im sorry guys but i made a thread in the fluids section and i know im not going to get a response tonight. im doing my coolant flush tomorrow morning. i just have a quick question, is the nissan oem coolant premixed or do i have to do a 50/50 mix? also i read that 1 gallon is sufficient, but if i needed to mix it to 50/50 then how much distilled water and coolant would i need to make a perfect mix. i plan to flush out the system with distilled water. thanks guys. please dont flame me for this.

 

anyone want to chime in real quick?

 

no the nissan oem coolant is not pre mixed...so buy one gallon of dis stilled water at walmart and one jug of nissan coolant...and if you plan to flush the system, buy another gallon of dis stilled

mix the whole thing in one big container...then flush out the system with the other gallon of dis stilled...once you are done, start pouring with the heater on (a/c compressor off) and keep squeezing the upper radiator hose to keep the mixture running into the engine...stop when it starts to over flow...then add some to the reservoir

wait until a few days later and top off your reservoir because it will be low...

 

and don't worry...one jug (1 gallon) of nissan coolant and one gallon of dis stilled water will be a perfect mix...

they say for us cali residents, coolant isn't as important than other areas of the united states...we can get away with 80 water/20 coolant if we wanted too...our weather permits us to do it...whereas east coast residents might want to use a 50/50 mix because the coolant helps protect from rust and freezing the water

 

Nissan OEM A/F not premixed. 1 Gal should be sufficient for VA climate. If you do a full flush, add the OEM A/F and then top off w/ distilled water you will be at slightly less than a 50/50 mix. Get a inexpensive A/F tester at an auto parts store -- it will tell you the +/- temp range of your final mix. In my 7 years in northern VA I never expienced less than -10 deg F.

 

cool thanks man. will i most likely use all of the 50/50 mix that i will make?

also these are the steps that im taking

-drain radiator
-fill radiator w/ DW and run for 10-15 mins with temp setting on hot
-repeat till water is clear
-then refill with 50/50 mix.

sounds okay?

i was just going to mix the two in a huge bucket and do it that way.

 

Your "flush out the system" is quite different than merely draining the radiator and refilling and topping off the overflow. If you are switching fluids from what is in the car to the nissan, then, yes, you do a flush - but it is more than draining and filling. My suggestion is to read the posts on coolant changes...lots of help there if you haven't already read them. I hope you have read them, but by the sounds of it you have not because when one buys distilled water for a "flush" , you will see on the posts, and I have experienced, that it will take LOTS of gallons - as in 8-12 gallons of plain 'ol distilled just to purge the old out if you do the flush by drain/fills and running the car a few moments between each one.

Should you be planning on doing what you hope is a complete change of fluid and getting ALL the old out, then plan on a few hours, buy atleast 10gal distilled for the flush and 1 more to mix the coolant to a 50/50 mixture for topping off the overflow. Hope this helps.

 

nk2k2,
If you use the method you stated above, then add the 1 Gal of full strength OEM coolant after the last drain and then top off the readiator w/ distilled water. You will find that you will use all the 1 Gal of A/F and less than 1 Gal of the diistilled water.

 

Yeah, do it like Allen says... but you'll find that just one cycle of running the car w/ distilled won't be enough to dilute the old stuff in there completely. If that is your plan, multiple times will be required, thus MANY gallons of distilled.

I just put in 1 gal of undiluted and then top off the overflow w/ a 50/50 mixture...I live in Mich and need to be sure I don't dilute it too much.

 

Look in the fluids section and you will see that I had given a good detailed instruction on flushing and changing the coolant. This is the way to go if you are doing it yourself. You may have to search thru the threads because I had posted this a while ago. Thanks!

 

okay so i went to nissan today to buy some coolant and i did but when i get home i see that the coolant ingredients say silicates. then i went to advanced auto and the prestone they have dont have silicates as one of the ingredients. the prestone that i got is not the 50/50 mixed one. its the green one for "all" makes. is there a another name for silicates that i should look for on the bottle?

btw: nissan gave me PEAK coolant

 

Hey,

I don't think you want that stuff from what I have learned on this site and from others...but do what you want. I don't know of anything else for "silicate". My Toyota red stuff says, I belive, silicate free specifically.

If you wanna be particular, take it back and go to the Toyota dealer and buy their red coolant or the Honda dealer and get their blue...stuff that is recommended in the posts on this subject.

I'm no professional, but it sounds like you should read or re-read the posts on the coolant and you'll find lots of answers before you crack open your cooling system and get stuck w/out anything to put back into your car.

 

Peak brand coolant is NOT Nissan OEM. Many dealers will sell (and use) both the OEM and a U.S. aftermarket brand (like Peak). All U.S. aftermarket coolants, except the DexCool stuff, will have silicates. As MichMaxFan noted the asian coolants, such as Toyota Red or Honda Blue are excellent substitutes for Nissan Green coolant and will be silicate free. Expect to pay $16-$22 per gallon for the asian OEM coolants vice about 6 bucks/gal for Prestone or Peak brands.
Call the dealer and ask if he stocks the OEM stuff -- if so, return the PEAK and get the Nissan coolant for a few more bucks.

 

Looks like you missed this thread?
http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=278600

All the info and more is in there.

 

IMHO don't settle with any of the aftermarket coolants, you will face issues down the lane. Stick with Nissan Long Life (OAT based formula) and you will be fine... Anyway if you wanted to flush this is what I do... Good luck.


To do a flush all u need is 6G of distilled water and 1G of Nissan Long Life full strength coolant.

1) Remover lower radiator hose (LRH) and drain radiator and reconnect.
2) Remove block bolts and drain block.
2a) Keep heat to high.
3) If the block bolts are hard to get, then fill radiator with distilled water, remove upper radiator hose (URH) and plug the upper radiator hole and then start car and keep filling the radiator with distilled water while thermostat opens and sends out the coolant out of the block.
4) Run thro 4G of distilled water, and after sometime its only water that comes off the URH.
5) Stop and reconnect URH. Remove air via air relief valve, water should stop dripping from valve. Drain radiator of remaining water and put full strength Nissan coolant (leave 1/2 L for overflow tank)
6) Block has 3L of water and radiator 3.5L of coolant (total capacity is 7.1L including heater)
7) Cycle thro for the water and coolant to mix.
8) Fill overflow tank completely with 1/2L coolant and distilled water.
9) Allow the baby to cool.
10) Get the coolant funnel from Walmart, that yellow one, stick it into the raditor cap hole, using tape to tape the funnel to the radiator cap so that it doesn't keep dripping from the side of the funnel, remove the overflow tubing and plug the radiator end with tape, put some coolant into funnel and run car at idle...
11) Purge remaining air in system but opening radiator cap on an inclined drivethro and keep running for 45 min.
12) All air is out of the closed loop system. Fill overflow tank if needed.

 

i went to nissan personally and they said they have been using the peak coolant for years now with no problems. they said they dont carry a nissan coolant which i was kind of shocked by. i put prestone in it for now but i plan on having it completely flushed out with the honda blue stuff. i called prestone's customer contact center and they verified that the green coolant that they sell does not have borate,silicate and something else in it. they said they did it so they can meet fed specs and manufactors specs. the one i put in today was not premixed and i mixed it with distilled water.

 

The difference between the asian and the U.S. coolants is the silicate additive in U.S. antifreeze which is a fine grit meant to help clean the cooling system. It's just a little bit harder on the asian spec water pump seals - in theory. Many believe that using the silicate free coolants will make the water pump last just a little bit longer while others, including some Nissan dealers, claim the silicates do no harm. Just look in the Max Forum's 'fluids' site for a lengthy, long running debate.
Bottom Line - The A/F you used will not cause any immediate problems. Run it through its normal life and replace with an Nissan or other asian brand next time. Go to Toyota or Honda for their A/F if Nissan cannot supply you with the OEM coolant.

 

Dont mean to hijack, but should there be coolant in the overflow, between the upper and lower limits at all times?

 

yes.............