap of the Toyota to ensure no corrosion or oily build-up is present. Make sure the gasket of the cap has not collapsed or worn away. If so, replace the cap with the proper pressure specifications required for your Toyota. The service manual or a repair manual will illustrate the proper cap for your year and model Toyota.

   • 4

     Check the fluid level inside the radiator of the Toyota. It should be a rich pink color and should reach just below the top of the radiator neck. Brown color would indicate the need to flush the old fluid from the radiator and to replace with new Toyota Long-Life antifreeze. If the fluid is low, install a funnel into the radiator neck and fill with Toyota Long-Life antifreeze (a global antifreeze is an acceptable surrogate) slowly. If the antifreeze is concentrated, you will need to break it down with 50 percent water and 50 percent antifreeze. Allow the antifreeze to run down into the radiator and then add more as necessary until it is full. Replace the radiator cap.

   • 5

     Check the level of the over-flow reservoir for the Toyota. Both full and too low lines will be clearly defined on the reservoir. Many Toyota models employ a dipstick attached to the reservoir cover. The dipstick displays full and too low levels on it much like an engine oil dipstick. Add mixed antifreeze to the reservoir as needed.

   • 6

     Inspect the upper and lower radiator hoses. Look for bulging of the hoses, softness in the texture of the hose which could indicate weakness and rusty or corroded clamps. For automatic transmission Toyota models, inspect any cooler lines running into the radiator and the connections. Use a flashlight or drop-light if necessary.

   • 7

     Inspect the fins of the radiator. Evidence of corrosion is indicated by the collapse or erosion of the external fins on the radiator. Inspect the petcock valve and seams of the radiator to ensure it is not seeping or leaking. Signs of a leaking radiator or hose are obvious coolant stains on the driveway or garage floor.

   • 8

     Always check your thermostat gauge displayed on the instrument panel of your Toyota. This will tell you if the coolant is effectively cooling the engine or not.

Tips & Warnings

• Antifreeze breaks down due to age and wear and tear. It is a good idea to keep the radiator and coolant system in your Toyota operating properly by flushing the coolant system every two years or 30,000 miles. A coolant flush is a superior to a drain and fill for a Toyota because a flush will purge and replace the entire coolant from the water table of the vehicle. A drain and fill only replaces the antifreeze in the radiator and the reservoir--if you bother to change the coolant in the reservoir.