Engine Coolant

[WhoDey456]

Looking at my Engine Coolant last night, I ntoiced that the reservoir had a little under a 1/4th left in the tank and the Coolant was pretty discolored...My car just turned 60k and I havent flushed the radiator since I bought the car with 30k on it a couple years ago.

Should I add more to the reservoir or do a flush? Is there a DIY right up on the flush? Or any tips/methods on doing this...Any different from doing my gf's Olds Alero flush? Thanks!

FOOTBALL IS BACK ON!

[mexillis]

shouldnt be any different, im about to do a flush tomorrow and gona add some purple ice.

[antzrus]

The manual says to add only distilled water to the mix. This would be wise if hundreds and hundreds of gallons of tap water were going through the system yearly. But alas, a few gallons of tap water in the life of your machine have so few impurities that they wouldn't clog a capillary into you thumb. Distilled water in this case is almost as OCD as new synthetic oil every 3K miles.

[mcrews]

antzus,
actually that is a false analogy.
1. distilled water is cheap AND specified, synthetic is not cheap and not specified.
2.Distilled water is NOT replace after a short period. THe synthetic is.

I hate to disagree w/ another ol'guy, But I would absolutely run the distilled.

[antzrus]

antzus,
actually that is a false analogy.
1. distilled water is cheap AND specified, synthetic is not cheap and not specified.
2.Distilled water is NOT replace after a short period. THe synthetic is.

I hate to disagree w/ another ol'guy, But I would absolutely run the distilled.

I agree w/no. 1. I agree w/no. 2. Maybe the analogy is false-depending upon your own subjective perception of it. But we agree on 1 & 2.

But take a few gallons of tap water, boil it away and check out the residue in the bottom of your pot. I daresay what you will find can hardly make any impression on your cooling system, much less on your ability to even see it without your bifocals and/or a magnifying glass.

[The00Dustin]

You must have really clean tap water Antz. There would definitely be a noticeable residue if I did that. You'd bea ble to see and feel it (mostly lime, but lots of it). Nevermind the fact that algae will start growing in the water within a month (maybe not in the radiator with antifreeze, but is it worth the risk?).

[mcrews]

Dustin makes a good point. Different places have different water quailty.
I would write more but I can't find my readers.........dang it ....where did I put them?????

[Ilya]

Agree with Dustin. Tap water? Seriously Antz? Go put money in your 401k!

A gallon or two of water will cost you like $2.30. Why is this even a question? If you're doing a flush like I did on my Maxima, I had 8 gallons to flush through. A whopping $10. O M G!

To take a page out of Antz' book...YOU DRIVE AN M! DON'T BE CHEAP!

[relentless1]

Is there a specific brand, type or color coolant we should use?

[WhoDey456]

Is there a specific brand, type or color coolant we should use?

Mexillis is going to use Purple Ice, it is just an additive for the cooling system and should only be used with green silicate based glycols.

http://www.royalpurple.com/radiator-additive.html

I am going with the Green liquid, non-mixed tho. I will do the 50/50 and plus I want to flush, so I will be buying some distilled water for that!

[mexillis]

Just did my flush and it was a pia, I didn't realize how many times they ask to drain/fill. Good thing I had a lift for it. I also added the purple ice and even without that our M's take green antifreeze from the factory. Idk if you could switch to red but I don't think so. Make sure to check/clean your resivour, mine had some nasty sludge that looked like milky rust/dirt. It's only one bolt to take off then pull up and disconnect the hose. Also I didnt run the flush for 3-6 hours like it says but it should be good enough with what I did. Sorry I couldn't take pics for anyone my phone dies instantly on the army base for some reaons.

[antzrus]

Agree with Dustin. Tap water? Seriously Antz? Go put money in your 401k!

A gallon or two of water will cost you like $2.30. Why is this even a question? If you're doing a flush like I did on my Maxima, I had 8 gallons to flush through. A whopping $10. O M G!

To take a page out of Antz' book...YOU DRIVE AN M! DON'T BE CHEAP!

I never said the $$$ was the issue-rather the over indulgent obsessive thought process and the irrational compulsion to actually use distilled water is the problem; in my perception.

Mexillis noted some nasty sludge/dirt when he changed his coolant. Normal oxidation of his system was probably the culprit. A few gallons of tap water will only leave a few grams of residue over the life of the engine. Zip in comparison to what goes on as your system ages naturally. Come on guys. Gimme' a break. Save your energy for something more productive-like CoCo mats...

[The00Dustin]

Sorry I couldn't take pics for anyone my phone dies instantly on the army base for some reaons.

Do you have a signal on the base? If not, you could try airplane mode to keep it alive, but you'd have to remember to turn that back off when you got back in range of a signal.

[mexillis]

the signal pretty much goes away once Im on base, which is why it dies so fast. I didnt know that airplane mode helps with that, will i be able to receive calls still?

[The00Dustin]

No, airplane mode turns off all radio activity, which is why the battery wouldn't die. If there is a slight signal and you want to use it, airplane mode isn't an option.

[Ilya]

Since my car is under warranty, I had the dealer do the flush.

If I was doing this at home outside of warranty, I would use Toyota's OEM coolant + some Water Wetter coolant additive.

Did this on the Maxima and the car ran like a champ for years.

[PJS3]

Newbie here...

Is there an actual DIY for a coolant flush on the '07 M35?

The dealer is quoting me $170 +tax for this job.

I'm thinking this is excessive...

[PJS3]

Newbie here...

Is there an actual DIY for a coolant flush on the '07 M35?

The dealer is quoting me $170 +tax for this job.

I'm thinking this is excessive...

[mexillis]

The instructions are on the bottle of flush. Make sure to wear safety glasses.

[PJS3]

The instructions are on the bottle of flush. Make sure to wear safety glasses.

What do you mean "bottle of flush"? Are you referring to coolant you refill it with or are you referring to some product specifically called "flush"?

Just making certain we're speaking the same language.

[PJS3]

A quick youtube search revealed what you were probably talking about...

I never knew about "Flush" before.

Cool! Thanks!

[mexillis]

The bottle of coolant flush sold sepratly from radiator coolant has all the instructions on it. When u go to an automotive store its usually next to the fuel cleaners, rad stop leak, etc. I think mine was made by Peak.

[Partysan7]

Hey just noticed mine is below min. was at the dealer last week for oil change and told him to top it off but I guess they didnt give a ... well anyways I`ll do it myself any recommendations on what I should use ?! I had flush done about 6 months ago and they use some green stuff...

[mexillis]

Just add some 50/50 green antifreeze.

[gavnator]

I'm not sure, but unless you have the equipment, I don't think you can affectively flush the coolant system on an M the way Infiniti service can. Anyway, doing this in my garage is not something I'd entertain. I'm not rich, but I've had Infiniti service do this as have no interest in doing this service.

[cruzad3r]

you want to use this Cooling System Flush found here http://www.nissanparts.cc/catalog/?section=834. get one bottle of that and one bottle of the coolant, 2 bottle of distill water and you're set.

when i flush the coolant, i use the system flush bottle, followed that instruction. afterward, i just run tap water through the radiator to get rid of all the "crap" inside; there's a butterfly underneath the radiator, just take that off so the water can escape. I take the reservoir off, clean it up because the coolant was filthy and so was the bottle. afterward, i mix the OEM coolant with the distill water and fill up the system. make sure you run the car afterward and check the temp gauge. when you mix the coolant with distill water, you want a higher coolant ratio.

that's how i did it, no pix because i was doing this alone. but it's not that involved and certain can do this for way less than 100 bucks. the whole process took about 2 hours due to carefully cleaning of the reservoir.

[debiniarthug]

you want to use this Cooling System Flush found here http://www.nissanparts.cc/catalog/?section=834. get one bottle of that and one bottle of the coolant, 2 bottle of distill water and you're set.

when i flush the coolant, i use the system flush bottle, followed that instruction. afterward, i just run tap water through the radiator to get rid of all the "crap" inside; there's a butterfly underneath the radiator, just take that off so the water can escape. I take the reservoir off, clean it up because the coolant was filthy and so was the bottle. afterward, i mix the OEM coolant with the distill water and fill up the system. make sure you run the car afterward and check the temp gauge. when you mix the coolant with distill water, you want a higher coolant ratio.

that's how i did it, no pix because i was doing this alone. but it's not that involved and certain can do this for way less than 100 bucks. the whole process took about 2 hours due to carefully cleaning of the reservoir.

Yes the dealer charge is $170, yes it costs you 70- 100 bucks to do it yourself and your exchanging 2 hours of your time for a small savings.

Consider this, will the dealer or mechanical do as good of a job as you? Would they take off the reservoir and clean the sludge from the bottom. In this case, the benefit of DIY'ing it comes in the form of getting a better result not in the form of monetary savings.