Newbie 2002 maxima
04-16-2015, 01:16 PM
#2
First, lets start with the basics. Are your radiator cooling fans turning on? Quick test is to turn the a/c on and look at them. With the a/c on, both fans should be running.
Are you certain the engine does not have air pockets in it? Only way to tell is to get the front end of the car up at least a foot and run the engine with the radiator cap off. When the engine get hot enough for the thermostat to open, air pockets will come out. But be careful. Sometime the air bubbles will cause the coolant to burp out. After a few minutes all the air should have escaped.
When the engine is overheating, feel both radiator hoses. If coolant is circulating like it should, both hoses should be hot. If the lower hose is not hot, the coolant circulation is not happening.
Possible problems are plugged radiator, bad thermostat, or bad water pump. Thermostats are tricky for our cars. Only the Nissan thermostat is guaranteed to work. Aftermarket thermostats are hit or miss. And some people have installed the thermostats backwards.
If the radiator is plugged, you can remove it and try reverse flushing it. It may work, no guarantees.
Are you certain the engine does not have air pockets in it? Only way to tell is to get the front end of the car up at least a foot and run the engine with the radiator cap off. When the engine get hot enough for the thermostat to open, air pockets will come out. But be careful. Sometime the air bubbles will cause the coolant to burp out. After a few minutes all the air should have escaped.
When the engine is overheating, feel both radiator hoses. If coolant is circulating like it should, both hoses should be hot. If the lower hose is not hot, the coolant circulation is not happening.
Possible problems are plugged radiator, bad thermostat, or bad water pump. Thermostats are tricky for our cars. Only the Nissan thermostat is guaranteed to work. Aftermarket thermostats are hit or miss. And some people have installed the thermostats backwards.
If the radiator is plugged, you can remove it and try reverse flushing it. It may work, no guarantees.
04-16-2015, 01:34 PM
#3
Newbie - Just Registered
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2015
Posts: 3
Thanks
Yes the fans are working. I'm getting worried it's a busted head gasket. I will try lifting it up to see if it's a air bubble. I bought the thermostat from OReillys. Now I'm wondering if that's the right one.
First, lets start with the basics. Are your radiator cooling fans turning on? Quick test is to turn the a/c on and look at them. With the a/c on, both fans should be running.
Are you certain the engine does not have air pockets in it? Only way to tell is to get the front end of the car up at least a foot and run the engine with the radiator cap off. When the engine get hot enough for the thermostat to open, air pockets will come out. But be careful. Sometime the air bubbles will cause the coolant to burp out. After a few minutes all the air should have escaped.
When the engine is overheating, feel both radiator hoses. If coolant is circulating like it should, both hoses should be hot. If the lower hose is not hot, the coolant circulation is not happening.
Possible problems are plugged radiator, bad thermostat, or bad water pump. Thermostats are tricky for our cars. Only the Nissan thermostat is guaranteed to work. Aftermarket thermostats are hit or miss. And some people have installed the thermostats backwards.
If the radiator is plugged, you can remove it and try reverse flushing it. It may work, no guarantees.
Are you certain the engine does not have air pockets in it? Only way to tell is to get the front end of the car up at least a foot and run the engine with the radiator cap off. When the engine get hot enough for the thermostat to open, air pockets will come out. But be careful. Sometime the air bubbles will cause the coolant to burp out. After a few minutes all the air should have escaped.
When the engine is overheating, feel both radiator hoses. If coolant is circulating like it should, both hoses should be hot. If the lower hose is not hot, the coolant circulation is not happening.
Possible problems are plugged radiator, bad thermostat, or bad water pump. Thermostats are tricky for our cars. Only the Nissan thermostat is guaranteed to work. Aftermarket thermostats are hit or miss. And some people have installed the thermostats backwards.
If the radiator is plugged, you can remove it and try reverse flushing it. It may work, no guarantees.
04-16-2015, 02:08 PM
#4
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: The Northeast
Posts: 681
First, lets start with the basics. Are your radiator cooling fans turning on? Quick test is to turn the a/c on and look at them. With the a/c on, both fans should be running.
Are you certain the engine does not have air pockets in it? Only way to tell is to get the front end of the car up at least a foot and run the engine with the radiator cap off. When the engine get hot enough for the thermostat to open, air pockets will come out. But be careful. Sometime the air bubbles will cause the coolant to burp out. After a few minutes all the air should have escaped.
When the engine is overheating, feel both radiator hoses. If coolant is circulating like it should, both hoses should be hot. If the lower hose is not hot, the coolant circulation is not happening.
Possible problems are plugged radiator, bad thermostat, or bad water pump. Thermostats are tricky for our cars. Only the Nissan thermostat is guaranteed to work. Aftermarket thermostats are hit or miss. And some people have installed the thermostats backwards.
If the radiator is plugged, you can remove it and try reverse flushing it. It may work, no guarantees.
Are you certain the engine does not have air pockets in it? Only way to tell is to get the front end of the car up at least a foot and run the engine with the radiator cap off. When the engine get hot enough for the thermostat to open, air pockets will come out. But be careful. Sometime the air bubbles will cause the coolant to burp out. After a few minutes all the air should have escaped.
When the engine is overheating, feel both radiator hoses. If coolant is circulating like it should, both hoses should be hot. If the lower hose is not hot, the coolant circulation is not happening.
Possible problems are plugged radiator, bad thermostat, or bad water pump. Thermostats are tricky for our cars. Only the Nissan thermostat is guaranteed to work. Aftermarket thermostats are hit or miss. And some people have installed the thermostats backwards.
If the radiator is plugged, you can remove it and try reverse flushing it. It may work, no guarantees.
OP- Don't automatically jump to the head gasket. Start with the simple stuff first. Air in system can cause funky stuff to happen so start there. Make sure the heater is turned all the way to 90. Race the engine to 2500 RPMS several times to expedite the cooling fans kicking on. Make sure the rad cap and thermostat are OEM. How old is the coolant? Check for leaks around the radiator near the top plastic tank (common failure point), hoses, t-stat, etc.
04-16-2015, 02:34 PM
#5
Newbie - Just Registered
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2015
Posts: 3
It's has mostly water In it now. I have a crack in my radiator and had it fixed with jb weld until 2 days ago. It blew that off n my top radiator hose. I filled it back up with water to get home. I filled the radiator crack with putty for hard plastic. I changed the thermostat this morning and filled it back up with water. Drove it for a minute to see if the thermostat worked and it was all the way hot by the time I got back home. That was about a 5 minute drive. Also. Before all this happened my heat was only working after I got to driving. Now it doesn't work at all.
Great troubleshooting steps.
OP- Don't automatically jump to the head gasket. Start with the simple stuff first. Air in system can cause funky stuff to happen so start there. Make sure the heater is turned all the way to 90. Race the engine to 2500 RPMS several times to expedite the cooling fans kicking on. Make sure the rad cap and thermostat are OEM. How old is the coolant? Check for leaks around the radiator near the top plastic tank (common failure point), hoses, t-stat, etc.
OP- Don't automatically jump to the head gasket. Start with the simple stuff first. Air in system can cause funky stuff to happen so start there. Make sure the heater is turned all the way to 90. Race the engine to 2500 RPMS several times to expedite the cooling fans kicking on. Make sure the rad cap and thermostat are OEM. How old is the coolant? Check for leaks around the radiator near the top plastic tank (common failure point), hoses, t-stat, etc.
04-17-2015, 04:16 PM
#6
The no heat part is understandable. If the cooling system level gets just even a little bit low, the heat stops working.
Your first priority is to get a new radiator so that you don't have that leak.
Your first priority is to get a new radiator so that you don't have that leak.
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