What kind of antifreeze?
 

I checked the sticky at the top of the forum but couldn't find a real
answer.

Shold I use regular Prestone as antifreeze (like on motorvate), or should I use the OEM type?

OEM is the safer alternative. According to Nissan, their coolant does not contain any amines, borates or silicates, making it friendly to aluminum and water pump seals. OEM coolant is really not that much more expensive than other brands. I'd rather be safe than sorry...

Actually, it is a lot more expensive...$19.00 per gallon at my dealer. The consensus on the board when we had this discussion not to far back was to use Toyota OEM, which is also amine/borate/silicate free and costs about $12.00 per gallon.


https://maxima.org/forums/4th-generation-maxima-1995-1999/278600-need-help-right-now-please.html

...but is it safe to use Prestone?

the person who maintain the motorvate website was using prestone shurgs

Rumor has it, the silicates can kill the water pump over time. However, the silicates also help to clean the tubes/radiator/water jackets. Double edge sword. :)

The ethylene-glycol in the Toytota/Honda/Nissan brands helps to clean and is easy on the water pump.

I'd just go with one of the foreign brand, you won't have to worry about things being bad for your car. Just completely flushed my fluid and am using the Toyota red coolant. Matches my car too even though you can't see it after putting it in.

I use Prestone in my 95 KingCab. I have the same water pump at 136k miles. I would not use it in my 02 Max though.

I paid around $12/gallon from my local Nissan dealer. To me, the couple extra dollars spent for Nissan or another premium coolant is worth the piece of mind. I would not run the risk of water pump damage just to save $5 on a gallon of coolant (which will probably be in the car for a year or two, sometimes longer depending on the owner). I'm also a firm believer in using distilled water with the coolant. Some tap water is loaded with minerals and various chemicals...not sure how these will react with aluminum and other cooling system compontents over time and at high temps. BTW, Honda-branded coolant is very similar to Nissan and toyota in that it's safe for aluminum, water pumps, etc. I bought some to top off our other car, and they got me for ~$14/gal... and it is premixed!

So you're paying $14 for a gallon of liquid which is only 50% antifreeze? I think I'd rather get the whole gallon as antifreeze, and mix it myself, for that much money.

Yup! And the Honda dealer is very proud of their prices! In all fairness the coolant must have a good additive package though, as the Honda factory service manual doesn't call for a coolant change for 10 yrs/120,000 miles, then 5 yrs/60K thereafter. I don't think they even sell the coolant in concentrated form (mix yourself)...at least I didn't see any when I bought mine. They did, however, offer the premix in quarts for some ridiculous price...that's why I opted for the gallon. I can speculate the reasoning for selling the premix in a number of ways...they make more money; they can control the optimum mix using their coolant and distilled water for best performance in Honda vehicles; they think customers are a bunch of dummies and can't mix two liquids 50/50...take your pick

but doesn't prestone sell a sillicate free antifreeze? I know to be safe jus buy the foeign stuff but won't this stuff be ok?

Use at your own risk.

Silicate free...but not free of the other badies to our aluminum engines/water pumps.

They might, but I have a bottle of Prestone Dex-Cool in the garage (which I use in my son's Cavalier)...Dex-Cool is an extended-life coolant required in newer GM cars...I'm not sure what the Dex-Cool spec requires concerning silicates, but the bottle makes no specific mention of it being silicate-free. It just says that it contains a special additive package for extended use and compatibility with aluminum. As stated in another post above...use (Prestone) at your own risk...

My dads dexcool in our garage says silicate free and phosphate free. I just need to top off my oem stock antifreeze, wonder if jus using a little bit would be ok?

A little bit may not hurt your system. I tried some Prestone extended life antifreeze a couple of years ago in my truck. I eventually took it out because it would crystalize. It even looked funny when I took the radiator cap off to check the level. If you drive an 03 Max, it should be worth it to get the recommended coolant for it.

I think i;m just going to add some distilled water to my overflow container. that little bit, I'll be fine

I went to my local Nissan dealer this morning to buy some OEM antifreeze. The parts man told me that all he had in green was Prestone. That's what they use in the shop there. He also had some red (Dexcool) type in a Nissan bottle. I will have to read the bottle to see what's in the mixture.

go figure, so nissan is using prestone green in there shops??

They are at Sandy Sansing Nissan in Pensacola, FL. I use it in my 95 Nissan KingCab and I'm thinking about using it in my Max once I do so more research on Prestone green.

Picked up my Toyota coolant yesterday for my flush/refill today.

Question: If you are NOT going to remove the engine coolant plugs, is it necessary to perform the operation on the HVAC controls (Turn key to ON, turn heat to hottest temp for 10 secs, Turn key OFF)?

How much did you pay for it? As far as turning the heater on, you have to do that if you want to circulate all of the coolant through the system. If you don't drain and flush until the water runs out clear, there will still be antifreeze mixture in the block and heater system. You will probably have a hard time removing the plug on the firewall side of the block if you decide to remove them. The 10 second deal is to make sure the damper for the heater inlet hose fully opens. What color os Toyota's antifreeze?

Toyota fluid is red. I paid $15.95 per gallon (purchased 2 gallons). I think I only need one gallon of fluid though. I am now on my 3rd drain and fill with distilled water and the radiator only takes 1 gallon before it is full.

Yes, I did let it drain thouroughly with the radiator cap removed and the heater open.

After refilling I take it for a short drive (2 miles) with the heat at maximum. I (and Nissan apparently) would not recommend removing the engine block plugs. From Nissan literature, they beleive it will make it much more difficult to bleed. Also, be sure to note that there is not rubber washer for the 2002 - 2003 (maybe others) drain plug. Our drain plug comes with a rubber o-ring.

http://home.nc.rr.com/acbradley/max_radiator_plug.JPG

That must be extended life antifreeze then. I believe that it would be more difficult bleed the system if you remove the block plugs also. It's going to be hard enough anyway since there is no air bleed plug on the engine like the VE engined Maxima. I did a cooling system flush on a Mercury Villager/Nissan Quest last weekend. It took a long time to get the air bled out. I had to run the engine to operating temp and let it cool down. After the coolant recovery tank was drawn down I had to refill it several times. I belive you will have to do the same procedure to bleed yours. Yours only took 1 gallon to refill becasue you still had some coolant in the block and heater core.

I finished around 6pm yesterday (starting at 11am). For me, it took 7 gallons of distilled water ($5.75) and 1 gallon of Toyota Antifreeze ($15.95). I bought a second and used about a teaspoon to top off the radiator although I suspect I will need more as the engine burps itself.

Total cost:$37.65

What did you do with the waste water? That's the only thing stopping me from doing a flush / fill myself vs going to a Jiffy Lube.

It's sitting in my garage in about 8 1 gallon containers. I used the left over distilled water containers and some empty milk jugs. In our city, we can drop off household waste on Saturdays, so next Saturday I'll take it and drop it off.

Another option is the Citgo Lube up the street lets me drop off oil and radiator fluid from time to time. Don't know how they would feel about 8 gallons though. :lol:

Here is a Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) for Prestone green antifreeze. Notice that the main ingredient is etylene glycol anywhere from 80-95%. 1.5 % is water, 0-8% Diethylene glycol and less than ½ of 1 percent Tolytriazole. I don't know what the Toyota and Honda mixes contain. I will keep reserching though.
http://www.howe.k12.ok.us/~jimaskew/msds/prestone.htm