2003 SE coolant issues

[indyqx4]

Ok, I need a little help guys,

 

As the cold hit indiana, and I started using the heat...well it was less than great. It would heat up as I accelerated, then turn ice cold at idle...so I did some research and from almost everything I had read, it sounds like air in the coolant lines.

 

I took it to the dealer and had a full flush service done and made sure to tell them my issue. Well I get the car back, and it was worse! (They also wanted to say this was a problem in the electronics and would cost $200 just to diagnose) I went home, added coolant, and bam! I have heat! Even at idle.

 

Everything has been good for about a week.

 

As of this morning my belts were screaming and I pop the hood and it appears the overflow was completely full and been splashing. All over the belts. I do still have heat, but this just isn't right.

 

The truck is not getting hot.. Ever.

 

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

 

 

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[rc_cola_j]

Stuck thermostat?

 

 

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[FriedEGs]

Just to clarify, your cabin heater is normal hot and the engine temp is not overheating?

 

Not sure if your truck is like all other 3.5 litres. On my G35 I had to keep the car on flat land and there was a valve on a hose near the back left of the engine (near the passenger firewall) that I had to open up. Nissan says to fill the coolant through the radiator cap until it overflowed from that valve in the back of the engine. Close the valve and close the radiator cap. (Fill the overflow to between min/max) In the past, with older Nissans I always had to raise the front of the car higher, to try to eliminate air bubbles which didn't work well with my G35. It was best to fill my 3.5L as mentioned above.

 

Maybe give that a try and let the engine warm up to temp so that the thermostat opens. Watch the level in the overflow and fill as needed.

Edited February 3, 2016 by FriedEGs

[richid]

Check the neck of the radiator - the plastic tanks crack and are very hard to see. I finally found mine by shutting it off when I got home (warm engine) then putting on a thick glove and squeezing the upper radiator hose. Radiator was cracked and split down the neck.

 

Used epoxy to hold it together until new one came from Amazon ($118, I think).

 

Best of luck.

[jyeager]

Well, everything was good for a week. Since your symptoms were consistent with air in the system, let's assume that when you finally filled it that it was fixed. Now, a week later, it could just happen to be a new problem.

I would consider the possibility that your radiator cap is bad. It should hold something like 14lbs of pressure before venting to the overflow tank. If that feature has failed, it would blow coolant out like you described.

Either pressure test the cap, or buy a new one.

 

[indyqx4]

It's been a couple weeks.. I think after a day or 2 of posting here, I decided to go back to the dealer, on the hunch something just wasn't right. Turns out they ended up doing another full flush. 2hr of guys staring at it.. And not being able to figure anything out, until they decided to flush..

After the new flush, all was back to normal. And I have been good for a couple weeks now. I asked why this time was different, and the service mgr didn't really want to talk about it. Turns out that maybe the first tech didn't do the full service.. Or at all. They fixed for free and I left happy...

 

In the end. - air in the lines haha