Here I go again showing my inexperience...

I noticed last week that my coolant is pretty low. It's not quite under the minimum mark, but it's close. I'm not worried about a leak of any sort; I've got just a little over 30k miles now and the car's never been serviced at the dealer.

Anyway, I need to put in some new fluid. I'm not ready to pay for a complete coolant system flush at this point. I checked the owner's manual, and it mentions only "official nissan coolant, or equivalent" (paraphrase there).

My question: is there just generic coolant, or is it available in weights like oil? Anything I need to keep in mind when selecting coolant? And although I do live in the southeast, it does commonly get below freezing in the winter.

 

I would go with Nissan OEM Long Life coolant. It is borate and silicate free... Toyota Red would work as well and may be cheaper... but if you are doing just a drain and refill, stick with the OEM fluid. A gallon jug will run you around $18...

 

it doesnt matter what coolant you put in......ive called the dealership up and asked because when i changed out my headers we had to drain the coolant in order to get to the bolts easier on the headers.......but yea the dealership says any kind of coolant is fine.......right now i dont have the nissan OEM coolant and i have no temperature over heating problems or anything but i WILL change it to the oem sooner or later

 

whatever you do end up using, be sure to use distilled water to dilute it... not just plain tap water.

 

If you go with a long-life coolant, you should probably do a flush first. I believe that if you don't the coolant should be treated like and ordinary one. It's a good idea to do a flush and change every 2 to 3 years with standard coolant.

You should be fine using tap water unless your water supply is on the hard side, and in that case, distilled water is highly recommended.

Most, if not all coolants are aluminum compatable now, but you should read the label to be sure, and stick with a name brand.

Also, keep the mix at between 50% to 60% for best results.

 

Stay away from that GM long life stuff.

 

Thanks for the feedback everyone.

And now for more nubeness...

I wasn't aware that any preparation was required for coolant; I had assumed that it was a simple "Pour-in" affair. Glad I posted first.

Would any one care to explain the preparation, and the reason behind it?

 

You should have listened to me the other night then. I told you it wasn't *just* a pour it in there thing.

We can discuss the reasons when I get done on the computer and come back downstairs.

 

Ha, Ha. It seems like everytime Trey posts something and then gets off the computer Cheryl has to immediately come behind him and clean up any messes he left or set him straight.

Wait...that sounds like my wife.

 

Nope, not that way at all in this case. I have been gone all evening and just got home a few minutes before I posted that. lol

 

I know, just kidding with ya.

 

The ideal is a 50/50 mix with water, so if you're doing a complete fill, or topping up, that's what you use. Where it gets cold (you say "coolant", we say "anti-freeze") we need to test periodically with a hydrometer to measure the freezing point of the mix and optimize it. Too much water it can freeze up, too much coolant it can "gel" at extremely cold temps. You can optimize the boiling point of the mix the same way, something you might want to consider if overheating is a consideration. It can increase the boiling point by 10 or 15 deg. F over pure water. A hydrometer is simple to use and cheap, probably less than $5.00 and a good idea if you don't know the concentration of your existing coolant.

They do sell pre-mixed "pour-in" stuff now, so make sure you don't have that before you mix it.

 

Are you saying the overflow can is low? If so, just add distilled water till it's up to the max level. It's normal for coolant to evaporate seeing that it is a 50/50 mix of coolant water. There's no need to bother with adding coolant or a 50/50 mix. Just add water. I really doubt it will take more than 2 to 6 ounces of water. My G seems to be okay after 40K, but I don't think I run my car as hard as you do. However, I do have to add about a cup of water to my 98 Subaru Legacy wagon catch can about every 1 year or so.

Now if your radiator is low, I'd be very concerned.

 

Trey, if your talking about the overflow then you are fine. Just like DaveB said, put some distilled water in it. I wouldn't go to the MAX line because it does fill up when the car gets very hot, but go up half way between min-max.

 

Yep. It could get messy otherwise.