tonite i get in my car to drive home from work (about a 1.5 -2 miles) and its ffreezing over here. my heat doesn't get warm at all and i looked down at the temp guage and it was pretty high almost at the H line.. is the problem that my thermostat is stuck closed.. if so how much will it cost me to get a new one?

 

Stuck themostat....I think they are around 10 bucks or so...takes about 20-30 minutes to install....its in the lower radiator hose next to the engine block.

 

sounds like water pump. nissan thermostats are fail safe where it would allow some water to still circulate when fail. does power steering work if not could be belt.

 

gotta check but i heard a belt slipping somewhere

 

You have 2 possibilities with the tstat.

1 - stuck open. The temp guage will stay near C and air comes out cold.

2 - stuck closed. Temp guage gets hot and air comes out hot.. engine overheats.

If the temp guage is near H and the air is closed, well maybe your heater core is blocked also along with your tstat being stcuk closed, or is could be the water pump not circulating the coolant properly.

 

just change your t-stat. its not that hard, and its only like $15.. make sure you face the bubbly needle upward..

 

do i have to drain my coolant?

 

You might want to check your coolant in addition to the t-stat. Use one of those little bulb thingies that float a number of little *****. If your coolant has been diluted with water or too old to be effective it can turn to slush and cause the problem you described. The guys are probably right about the t-stat, but don't ignore your coolant.

 

first pop the hood and check the coolant level. (with motor cold)
if coolant level is good > start motor with radiator cap off > Check for coolant movement in radiator after a few minutes
if no flow then start cursing and be prepared to do the water pump.

BTW I suggest doing the t-stat anyways because you're already suspicious of it. and don't forget to flush the system and refill with new anti-freeze.

 

is the water pump constantly on?

 

yes........

 

yea i have a horrible feeling its the water pump or something worse because it overheated and died on me today on my way back from picking up a thermostat.. (3 minute trip)

 

oh yea and i replaced the radiator 5 days ago a

 

if it was the water pump you would know, the car would be making a weird spining noise (cant explain), so if your car is making a weird noise near the belts its proly water pump, also water pump has a hole under or above the pulley (cant remember) that leaks water if pump is bad( usualy hole gets rusted so you know if water pump is bad). if all else fails try and just remove the t-stat if car still over heats that its proly water pump. If car does not over heat then just replace with new t-stat.

 

well i do have coolant ALLL over the place.. by the pulley side of the engine

 

water pump bad = belts slipping??... i gota t-stat i might do it tomorrow but its supposed to be a blizzard over here in NY 20"+ last i heard

 

It really sounds like the water pump is failing. I would not drive the car until you can get it repaired,or you will doing a head gasket replacement, and I tell ya, you dont wanna go there.
Not real sure, but I thing the GXE models have timing belts...have that replaced too.

 

thanx. i hear the water pump install sux.. how bad is it?

 

when I did mine i did not realy time it, but it did take most of the day. and there is a aluminum cover near the main pully you have to remove to get the rest of teh water pump bolts that is a pain, (i just bent it out of the way and then bent it back, could not figuire out how to remove. )