# filling antifreeze,coolant in 2001 frontier xe pickup



## oceansea (Jun 20, 2006)

Hi all. I have a Nissan Frontier XE, 2001 manual trans pickup.

Seems all the fluid in the antifreeze/coolant resevoir to the left and front of the engine (while facing the trucks front ) is gone. And when opening the cap on the radiator, i cant see any fluid. I checked after noticing what feels to be the truck running hotter inside the cab than normal. 

For clarification, i have pretty much NO mechanical experience so will likely be asking very simple, novice questions. Please bear with me if the answers seem pretty selfexplanatory sometimes. 

So according to the very small manual that i have for the truck, it says to simply add antifreeze / coolant mixed with some water to the trucks radiator, then fill to fill line of cloudywhite colored plastic resevoir next to radiator with same mixture.

But i remember somewhere someone saying once that need to drain radiator, then fill with water, run engine for a few minutes then drain water from radiator and then plug drain hole on radiator and refill with half water and half antifreeze/coolant to top of radiator and top of fill line of resevior. Is this correct? 

Can i simply mix half water (distilled or tap) with half antifreeze/coolant mixture and add this mixture directly to radiator to top, and fill resevoir to fill line?
I just dont want to accidently do somethign which will injure the engine, or vehicle of course.


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## Mylt1 (May 10, 2006)

you really need to put some antifreeze in there before you fry your engine. get a gal of the premix 50/50 and fill the rad then the res. you have a leak somewhere. have you noticed a sweet smell? kinda like maple syrup?


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## MrFancypants (Nov 18, 2005)

Since youve lost a lot of coolant, you should try and find the leak first. I would just top the system off with water, start it up and try to spot the leak. Hopefully it is a loose clamp or cracked hose. Worst case it is a leaking radiator, water pump or head gasket. I'd be surprised if it's the last one or you'd be seeing all kinds of other fun stuff like white smoke coming out the back.

Anyway, find the leak first and fix it. Then flush the system with a radiator flush you can buy at your local auto parts store. Depending on your climate, then mix coolant and distilled water to the appropriate ratio and refill and bleed the system. Dont use tap water for the final mix as it has a lot of solubles in it. You can use tap water to diagnose the leak since youre going to flush it soon anyway.


- Greg -


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## azrocketman (Oct 5, 2005)

There are also air relief plugs on the 4 cylinder and 6 cylinder engines that allow you to bleed air out of the system. Your best bet is to buy a Chiltons (I have) or Haynes manual to show you the air relief plugs location.

I'm curious how you found the problem. Did the engine overheat, were you checking fluid levels, or did you step in a big green pool of liquid?


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## oceansea (Jun 20, 2006)

azrocketman said:


> There are also air relief plugs on the 4 cylinder and 6 cylinder engines that allow you to bleed air out of the system. Your best bet is to buy a Chiltons (I have) or Haynes manual to show you the air relief plugs location.
> 
> I'm curious how you found the problem. Did the engine overheat, were you checking fluid levels, or did you step in a big green pool of liquid?



Thank you everyone for such rapid replies. I found it simply because i felt it was getting abnormally hot inside the cab while driving. Its hot weather now, but just felt too hot and like it was coming from engine. So checked fluid in the milkywhite resevoir compartment and suprise- no fluid but a tiny few tablespoonfulls at bottom. 

So Ive put maybe a couple cups worth of distilled water and antifreeze/coolant into the radiator and maybe a cup or two into the resevoir a couple hours ago. Havent driven the truck yet since. I have no money right now to take it into a mechanic, so hopefully this will help until a few weeks anyway? I hadnt noticed any fluid beneath the truck. But will have to check again. 

So temporarily should i go ahead and put the antifreeze/coolant mix i bought (around 3.75liters i think) straight into the radiator? Or mix is with some distilled water then put it into radiator for now? By flushing the radiator to inspect for leaks, does this simply mean pour some tap or distilled water to fillup radiator then watch for leaks for a short while? I did look beneath the radiator next to resevoir on left side (while facing front of truck) and it looks like the metal beam which seems to be part of the frame of the truck? is a bit corroded with rust and crumbly stuff, like something has eaten away a little at the metal.? 
Would antifreeze/coolant do this? Or maybe its from the old battery i had before which needed replacing a few months ago?


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## Mylt1 (May 10, 2006)

the rust is probably from the old batt. 50/50 mix is what you need to fill the rad with. once thats filled fill the overflow bottle to the "cold" mark and start the truck and let it run for a little while. keep an eye on the coolant in the overflow. once the truck is up to normal temp shut it down and walk away. then after its cool again check the overflow. if its low refill to the mark again. dont over fill you wont like what happens. while its running also look around for any leaks. check the waterpump. also look for any wet spots on the engine and hoses.


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## msubullyfan (Jul 24, 2005)

oceansea said:


> Thank you everyone for such rapid replies. I found it simply because i felt it was getting abnormally hot inside the cab while driving.


First, I doubt that you can feel the heat from the engine running hotter than normal if you haven't had the temperature warning light go off. If the engine's running that hot, you should get a warning on the instrument panel.

Second, have you ever added coolant or had it changed before? If the truck is 5+ years old and has never had the system serviced, it may not be too strange that your coolant level is low.


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## oceansea (Jun 20, 2006)

msubullyfan said:


> First, I doubt that you can feel the heat from the engine running hotter than normal if you haven't had the temperature warning light go off. If the engine's running that hot, you should get a warning on the instrument panel.
> 
> Second, have you ever added coolant or had it changed before? If the truck is 5+ years old and has never had the system serviced, it may not be too strange that your coolant level is low.



No, I have never added coolant since ive owned the truck. I bought it used, about 3 years ago. 
I wasnt kidding when i said im totally inexperience with maintaining vehicles. I wish i knew more, but havent had anyone to teach me, and havent had the time or trust in trying to learn myself from a book. 

The engine temp gauge has hovered about in the middle of the range. I did put in a few cups worth of distilled water and coolant/antifreeze into the resevoir and directly into the radiator. Let it sit overnight, then i drove it this afternoon maybe 35 miles. Nothing happened like steaming engine, stalling, etc. So should i be mixing the antifreeze collant blend into a seperate container to which i add same amount approx of distilled water, then add that directly to the radiator? How do i now to stop before filling too much? Or do i add this mixture directly to the overflow instead, run it for around ten minutes then turn engine off, let it sit for an hour or two, check level in resevoir against fill line? Im concerned about how to know how much too add, as i dont want to add too much, and with having to go back and forth between filling resevoir and starting, running, stopping, rechecking,etc it seems a bit hit and miss as far as adding correct amount of mixture?


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## pdxfj (Apr 7, 2006)

You really can't add too much. The system is designed to get rid of extra coolant (i.e. overflow bottle). What really will damage things if you do not have enough coolant in the system to begin with.

As others have said, get a bottle of the 50/50 premix. Then you don't have to worry about using distilled water.

Open the radiator cap and fill it to the bottom of the hole where the cap goes in. If the rad. is low you'll see the coolant go down as it displaces the air. You can even gently squeeze the upper hose several times to help this process.

Next open the cap to the overflow bottle and add coolant until it reaches the "COLD" mark. Make sure you do this on a cold engine. Also while you are at it get a new radiator cap. They don't cost much and it'll help make sure you are keeping the right pressure in the system.

After you have filled everything up, and put all the caps back in place start the engine and turn the heater to hot and the fan on high and let the engine run for a while or just drive it around for about 30 minutes. Park it for several hours, and then check the level of coolant in the overflow bottle. If it's below the "COLD" mark then add more coolant to bring it up to the cold mark. Rinse and repeat until the level becomes stable.


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## oceansea (Jun 20, 2006)

What do you mean by "rinse and repeat"? 
Rinsing meaning to drain everything ive just added to the radiator and resevoir?
So that means pouring in, and wasting?, at least several containers of antifreezecoolant?






pdxfj said:


> You really can't add too much. The system is designed to get rid of extra coolant (i.e. overflow bottle). What really will damage things if you do not have enough coolant in the system to begin with.
> 
> As others have said, get a bottle of the 50/50 premix. Then you don't have to worry about using distilled water.
> 
> ...


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## Mylt1 (May 10, 2006)

ok, as simple as it gets. go to the auto parts store and get a gal. of 50/50 premix. that is all you will need. now go home. let the truck sit for a long time till its cold. now pop the hood, and remove the rad. cap. open the bottle of coolant(premixed) and pour it into the radiator untill the coolent gets to the bottom of the neck(where the cap goes). now take the top off the over flow bottle, the milky white bottle. look for the word "COLD" or "FULL COLD" now pour the coolant(premixed) into the overflow bottle till it reaches the mark and put the cap back on that and the bottle of coolant. start the truck and let it get up to tempature. should run for atleast 8-10 minutes. now let it cool off and check the over flow bottle. if the coolant isnt at the "COLD" mark refill till its to the mark again. start the truck and let it get up to temp again. let it cool off and check the level again. if its not on the "COLD" mark refill. you dont need to worry about adding water just the coolant you bought. now, if the level in the overflow bottle doesnt change after the engin cools down. carefuly remove the red. cap. if the fluid is still up to the neck your fine. if it has dropped again. add more coolant to the rad. and start the engin untill up to temp then let cool off and check again.


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## azrocketman (Oct 5, 2005)

oceansea said:


> What do you mean by "rinse and repeat"?
> Rinsing meaning to drain everything ive just added to the radiator and resevoir?
> So that means pouring in, and wasting?, at least several containers of antifreezecoolant?


If you're a complete "newbie" to car maintenance I'd strongly recommend that you buy the Chiltons or Haynes manual for the truck. It's about $20.00 well spent. The manuals cover basic automotive maintenance and specifics (like the air bleed screws for the cooling system) for your vehicle. Also, I'd take a look at the owner's manual. It talks about the scheduled maintenance for your truck. There's not a whole lot of maintenance for the first 100,000 miles or so, mostly oil changes, inspections, and fluid checks, but there are some other things like coolant changes.

Considering that you have not changed the coolant in three years, have you done any other maintenance? Things like air filters, fuel filters, battery water, and checking brakes come to mind. Again, a repair manual will tell you how to do the job, or at least give you an idea how difficult the job is.

Steve


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## oceansea (Jun 20, 2006)

Thank you Mylt1, steve and everyone. 
Thats pretty clear instructions, and appreciated. Ive bought the 50/50 premixed coolant and will be doing this tonight or tomorrow. 







azrocketman said:


> If you're a complete "newbie" to car maintenance I'd strongly recommend that you buy the Chiltons or Haynes manual for the truck. It's about $20.00 well spent. The manuals cover basic automotive maintenance and specifics (like the air bleed screws for the cooling system) for your vehicle. Also, I'd take a look at the owner's manual. It talks about the scheduled maintenance for your truck. There's not a whole lot of maintenance for the first 100,000 miles or so, mostly oil changes, inspections, and fluid checks, but there are some other things like coolant changes.
> 
> Considering that you have not changed the coolant in three years, have you done any other maintenance? Things like air filters, fuel filters, battery water, and checking brakes come to mind. Again, a repair manual will tell you how to do the job, or at least give you an idea how difficult the job is.
> 
> Steve


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