# Brand of Coolant to use?



## OR_02_Pathy (Feb 17, 2007)

Hi all. 02 SE 4WD Pathy. Was going to change the collant and stopped by the dealer to pick up some Nissan coolant. Nissan parts guy said they just use Napa coolant. This doesn't seem right. What do you guys use? If not Nissan, what brand seems to work the best in the VQ?

Thanks!


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## amm888 (Dec 10, 2006)

i don't imagine the brand making much of a difference as long as you get the proper type. the manual should say which kind you need.

i know my acura needed honda motors-$pecific coolant, but i don't think these pathys are like that.


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## NPath (Dec 12, 2004)

OR_02_Pathy said:


> Hi all. 02 SE 4WD Pathy. Was going to change the collant and stopped by the dealer to pick up some Nissan coolant. Nissan parts guy said they just use Napa coolant. This doesn't seem right. What do you guys use? If not Nissan, what brand seems to work the best in the VQ?
> 
> Thanks!


I know GMC Safari vans run on specific coolant, which is orange. I don't think those vans can change to the green coolant or it'll get up the coolant system. Anyways, back to your question, if the parts person say they use Napa coolant, then I'd go with Prestone. Prestone is a bigger name brand and probably cost the same.


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## maclion (Nov 13, 2005)

I have the same question. Mine is 99 pathfinder. manual say: use 'genuine nissan anti-freeze coolant or equivalent'. 
1. So do you think i will be ok to use Prestone, and what type of Prestone (http://www.prestone.com/products/antifreezeCoolant.php)?
2. should I flush radiator completely including engine block before refill to avoid mixing with preveious coolant ( I don't know which type of coolant it is).

Thanks




NPath said:


> I know GMC Safari vans run on specific coolant, which is orange. I don't think those vans can change to the green coolant or it'll get up the coolant system. Anyways, back to your question, if the parts person say they use Napa coolant, then I'd go with Prestone. Prestone is a bigger name brand and probably cost the same.


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## golfer (Aug 21, 2006)

I've replaced my coolant with regular Prestone ( which they now label Prime ) .

Since I didn't know what was in there before, I completely drained the old coolant.
Then filled the rad with straight water and ran the engine to operating temp. ( with the heater set to maximum setting to circulate through the heater core as well . ) 

Let it cool down , drain again , fill with straight water and repeated till there was clear water being drained. Then I used the premixed antifreeze since they use *demineralized water *for diluting ... which is important.

btw ... GM uses the orange Dexcool and can be replaced with regular antifreeze. I've done it using the above method with no ill affects.


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## coolnesss (Dec 23, 2003)

If your car has orange or pink anti-freeze, DO NOT use the green stuff. The orange stuff creates a certain chemistry inside the block, which is good for the engine long-term, and if you add the green stuff, it changes the chemistry and you won't have the benefit of the orange stuff anymore. That's a simplified explanation - if you want the full skinny, go to caddyinfo.com and search for dex-cool - there's some peeps on that board who know a whole lot and they are great about explaining.

That said, the brand you use may not have as much meaning as using distilled water to mix it - and changing it often - every 20k miles or two years would be the conservative choice. The distilled water cuts down internal buildup of crap, and changing it often - keeps the chemical action on the engine, and the conditioning of the water pump - fresh, so changing the water pump doesn't become a regular weekend event.


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## golfer (Aug 21, 2006)

coolnesss said:


> If your car has orange or pink anti-freeze, DO NOT use the green stuff. The orange stuff creates a certain chemistry inside the block, which is good for the engine long-term, and if you add the green stuff, it changes the chemistry and you won't have the benefit of the orange stuff anymore. That's a simplified explanation - if you want the full skinny, go to caddyinfo.com and search for dex-cool - there's some peeps on that board who know a whole lot and they are great about explaining.


If you are talking about mixing the two types that's correct ... don't. 

Completely removing and replacing one for the other doesn't change any chemistry inside the engine.

The only " chemical reaction " is the inhibitor additives for anti-corrosion .... which all coolants have.


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