Mark S.

I'm assuming that my 2K2 utilizes the standard Prestone Green coolant and not some type of Dexcool hybrid. Am I correct? Or do I have to purchase my coolant directly from the dealer? Thanks!

Mark S.

Wow, I guess I better take a look at the owner's manual again...hard to believe that no one knows if the 2K2 takes a "special" coolant.

sloppymax

iTrader: (8)

you should be able to tell by looking in the resevoir,ive got a 2k1 but id bet that the 2k2 uses green. most gm is what runs the orange/pink stuff.

BuddyWh

Nissan's coolant is green in color, but it is NOT Prestone AF/coolant. If you are just topping up Prestone is OK but do NOT use it for a coolant change. Use either Nissan's or any other Japanese automaker's AF/coolant... Toyota's (red in color) I hear is a little cheaper than Nissan's. The anti-corrosion protection Prestone uses is hard on Japanese water pump seals and leads to early failure.

All the automaker-brand coolants can be expensive though. If you want, you can safely use Dexcool (orange in color) which is much cheaper and it will also last a lot longer than any other... 5years/100Kmiles. The only thing you have to make sure of is that they do a very good job of flushing the old coolant out of the system... you can't let it contaminate the Dexcool or you have to change it within a couple years anyway.

Dexcool is far and away a much better coolant than anything else on the market. You won't have to change coolant very frequently... but only if you keep it uncontaminated.

BuddyWh

Mark S.

sloppy, yes it's green in color...but it may be a variation of GM's Dex-Cool (though it's color is not orange).

Buddy, I think what'll I do is simply get the coolant from the Nissan dealer. I only want to have it on hand for just topping off. When it comes time to an actual flush and fill, I'll take it to the dealer for that (and I'm sure that they'll use the right coolant).

Again, thanks for the info!

maxxed

Its Silicate that almost all American Antifreezed contain that hard on Japanese cars. It plates the water pump seals and bearings with a hard abrasive surface.

Don't assume, however that the dealer will use Nissan antifreeze for a flush and fill. I've found that a lot of Nissan dealers don't even carry it (others on the .org have had touble finding it also)
Toyota Red seems easier to come by.

BuddyWh

Mark, sounds like you have a plan, but just some FYI: the Nissan coolant is nothing like Dexcool, it uses entirely different chemistry for corrosion control (it is high nitrate/phosphate while Dexcool uses OAT chemistry.)

I too am confident the dealer will use the right stuff, but there is much to be said for Dexcool. The chemistry employed by Japanese coolants, while effective, is not long-lived. They need to be changed frequently (one year preferred, two years max) to maintain corrosion the protection critical in an all-aluminum Max system (aluminum heads, block and radiator). Dexcool works beautifully: it is very long-lived, not harmful to water pumps and superb for aluminum protection. In fact, it never really depletes: IIRC, the 5-year limit is arbitrary and established only because they felt no one should ignore their cooling system longer than that.

Prestone "green" uses a high silicate chemistry, great for aluminum protection and relatively long-lived but also damaging to water pump seals not designed to deal with it.

BuddyWh

Neal728

Since we're on the subject, what brand of coolant would you guys buy in a store? I know havoline makes a dexcool coolant. I just bought my 2k2 yesterday, should I want a year before flushing it or put in the dexcool now?

Neal

BuddyWh

I use Halvoline: but Prestone also has a long-life, OAT chemistry, coolant that is Dexcool-compliant. I'd use either.

Obviously, you don't have to wait a year. But be sure to flush the old stuff out well... other wise you can't be sure you have the 5-year protection and need to change in 1-2 to be safe.

As for me, I am looking for the BEST method for flushing my Max... it has a dual-loop cooling system with two thermostats, one for the heads and one for the block. Getting it all seems difficult and the block drain plugs are very hard to get to.

BuddyWh

maxxed

I would be very careful using OAT technology antifreezes.

Do a search on "Dexcool problems" and you find many disturbing posts about problems with the stuff, and its only been in use for 6 or seven years. It seems most problems revolve around air in the cooling system.

Check out this link for more info

http://www.imcool.com/articles/anitf...ohnbrunner.htm

BuddyWh

Very good link, key point is made early... keep coolant level full. Obviously this is a very good idea and most of us do that already but it is especially important for any coolant that does not use high- silicate chemistry. Remember that Japanese coolants also use low- or no- silicate chemistry!

The reason for this has nothing to do with air: it happens basically because lowered levels expose surfaces to moisture saturated atmosphere but remove contact with the coolant. Silicate chemistry works by depositing a layer of silicates on surfaces of the system's internals that continue to protect even when the levels are low. No-silicate formulations don't work that way: they work when the coolant itself is in contact with the surfaces at least intermittently.

It may sound like advantage goes to silicate antifreezes but remember they can also lead to early water pump failure in Japanese cars.

My choice is Dexcool and merely do what I always do... don't neglect my vehicle!

BuddyWh

woosh

How much more does it complicate and help things when you add a product like, redline waterwetter? Do you think it would be better to use with dexcool or the silicate based OEM coolant?

thanks
Andre'

BuddyWh

I don't know what waterwetter is... my layman's guess, based on it's name alone, is it's a surfactant that lowers the surface tension of the water to make it flow easier through restricted passages.

I would classify it just like most of the remedies that clog the shelves at Pepboys: maybe useful (if your radiator is partially clogged,) probably not harmful, but certainly not needed if your system is well maintained.

If your cooling system needs help such that you'd consider adding it, then get it repaired. It was designed and built to work well if properly maintained so why put in what is, at best, a crutch... unless ghetto rigging a problem to sell it.

And at worse it could possibly mess up the chemistries at work in there, so why mess with it.

If you want better cooling performance, lower the AF/water ratio: 30/70 stills provides good corrosion protection and freeze protection for most people who live in Florida, S.California, Arizona and S.Texas. Water, alone, is the best performing coolant there is, the problem is it freezes and supports corrosion without some help.

BuddyWh

Mark S.

Buddy, thanks for the additional info. My '01 Vette uses Dex-Cool (the orange stuff). Like I said...just to be on the safeside, I'll get some of Nissan's Coolant to keep on hand for "topping off"...at least I know that it should match what the factory put in. Then when it's time for a flush and fill, I will check with the dealer to find out if in fact he's using the right Nissan coolant.

maxxed

I've heard good things about water wetter. Redline makes a product called Diesel water wetter, thats the one to get because it doesn't have Silicate additives.

It works by lowering the surface tension of the water, this has the effect of causing the bubbles caused by cavitation to collapse quicker, therefore increasing the water to metal contact.