My mechanic says that I really don't need one. My car has 63k. Another guy said that you can only use Nissan Coolant and no Prestone. Whats the deal with both guys? How often should you flsuh the coolant/ The reason I am asking is because I was thinking that it would be a good idea before winter.

 

Cant hurt, i use Zerex GO-5, but OEM, honda, toyota, are all the best, im sure prestone is fine, just no dex-cool

 

Has the coolant ever been flushed, if not you are overdue? It should be done every 30K. Get a pH test done of the coolant. You can get that done for free at most radiator shops (strip of paper in the rad) or you can buy the pH test paper at an auto parts store if you check around.

 

I just flushed mine a few weeks ago and replaced it with a 50/50 mixture of OEM coolant. I have 115k miles; got the car used, so I don't know if the radiator was ever flushed. Anyway, that stuff smells naasty.

 

it smells to keep people like me from drinking it......but it doesnt work

 

I simply change (drain and fill) mine every 50K. Being I'm at 100K now, it's time for a drain and refill.
I've used Prestone all my life. My BMW uses some clear, pinkish stuff.

 

the anti-freeze part of the anti-freeze (ethlyene glycol) doesn't go bad. its all the other stuff that is in there, the rust inhibitors, the corrosion preventatives and the water pump lubricant that wears out.

your car is 5 - 6 years old. change it for your water pump's sake. as far as brands go, i don't have a preference other than go with a major brand, stay away from dollar store specials.

 

if you got the time, just flush it out. doesn't hurt the car at all. You would only see positives. Should be faster then an oil change.

 

I have to change my thermostat next weekend which requires draining of the radiator. I bought Prestone 50/50 - sticker says it's safe for all cars.

 

Definitely change it. Even if you DIY and drain/fill with distilled, run for a little while, then drain/fill with coolant, it's very worthwhile.

The trick is to not use coolant containing silicates. Something about the Nissans that cause silicates to do bad things. I simply look at the ingredients and avoid the ones having any "silic.." in them. Or buy the Nissan stuff. Knock on wood, my water pump has lasted 140k...

Dave

 

If you are going to do a true coolant flush, you should not buy that pre mixed 50/50 stuff.

when doing a true coolant flush and not just drain the radiator and refill you have to empty out the cylinder banks (I think thats what they are called) to do this you have to remove 2 bolts that are almost impossible to get to. So instead, you do it this way;

1. drain radiator
2. refill with water and start car until thermostat opens
3. turn off car and drain again
4. repeat steps 2 and 3, 1-2 more times
5. fill radiator with JUST aintifreez, NO 50/50 MIXTURE, JUST ANTI FREEZ
6. put on cap and you are done


what this procedure does is it takes the water you added in and when you start the car the thermostat opens and that water circulates into those rear banks bringing the old coolant out into the rad so it can be drained. After you have done this and you fill the rad with just antifreez, it will eventually mix with the new water that has circulated to the rear and create about a 50/50 mixture. This is a pretty involved process and a true flush only needs to be dont about 60-80k miles I think? But if you are not sure when/if ever your system was flushed, deffinately do this.

I have always used prestone antifreez, everyone says it has silicates in it and that is bad for aluminum blocks but I still use it. If you want a better more expensive coolant go with Honda coolant. Its just as good as nissan oem, but cheaper. The last guy who posted saying he bought OEM nissan coolant said he paid $18 a gallon for it. At that price you can get Evans coolant wich is guaranteed for life and never needs to be flushed or replaced.

 

I have to do this. What do u think is the difference between this and the coolant flush they do at Jiffy Lube?

A very long time ago, when I was still driving my 89 celica, I did the flush. I was able to find and remove the freeze plugs so that I can do a thorough flush. I put a garden hose into the rad and injested water into it, thru the engine then back to the rad and out of the drain plug. Did this for about 5 minutes or so.

 

But have you tried to remove those plugs on the maxima? Im sure the plugs on an I4 are much easier to get to than a V6. The first time I tried to do a flush I atempted to remove those plugs and could barely get to them. From what I have been told you need to remove the ypipe inorder to get to them

 

Yikes...forget it! I'll just use your procedure.

 

Hahahahah, oh and this isnt my procedure, I learned about it form someone else.

 

This is the procedure I followed. Took me a good 2-2.5 hours to do the drain/fill/drive a total of 4 times. I poured the old coolant into my empty distilled water jugs and ended up bringing those to Jiffy Lube, who so kindly accepted them without charge.

 

Yea I might have to pay for this service. Our homeowners association has rules against chemical spillage on the ground. And with this type of work, you cannot avoid making a huge mess and have coolant get all over the ground. They were already giving me flack when I worked on my radiator because I had to drain it before replacement. I even used a big pan to catch the fluid but it still made a big mess.

 

Use a catch pan, and also get one of those big metal pans like a 4' long cookie sheet. This will catch the extra splashes.

As for doing work outside of your driveway, I agree the HOA should be *****ing.

Dave

 

Do it at night. No one has to know.