Coolant flush.. first timer, need advice

[JAG.]

hey all.. about to do a coolant flush for the first time on my stock '90 5spd hatch. Car's been sitting for 10 months since i bought it 2 years ago. been out of the country a while and it's time to get this thing going again. Gotta change all the fluids, but reading around here it sounds kinda complicated to flush the coolant yourself. Not impossible but clearly a pain in the arse. I have limited tools and limited space, so i wonder: Is it worth the bother or would it be best to just pay up $106 at the dealer to have it done??

After searching a while, i found many good threads of info around here, such as:

post2354243.html?hilit=

http://www.nicoclub.com/archives/how-to ... 240sx.html

and i DO have the FSM.. which is pretty much word for word in that last link. Bit it seems many folks have cooling issues and trying it at home can make matters worse.

Just wanted a bit of advice on whether i should take it on myself or just get it done at a shop. I don't have a lot of time, it's my only car at the moment and i have to get it in good running condition by this weekend. All thoughts welcome..

- JAG

[ProudNissanFreak]

I would say to go for it yourself. The write up is pretty thorough and there are pictures to follow, so you should be fine.

[JAG.]

yeah i was thinking the same thing.. with all this info and people's experiences i should be able to fudge my way thru it. just wanted to be sure i didnt get caught up in some air bubble nightmare! plus id rather not spend $100 that i dont have.. appreciate the input

- JAG

[s13sickboi]

Welcome to NICO

This IS for a ka24de, shouldnt be too much different for the SOHC though

Undo that 14mm bolt on the block under the exhaust mani and dump distilled water in the rad till it runs clear, then put back that bolt with some RTV and jack up the car so the rad is higher than the motor and undo this:

Fill up the car with 50/50 mix antifreeze/coolant till it comes out of that bolt hole you undid, set car back down and top off rad, fill up coolant reservoir and you should be good to go

[JAG.]

ok awesome guys.. thanks for the guidance! i spent 40 minutes under my car trying to get that damn 14mm bolt out of the block to drain! that bugger isn't budging a bit. Who knows how longs its been there without moving.. it's probably fused with the block. gonna get some bigger tools and taller jack stands tomorrow evening and try it again. Those are some bloody tight spaces down there, so i may try to get it from above.

thanks again for the tips and by all means keep 'em coming. i'll post an update soon..

- JAG

[JAG.]

Ok, here's an update.. if anyone out there is still around to care:

after much fussing with that damn block drain bolt, a friend and i got it drained and flushed.. only to discover there is OIL in the coolant.

i didn't want to believe it at first but we flushed the whole thing til it was as clear as we could get it, but it was never fully clear water. topped it off with coolant/water and drove it around for 10 minutes. checked it out again and it was just as brown and oil as it was when i first flushed it.

ok so my first thought ran to 'blown head gasket'. just for the hell of it and to try to be sure, i changed the oil, expecting coolant in it. except there wasnt ANY coolant in the oil??? however i did notice that the oil level was much lower [before i changed it].

so it seems that oil is leaking INTO the coolant system.. but coolant is not leaking back into the oil??? im no expert here but this doesnt seem right to me. Head gasket jobs are not cheap and given the situation im in, i really wouldnt have a lot of time to do the work on my own. Taking it to a shop will cost me a second mortgage..

BUT, before i head off that route, im hoping someone can enlighten me and explain that it is NOTthe head gasket, but maybe something else im dealing with.

Any thoughts?? Cheers..

[zer0c123]

how did the engine oil and coolant look like when you drained it. Describe in more detail please.

[JAG.]

the oil looked like dirty oil.. very dirty oil. dark brown maple syrup like. no white stuff or foam or coolant in it at all.

the coolant was a very brownish-green/gray-ish mixture of oil and coolant. could see some of it was emulsified and some swirls/splotches not fully mixed. didnt look like the neon-green coolant i had filled it with about half an our before.

any thoughts?

[tyrodtom]

There is red antifreeze out there, and blue, and green and orange. When you combine the different colors you can get some awful looking results. And if it has not been changed in a long time you can get some messes flowing out when it finally is drained also.
What you're seeing might be the result of have never being drained and a mixture of different colors of antifreeze.

[JAG.]

thats very possible but i dont THINK its the case here. it was definitely green before the oil leaked into it. i had checked it out before i bought the car and this is the first coolant flush ive given it since then. i suppose coolants could have been mixed but there are lots of other indications that oil was leaking into it.

[moso]

ok heres the diz. if your finding oil in your water it means there is a breach between the oil and coolant passages in a place where the oil is under pressure, meaning bad head gasket, cracked head, cracked front cover, or cracked block. in this case i think you will be happy if its just the front cover or head gasket. you know this because the coolant is only under say 13psi where the oil is under considerably more pressure.

[JAG.]

man.. well no mater which way none of this sounds like good news. guess im pretty screwed eh? Well before i go off swapping the whole engine im gonna eliminate all the possibilities, and try to stay optimistic.

all of this sounds like dissecting the whole thing down to the block! don't suppose there's an easier way to find out if its just a blown gasket or a cracked block, is there?? getting desperate here guys, any help is appreciated. cheers