Hello all,

I own a third gen, but my question regards a '96, which belongs to my brother-in-law. My sister ran the car for an extended, but unknown length of time HOT. The car was taken to the dealer and the water pump was changed. Afterwards, the engine was deemed no good by the mechanic because the engine continued to overheat. No specific reason was given as to the condition of the engine.

However, the engine does run- but the water boils. In addition, the O2 senosrs MELTED. Sounds pretty bad, huh? I was just also informed the muffler is exhibiting white smoke. Possible head gasket failure or worse? I still have to check the car out...

I don't trust the Nissan mechanic because off the bat, he wanted to buy the car. The engine has 130k, but the car is mint. Anyway, my first reccomendation was to have a compression test done on the engine. Is this a wise idea? Also, if in fact there is oil in the coolant, should we just replace the gasket or consider an overhaul at this point? Again, the continued overheating problem could be caused due to a possible head gasket failure or worse. What else could have happened to the engine? The melted o2 sensors point this problem in a more serious direction. Interesting enough, the engine never smoked when it ran hot.

What do you guys feel the next step should be?

Any ideas are appreciated. Thanks in advance to those who respond.

Victor

 

have you looked at the thermostat? could be stuck closed. Also look at the whole cooling system for anything that is clogged

 

Chances are:

1) Your water pump was never broken

2) The thermostat is stuck ro you have a small cat stuck in your radiator hosing.

3) The engine will live, and the mechanic is fu<king you.

 

how do you bake a car some people i tell you..

anyway, i had the same problem and after going through thermostats, radiator, checking the pump i finally yelled at my dumb but otherwise good mechanic that it was the gasket (you could smell the oil in the water bottle). opened up the car, and saw the entire head was erroded beyond repair. oh and gasket was blown too.

internal engine problems will likely result in cooling system pressure anomalies. keep watching the level of the water in the radiator and if it drops its likely something internal. but if the dealer wanted to buy the car... just go get the other small things checked first before doing a costly and possible unceccessary overhaul.

the worse would be a cracked head due to the extreme heat. but that's just that.. extreme.

 

but if your car is smoking white, you are sure that you must go to the garage. You have a problem of prestone in the cylinder that cause smoke. Head gasket, cracked head or worst cracked block. good luck

 

Good idea, I'll check the thermostat. At 130k, it's probable that it needs replacing.

 

if the motor ends up being messed up.. used motors are less then fixing the one you have.. You can get them for $350 area... if you are having trouble finding one let me know because i got 3 of them.
cbr2@softhome.net

 

Okay guys, lots of good advice. As far as the water pump is concerned, I checked to see if it was leaking or for noisy bearings. This took place the morning onthe same day the car stalled out. <<Which by the way, does the ECU shut the engine down after a set temp?>> Anyhow, the water pump was not leaking and was not noisy. The dealer replaced it anyway and the problem was not solved. Of course, considering there are many variables involved, the problem could certainly not have been the water pupm to begin with. So yes, to comment on EvilRoadsVictim post, it is unbelievable that you can destroy a bulletproof engine. I agree, what really concerns me are the melted 02 sensors- we're talking big time heat here. First, I'm going to check for oil in the reservoir. Next, the thermostat and finally, a compression test. Can someone provide me with the compression numbers? I think it is around 130 PSI, but not sure. Thanks everyone!

Victor