Coolant

[Ericjayrol]

Hey guys,

Your all probably going to reply with "you idiot" or "your the reason skylines are in such bad condition" but please bare with me, im just new to cars and my whole family is car illiterate so I had nowhere to learn from.

Ive had my skyline for perhaps a month now and everything was fine when i first got it, but now i checked oil and water and noticed that my coolant is pretty much empty, I cant see any liquid in it and I don't even remember what colour the coolant was.

I have no intent on driving it until I get this refilled properly, but I have no idea what coolant to go with, I barely know anything about coolant other than it comes in varying colours which are generally used as a guideline but I don't even have that info.

Any help?

[Ericjayrol]

I had a look in my radiator and found it had a green coolant in it, upon recommendation from a few close apprentice mechanic friends and my mechanic, I was told that Nulon green was the right one to go with, anybody got any opinions?

[gfunkk]

yeah nulon is ok or castrol green

the problem is where did your coolant go

it doesnt just dissapear there must be a leak somewhere

check your heater hoses and shit

[Victory]

The most important thing is not to mix coolants.

Make sure that you drain all of the existing coolant out before you fill it up with whatever type you select.

[Ericjayrol]

When my mechanic did my new spark plugs he said he found a crack in a hose that he fixed up, my best guess is that where it all went... but if it continue to leak after i replace the coolant then i'll start worrying and search for another explanation.

[gfunkk]

haha if he was a decent mechanic he would of put new coolant in or topped up the old stuff after doing the hose

but yeah like victory said, drain your coolant and start agian

get a bottle of nulon concerntrate and 10l of distilled water and go nuts

[mad082]

also find out which hose was cracked and replace it. the patch job the mechanic did may be leaking, or the hose may have other cracks in it.

[Ericjayrol]

Thanks for the advice Mad and I got the Nulon concentrate that makes up 3 litres

[Duncan]

or....just top it up with water! coolant is only a water.glycol mix anyway

[MrStabby]

And dont forget to bleed the system - there will be a bolt near the top of the motor, drivers side near the front. Look for a gold sticker. Take the bolt out which will let the air escape then close it when the coolant flows. Or something like that....

[mad082]

the nissan workshop manual actually says that the bolt should be removed when filling, not afterwards. this allows the rising coolant to force the air out straight away

[Ultimategtr]

^ +1.

However bleeding the system that way takes a while, and you are more prone to burning urself with hot water.

I usually reverse into the driveway, so that my front is higher then my rear(radiator top being hte highest point in the engine bay). I simply start the car, and let it idle for about 30-40 mins. Amazing how much air is trapped in there.

[Galois]

^ +1.

However bleeding the system that way takes a while, and you are more prone to burning urself with hot water.

I usually reverse into the driveway, so that my front is higher then my rear(radiator top being hte highest point in the engine bay). I simply start the car, and let it idle for about 30-40 mins. Amazing how much air is trapped in there.

++1

when i flushed my coolant i had so many close calls haha

[defari]

i just drain mine, fill it back up with the correct mix of coolant and distilled water.. leave the radiator cap off, turn the car on, let it run until it stops bubbling where you fill it.. turn the car off. wait 10 mins, chuck the radiator cap back on.