I found a 1990 Maxima for sale locally. Pearl white 5 speed with cloth and a sunroof for $400.00. Car has a blown headgasket. Over all looks to be in decent shape. What have you guys found with a blown head gasket. Is it just replace the gasket and resurface the head, or is there more damage. I just want some opinions of what other 3rd gen owners have found with this concern. I am thinking of this car for a DD.

 

Reason for blown gasket?

IMO the OEM 3rd gen cooling system is close to bullet-proof so maintenance/lubrication/misuse/external damage is likely.

 

Well it could be a poorly made gasket slapped on by the factor, could have over headed causing the head to warp. if the car is in other wise good shape you can pull a motor from the JY, eBay or where ever and throw it in. the block maybe OK, but it depends on how long they tried to drive on it and if the coolant got passed the rings into the pan. it should be salvageable. my brother civic blew one recently because it had previously over heated and it fared well. its going to be a PITA but its not hard.

 

who verified that the head gasket is blown?
it is not at all unusual for someone to say the car has a blown head gasket when in fact it is a totally different issue.

as LvR said, I don't recall ever hearing of a 3rd gen VG with a blown HG

 

blah..2% chance it's a actual blown head gasket, 98% chance it's something else...

 

What is common on the 3rd Gen to leak coolant? I am just going off what the owner says. Thanks for all the input.

 

cracked plastic on the radiator, loose hose clamps, broken coolant resivoir, missing resivoir hose...
may wanna ask him how his heat is. if it sucks, may indicate a bubble in the system, that gradually gets filled (may not be, but )

 

I just replaced my radiator and water pump. Both were well over 6 years old. The 3rd gen coolant system is one of the better ones ive experienced with. I drove 9 hours straight through the mountain pass to other side of the state, with maybe 3 **** stops in between. And the temp needle never budged.

I don't think there is any real common problem with leaks or anything else with the cooling system. Most common problem ive seen on here is it not blowing warm air in the cabin, and the system needs bled of air.

 

Could be a bad water pump. I haven't had a VG, but on my VE, the water pump was bad and bailing coolant. It would still drive fine and the temp would rise some, but not overheat.

There would be a small puddle of coolant on the ground when the car was parked. I had it fixed immediately when I bought it, though.

Still, for $400 if the car is in good shape, it would be worth it to get a JDM engine and swap it in. You would have a running, driving 5-speed 3rd gen for ~$1000, maybe less, depending on costs and labor skills.

 

I had the same experience with my VE, I bet it's the water pump. It cost me $500 or something to replace it at the dealership (actually the cheapest place to replace it after calling around, oddly enough).

 

does it run?
possible busted t-belt?

 

I am going to go look at the car in person. The owner says that after 5 minutes of driving it gets hot and leaks coolant. He was told by a shadetree mechanic that it was the headgasket. And it is a 91 Maxima not a 90, if that makes any difference. Thanks for all the input.

 

It could be a waterpump or a bad radiator. I just recently replaced my friend's radiator on his Sentra, it was doing the same thing. Best thing to do is look over it, and if it is the radiator replace it. btw, is everyone here running an aluminum radiator? Several years back, mine died and I replaced it with a copper one, no problems ever since.

 

I still do run the orig aluminum core yes - my plastic top tank also expired (cracked) and due to the cost of spares locally, I had an aluminum top tank made up and permanently welded to the core - QED.

 

check the oil. if oil is milky then the head gasket is probably cracked. it sounds like the leak is elsewhere to me. If it only leaks once it gets hot after 5 minutes, sounds like the radiator is cracked to me. Mine had a crack, which is why I replaced it, and it would only leak once it got hot. as far as overheating, the thermostat could be bad too? sounds like the cooling system has been neglected.

check to see where its leaking, and what conditions it leaks. Does it leak cold just sitting there? only when warmed up? only when running? cold and running?

 

T-Stat could be stuck due to the failing cooling system. Best bet is a replacement radiator and t-stat; if all else fails waterpump. I seriously doubt it's a headgasket issue, but we could all be wrong.

 

i can agree with you guys on this on the 3rd gen cooling system.

on the vg the reservior part that screws on was broke so the previous owner before me just tied it on with a wire tie.

well every once and a while the reservior whould rub on the compressor.
one day in the summer heat it took my car a long time for it to warm up.
and when it did the gauge was high...
almost all of the coolant was gone!

replaced it and she's fine

 

buddy, heresmymind had like 4 blown headgaskets in a year or two.. lol I dont know how the hell he managed to but he also blew it on his subaru

 

driving around without coolant will do that.

 

Don't blame the gun for the murder committed - tell the whole story and give all the facts, then we can compare notes again.

 

iirc he never fixed it. he just claimed to have fixed it. there was much out-the-*** talking from him, according to a trusted source.

 

The best way to verify if the car has a blown head gasket is a little machanical skills. If the oil is milky, and if there is a cloud of white smoke comming from your tail pipe, then you definetly know u have a blown head gasket! I would check everything out first. Just the other day, I was driving my 93 gxe down the road, and noticed a little steam coming from the engine. I immediately pulled over to discover that the top radiator hose had blown off. So I replaced the hose and clamps, filled it up with coolant, and no problems! But whenever I purchase a car, I always replace the water pump and the thermostat, because that is a sure way to loose your engine!

 

this is funny i just came on here after seeing your post dont know if you went to see the car but i think i bought the car your talking about it was in daytona? .....thinking of swaping motors it def has a blown head gasget

 

Look it over visually real good and perform a compression test of all 6 cylinders that won't lie to you! Check your fluids for mixing and run it to seem if it could be something like a stuck thermostat, bad hose, etc....

 

How did you determine that the head gasket was blown?

 

well the car was smoking when i got it low compession on some cylinders and so i swapped the motor with the same single cam for now runs go tho it was alot of work too

 

Good job. What did you pay for the engine?

 

yea i payed about 250 for the motor so not bad came out cheap