Jump to content
SAU Community

How To Replace/drain Coolant From Radiator And Block Rb25det [video]

Joni Boi

By Joni Boi,
in Tutorials / DIY / FAQ

 Share

Recommended Posts

Joni Boi Contributor

Joni Boi

Posted
Posted

Hey guys :)

I made tutorial video on draining and replacing the coolant on a RB25DET aswell as changing the thermostat:

I did it according to what the Nissan R34 Service Manual says. My first tutorial, so let me know what you guys think.

  • Like 5
  • 4 weeks later...
Joni Boi Contributor

Joni Boi

Posted
  • Author
Posted

thanks! good work on the video. im hoping its the same for the r33 .

for the next few flushes do u still need to use radiator flush?

I only used it for the first flush. I suppose you can if you want to. I don't know much about radiator flushes, it's not like you need it, it just makes the flush process faster I guess. They're only about $10 for 500ml at supercheap

  • 3 weeks later...
  • 2 years later...
mikel Community Regular

mikel

Posted
Posted

dragging up and old but very useful thread...

great tutorial - well done!

What did the other members of the household think about testing the thermostat in the kitchen kettle??? ?

Is there any way to get the old coolant out of the block without removing the block drain plug?

I've read in other threads you can remove the thermostat housing and thermostat and use a hose and tap water and flush out the block using the thermostat entry - but on a quick check with a torch tonight it looks like the thermostat housing is nowhere near the bottom of the block? so you'd end up with tap water in the block, and even parked downhill the thermostat housing looks too high to drain all the water/coolant from the block?

Given the difficulty of accessing both the block drain plug and thermostat housing, I'm leaning towards dumping the radiator fluid, refilling with radiator flush + demineralised water and repeat a few times, then put Nissan LLC concentrate + demineralised water in...

...or doing the same, but going to the effort of getting to that biatch block plug for the first drain and the last before the Nissan LLC concentrate goes in, and not touching the thermostat housing (in some respects the thermostat looks harder than the block plug - ie remove stuff/3 bolts/clean surfaces/new gaskets or goop etc)

My question is - if I don't remove the block drain plug, will that turn 2 flushes into 5 or 6 (or more) to get the old coolant out? Is it worth dealing with the block plug to get a better cooling system flush with less repeats of flush/demineralised water required?

cheers

Mike

mikel Community Regular

mikel

Posted
Posted

I've decided the best option is to tackle that block drain plug - the current coolant is green, and my 5 litre Nissan LLC bottle contains blue stuff...I don't want to contaminate the Nissan LLC blue coolant goodness.

The Nissan manual specifies "3 Bond 1386B" for the thread on the block drain plug, which of course my local auto parts store doesn't stock :(

From a search on the Googleweb, "3 Bond 1386B" is a welch plug sealant - can any product that's labelled for use as a "welch plug sealant" be used?

Guidance on suitable products sold at places like Supercheap/Autobarn/Repco would be very helpful?

cheers

Mike

Joni Boi Contributor

Joni Boi

Posted
  • Author
Posted (edited)

Yeah, I was actually ment to post earlier to say that there would be no other way that I can think of to get all that old coolant out of the block without un doing the drain plug. I was going to suggest removing the lower coolant hose from the radiator but the thermostat will be in the closed position when engine is cold. So the plug is the best way. Just get underneath the car like i did and un do it. I never knew nissan had it in a blue color. Mine was green. I just used normal thread sealant from loctite which you can get anywhere. I also bought a new coolant drain plug (Nissan Part No: 08931-3041A) from a Nissan dealership for like $5. 

Let me know how you go.

 

Edit: looking back at this video, I can't believe I did that whole tutorial hungover lol

Edited by Joni Boi
mikel Community Regular

mikel

Posted
Posted
4 minutes ago, Joni Boi said:

I never knew nissan had it in a blue color

I didn't crack the bottle...after your post I just went and looked again - for some reason it has a blue tinge when looking at the liquid through the transparent strip on the side of the bottle, but splash it up the strip and it's green...

12 minutes ago, Joni Boi said:

I also bought a new coolant drain plug (Nissan Part No: 08931-3041A) from a Nissan dealership for like $5

Thanks heaps for the part number - that makes things way easier to get a new one if required ?

20 minutes ago, Joni Boi said:

I was actually ment to post earlier to say that there would be no other way that I can think of to get all that old coolant out of the block without un doing the drain plug. I was going to suggest removing the lower coolant hose from the radiator but the thermostat will be in the closed position when engine is cold.

And watching your video, removing the thermostat housing seems harder than removing the block drain plug!

Also on a quick scan with a torch, the thermostat housing still doesn't appear to be low enough in the block to get all the old coolant out - hard to see much, but it's higher than the oil filter...

...I guess that's why the Nissan manual says to remove the block plug :)

Well done again on the great tutorial video - I've watched it many times now.

I laugh every time when you pull the block drain plug out - the couple of expletives (completely justified) contrast so well with the rest of the "no voice over" approach - and the final bit in the dark...clearly not a quick job!

I still want to know what your household members thought about the thermostat in the kettle??? or did they never know??

cheers

Mike

Joni Boi Contributor

Joni Boi

Posted
  • Author
Posted
5 minutes ago, mikel said:

I still want to know what your household members thought about the thermostat in the kettle??? or did they never know??

haha I was going to replace that kettle and thought, hmmm... I'll use it one more time for this video. 

  • 6 years later...
  • 3 months later...
silviaz Experienced

silviaz

Posted
Posted (edited)

One quick overthinking question, is it safe to drive the car for 5-10 mins with only distilled water in the system so it gets to operating temperature faster? I know of course I can warm up it up idleing but was just curious. As Rb's can tend to run quite hot and it's an iron block as well not sure if rusting is a factor here.

Edited by silviaz
  • Like 1

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing


  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • MBS206
      Duncan's V37.......race car?

      By MBS206 · Posted

      Even more fun, leave all the ADAS stuff plugged in, but in different locations, hopefully avoid any codes!   And honestly, all these new cars with their weird electronics. Pull all the electronics out Duncan, and just shove an aftermarket ECU and if needed a trans controller in, along with a PDM. Make it run basic but race car styled!
    • Duncan
      Duncan's V37.......race car?

      By Duncan · Posted

      To follow up a question from earlier too since I had the front bar off again (fking!) This is what is between the bumper and the drivers side wheel And this is the navigator side, only one thing but its a biggy! So basically....no putting coolers in the wheel arches without a lot of moving other stuff. Assuming I move to properly race prepping this car I'll take that job on and see how the computers respond to removing a whole bunch of ADAS modules
    • Duncan
      Duncan's V37.......race car?

      By Duncan · Posted

      So I prepped the car for another track day on Wednesday (will be interesting to see coolant temps post flushing out and the larger reservoir, with a forecast of 3-14 being 20o cooler than last time I took it out). Couple of things to mention; since I am just driving the car and not taking a support vehicle, I took the rear seats out and just loaded the back up Team Trackday style. Look at all that space! To cover off removing the rear seat....it is weird (note the hybrid is probably different because it wouldn't have folding rear seats) Basically, you remove the lower seat base, very similar to a r series but it is a clip that pulls forward to release the base rather than it being bolted down. Easy Then, you need to remove the side section of the rear seat on each side. There is a 14mm head nut at the bottom of the side piece, the it slides upwards off a hook at the top to release; you also need to unhook the seatbelt from the loop at the top. Then the centre piece is weird. You need to release/fold the seats forward with the tab in the boot on each side From there, there are 2,x12mm headed bolts holding the rear of each seat to the folding bracket, under the trim between the rear seat and the boot (4x christmas tree clips there, they suck). The seat is out but you can see where the bolts attach to the bracket
    • RP1421
      S15 Spec R

      By RP1421 · Posted

      As discussed in the previous post, the bushes in the 110 needed replacing. I took this opportunity to replace the castor bushes, the front lower control arm, lower the car and get the alignment dialled in with new tyres. I took it down to Alignment Motorsports on the GC to get this work done and also get more out of the Shockworks as I felt like I wasn't getting the full use out of them.  To cut a very long story short, it ended up being the case the passenger side castor arm wouldn't accept the brand new bush as the sleeve had worn badly enough to the point you could push the new bush in by hand and completely through. Trying a pair of TRD bushes didn't fix the issue either (I had originally gone with Hardrace bushes). We needed to urgently source another castor arm, and thankfully this was sourced and the guys at the shop worked on my car until 7pm on a Saturday to get everything done. The car rides a lot nicer now with the suspension dialled in properly. Lowered the car a little as well to suit the lower profile front tyres, and just bring the car down generally. Eternally thankful for the guys down at the shop to get the car sorted, we both pulled big favours from our contacts to get it done on the Saturday.  Also plugged in the new Stedi foglights into the S15, and even from a quick test in the garage I'm keen to see how they look out on the road. I had some concerns about the length of the LED body and whether it'd fit in the foglight housing but it's fine.  I've got a small window coming up next month where I'll likely get a little paint work done on the 110 to remove the rear wing, add a boot wing and roof wing, get the side skirt fixed up and colour match the little panel on the tail lights so that I can install some badges that I've kept in storage. I'm also tempted to put in a new pair of headlights on the 110.  Until then, here's some more pictures from Easter this year. 
    • joshuaho96
      R32 GTS (RB20DE) Injectors Replacement

      By joshuaho96 · Posted

      I would put a fuel pressure gauge between the filter and the fuel rail, see if it's maintaining good fuel pressure at idle going up to the point when it stalls. Do you see any strange behavior in commanded fuel leading up to the point when it stalls? You might have to start going through the service manual and doing a long list of sensor tests if it's not the fuel system for whatever reason.
×
×
  • Create New...