This afternoon I smelled something all to familiar to me (Thanks to my old e39), kinda sweet smelling. I finished my afternoon rounds of picking up the girls got home and popped the hood.



Where do you think it popped? I am waiting for it to cool off. It looks like its coming out of the top half.

I love these cars. Temp gauge never freaking budged. I got to limp it to the shop tomorrow and park it. Just ordered a new Koyo from Importrp. Should have it Friday. I'll also install a new upper and lower radiator hose and fresh fluid. I'll add a bottle of Water Wetter for craps and giggles. Good thing I didn't drive to Disney this weekend. I rented a Van. I was in a traffic jam for 2 hours!

 

Coolant leak somewhere I would check the radiator first they are known for leaking arount the plastic....

 

Looks EXACTLY like mine (minus the 3.5...). I'll be throwing in a new Koyo radiator in next week.

 

its cracked in the same place they all crack group deal section $109

 

Top tank on the rad. Whole thing needs to be replaced.

 

I had the same thing. The top part of the OEM radiator is a plastic piece which is cramped onto the aluminum radiator tank. That part blew and sprayed coolant from the radiator toward the firewall.

I dropped in a new radiator about two years ago. Still cannot figure out why it happened in the first place.

 

Car cooled enough for me to check. Yep, right where everybody else's crap sprung a leak. Right under the Nissan OEM stamp on the right hand side.
Group Deal on the Koyo Rad is now 105 shipped. Should have it by Friday. Should I worry about the changing the thermostat? BTW the radiator has been replaced before. Build date on the radiator is 2008. I thought I saw a receipt for a new radiator in my records.

 

must of been old stock new oe ones are not finger crimped anymore full lip seal all the way around

 

Just pick up OEM thermostat and gasket. Need to pick up two hoses and I will take of this Saturday.

 

yep...thats happened to both of my current max's now. new rad, hoses and some coolant.
IIRC i did the 01 back near thanksgiving '11 and the koyo was like $115 shipped.

grab a buddy and a case of miller and make an afternoon of it!

 

ya it's not a hard install at all. get a few buckets for catching any fluid when removing it to not make too much of a mess.

 

Might want to replace your upper radiator bracket bushings while you are at it. Just a thought

 

Srsly? They look fine.

 

look worn to me.

 

They are 2 months old. I got screwed and paid 8 bucks a piece for them since my normal parts guy was out that day. Have to pick up the hoses tomorrow the dealer did not have them.

 

These.

The brackets do, but I think djshwini said the bushing in the bracket. There is no way that bushing is two months old. It has some miles on it. When those bushings get worn like that it allows the radiator to be subjected to abrupt impulses which will end up having an adverse effect on old plastic core radiator.

 

More specifically, the top tank, which oddly enough, is what's busted on the rad you have right now

 

Debating whether on doing the same fix to my car, it only leaks up until the crack and then its fine. The coolant level is always technically low but it never overheats, I figure I'll get it done eventually but its no big deal for now.

 

100 bucks and 30 minutes of your time for peace of mind >>> stranded on the side of the road in BFE with no cell signal when the crack reaches catastrophic failure

Meh... Your call.

 

 

Get it replace. They look like that cause I have foam between the front support and the radiator. I have tried to seal the sides and top of the radiator. I even ordered the 2 plastic covers that go on the sides of the shroud. Mine where missing. I am sure when the fans got replaced they did not install them again.

 

Raddy is in along with new upper rubber mounts( screw it they where cheap), thermostat, upper and lower hose's.
Koyo Radiator-105.00
Upper and Lower hoses (OEM) 49.00
Thermostat and Gasket (OEM) 29.00
Upper rubber mounts (OEM) 4.00
2 Gallons of Prestone 50\50 13.99 x 2


Total-214.98

 

^^ Sounds like a fun 1-2 hours this weekend

 

Afternoon Just finished around 2PM. Now my weekend is free to clean out all the old coolant spray spots.

 

Those coin wash bays with the high pressure sprayers make short work of that. Also helpful is some mild degreaser, such as simple green. Spray water under the hood then hit it with some simple green and wash it off. You can even hit the engine bay with the clear coat protectant, helps make the plastic shine

 

BTW guys. The OEM radiator has what I counted as 80 rows and the Koyo has 100 rows.

 

looks brand new to me

i swear it didnt take me close to this long to do mine...30 mins top from opening the hood to test driving it

 

Thermostat and all?

 

naw just the radiator

 

Ah, there's the rub.

T-stat, rad and burping the system on ramps takes me about an hour and 15.

 

never touched the thermostat in that car until about 200k when the water pump was leaking, and i had everything else in my cooling system taken car of...hoses, flushed system, water pump and t-stat...til this day i still dont know the location of the thermostat on a 4/5th gen

 

Hint - it's at the *other* end of one of the radiator hoses...

 

hey you got one more time to sass me