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Opinion Changing Antifreeze Best product

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Old 03-20-2007, 08:24 AM
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Opinion Changing Antifreeze Best product

With spring rolling around going to change antifreeze myself. Is there something better then Preston antifreeze? should I just Drain and fill or attepmt a Full flush. Last change was 2004 and is a 50/50 mix the sure way to go. Also would adding (spring water) or (distilled water) instead of CITY TAP water really make it a better ????
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Old 03-20-2007, 08:50 AM
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If your car currently has Nissan antifreeze, then you are better off using Nissan. It's more expensive, but less work. However, if you have time, you can drain and flush really well, then switch to Prestone Universal antifreeze. I have Prestone Universal antifreeze for over 4 years now. No problem. Distilled water is highly recommended.
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Old 03-20-2007, 09:03 AM
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DO NOT USE ANY WATER OTHER THAN DISTILLED WATER. EVER. Spring water is just as bad as city water or well water.

Therefore, the DIY "flush" thing is right out. Just drain and replace. If you want to be hardcore, then fill with distilled water instead of coolant, run it for a day, and drain/replace again but with coolant.

Use the green stuff, and make sure the ingredient list doesn't include any chemicals with the word "silic-" in them. This way you get silicate-free coolant that won't grind up your water pump. I usually find that the store brand 50/50 premix doesn't contain any silicates, and I just buy that.

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Old 03-20-2007, 02:08 PM
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You put in prestone without a proper flush, you will screw up big time. How do I know that, well I had prestone mixed with Nissan coolant, and the radiator clogged.

Best coolant : Nissan Long Life Coolant ($20/Gallon). No questions asked, if you can spend $10/G for Walmart stuff, better spend the $20 and not think about cooling system for another 5 yrs. Worth the $20 instead of monkeying with coolants and facing problems down the lane.!!!
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Old 03-20-2007, 03:33 PM
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yes, what 00_Max said. it is not worth $2/year to take chances on mixing coolant chemistrys.
 
Old 03-21-2007, 04:44 AM
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i just put in a jug of prestone and distilled water, had to swap in a new radiator, ended up getting one out of an A32 cefiro. everything looks good to me.
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Old 03-21-2007, 05:18 AM
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replacing coolant doesn't clogg the system. Its the lack of replacing it that causes it to clogg up, rust out.

every coolant out there has minerals/addictives that help keep your radaitor in good shape. But they wear out given time. So the system gets used to none-addictive coolant. But say you flushed you coolant after 8 years then those minerals breaks down the clogged up portions of your radaitor in and turn cause leaks. Its like the same theory with auto tranny fluids and well any there. the dino/syn oil same theory. just change it stuff at the recommended intervals and you should be good reguardless of what type of stuff you use. Even dex-cool, well not that the quote 100k miles. I don't know what was going on with that idea.
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Old 03-21-2007, 05:44 AM
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replacing coolant doesn't clogg the system. Its the lack of replacing it that causes it to clogg up, rust out.

every coolant out there has minerals/addictives that help keep your radaitor in good shape. But they wear out given time. So the system gets used to none-addictive coolant. But say you flushed you coolant after 8 years then those minerals breaks down the clogged up portions of your radaitor in and turn cause leaks. Its like the same theory with auto tranny fluids and well any there. the dino/syn oil same theory. just change it stuff at the recommended intervals and you should be good reguardless of what type of stuff you use. Even dex-cool, well not that the quote 100k miles. I don't know what was going on with that idea.
Mixing the wrong types of anti-freeze will cause the mixture to gel, which clogs the radiator and heater cores, requiring their replacement......................the problem is well known and is not caused by rust............
 
Old 03-21-2007, 05:59 AM
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i wasn't refering to mixture of coolant causing rust.

mixture can cause gel-ing and in turn its easy to see how gel can cause failures, but you say wrong type. the prestone stuff and the nissan stuff are both the same type. AFAIK. as long as your looking for Ethylene Glycol. i cant recall the 2 things they it needs to be free of tho. But mixing prestone with nissan stuff is not going to cause gel-ing of any sort. in theory its all the same but the extra addtives for rust-prevention and longer life stuff that makes the diffrence. the core components are identical therefore any mixture of it can not cause a negative affect. But on the other hand you put some dex-cool or any other foreign types then you have big problems because pure dex-cool alone has problems up the butt for those GM owners. so mixture of that will just be dumb
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Old 03-21-2007, 06:12 AM
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Guys, I don't care of what is reported on the web.

I began draining and filling my radiator since 40K miles, sometime in the middle took a short cut with non-OEM coolant and then the radiator had to be replaced at 100K. Till date I am not sure what else is failed/going to fail on the cooling system of my car.

One thing for sure, I am not happy with the choice I did few years back and even today have to tell my wife (who drives it to work) to keep an eye on the gauges.

Take the risk with non-OEM coolants and enjoy the agony of wondering what else did one screw up!!!
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Old 03-21-2007, 06:14 AM
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Originally Posted by TurTLe*
i wasn't refering to mixture of coolant causing rust.

mixture can cause gel-ing and in turn its easy to see how gel can cause failures, but you say wrong type. the prestone stuff and the nissan stuff are both the same type. AFAIK. as long as your looking for Ethylene Glycol. i cant recall the 2 things they it needs to be free of tho. But mixing prestone with nissan stuff is not going to cause gel-ing of any sort. in theory its all the same but the extra addtives for rust-prevention and longer life stuff that makes the diffrence. the core components are identical therefore any mixture of it can not cause a negative affect. But on the other hand you put some dex-cool or any other foreign types then you have big problems because pure dex-cool alone has problems up the butt for those GM owners. so mixture of that will just be dumb
Several of the OEM "long life" or "permanant" anti-freeze/coolant products contain organic based additives that are designed to react with various materials that develop and cause corrosion in the cooling systems; which is how they are able to live for over 100,000 miles, or in the case of some German OEM's, forever. Unfortunately, these organic additive packages will also react with compounds commonly found in some aftermarket anti-freeze products, causing gel to form. We recently had a german "long life coolant" vehicle in our shop that the owner "topped up" with anti-freeze he purchased at a local parts store (the OEM coolant costs over $40/gal.). Unfortuantely, the resulting gel required the removal of the car's three radiators, all hoses and lines, replacment of the water pump (bearings failed when the gel stopped lubricating them), the oil cooler (an water/oil type unit) and so on.............you really do not want to know what that nonsense cost, but it makes using the proper anti-freeze, even at $40/gal., look like a deal................
 
Old 03-21-2007, 07:54 AM
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...the prestone stuff and the nissan stuff are both the same type. AFAIK. as long as your looking for Ethylene Glycol...
this is not true at all. the additive packages and anti-corrosion chemistrys are very different. to my knowledge, there still is no aftermarket substitute for a silicate free, borate free, amine free w/ a stiff dose of phosphate OAT Japanese coolant. some have gotten lucky mixing different types, many have not. worth the risk to save $2/year? only you can decide.

aside from mixing, the other problem is that people fail purge all air from the system. trapped air also causes gelling and precipitate fallout (this was the problem with early vintage OEM GM dexcool used in vehicles that also had faulty radiator caps..doh!)

but the #1 cause of failure is probably still using city water from the hose.

so what we have is this -- a bunch of kids draining their radiators, putting in a 50/50 mix of prestone and tap water, and then just capping it and calling it done (without purging the trapped air). and every year at the first cold weather we get a flood of posts about "my heat doesn't work" or "my radiator is clogged" or "my thermostat is stuck". big surprise...

also remember, cooling system failures are not immediate and can take a couple years to show up. but by the time you recognize them it's too late. so, to those guys who claim no-problemo w/ prestone -- are you sure? how long has it been? have you gotten inside your heater core lately to take a look?
 
Old 03-21-2007, 08:29 AM
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wow....all this cooling system doomsday talk is making me paranoid. I just did a drain/fill with Prestone 50/50 in November. (did the mv method, opened the heater core). The only thing i can say is that i may have a bad t-stat cause it takes looong while for my car to warm up.
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Old 03-21-2007, 09:13 AM
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Originally Posted by heynow
wow....all this cooling system doomsday talk is making me paranoid. I just did a drain/fill with Prestone 50/50 in November. (did the mv method, opened the heater core). The only thing i can say is that i may have a bad t-stat cause it takes looong while for my car to warm up.
There is no problem switching from one type of coolant or brand to another as long as:
1.You completely drain and throughly flush one out before adding the other.
2.You do not add or top off with an incompatible product.
3.You use distilled water instead of tap water.
The risk comes from mixing or chemicals (salts) in the water..................
 
Old 03-21-2007, 09:16 AM
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Ok i need this done but i am not doing it myself

ive done the reaserch and ended up with two options:
1) Canadian Tire: for $80 dollars they power flush ur coolant and replace with regular green coolant (i am assuming their own brand)
2) Dealer: they just drain and refill for about $100 with whatever coolant the dealer has

what should i do ?
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Old 03-21-2007, 09:23 AM
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Originally Posted by andrei3333
Ok i need this done but i am not doing it myself

ive done the reaserch and ended up with two options:
1) Canadian Tire: for $80 dollars they fower flush ur coolant and replace with regular green coolant (i am assuming their own brand)
2) Dealer: they just drain and refill for about $100 with whatever coolant the dealer has

what should i do ?
Check and see if the dealer is using Nissan Long Life, if they are, it is a pretty good deal as in the US you can buy parts store anti-freeze for 6-8 bucks (US) per US gallon; while the Nissan stuff cost $26 a gallon......
 
Old 03-21-2007, 09:33 AM
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Originally Posted by andrei3333
Ok i need this done but i am not doing it myself

ive done the reaserch and ended up with two options:
1) Canadian Tire: for $80 dollars they power flush ur coolant and replace with regular green coolant (i am assuming their own brand)
2) Dealer: they just drain and refill for about $100 with whatever coolant the dealer has

what should i do ?
my suggestion -- get it power flushed, but bring your own gallon of nissan OEM coolant and make sure they use it, and distilled water (go back into the shop and physically watch them). you can get OEM coolant for ~$15us/gal online. search the fluids/lubricants forum for the part number. some of the online places offer free shipping if you buy $50 or more - so stock up on some 9E filters, get an air filter, PCV valve, etc and get free shipping (not sure if that applies to CAN though).

problem with drain/fill is they leave 1/2 the old coolant in there, but they charge you for a full gallon, and charge you full price for it. plus you're not getting a full change.
 
Old 03-21-2007, 09:47 AM
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Originally Posted by JFP in PA
Check and see if the dealer is using Nissan Long Life, if they are, it is a pretty good deal as in the US you can buy parts store anti-freeze for 6-8 bucks (US) per US gallon; while the Nissan stuff cost $26 a gallon......

Oh sure, trust the stealerships. On the fluids section one of the org members from Canada went to the stealership and they gave him Peak Coolant. That explains what they will stick in to flush you vehicle. Go to the stealership, buy the coolant and do the flush "YOURSELF".

I trust no one with my car. Do the flush yourself...

To purge air of the system there are 2 ways:

One way to remove the air-relief valve till coolant stops coming out of the valve, the other way is to raise the front of the vehicle, disconnect and plug the overflow hose to the reserviour, remove radiator cap, run engine for 45min, stop vehicle, put back radiator cap, then reconnect the overflow pipe with coolant mixture to the top of the over flow tank, that way any additional volume needed is fetched while the engine cools.

I do both steps to be 100% sure there is no air in the system.

Done and enjoy!!!
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Old 03-21-2007, 09:49 AM
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That makes perfect sense sky jumper, i think we had this conversation before but i just wanted to confirm.

I just got off the phone with a nissan service advisor from one of the local dealers, i asked what brand name of coolant they used and he said; "We get coolant supplied to us from nissan directly, i am not sure who the manufacturer itself is, but its nissan's coolant and not bought aftermarket. All the nissan dealerships get their coolant directly from nissan."

This sounds t ome like the same quality coolant you guys are used to over there in the U S of A.

Does it really make a big difference if i dont use the nissan's coolant? but still use the green stuff of course
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Old 03-21-2007, 10:14 AM
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question on removing air...how exactly do you do it? Is there a bleeder valve I somehow missed? didn't see one anywhere...
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Old 03-21-2007, 10:18 AM
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Originally Posted by Love_00_Max
Oh sure, trust the stealerships. On the fluids section one of the org members from Canada went to the stealership and they gave him Peak Coolant. That explains what they will stick in to flush you vehicle. Go to the stealership, buy the coolant and do the flush "YOURSELF".

I trust no one with my car. Do the flush yourself...
I can't speak for all dealers, but I remain amazed at the number of people that seem to have endless trouble with dealers; I have two in my area and they are both easy to do business with and I am unaware of anyone having issues with either of them. I have two Nissans, and while I do most maintenance my self, both have had warranty work and recalls done by the dealers, with no problems. When one car (highly modified) had its 6 speed started to leak, dealer said "No problem", I got a brand new loaner and two days later had a new transmission in the car.

Perhaps I just lucked out on dealerships, but I have no complaints about their service..................
 
Old 03-21-2007, 10:18 AM
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Originally Posted by ObsidianIce69
question on removing air...how exactly do you do it? Is there a bleeder valve I somehow missed? didn't see one anywhere...
On my 2000 Maxima, it is on the block. Tracing backwards from the upper radiator hose towards to engine, first comes 2 coolant temp sensors, then hoses to the heater, and finally towards the end comes a hat like valve assembly (on top of it is written "Don't open when hot").

On top of that hat assembly is a 10mm bolt, that is the air-relief valve.

Not sure of other maximas, but then my description gives you a general idea of where to find one (it almost certainly on the upper hose side, lower hose has only the thermostat in the path).

Good luck hunting!!!
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Old 03-21-2007, 02:09 PM
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Originally Posted by Love_00_Max
On my 2000 Maxima, it is on the block. Tracing backwards from the upper radiator hose towards to engine, first comes 2 coolant temp sensors, then hoses to the heater, and finally towards the end comes a hat like valve assembly (on top of it is written "Don't open when hot").

On top of that hat assembly is a 10mm bolt, that is the air-relief valve.

Not sure of other maximas, but then my description gives you a general idea of where to find one (it almost certainly on the upper hose side, lower hose has only the thermostat in the path).

Good luck hunting!!!

I don't believe 4th gens have this.

When I changed my coolant a few months ago, I drained out the old (who knows what kind it was...) refilled with just distilled water, ran the car, drained the water, refilled with distilled water, ran the car and drained again. Then I filled with 50/50 mix of Prestone (safe to mix with every color) and distilled water. Revved the engine with the radiator cap off to bubble any air out and went on my way.
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Old 03-21-2007, 02:47 PM
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Originally Posted by ObsidianIce69
question on removing air...how exactly do you do it? Is there a bleeder valve I somehow missed? didn't see one anywhere...
Stab the upper radiator hose with an ice pick. Once the system builds pressure the air will escape.
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Old 03-21-2007, 02:54 PM
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How often should you flush and fill your coolant? Is there a schedule to it's maintenance, say every year or 15-20k miles or is it a couple every years kinda thing?

Thanks
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Old 03-21-2007, 03:27 PM
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Originally Posted by VTonmymind
How often should you flush and fill your coolant? Is there a schedule to it's maintenance, say every year or 15-20k miles or is it a couple every years kinda thing?

Thanks
you mean to tell me you've never seen your vehicle's maintenance schedule? yikes....

one caveat - if you use nissan coolant it will go much longer than 2 years. I think they spec 2yrs b/c they know many people will not use a good long life OAT/HOAT but will use the silicated green snot, which only lasts 2yrs if you're lucky, and will gel when mixed w/OEM if you're not lucky.

 
Old 03-21-2007, 03:51 PM
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I reckon I've never taken a gander at it. I've just devised my own schedules based on research and the opinions of mechanics and kind folks like you on here. I've kept up on everything, so my car is up to date and feeling just dandy, so no worries. Previous to your insight though, I had assumed and been told that it should be done every year. I'm at that year now, and was thinking (and hoping) that it wasn't necessary every year, so I figured I'd ask while I was perusing the thread. Thankfully it's every 2 years, provided that the proper fluid is in there. I had it done at the dealership, so I'm assuming it is, but I dunno.

Thanks for the schedule btw. I'll have to rustle up my owners manual just to make sure that all my mileages and dates are what they are supposed to be.
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Old 03-21-2007, 04:01 PM
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Originally Posted by VTonmymind
I reckon I've never taken a gander at it. I've just devised my own schedules based on research and the opinions of mechanics ...
a bit off topic, but if you have an auto tranny you should change the fluid regularly. either a full exchange (via cooler line) every 20-30k, or a drain & fill every 15k. this is something Nissan really missed the mark on, IMO.

also - brake fluid flush every 3 years.
 
Old 03-21-2007, 04:11 PM
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Yes indeed. Just bled the brakes last week actually (I have 2 years or every brake job as my mark), and have another 3-4k till my next drain and fill (I've got 20k for that). I'm staying away from the Tranny flush all together since I'm a bit gun shy of the possibility of blowing all sorts of deposits into my tranny. A friend of mine had his flushed and a short while later, his tranny was toast. It might have been time for his to go, but............

Thanks again for the heads up though. Thoughts on PCV valve?
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Old 03-21-2007, 04:21 PM
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Originally Posted by VTonmymind

... Thoughts on PCV valve?
PCV - inspect & clean every 12 months. replace if it's really gunked up inside. it's cheap enough.

how many miles on your '99? I do strongly advise a regular ATF service routine. no need to power flush with those T-Tech machines, just gentle changes. if you ignore it you are guaranteeing problems down the road.
 
Old 03-21-2007, 05:39 PM
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Got about 109. No ignoring my AT, as my next AT drain and fill is due in another 5k so I'll be gravy with that. I usually don't inspect or clean the PCV valve, I just have it replaced every 20k. Since it is fairly cheap, I may bump it down to 15k though.

Thanks for your insights Sky and to the original poster, apologies if our little chat has strayed to far from your original question.
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Old 03-21-2007, 08:54 PM
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hey VTonmymind, i think the interval u chose to replace the PCV valve is way to short, im sure you can do it a little less often, i took out my old PCV with 205.000KM on it and it still worked fine, i replaced it just in case. those things are plastic and really have nothing inside that can break, aside from gunk getting stuck in it.

The auto tranny flush thing is very important, thats the first thing i did the same week i bought the car (with 203000KM) i dont know what has been done to it before, but i took it to the dealer and got it flushed and filled. thats one of the things i never miss with maintenance, tranny flushes are super important every 48000 KM (but depending on hwo u drive), i cant stress that enough.

i have also replaced the air filter, spark plugs and going to get the coolant flushed with my next pay check (yes im one of those who lives from pay check to pay check). Also looking to replace the fuel filter and flush the break fluid at the dealer some time in the future.

I gota say from all the service ive done the spark plug change made the biggest difference. idle is stronger and fuel economy got better, the engine feels smoother.

good luck

PS the car has 211000 KM on it now and everything is well!!!!
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Old 03-22-2007, 03:17 PM
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Thanks for the advice Andrei. I'll bump my pcv valve replacement up another 5k with your recommendation. As for the Tranny flush, it scares the shizzle out of me to do so, so I opted for the drain the first time I had it serviced. Curious though, am I falsely scaring myself thinking that a flush would/could do my tranny in? Is the drain and fill sufficient enough to do over and over again or do you recommend the complete flush with no worries?
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Old 03-22-2007, 06:10 PM
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let me reiterate my thoughts on ATF -- either drain/fill every 15k or do a full exchange via cooler line every 25-30k. use DexronIII ATF. you live in relatively hot climate (during the summer) so a synthetic ATF would be a wise choice. heat kills ATF, and syn holds up better to heat.

to be clear -- a cooler line exchange is *not* the same as the "flush" the shops try to sell you -- that "flush" is a "T-Tech" power flush, and you should avoid it. the cooler line exchange is simply pumping old fluid out while dumping new fluid in -- no reverse-flow pressure or the potential risks that come with it.

a cooler line exchange is better than a drain/fill because it will get more of the old fluid out with less mixing.

you may also consider dropping the pan and cleaning the magnets. at 109k they will be coated in metallic goop. no need to change the "filter screen", it is not really a filter.
 
Old 03-22-2007, 08:28 PM
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First off something a little off topic, when people here say numbers like 15k 20k or whatever they really do mean K miles, well i am from Canada and im not used to miles so this throws me off, i really wish people would make that distinction...

Anyways i completely agree with Sky Jumper (as long as he meant K miles )

Here is a direct quote from my 97 GXE (auto tranny) manual book regarding this: page 8-7 following the Schedule 1 maintenance : "Maunal & automatic transaxle oil - inspect every 15K miles or 24K Km; see note 1 --> If towing a trailer, using a camper or a car-top carrier, or driving on rough or muddy roads, change (not just inspect) oil at every 30K miles (48K Km) or 24 months"

There you have it folks no more questions, the nissan manual has spoken. Now to the way you change it, well thats questionable. i would drain and fill every 48K km and avoid any kind of power forcing the fluid out whatever the machine you use. Dropping the pan, replacing gaskets and cleaning the magnet is an excellent idea as well, but when i went to the dealer they said its not necessary and they dont do that even if u wanna pay them. private shops can get this done but there is no warranty as far as i know.

Take what you will from this but i just drained and filled the tranny fluid at the dealer when i got the car (late october 06) and will do the same this coming october and go from there because the car IS old and has 211K Km on it now.
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Old 03-23-2007, 06:47 AM
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Originally Posted by andrei3333
First off something a little off topic, when people here say numbers like 15k 20k or whatever they really do mean K miles, well i am from Canada and im not used to miles so this throws me off, i really wish people would make that distinction...

K = 1,000, so 15k = 15,000 miles and so on.
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Old 03-23-2007, 04:03 PM
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Thanks again for your inputs Sky and Andrei. I was also a bit unclear on the Cooler line exchange and you shored that up for me nicely Sky, thanks. Your help has been much appreciated and my tranny thanks you too.
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Old 03-23-2007, 04:11 PM
  #38  
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Originally Posted by buzpuck11
K = 1,000, so 15k = 15,000 miles and so on.

thats exactly what i am talking about i know that K = 1000 but you tell me

what do i mean when i say 15k interval do i mean miles or km ?

thats unclear, thats why people should say 15Kms when they are talking about Kilometers and 15kml when they are talking about miles

this should be a rule or something to make things easier and not waste thread space, is there any mod out there watching this ? what do u think ?
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Old 03-23-2007, 06:03 PM
  #39  
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I reckon that if they don't specify, and are from the states, assume that they are talking about miles. Funny though, most everybody, including our military uses the metric system, but we don't as a society. We are taught miles & yards etc. as children and use those as our measurements for life unless taught or required to otherwise. Curious. Certainly makes communicating with other folks that use the metric system difficult doesn't it.
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Old 03-23-2007, 06:36 PM
  #40  
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English units are stupid, I wish we would switch to metric, but it will never happen. The metric system makes so much more sense. Any calculation using metric units is much easier and makes way more sense.

But assume miles on here unless otherwise stated.
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