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@RMB5190 I'm one of those that uses the vacuum fillers. It made the job of refilling take all of about 5 minutes. No need to bother with thermostat opening, bleeding funnels, or bleed valves. Last time I did it, just removed the radiator cap after unscrewing the petcock. Refilled, topped off the reservoir and called it a day.
@Dan The blue stuff is nissan's version of 50/50 mix. If I recall, if you buy the undiluted version, it comes green. Of course green can be a universal coolant too. Also, high silicate antifreeze can be damaging to aluminum parts.
For how often one changes coolant in a modern car, I say go with the oem 50/50 mix to be on the safe side. I do a drain/fill every 4, next time is about a year from now. Plan on getting 2 gals of nissan coolant.
Awesome thank you, I just went with what the FSM said for my car. Which was the blue stuff I guess. Is green antifreeze high silicate or is that the other stuff? Thanks again!
I believe when I did it I assumed it was like other cars I've owned but once I looked up the exact procedure I saw mention of the vacuum and some people running into issues when not using it. Thought I'd ave to post-pone but the video showed it being done without the vacuum so I gave it a whirl anyways. I'm at about 1000 miles now since the drain and fill and no issues.
That said, it would've been nice using the vacuum vs. tediously pouring little by little.
This was a great video to follow. Changed upper, lower, and the 4 TB hoses without a hangup besides the one at the back of the engine which is a Royal PITA to get to while in your garage when it’s 92 out with 90% humidity and no fan (I HATE Florida). But I saved $300 in labor so it was worth the sweat. Thanks for the great vid.
update: no leaks and I want to say thank you to all those in the great forums we have for the tips to help get this done somewhat easily. THANK YOU!
Last edited by QuinnDEskimo; Aug 18, 2019 at 09:11 PM.
1. Is the consensus 1.5 gallons of coolant is needed to drain/fill? Genuine Nissan blue is expensive and I want to ensure I order enough - FSM states 9 quarts which is over 2 gallons.
2. Is a flush ever needed for most vehicles? My 2011 is over the 84 months but at 87k well under the 84 month/105k recommendation.
1.5 gals sounds about right. I bought 2 for a drain/fill, still had about half left over. I do drain/fills every 4-5 years regardless of mileage. The idea is to renew the fluid before it breaks down significantly.
