95 Nissan Altima few questions.......please help

[kumarkumar]

I have a few questions for my 95 Altima.

1) How do I open/remove the "parcel shelf" at the back??

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2) How do I open/remove the front "dashboard"??

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3) My engine coolant is at a very low level. Since I don't know which coolant was there previously so do I:-
(a) Flush out the old coolant and put in a new coolant??
(b) Just add any coolant to the old one??

[JudoJohn]

not sure about the dash, but as for the coolant, i would add a 50/50 mixture to bring it up to the proper level. make sure you add it when the engine is cold. like overnight cold. then take off the radiator cap and add it. check your level every couple of days or so, to make sure you are not using coolant. if the engine uses coolant, then you may have a head gasket leak.

for the dash, have you tried a Haynes manual? i would be careful because of the airbags.

[kumarkumar]

Thanks for the reply.
1) The point of asking the question about coolant was..........Is it OK to add a new coolant to an old unknown one OR is it better to flush the old one out and then put a new one.

2) I wanted to open the dashboard because there is this tiny green LED on the Cruise Control button, which has somehow sunk inside. I wanted to open the dashboard so that I can reach behind that switch and push the LED outwards to its proper level.
Now since you warned me about the airbags......I am not sure what to do.
BTW Hynes manual is out of stock everywhere here for 95 Altima.

One more question...
Is is true that the coolant level goes down only if there is leak?? I thought that with time the coolant level goes down.

[JudoJohn]

new coolant will be ok w/old coolant. there is always some evaporation, but it is very slight, mostly negligible. If your coolant looks all brown and rusty, then yes, it is time to flush and refill. if your coolant is low, and you don't why, if you flush it now, and you need to fix something in the system , you will have to flush it again. that is why i say wait. make sure that there is no leaking, and then i would flush it.
and, when you do flush it, schck the level daily (cold) to make sure all the air pockets are worked out.