I read in the 2K2 owner's manual and it recommends using Nissan's coolant when replacing (flush and fill, etc.). It almost sounds like unless you use Nissan's coolant that you'll ruin your cooling system. I recently spoke with a Nissan tech at a Nissan dealership and he said they just use any green coolant that's available (Prestone, Advantage, etc.). I was ready to purchase a gallon of Nissan's coolant from their parts department, but they did not have any in stock. What gives? The owner's manual makes it sound like Nissan has put some type of long-life coolant (i.e. Dex Cool) in their engines, but at the same time, the Maintenance Booklet recommends changing out the coolant every two years or 24,000 miles (just like you would do with a normal coolant).
Bottom line: if my overflow coolant bottle gets a little low...can I use the Prestone (green coolant...50/50 mix with water, of course) I have in my garage?

 

Yes, you can use the Prestone.

 

iwannabmw, roger that! Thanks!

 

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....hlight=coolant

Don't know, but it sounds credible.

 

iwannabmw, did you check out 2K2SE's posted thread? Now, I'm beginning to wonder whether or not standard Prestone will cause problems for the system.

 

Mmmm. I saw it. This is more detailed and interesting reading:

http://silverstone.fortunecity.com/f...64/coolant.htm

The most relative comment is this one, but you should still read the whole thing:

In Japanese cars equipped with silicate-free coolant, rely on this bit of history: These coolants never were sold in any quantity in the U.S. Japanese cars seem to survive nicely on conventional American products, so the safe approach is to stick with them. Both Japanese silicate-free and conventional American coolants contain phosphates, so they share that key inhibitor.

---------------
I personally have used Zerex in my 97 since I first changed it. It usually gets changed once a year and the car's cooling system definitely works hard. No problems so far. Since you're also only talking about a topoff, I think the silicate "issue" isn't a big factor anyway.

 

Very interesting...

But I can relate their history to my own: I've had four Honda's. In each case, I changed the coolant to Prestone green and the water pump failed within 10K miles. I chalked it up to luck, until I read about the differences in formulations and the effects of silicates on seals. Since then I've found I'm not the only one... at least one other guy has also had several of his Honda's fail after changing to Prestone green.

What does that mean? Probably nothing, especially as it relates to a Maxima as it's water pump seal design could be different enough from Honda's it could work perfectly on Prestone green. But then it might and I'd rather not take that chance... so I'll use an OAT antifreeze. I understand what can make it fail, not flushing well before changing over, and can prevent it. I've also been using OAT for several years now with no problems on my Rodeo, and a friend on an Escort.

NARSA's reccomendation is a good conservative one, and one I'd take if I owned a shop. A succesfull conversion is very much dependent on the mechanic: if I can't be sure my mechanic'll do a good job flushing, I'm risking a come-back with problems.

BuddyWh

 

Ouch. I guess the lesson in that is to stay away from Honda's. J/K

 

iwannabmw, what's really bothering me is that the dealers seem to use any "green" coolant that they have in stock. There are probably thousands of Nissans on the road with non-Nissan coolant. You would think that the Nissan Corp would force the dealers to use their coolant. I mean when you take your GM car to a GM dealer you do expect them to use "GM coolant." Is it possible that Dex Cool is the closest coolant to what Nissan uses?

 

See Car&Driver, July 2002 issue, p24 for an interesting article on coolants.

 

Nissan dealers probably do use any green coolant they have in stock, it's much cheaper for them and will improve their profit margins. How would Nissan know what they're using? You might expect them to use it, but this is probably a good example of why you should DIY if it's that's important to you.

For the most part, I think that worrying about this too much is an academic exercise. When gas stations repair cars, like the millions of older Japanese cars, or independent mechanics or places like Jiffy Lube, do they use different coolants for the different cars? I doubt it, the one size fits all philosophy is most likely in play. These cars seem to do just fine on the green stuff, with the exception of BuddyWh of course.

There are many high mileage Maxima's on this board, I would imagine that most of them use Prestone or similar in them.

I noticed the artcle also said most Japanese cars. Does anyone know for sure what Nissan uses?

 

Interesting article, although it was speaking to the cooling properties more than anti-corrosion properties of coolant. Living in a desert, where the temp's never get lower than the teens, I was thinking about increasing the water/coolant ratio. But reading that NARSA article is making me rethink that: if the car is still adequately cooled on really hot days then it's probably better to keep the anti-corrosion protection level up.

I also find it very interesting to note the Zerex tech bulletin on the G-05 coolant the article is talking about is silent on it's suitability for Japanese automobiles while the tech bulletin for Zerex's G-30 coolant explicitly states it meets the silicate-free requirements of the Japanese automobile industry. Why the distinction?

I also reviewed the Nissan service manual (not the owner's manual.) In the maintenance section for refilling coolant, it states quite plainly to use genuine Nissan coolant "or equivalent".

I wish they'd tell us exactly what the equivlent is, but I haven't found it yet. If you surf down the tech sheets on various coolants you'll find that, like Zerex's, they're either silent on suitability for Japanese autos or, for their silicate free formulations, they state explicitly they meet the requirements of the Japanese auto industry for silicate free formulation.

Last I checked, Maxima's are Nissans and Nissan's a Japanese automobile. But maybe IWANNABMW's isn't.

 

So does that support using a Zerex or Prestone non OAT formulated antifreeze? I bought some Prestone green last week to flush this coming weekend but I want to make sure I'm safe. If both are OK to use providing proper flushing then I'm inclined to use the OAT based solely for the extra long protection it reportedly gives.

 

That's a pretty generalized statement... do you know this to actually be the case? or is this speculation based upon past experiences we've all had with really bad service writers and poor service.

I was at my dealer picking up some parts one one day and noticed the big stack of Nissan coolant. While waiting, I asked him about it, and the price. He knew it was different from Prestone green (didn't know why) and told me their maintenance people will use only that for servicing cars.

Of course that doesn't mean all service dept's use it. And, even so, if I took my car in for servicing I'd still specify the type of coolant I wanted, just to make sure it's NOT Prestone green.

BuddyWh

 

What it supports, more than anything else is it's a gray area. You are being left to make your own decision.

The evidence points to: Japanese auto manufacturers specify an antifreeze that does NOT have silicates.

Prestone green and Zerex gold have silicates.

The chemistry going on in silicated antifreezes that can lead to early water pump seal failure is well understood even if not well documented with empirical data.

OAT antifreeze has a very long life, and is spec'ced that way, and are also explicitly spec'd compatible with Japanese cars... if you choose to use it just make sure you flush the old stuff very well. Genuine Nissan is really not that expensive either ($25 or so every other year), it works very well, and you KNOW it's compatible... no questions.

The only rational conclusion is Prestone green and Zerex gold are the higher risk. But it is YOUR choice because nobody has (yet) stood up and said, conclusively, silicated antifreezes are BAD in Japanese autos.

BuddyWh

 

BuddyWh: Granted, you have researched the coolant issues much more than I have, and after reveiwing it a little more, I understand what you're saying about the silicates. I just don't think it's as a big a deal as some of the sites make it out to be, especially considering the huge number of Japanese cars out there that are surely running on Prestone or equivalent.

What I find really ironic is that Mark S. asked a similar question in May. You replied that "If you are just topping up Prestone is OK but do NOT use it for a coolant change." The question he asked at the top of this thread was whether he could top off the coolant recovery bottle with the Prestone he already had on hand. When I replied yes, I get jumped on. What gives?

 

I apologize for that... it looks as though I am a victim of my own rush to respond. An"IMHO" would have been very much in order there.

That was, indeed, a statement of opinion as while I would not recommend putting a silicated anti-freeze in a Japanese car, I do recognize people have done it and (others at least) have had no problems doing so.

As you can tell, my reasons aren't a simple black/white; I can't point to an authority that says "don't". I was guilty (as others have been) of giving a too-short response to a complicated question.

BuddyWh

BuddyWh

 

Guys I didn't mean to start a "war." I just think that I will have to find a Nissan Dealer (and there are 5 in my area) that stocks and uses Nissan Coolant when it's time for a flush and fill...then there shouldn't be any problems at all. I know that at least one of them doesn't...they use Advantage and Prestone.

 

I don't know if I'd call it a war

I like threads like this, it makes people think a little and sometimes learn something. I'd rather see these posts than the ones like "I just killed my neighbor's Hyundai."

 

iwannabmw, that's true! This thread will definitely make other owners think the next time they bring their Maxima into the dealer for a coolant flush and fill...hopefully they'll ask "You're using Nissan coolant, correct?" If not, then it would be wise to use another dealer that does.