I made a 40 mile drive tonight no problem. On the 40 mile drive back I pulled over to get something to eat. Noticed the temp gauge headed up almost to the solid line. Shut it down let it cool a bit and limped it to a parking lot. I check the fans were going, both radiator hoses hot and and had pressure and the coolant tank was normal. All of a sudden it started to cool down but never got to where it normally sits. It was just a bit higher than normal even on the highway. I turned the heater on and it would blow cool air and then hot as the temp fell then cool again and the temp went up. I am guessing that I have a clogged radiator or a themostat thats not opening up all the way. I am going to replace the radiator and thermostat. When I bought the car, it had plain water and the water was very rusty. I drained most of it and replaced it with antifreeze. Does this sound like a good plan. Oh yeah w/o the A/c on and the temp way up the fans don't come on. So looks like I need a temp sensor too.

 

start by flushing the system and then bleeding it to get out the air pocket that it sounds like you have.

 

why would it suddenly have an air pocket though?

 

something happened, and that's what I would do.

 

Appears that it was the thermostat. I replaced the thermostat, radiator, coolant temp sensor, and got a gasket for the thermostat housing instead of silicone. I replaced the radiator anyways since it was full of rust from the previous owner just running water. So far so good. Although it was a b1tch to bleed the system. The bleeder screw doesn't seem like it does anything.

 

+1

I never use it when bleeding,i always jack the front end up to bleed.

 

I tried that but there was too much air. It wouldnt circulate and and was overheating. I just grabbed a bunch of rags and vented the radiator cap and it got the air out.

 

Yes,
Take a sharp pointed metal poker, like an awl, then take the bleeder slug all the way out. Dig around in the bleeder opening to clear it out. Worked for me.
Also, I just replaced the thermostat after a problem with slow overheating. It would idle and and come to temp good, but after a short run it would reach the top of the temp guage. Upper hose hot, lower hose cold. After some temp readings and a flush with no help, I decided to check the thermostat. It was the OEM and was stuck closed. (Tip: The VG30E will run with a stuck closed thermostat, unlike a small block Chevy. Nissan gave us a large bypass hole.)
Speaking of bypass holes, have you seen some of the replys from the flamers. Maxima.Org gives the a large bypass hole too......

Uncle Dave

 

yeah mine was oem too and the rubber was rotten you could tell the thermostat was shot. They specify that there is no gasket needed just to use silicone. When I removed it, there was just silicone. I went ahead and got a gasket. I'd rather do that and it seemed easier. I figuered if I put silicone on the housing i'd make a mess or rub it off when trying to manuever it into place. I think the gasket was listed for a Villager but it of course works since it is the same engine.

 

check the small 90* hoses on the lower back of the intake manifold on the drivers side (little manifold heater hose). When I first bought my Maxima one of those little hoses started to drip, made a minute amount of steam, almost no smell of coolant, but made the temp rise up like crazy. It's cost like $3.49 for the 90* hose and like 10 minutes to replace it. Hope this helps

 

thnaks but i already got my prob fixed