01 Maxima 5spd.. have a little overheating issue. Not a major one, but concerning nonetheless. Driving on short trips, highway of course, the engine seems to slowly increase in temperature, slowly getting pass midway through the range. This happens driving at highway speed (about 70 mph, but more noticeably the RPMs were at 3000). If the RPM guage were to surpass 3000 RPMs, the temperature starts to rise. If the RPM goes lower than 3000, the temperature goes back to normal (a little less than 1/2 way on the guage). Im not sure what it could be. Ive replaced the radiator few years back, thermostat a few times since then, and most recently the fan motor assy. Everything was running well during the colder months, but now that its getting hotter during the days, Im starting to notice this issue, again. Could it be the water pump? Anyone else has had this problem before? Im about to hit 160,000 miles and dont want it to be anything major.

 

Did you check coolant level?

 

coolant level is good. and there is no indication of a leak anywhere.

 

Water pump?

 

Thats what Im asking? I heard it could be a real pain in the ***. Anyone has had this problem before?

 

hey berto, i have the same problem, haver you resolved the issue? i just changed the thermostat and still having the issue

 

1- check coolant level with engine cold and not running. Remove radiator cap and the radiator should be 100% full.

2- Do both of your radiator fans work? Start the car and turn on the a/c. Both fans better be running.

3- Check the space between the radiator and the a/c condenser coil. Should be clear with nor build-up of leaves and other debris.

4- Is the coolant cloudy? It should be crystal clear.

If all is good, you may have a radiator plugging up or the water pump is going bad. Unfortunately, I don't know how you would test either of them.

You can try flushing the cooling system and the radiator, but there is nothing you can do for a bad water pump except replace it.

Here is a link to a thread for you to read through. The photo in post # 31 should worry any one having overheating problems.

http://forums.maxima.org/5th-generat...-speeding.html.

 

Simple exercise.... I can bet it is a radiator.

clean the bottom drain of the radiator, take a clean pan, open radiator cap, and then open the bottom drain. The coolant should flow very quickly and then trickle towards the end. If you think the entire 4G came off in no time, then you have another problem. Refil raidator with collected coolant and purge air of the system.

When my radiator partially clogged it would drain, stop, drain, stop... etc

 

Since you say its only a mild movement, it could be normal. Usually when driving hard the gauge is exactly half way between C and H. Normal leisurely driving, you are right, it is slightly lower than half. If it moves more than this or you think there is an issue try these things: You could have air trapped in and you need to bleed it again(the proper method is placing the car on a steep incline). You could have a bad mixture ratio. 50/50 is what is used by most but in my 4th gen FSM it calls for 70/30 if it only gets down to 5 degrees and 50/50 if its gets down into neg temps. YOu could have a slight clog. YOu can fix all of these in one fell swwop by draining, flushing and then refilling. GL

 

I am having an overheating problem too. Sorry if i chime in asking for help too. MIne is having an issue where its fine if I am moving then when I stop the fans go full bore and begins to rise after a minute or so. Once im moving again it will climb and got pretty high tonight. Any thoughts on it? thermostat? Also there is coolant in my engine bay cannot find where its coming from though.

 

just a question, do you have an oil leak?? i noticed my temp rising every now and then come to find out the oil pan seal had a leak and it got almost to the point a seized motor. i know stupid mistake letting the oil get low. lesson learned.replaced seal no leak runs fine now, even sitting in traffic.