lately my car's been overheating. i thought it was just the radiator cap because when i replaced it with a new one things started getting bettter. there was no more steam coming off the cap when i popped the hood after driving, and coolant is no longer spattering out everywhere.

now the car still over heats, but just in stop and go traffic. if i get it out to the highway it will cool itself down, so long as i just dont stop.

my coolant levels were overflowing so i emptied that out a little bit so that the level is halfway between min and max.

there is a green sticker under my hood with the gears (P R N D, etc) saying my car should have been serviced a thousand miles ago,maybe a tune up? My dad said he'd do that after I leave for college in a few days.

If this overheating problem isn't fixed, my dad is going to sell the car! (noooooo) I've put in a few hundred bucks to that car already - front and rear speakers, 12 in subs, amp, amp kit, gauges, cd player, bulbs, clear turn signals, i dont wanna see it go away, plus i'm currently working on clear sidemarkers.

please help me out if u can.

thanks
steve

p.s.

my bro also says the car doesn't accelerate on hills and overheats badly if it does.

 

I don't know about the whole overheating thing, but acceleration maybe a few things, unless they are the same thing, air filter, fuel injectors maybe. Just for the heck of it buy some fuel tank and enigine cleaner for both your fuel and oil tanks. See if that makes a difference at all, but as far as your dad selling your car, is it in your name, I mean its your car, just tell him not too.

 

nah it's in his name. i just changed the oil 500 miles ago, put in the oil additives i bought from nissan and used the nissan oil filter for our cars. i ran the fuel system cleaner through the car when i did my oil change as well. i'm going to have my friend add some more coolant while i'm here in missouri and check on my car tmrw when i get back.

 

Have you tried replacing the Thermostat. Mine wasnt overheating like yours but when I first got my car itd get pretty close. My thermostat was dead so I put a new one in and been good ever since. That was in 99 too.

Change your thermostat. Thats most likely the culprit and drain the Radiator and put new coolant in afterwards.

 

Well, if you're losing coolant it could be the head gasket. Also, it could be your water pump is shot and there's no coolant flowing. Like max88q said, check your thermostat, that could be bad too.

As for your acceleration problem, most likely you just need a tune up. Check and or change your plugs, wires, distributor cap, and fuel and air filters. You may also want to check your computer codes to make sure none of your sensors is bad and that the proper fuel/air mixture is going to the engine.

-C-

 

thanks a lot for all of your help guys. I'm going down to va tech in a few days and my lil bro is gonna get this car. I'll get him on this board in case he needs any help I can't provide. Once again, thanks for all the help! I'll probably still be on this board while i'm at college.

-steve