Hey all, thought i'd say hi with my first post on the forums.

I just aquired a 91 maxima SE while my other car is currently in the works after an accident. I've noticed a few strange things with the car though. Firstly, there's hardly any heat that comes from the vents. It seems to just blow cold air, and sometimes moderatly warm air. The other thing is that when i drive her a bit more agressively, or just at highway speeds, the temp gauge gets way up near the H. in stop an go traffic, its at about the middle. to me, that seems to be the opposite of what a car that wants to overheat would do. other than that, the car drives perfect. my uncle was the previous and original owner, the car was taken great care of. anyone have any suggestions as what to look for? thermostat, possibly heater core? Thanks for any help

 

First, welcome to the forum.
It sounds like the coolant isn't circulating very well through the engine. It may need a good flush and coolant change. I'd change the thermostat at the same time (although it's not a real likely suspect with your symptoms). If that doesn't help, then a water pump change may be in order. I've seen other cars with similar symptoms that had the water pump impeller come loose and slip on the shaft, which doesn't allow the coolant to move in the volume it needs.

 

I have to agree with Rod. (oh, and welcome to the .org!)

I had a similar problem recently, and all I did was change the thermostat and add coolant, and I'm good to go. But make sure you have coolant flowing through the system. Take off the radiator cap (while it's cool, of course), start the engine, and observe if the coolant is making ANY kind of effort to move through the radiator. Hope that helps somewhat.

 

Well, as far as the coolant goes, my Uncle had that completely flushed just before i got it. I have noticed the car sort of makes a strange sound in the belt area of the motor, sort of a squealing type of noise. But it does go away past 2.5 rpms. That seems like water pump territory to me. how difficult is a water pump change on the 91 SE? I hope its nowhere near as bad as the SHO's.