About 3 weeks ago I noticed my temperature gauge go up to the maximum and then drop to normal in a few minutes. The situation is happening more and more. The heat takes over 15 minutes to push warm air. Gauge now goes from normal to maximum and floats between normal and very high. Maxima is a 91 SE with 161K miles on it. Is it the thermostat?

 

I'm probably the first, and hopefully the last to tell you that any time you have a question, it is always a good idea to use the handy dandy search function first.

 

1. check coolant level
2. check ac/heater syetem valve on firewall
3. replace thermostat
4. double check 1, 2 and 3

 

ummm im kinda having the same problem with mine its a 92 gxe but ive had my thermostat changed twice and flushed 4 times, but it takes about 30 min to push hot air and when i step on the gas my temp gague acts like a tack and jumps from hot to cold untill i let off the gas. What the hell does this mean. Is my car going to blow up or something.

 

Are you sure it was a full flush??? If you search there was a post about a week or 2 ago about this. Guy flushed out his system repeatedly with a mechanic yet same problem. Decided to flush it out himself and found out there was only a few quarts in there, so he filled and ran (repeat as neccessary) until it couldn't take anymore fluid. That fixed it.




Hope that helps you out, but if you want all the details search for the thread.

 

They did all that and they still cant figure out why my gauge is doing that.Im getting ready to get on the highway and pull the E-brake in front of a semi.I love maximas but this one is giving me too much bull**** and i dont ever play hard with it.

 

Then it's probably the temp sender from your block. I couldn't even begin to give you an estimate as far as parts and/or labor go on that. But basically if you do a lot of city driving you probably shouldn't worry about it since its just in city and its just a minor annoyance. If you do any long driving though you should definitely check it out, not overheating would be a great thing.

 

When you replace the thermostat, you're supposed to use a liquid gasket to seal it off. Most of the time you take it to a mechanic shop and they install the thermostat with the gasket, but you're driving the car 1/2 hour later. that's a big mistake because the gasket needs time to dry and harden. If you drive it right away most likely the thermosat didn't seal well and coolant is flowing on a cold block which is why it takes long to get hot air.
For someone who has never had a thermostat replaced, the thermostat could be stuck and allowing coolant to flow on cold engine. When you're driving, it won't allow enough coolant to flow, which would make the car over heat during idle, and cool down during driving.

If your needle jumps up rather quickly, then it's an indication of a a hole in your hose or air in the system, there's a screw you need to open when refilling coolant to allow air to escape or you can have the engine running and slowly pour in new coolant. If the needle only jumps when you're pressing the gas, i would think you have a leak in the upper hose. When you press the gas it sucks in air, the air is cooler, so it sends a false reading to the gauge. You can test it yourself, drive the car around as you would normally, carefully monitoring the gauge to make sure you don't overheat. After a good while of driving, pull over, turn off the engine and squeeze the upper hose, the hose should be nice and hard with all the pressure, it should remain that way for a little while, if you notice the pressure going away rather quickly, then you know you have a leak somewhere, in that situation, i would replace the hose.

 

QUOTE]Originally posted by DA-MAX
1. check coolant level
2. check ac/heater syetem valve on firewall
3. replace thermostat
4. double check 1, 2 and 3


[/QUOTE]

I checked my coolant level, it was well above the maximum line. I called my Nissan dealer and asked about the price of a thermostat for a 91 Maxima. He said it was a big job, similar to a timing belt because the thermostat is hidden. He quoted me a price of $495. How does that sound to everyone?

Thanks,

Joe

 

isnt a thermostat like a 10 dollar part jesus thats alot of labor

 

don't you know that the going hourly rate for the dealer is about $600.00 per hour They get you coming and going.

 

The rate feels like $600, but it is around $90/hr. New York prices

 

Do yourself a favor search a little bit here and get yourself a good set of tools. You can learn alot about your car and save yourself alot of money in labor doing it yourself. That is why I came here.