Something I have learned in the past few years about coolant:
Manuf. Recommends using LOW SILICATE, LOW BORATE coolant.
However -- MOST dealers/service stations DO NOT use this type of coolant, because it is expensive, and uncommon.
Nissan/Toyota/Honda ALL recommend this type of coolant, and they ALL sell it as LONG-LIFE (5year) variant. It costs on avg. $20-25 per gallon un-diluted.
The reason japanese manuf.'s (and others) recommend this variant, is because of the ABRASIVE nature of the silicated formulations.
Abrasives such as silica are used to "scour" or clean the inside of radiators, and although this media is effective @ performing the task -- it's also very BAD for rubber gaskets / seals on engine pieces, such as -- oh say...WATER PUMP SEALS!!!
I made my dealership re-replace the cheap, silicated, 2-yr. coolant in my car with the 5-yr Long-life, non-silcated version -- after they messed-up the change.
They had to SPECIAL ORDER the Nissan Long-Life Variant....as they didn't even STOCK it.
Go figure.
Mind the manuals boys.... LOW SILICATE / LOW BORATE COOLANT is the required liquid for our engines. In addition to using ONLY DISTILLED WATER to dilute your coolant mix....depending on your driving environment.
BTW - it's "hard" TAP-WATER in the radiator that necessitates the use of silicates in MOST coolant variants sold in this country!!
Good luck with that "leak".
gr