About to be new owner, radiator question

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eieio
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Postby eieio » Mon Oct 29, 2018 1:18 pm

jontyrees wrote:Just dropped off the truck with my mechanic. He was pretty insistent that the way to go is to add an external atf cooler kit, in front of the radiator. He said that the stock external cooler is "not enough", and since the kit is about $60, and his labor is very reasonable, I'm going with his suggestion. That's actually the solution I'm most comfortable with - keeps the atf completely out of the engine coolant loop, adds cooling capacity, less than $100. What's not to like?
I'm not a fan of most aftermarket stuff.
what's not to like?
the additional mounts, hoses, clamps, and plumbing of an aftermarket cooler.
I'd rather stick with the by-pass and OEM radiator, as I've done to both of my R51s.
here is the definitive thread on the radiator & bypass.
it's long, but it sure is definitive!
http://www.thenissanpath.com/viewtopic. ... ght=bypass


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Postby jontyrees » Tue Oct 30, 2018 9:51 am

I hear you on the +/- of adding a cooler. I had originally asked my mechanic to simply do the bypass, and rely on the existing cooler, but the words "is not enough" won the day. I've read a whole lot of the definitive thread - bypass, replace the radiator with an aftermarket model, add a cooler, don't add a cooler, etc. I'm going with this solution.

edit - external cooler added, total 2,000 pesos (approx $100). He pointed out the stock external cooler, it's a straight tube about 10(?)" long, at the bottom front of the radiator. The kit he added looks like the back of a refrigerator, maybe 10"x10", and he tucked it in behind the radiator. He has a lot of experience here in this climate, and Nissan is the dominant brand around here, so I'm confidant in his recommendation. All the taxis here in town use him.

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Postby smj999smj » Wed Oct 31, 2018 12:04 am

I believe there's a power steering cooler at the bottom of the radiator. The auxiliary trans cooler is on front of the A/C condenser, at the top side. 2005-2007 it was on the passenger side and after that it was on the driver side.

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Postby patrickm » Fri Nov 16, 2018 3:24 pm

for what it's worth, my brother had a 2011 PF with the same kind of trans fluid/coolant mixing from a problem in the lower portion of his original radiator (per the mechanic tearing it apart). That seems like the exception, but 2010+ aren't entirely immune.

given that mine was already near 100k miles, and not as well maintained by the previous owner, i went the aftermarket radiator replacement route shortly after i bought it, and haven't worried about it since.

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Postby smj999smj » Thu Mar 21, 2019 10:06 am

patrickm wrote:for what it's worth, my brother had a 2011 PF with the same kind of trans fluid/coolant mixing from a problem in the lower portion of his original radiator (per the mechanic tearing it apart). That seems like the exception, but 2010+ aren't entirely immune.

given that mine was already near 100k miles, and not as well maintained by the previous owner, i went the aftermarket radiator replacement route shortly after i bought it, and haven't worried about it since.
Yes, I've heard about a few 2011 Nissan Pathfinders and Frontiers with the -ZL11A radiator that have experienced cooler failures. They seem to be rare, but is still relevant.

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ALO604
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New Owner

Postby ALO604 » Sun Sep 08, 2019 11:42 am

I just bought a 2010 LE V6 Pathfinder with 146,000klm on it.
I was not aware of these radiator issues. The number of the rad is21460 ZL11A and I don't know if this one is affected? I would hate to damage a trans.

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eieio
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Re: New Owner

Postby eieio » Sun Sep 08, 2019 2:16 pm

ALO604 wrote:I just bought a 2010 LE V6 Pathfinder with 146,000klm on it.
I was not aware of these radiator issues. The number of the rad is21460 ZL11A and I don't know if this one is affected? I would hate to damage a trans.
as the post prior to yours says............rare, but relevant.

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Re: New Owner

Postby smj999smj » Mon Sep 09, 2019 9:31 pm

ALO604 wrote:I just bought a 2010 LE V6 Pathfinder with 146,000klm on it.
I was not aware of these radiator issues. The number of the rad is21460 ZL11A and I don't know if this one is affected? I would hate to damage a trans.
If it were mine, I would replace it. Rockauto has options under $100.

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ALO604
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Re: New Owner

Postby ALO604 » Tue Sep 10, 2019 10:23 am

smj999smj wrote:
ALO604 wrote:I just bought a 2010 LE V6 Pathfinder with 146,000klm on it.
I was not aware of these radiator issues. The number of the rad is21460 ZL11A and I don't know if this one is affected? I would hate to damage a trans.
If it were mine, I would replace it. Rockauto has options under $100.
Yes I will. Just in case.

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ALO604
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oil cooler 2010 V6 Pathfinder

Postby ALO604 » Fri Sep 20, 2019 1:03 pm

Upon inspection I see there is a stock external trans oil cooler mounted on the left side in front of the radiator. I was going to bypass the Rad and add an external cooler to avoid the oil mixing issue. Is this really required to add the extra cooler rather than just bypass the Rad?

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Re: oil cooler 2010 V6 Pathfinder

Postby smj999smj » Sat Sep 21, 2019 3:48 am

ALO604 wrote:Upon inspection I see there is a stock external trans oil cooler mounted on the left side in front of the radiator. I was going to bypass the Rad and add an external cooler to avoid the oil mixing issue. Is this really required to add the extra cooler rather than just bypass the Rad?
All North American R51 Pathfinders came with an auxiliary trans cooler, so there is no need to add an additional trans cooler.

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Postby brickbox » Sun Nov 03, 2019 12:10 pm

New owner here and I’m not sure if I should start another thread or add my concerns here. My 2011 Silver Edition has 99k miles on it.
Haven’t seen any evidence of SMOD on it, anti freeze is excellent green (knock on wood).

My vehicle had the trans cooler on the drivers side ahead of the AC condenser. Radiator is p/n# 21460 - 9CA3A. I didn’t find anything when I searched this part number on the forum.

Any ideas on whether these were acceptable and not the known ones to fail?
I don’t mind doing the bypass, but I would prefer to wait until spring when it gets warmer. We are already at freezing or below everyday at night here. Also, given the during the winter, temps drop here to single digits and occasional days of 0F, will doing the bypass in the Spring cause any issues the following winter?

The other thing, every time I drive the vehicle and come back home, stop the engine and I can smell the sweet smell of anti freeze, it’s most apparent by the passenger side. A quick visual check showed no leaks. Any pointers on what this is or is it even normal?
Image

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Postby smj999smj » Sun Nov 03, 2019 1:26 pm

I've yet to hear of a failure of any -9CA3A radiators and the very few that have been reported on 2011 models were -ZL11A part numbers, so I would say that's a "safe" part number and no need to bypass/replace. The green coolant is interesting because I would have thought it had Nissan Blue coolant in it, but it may have been replaced by someone earlier with the green coolant (Nissan started phasing in blue coolant in some of their models starting in 2010). As far as the coolant odor, it's not uncommon to hear people say that. Sometimes it's due to a leak at the plastic heater pipe connection, near the firewall on the passenger side. But for those that aren't leaking, I suspect it could be odor from air in the coolant reservoir that has been vented out past the pressure cap on it. That's my best guess on it, anyway, being that the reservoir is on the passenger side.

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Postby brickbox » Mon Nov 04, 2019 8:56 am

Good to note. Ill take a look at the heater hose connections again to verify there’s no coolant leaking.

The green coolant interestingly was what was put in by the Nissan dealership based on the records I got with the vehicle. Interestingly, the local Infiniti dealership also said they would just put the regular green stuff on my QX4 - I ended up using the Zerex Asian stuff and did the change myself.

If there’s no leak, should I consider replacing the radiator cap and reservoir cap pre-emptively?

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Postby smj999smj » Mon Nov 04, 2019 11:10 pm

Replacing the caps is really up to you. The radiator cap isn't a pressure cap; the only real reason for it is to make it easier to fill the cooling system after a service. The coolant free-flows from the radiator top tank to the reservoir hose. FYI, the original coolant is made by Pentosin and is carried by some auto parts stores, like Autozone. Pentosin Pentafrost A2 is green concentrate and Pentafrost A3 is blue, long-life, pre-mixed coolant.


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