pottzie

'97 Maxima, temp gauge doesn't move much from zero, and the motor doesn't seem to get very warm to the touch. Just getting it going after doing a trans swap. Car came from a southern state, and I didn't notice that the cooling system was filled with straight tap water. It got down to a few degrees above zero here while I was working on the transmission.

Drained the tap water and refilled with antifreeze. drove it, noticed that the temp never came up. Got a leak proof funnel, used that to verify that all the air was out, still no heat. Then noticed that I had antifreeze leaking from the top of the radiator, so I got another radiator, and before installing, took the "new" radiator to a radiator shop to have it cleaned and checked before I installed it.

Now after installing it, I still have low heat. The upper hose feels hotter than the lower hose, and I guess the next step is the thermostat, but when I drove it home with the bad transmission, the heat and temp were working fine. Then too, all I had was first gear, and the motor was revving pretty good, even though I was babying it.

It looks like the thermostat might not be as bad as Chilton's says, I just saw a Youtube where someone did it on a 2000 by just removing the bolts and lower hose-Chilton says to remove the belts. But it looks pricey, as it's an integral unit, not just a separate thermostat, and it seems strange that it worked before, but now it doesn't. Then again, if the thermostat is stuck open, I guess this is what I have. But before I bust out the wrenches, I though I'd ask here and see what someone who deals in this stuff would do.

Thanks.

Zach-R

iTrader: (3)

Stuck open t stat sounds like the culprit. Start there and follow up with us.

njmaxseltd

iTrader: (19)

Rad wasn't necessary, thermostat is your issue.

chrome91

iTrader: (1)

T-stat is stuck open

pottzie

Yep, changed thermostat, temp finally goes to middle of heat gauge. Thanks for the tip.