did a search and the only threads that may have helped had no responses, go figure. Im at 28k miles and my coolant is at the min level. Just wondering whether i should flush the whole thing out or can i just add some to top it off. and in either case is there a brand i can/should use besides OEM? And is it possible to do it myself? thanks

 

I bought and added Nissan OEM coolant myself awhile back. It was low when I bought it (brand new). Easy DIY, but be sure to follow the instructions on the bottle if this is your first time doing this maintenance.

 

What does the owners manual say about frequency?

Yes you can do it yourself:

1. Drain the coolant.
2. Refill radiator with water.
3. Bring engine to operating temperature. Turn heater to max hot. Shut off engine.
3. Drain radiator.
4. Refill radiator.

 

you should flush out your radiator fairly frequently, I do it every 20,000 miles. I haven't had a chance to do it on my Z yet, but I will be soon. I usually follow this method:

1. Make sure car is on level surface (you want to make sure you drain the entire system) and pull the petcock (drain plug) from beneath the radiator. You should also make sure that you place a catch container with at least a 5 gal capacity (sorry I don't know how much water/coolant the Z takes) underneath so that you don't drain anything into the water system or kill any animals (if that matters to you).

2. Replug the radiator and refill the radiator with tap water and I like to add a chemical flush system like prestone that you can buy from any auto parts store (it helps to get rid of all those mineral and rust deposits). Then turn the car on and run with heater on full blast till you hit your standard operating temp...usually takes 5 or 10 mins.

3. Then drain again. It may be good to do the flush one more time if your water came out full of setiment.

4. Replug the radiator and fill with half distilled water (this is if you want to be **** as it does not contain any minerals that can cause corrosion) and half coolant. Some ppl tend to vary the ratio of coolant to water depending on the temp of the climate they live in. You may also want to consider using an alternative to coolant such as redline water wetter especially if you are going to be putting your vehicle on the track since some tracks forbid the use of coolant (since it can cause traction problems, and thus safety problems if your car pukes coolant all over the track).

You should be able to do this within an hour no problem unless the radiator plug is a b!tch to get to. Also the coolant brand should not matter much, you can also just buy the premixed coolant/water 50/50 mix if you don't want to mess with figuring out how to get your coolant and water mix equal. Good luck!