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My car has been acting weird lately 02 i35. Once the car gets warm the fans jump on and seem to stay on longer than normal but no overheating. I tried to bleed they system but same thing fans went into full speed. I also noticed the heat is not working like it should if at all. And there was a piping or cracking noise coming from the radiator area as I was trying to bleed it. Anyone experience this?
A key hint is that you are not getting any heat. This is the first symptom that appears when the engine coolant is low.
Have the car parked on level ground and when the engine is cold, remove the radiator cap and check the level. Do not have the engine running. The radiator tank should be totally filled, zero air in it.
When you bleed air out of the cooling system, have the front end of the car elevated about a foot.
If the radiator is low, you need to figure out where the coolant went. The rad could be leaking, which is common in our cars. Top off the overflow to b/w min & max when cold.
[QUOTE=mclasser;9125750]If the radiator is low, you need to figure out where the coolant went. The rad could be leaking, which is common in our cars. Top off the overflow to b/w min & max when cold.[/QUOTE
If there is a hole at the top of the overflow tank would that affect anything?
No. The tank is vented to begin with, so if it has somehow developed a hole, it doesn't really matter.
The overflow tank is a pollution control device. It is not needed for the cooling system to work properly. Cars didn't have an overflow tank until the 1970's when pollution control and safety laws were implemented. You can take the overflow tank off and pitch it and the only thing that happens is that government regulators and clean air people will get their panties in a wad. The car could care less.
Ok so today the car wants to run hotter than normal so I shut it off. Seems like the top radiator hose is much hotter than the lower radiator hose. Smh I hope this is an easy fix
The upper radiator hose should always be hotter than the lower after the car is warmed up: upper has coolant that is hot and needs to be cooled in radiator, lower has cooled coolant ready to go back into the block.
The upper radiator hose should always be hotter than the lower after the car is warmed up: upper has coolant that is hot and needs to be cooled in radiator, lower has cooled coolant ready to go back into the block.
Well gonna try to replace thermostat and see if that helps or else im in for an expensive water pump repair.
You can replace the W/P without fully removing all the timing covers, just the tensioner cover and W/P cover.
Thanks for the reply only thing is im not experiments enough to remove a water pump on this car so a shop would b my only choice. Does this sound like a bad thermostat or something else. The car started fine last night and this is the first time the needle has moved beyond the middle mark. I changee the cts and added more collant to the radiator and overflow tank and it still creeps up a bit past the middle mark. Fans are coming on full speed.
Well gonna try to replace thermostat and see if that helps or else im in for an expensive water pump repair.
Do some investigation before throwing parts at it. Jack up the car and look for leaks wherever coolant travels. Like I said earlier, the rad is always suspect on our cars. Also check the oil cooler line near the oil filter housing. A guy just the other day posted about his leaky and rusty line. The rad cap is another overlooked suspect in overheats. I'd just replace that anyway since it's so cheap. Only use a Nissan cap. And didn't you say your overflow tank has a hole??
I did the water pump recently and all you have to do is remove the little winc.f.dows on the cover. Pretty EZ but don't expect to rush it.
What did you replace your water pump? Im gonna try and replace the thermostat today see if it does anything. Just got a quote for labor from pep boys of $540 just for labor in case the pump did decide to take a dump. Ill let them pressure test the system first tho.
What did you replace your water pump? Im gonna try and replace the thermostat today see if it does anything. Just got a quote for labor from pep boys of $540 just for labor in case the pump did decide to take a dump. Ill let them pressure test the system first tho.
Actually, you can pressure test the system at home. It's really easy, and any auto parts store should rent you the tester for free or a small fee. That way you can get an idea if you a leak or not. If it doesn't hold pressure, look all around for an external leak, otherwise you have a way bigger problem.
Honestly, the dealer should be a last resort. I understand taking it in for a W/P because that can be a complicated and things could go wrong, but there's a lot of basic things you can do to help you get a better idea of what's going on.
Just got a quote for labor from pep boys of $540 just for labor in case the pump did decide to take a dump. Ill let them pressure test the system first tho.
STOP. Ask friends & family to recommend a good indy shop. I wouldn't trust the monkeys at Pep Boys to rotate my tires, let alone diagnose and possibly repair a complicated cooling system issue.
Are you 100% certain that the engine coolant in all the way full? The heater not throwing heat says it is not.
Elevate the front end of the car, remove the radiator cap and run the engine until it warms up and the water starts to circulate. This is when any air pockets will come out.
Are you 100% certain that the engine coolant in all the way full? The heater not throwing heat says it is not.
Elevate the front end of the car, remove the radiator cap and run the engine until it warms up and the water starts to circulate. This is when any air pockets will come out.
Ok I will do that first because it didnt start running hot until after I tried to bleed it for a few minutes yesterday. Even though a good bit of coolant leaked out the radiator during the bleeding, i still drove to work and it was fine. Then today all of a sudden it gets hotter than normal all of a sudden
Tried to bleed the system again tonite with no luck. Thermostat opens level drops added more coolant fans came on and started making noise as hot coolant was splashing on them. Took for a 2 block drive and needle started to move again beyond normal range. Gonna have someone else look at it in the morning as I am stumped
I wouldn't panic man. Sometimes these radiators get micro fractures near the top that you can only barely see coolant seeping from when it's hot. I was losing tons of coolant from this issue a couple years back. Everyone seemed to conclude that this was caused by slamming the hood of the car and age of the radiator. Replaced the radiator and it was all good. If your radiator is old, perhaps it could also be clogged. Like stated before, the lower hose is supposed to be cooler than the top as well.
It's also acceptable for the temp gauge to go a little above the middle mark. If you have an OBD2 device that can sync up with Android, you can keep an eye on the exact temperature.
im thinking radiator may be clogged because the coolant is an orange color when i remove the cap there is orange crud on the bottom of the cap. But i replaced the thermostat to rule that out and it was not the problem i was surprised to find not very much coolant came from the engine when i removed it. I did leave the radiator cap on and when i removed it then the coolant came out of the lower hose. I did not have a chance to bleed it because a storm came up. I came out this morning and both the coolant tank and radiator were low, so i added some to both, drove for about 15 minutes and the guage started to move up so i took it to a shop to pressure check it at the moment.
Well the tech said there is 20pounds of pressure and the car is holding pressure/no leaks. Top hose hot bottom hose cold and the coolant is not circulating through the engine. So only waterpump or radiator can be the problem then quoted me an outrageous price to replace the radiator of $900
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The overflow tank being empty after the engine cools off means that the engine is not full - there is air in the engine.
When you drive the car, the engine and the coolant heat up. Things that heat up expand. So when the coolant expands, the pressure in the cooling system increases. It increases to more than the 14-15 pounds that the design calls for. When the cooling system is full, the radiator cap opens up a little bit, allowing coolant to escape into the overflow tank.
When you turn off the car, the engine and the coolant cools off. Things that cool down shrink, become smaller in size. This creates a vacuum in the engine and the radiator cap opens up a bit and the vacuum sucks coolant out of the overflow tank.
When there is not enough coolant in the engine, the cooling off cycle will suck the overflow tank dry. But if you have any leaks in the cooling system, air will be sucked into the radiator through the leaking spots instead of the coolant from the overflow tank. This is because air is lighter than water and therefor easier to suck in.
So with the overflow tank being emptied, you do not have a leak. I suppose you could have a really tiny leak.
I am beginning to wonder if you have just one hard to discover problem or several problems. A bad thermostat could play into this situation. So could a bad radiator cap. If you replace the thermostat, get one from Nissan, not aftermarket.
pep boys and labor shouldnt be put in the same sentence,
and i had a simliar leak at the top of the radiator, it was seeping all out the top crevaces , but just seeping. definately replaced it. i dont remember my symptoms tho, but i think it was with heat or something like that....
A bad thermostat could play into this situation. So could a bad radiator cap. If you replace the thermostat, get one from Nissan, not aftermarket.
You can get the 10 dollar special, but you have to test it. I tested them from Advance. They started opening around 170 and were full open at 180. YMMV, of course lol.
Well I dont know what else to do. I installed a thermostat from pep boys and a radiator from p ullapart. Filled radiator up let car run for 10-15 mins. The whole time while looking in the radiator the coolant is not moving anywhere its just sitting there until engine reached operating temps then it starts to spew out coolant so I put cap back on and refill radiator and drive 3 blocks and needle starts climbing again so I shut it off. I dont kno what is going on or what to do next.
Well I dont know what else to do. I installed a thermostat from pep boys and a radiator from p ullapart. Filled radiator up let car run for 10-15 mins. The whole time while looking in the radiator the coolant is not moving anywhere its just sitting there until engine reached operating temps then it starts to spew out coolant so I put cap back on and refill radiator and drive 3 blocks and needle starts climbing again so I shut it off. I dont kno what is going on or what to do next.
Well I dont know what else to do. I installed a thermostat from pep boys and a radiator from p ullapart. Filled radiator up let car run for 10-15 mins. The whole time while looking in the radiator the coolant is not moving anywhere its just sitting there until engine reached operating temps then it starts to spew out coolant so I put cap back on and refill radiator and drive 3 blocks and needle starts climbing again so I shut it off. I dont kno what is going on or what to do next.
Well if there's no circulation, it sounds to me like your water pump is busted. Like the bearing or something has separated and the outside still spins, but the impellers on the inside are not spinning.
Well if there's no circulation, it sounds to me like your water pump is busted. Like the bearing or something has separated and the outside still spins, but the impellers on the inside are not spinning.
Yeah that's what im leaning towards man cause I can start the car cold and it runs fine but looking inside the radiator fins there is no movement or circulation whatsoever the coolant just sits there. a few weeks ago upon starting the car I would hear water entering the heater core everyday but now I dont hear that anymore. Well hear goes another expensive repair.
while it was running? or just while filling it up?
While it was running I filled the radiator up to just the top fin area while I had it raised on the ramps this is the new radiator I just installed today.
Well I dont know what else to do. I installed a thermostat from pep boys and a radiator from pullapart. Filled radiator up let car run for 10-15 mins. The whole time while looking in the radiator the coolant is not moving anywhere its just sitting there until engine reached operating temps then it starts to spew out coolant so I put cap back on and refill radiator and drive 3 blocks and needle starts climbing again so I shut it off. I dont kno what is going on or what to do next.
Until the thermostat opens, you will not see any movement of the coolant. When the thermostat opens, this is when the coolant will start moving. And this is when the air starts to come out also. It can come out rather forcefully and will cause the coolant to spew out of the radiator.
Stand back and let it pretend it is Old Faithful. It won't do it for long. When it stops spitting out coolant, add some more but don't fill it to the top and let it run some more. If it seems like it is done spitting out coolant, fill the radiator all the way up and put the cap on.
Until the thermostat opens, you will not see any movement of the coolant. When the thermostat opens, this is when the coolant will start moving. And this is when the air starts to come out also. It can come out rather forcefully and will cause the coolant to spew out of the radiator.
Stand back and let it pretend it is Old Faithful. It won't do it for long. When it stops spitting out coolant, add some more but don't fill it to the top and let it run some more. If it seems like it is done spitting out coolant, fill the radiator all the way up and put the cap on.
Ok im going to try that I was afraid that I was doing something wrong when the coolant started to spew out.
I personally think you don't have enough coolant in there and are not properly bleeding the system.
If the w/p was truly bad the car would be overheating like crazy.
I agree. The proper procedure:
- With car cold and off, remove rad cap and fill it to the brim with coolant. Jack up the front end as well.
- Fill overflow to b/w min & max.
- Leave rad cap off, start car and put heater all the way to 90. Then, turn off climate control.
- Let engine come up to operating temp naturally. Coolant won't bubble or splash until this happens.
- Once up to op. temp, rev engine and hold RPM to 2500 for like 10-15 sec. Repeat until cooling fans kick on/off at least twice. This means all the air is out. Coolant will burp and spill out at this point since t-stat has opened up and everything's circulating.
- Top off rad since the level will go down.
- Close rad cap, top off overflow to max mark.
- Make sure heat is hot, temp gauge is normal and you don't hear any waterfall noise behind the dash (means air's still trapped).
- Enjoy!
- With car cold and off, remove rad cap and fill it to the brim with coolant. Jack up the front end as well.
- Fill overflow to b/w min & max.
- Leave rad cap off, start car and put heater all the way to 90. Then, turn off climate control.
- Let engine come up to operating temp naturally. Coolant won't bubble or splash until this happens.
- Once up to op. temp, rev engine and hold RPM to 2500 for like 10-15 sec. Repeat until cooling fans kick on/off at least twice. This means all the air is out. Coolant will burp and spill out at this point since t-stat has opened up and everything's circulating.
- Top off rad since the level will go down.
- Close rad cap, top off overflow to max mark.
- Make sure heat is hot, temp gauge is normal and you don't hear any waterfall noise behind the dash (jeans air's still trapped).
- Enjoy!
ok guys just got some more coolant today and going to try this method in a few and report back.
Well I put the car on ramps today and tried to bleed the system of air for over an hour still felt no hot heat from the vents I dont kno if the heater core may be clogged or not. Filled radiator up and drove 2 blocks and car was starting to overheat. I dont kno what else to do. From a cold start I can drive maybe 3 or 4 miles be for the car overheats. When its warm I can only drive maybe 2 or 3 blocks smh
I threw this out before and I am again wondering if the thermostat is the problem. Re-scanning all the posts, I didn't see that you had changed the thermostat.
What I am thinking is that your thermostat is not opening all the way, at least not all the time.
So I am suggesting that. I strongly recommend that you get a Nissan thermostat because of all the posts from people that have gotten aftermarket and had problems with them. and some aftermarket thermostats have been found to not open as much as specified by Nissan.
09-17-2016, 12:32 PM
