fellow maxi owners,
I have some things wrong i need addressed asap
1. I have a whistle noise coming from the fan belt
2.i noticed white foam in the radiator cap opening that soon dissappeared.
3. my coolant/water seems to be either leaking or burning off somehow.

any advise would be much appreciated,
car: 1990 maxima VG30E[/SIZE][/SIZE][/FONT]

 

Waterpump or Thermostat - I am betting Thermostat after my experience last year.

 

Sounds like you have a blown head gasket..

 

what does the oil look like?

 

is the coolant visible on the ground?

how about temperature?

like these guys mentioned, the best to worst are: thermostat, water pump, head gasket.

 

IIRC there should be white smoke in the exhaust if coolant is burning. Your water pump probably has a leak. Fill up coolant, turn off A/C, run the engine parked and look for puddles or drips.

Do thermostats ever get stuck closed? I thought they are designed to get stuck open when they die. In that case you'll notice your engine temperature going down when you drive on a highway in cold weather because coolant is circulating more than it should. Thankfully its not an expensive replacement.

Not sure about the foam, but if you have lots of air in the system maybe its getting agitated by the pump and foaming up.

What is the fan belt you are referring to, do you mean accessory belts?

 

Yes,these cars t-stats most of the time stick open,most likely by design..


Both of my maximas t-stats failed in the same manner,the temp needle took a nose dive when driving,also in cold weather the temp needles would not move from dead cold...Brrrrrrrr!!

 

Yeah I think it is a safety design because a cold engine is better than an overheated engine, but still not very good to run for extended periods... even if its not completely cold.

 

For me the Thermostat stuck close...

Coolant being blown out of overflow. When enigne is turned off sucking coolant back in. Temp normal while driving (30+ mph), high when stopped for light.

Initially thought was rubber on rad-cap was bad, origanal and 14yr old. Then main coolant hose on top of engine blew off while driving, after replacing rad-cap and getting coolant refilled.

 

I drill two 3mm holes opposite of each other on the thermostat to allow for some water to flow through as pressure relief to avoid something like that happening. Doesn't mess with the thermals of the vehicle and puts my mind at ease whilst worrying about the auto. 3#-)

 

Hey guys, I got a problem w/ my radiator stuff I think. I have a Vg, u know the hose that connect through the intake manifold, right behind the Radiator Cap? The hose is bigger on the left side, like an inch, and about 3/4" on the right? I pulled both sides off tryingto do the Throttle body coolant bypass mod, and no fluid came out. I started the car and let it run for like 15 minutes and still nothing. Other related possibly related info: Heater takes 30 minutes to heat up, even in the summer, Thermostat in dash, sticks in the cold months and takes about five minutes to give accurate reading in warm months. Lately my car has been feeling rather hot. The intake manifold is hotter than the big red oil holder or w/e. I started my car with the radiator cap off, and It took about 3 minutes before it started to rise and overflow. Suggestions???

 

I had one to fail closed and it blew all of my coolant out the over-flow bottle. The thermo was brand new too. The engine will get hot of course with this happening.

 

+1 on the head gasket

 

temp is above average when water is lower than usual...
yes i suppose they are accessory belts, one wraps around a compressor thingy.
oil is normal no foam in oil.
no water or coolant on the ground either.
Thanks for the help.