racaron Posted October 8, 2007 Share Posted October 8, 2007 After almost two years of being parked, I did some maintenance on my 89' (3.0L) to have it back on the road again. Asked the mechanic to flush the radiator because was (still is!) pretty dirty showing some goo, but the guy didnt flush it. Last week on my way home from his shop, the truck overheated and got a pinhole on a hose. The hose got replaced today and the mechanic insisted that this was was the issue, although I asked the guy to remove the thermostat and flush the freaking radiator. I took the truck to the road and it busted another hose, definitely something else is going on. The truck rides with the temp gauge at 1/4 for about 10-15 minutes, then very slowly it starts climbing until it gets just below the first line of hot. Please see the picture. Weird thing is that It just stays there without getting any hotter. Anyway, I have been thinking about a couple of possible issues with the cooling system. 1) Could be that the radiator fins are clogged, or 2) that the thermostat is stuck, or 3) that the water pump is gone. I took the radiator cap off and started the engine to check for water movement to rule out a busted water pump. There is some water flow, but not as strong as it should be making me think the radiator is clogged. Please help, any more ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TruBlu Posted October 8, 2007 Share Posted October 8, 2007 Here is a question....when you took the cap....how much pressure was there behind the cap? If a cap stops holding pressure then boiling point of the coolant rises making the engine run hotter. We had a constant issue of my wifes car running hot. I cracked the cap to see what condition the coolant was in (we had just bought it) and the cap didn't hiss or spit at me. I replaced the cap and running hot issue was solved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zonianbrat Posted October 8, 2007 Share Posted October 8, 2007 I would start by taking the radiator out yourself and flushing the system. It could still be anumber of things but that is a place to start and it is easy. While it is out you can inspect the fins flush it out etc. Then you might as well replace the hoses while it is out. Does the temp go down any when your riding along and you turn on the heater? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94extreme Posted October 8, 2007 Share Posted October 8, 2007 burp? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TruBlu Posted October 8, 2007 Share Posted October 8, 2007 burp? Whilst possible it should've worked it way well out of the system the first time the truck got hot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94extreme Posted October 8, 2007 Share Posted October 8, 2007 doesn't seem to be the case on Nissans. mine does pretty well but it still likes to be burped none the less. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slick Posted October 8, 2007 Share Posted October 8, 2007 (edited) if a mechanic did the work, did he change the t'stat and install it wrong? as above, burp the rad. mini likes to be burped worst case scenario.. does the truck puff a bit of smoke out on start up? that would suck, cuz that would be leading toward head gasket. also as above, check the rad cap also, with engine running, hold (be careful!) the rad hoses in your hand and feel for pressure on both hoses.... also...... is it losing coolant? Edited October 8, 2007 by Slick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racaron Posted October 8, 2007 Author Share Posted October 8, 2007 Hello guys, TruBlu: I dont recall feeling any hiss or any pressure indication when I removed the radiator cap. Upon a visual inspection I can tell that the cap doesnt look in really good condition. It shows some rust underneath. Today at work a PD3 guy told me the same thing you said. zonianbrat: I didnt turn the heater on while riding the truck to check for a temp drop, but at anytime while riding the truck (30 mins max) the temp never dropped. After 10-15 minutes it start climbing very slowly and it stopped where you saw at the pic. mzxtreme: I didnt burp the radiator at anytime. I let the cap off, but not for long. I was just checking if the water pump was working (checking for coolant flow). Slick: The mechanic that worked on the truck didnt touch the thermostat. As for the smoke, not at all. The truck doesnt smoke at anytime. On the other hand, now that you mentioned to check if the hoses were holding pressure, I remember that after the first time it oveheated the upper hose collapsed when it cooled down (same one that busted last time). The system is not loosing coolant, only through the busted hose. I already called Advance Auto to order the upper hose (the one by home doesnt have it in stock), will also buy a new cap. Once having the parts at hand will get the radiator down to clean it. Will put everything together and will burp the rad. For how long should stay the cap out to assure that there are no air pockets left in the system? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
95shakinPF Posted October 9, 2007 Share Posted October 9, 2007 Try removing top and bottom hoses from radiator and flushing it with a water hose yourself. This will tell you a great deal about the condition of your radiator(clogged or freeflowing).These hoses are basically easy to reach to disconnect. If you have a fast flow of water, then I would lean toward a sticking thermostat! (I have seen this before) Old coolant will gum up and glue the thermostat shut! Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slick Posted October 9, 2007 Share Posted October 9, 2007 my test was for "hot" hoses.. but by your description of the cap, that could well be the issue........ rad caps are VERY important to these trucks, make sure you get the right pressure cap. do the hoses keep actually breaking/blowing out/busting? glad to hear no smoke. as above, clean the rad yerself, blast it with a good pressure hose, you'll soon be able to tell if it's clogged or not. keep us updated Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5523Pathfinder Posted October 9, 2007 Share Posted October 9, 2007 How well have you maintained the cooling system? I have seen the water pump propellers get corroded away due to the lack of maintence. The thermostat staying closed would do it too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racaron Posted October 10, 2007 Author Share Posted October 10, 2007 Thanks for all the replies guys! 95shakinPF: Thats definitely in agenda for next Friday. I am going to give a good flush to that radiator and while having my hands dirty, might remove the thermostat. I dont think the truck will be needing it here in SoFla. Slick: I am getting an AM cap, any of you guys know the suggested psi? Hoses were bursting because of the pressure due to the overheating. I am lucky that the hoses were the weakest point and not the radiator. The rad is getting a good flush next Friday. 5523Pathfinder: I bought the truck a few years ago from the original owner in WPB. Although the truck is in very good condition and apparently the previous owner took good care of it, I dont know if the cooling system was properly maintained. The Pathfinder has been parked most if its life, and maybe thats why the coolant has a weird "goo". Once I am done flushing the system, replacing the hose, the cap, and removing the thermostat, if it still overheating I am heading toward the water pump. Hopefully flushing/replacing/removing will solve the issue. I will keep you all posted! Any info on the rad cap psi will be appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94extreme Posted October 10, 2007 Share Posted October 10, 2007 I am getting an AM cap, any of you guys know the suggested psi?whatever says on the old one.. you better match that. if not on the cap it may say on one of the few tags on the truck or in the manual Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slick Posted October 10, 2007 Share Posted October 10, 2007 rad cap for mine are 13lbs...... i have a penzoil cap which has served me well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racaron Posted October 10, 2007 Author Share Posted October 10, 2007 (edited) Today, on my way home, I stopped to check the caps at Advance Auto. There have two at 13lbs that according to their database are made for the Pathy. One of them has a little lever to release the pressure the other one has none... Any advantage in having a pressure release lever? Hose will arrive tomorrow, cant wait until Friday to work on the truck!!!!!! Thanks guys. Edited October 11, 2007 by racaron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94extreme Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 i don't see that the lever would be any better.. you're not really supposed to open when HOT anyway. just take whichever one strikes your fancy and be done with it. to me the levered one is just another mechanism that can fail but i don't think that's likely to happen anytime soon anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slick Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 Today, on my way home, I stopped to check the caps at Advance Auto. There have two at 13lbs that according to their database are made for the Pathy. One of them has a little level to release the pressure the other one has none... Any advantage in having a pressure release level? Hose will arrive tomorrow, cant wait until Friday to work on the truck!!!!!! Thanks guys. mine doesn't have any special "valves".. just a basic ol rad cap at 13lbs...... $11 @ kragens Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racaron Posted October 12, 2007 Author Share Posted October 12, 2007 Had the busted hose replaced, flushed the radiator (it was pretty nasty), replaced the cap with a new 13lbs one, let the rad burp... and yup, still overheating... Next step, throwing away the thermostat! Something I noticed was that while waiting for the burp, initially there was a lot of flow. Then it turned into an intermittent flow... then it stopped... Thermostat shut...? Bad H2O pump...? We will see after getting rid of the thermostat.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racaron Posted October 13, 2007 Author Share Posted October 13, 2007 Updates... After a lengthly process to remove the thermostat I had everything placed back together and voila! Oh yeah... Still overheating... There is only one more thing to do, replace the H2O pump. Well, I should have known this because of the way the coolant is flowing. When you let the truck run (rad cap out) you can see that initially there is a very good flowing, then the flowing turns intermittent and finally the flowing just stops. Seems that the water pump starts working and after a little while it just quits... My thoughts on the thermostat removal... It was a pain in the a**. You definitely need a universal joint to remove/install that back screw! I didnt have one and my wife went to Sears to get me one. With the universal joint handy I had that screw in almost immediately. Now until next weekend to work on the pump, hopefully I will fix this issue before Christmas... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
95shakinPF Posted October 14, 2007 Share Posted October 14, 2007 Yes, your correct on the universal joint for the thermostat housing!! Sorry about your still over heating problem, I thought I had it diagnosed correctly with the sticking thermostat! Good luck on the water pump replacement,hope it goes well. I just replaced mine 3 weeks ago (not to hard of a job) trust me i've done way worse WP jobs! P.S. You may wanna grab a t-belt as well while your there replacing the water pump! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedPath88 Posted October 14, 2007 Share Posted October 14, 2007 I just skimmed through this again and did not see any mention of the fan clutch... or did I just miss it? If the clutch is bad then the fan is not running at full speed and your not going to get the air flow needed to keep things cool. ------------- A number of years ago I had cooling issues with my Yota. I checked everything and I replaced most things... hoses, in case there was separation inside that was causing some blockage, thermostat, water pump, even bypassed the heater core to eliminate it as a possible cause.. I was down to thinking that there must be some blockage in either the radiator the head or the block. I ordered a new radiator, and the day before I was to pick it up the truck had finally had enough... Fast forward... I now had the Pathy and the Yota had been parked for a long time now. I was also able to devote little time and money to fixing the Yota. I thought that the head had cracked (since I was forced to continue driving it while it had the cooling issues), but decided to risk throwing away some oil and $20 on a head gasket before spending a lot more on other remedies. Glad I did, $20 for the gasket, new oil and filter from the garage, and about 5hrs of work (most of which was spent cleaning trying to get the fuel pump to "pump" again) and she fired and ran at normal temps. But to my dismay the over heating issue came back within an hour.... however I noticed something that was not or rather had stopped working.. the cooling fan was not running at full speed. The clutch was bad. I had checked that before and found it to be working. But after a couple cycles of allowing it to cool then starting it back up I discovered that the fan was working, just not all the time After checking the price of a new fan clutch, I bought an auto fan control kit and headed to the wrecking yard for a used electrical fan.. never an issue again A:ok: ------------- So what was the point of the much to long story? Have you checked your cooling fan? If not make sure it is running at full speed when it should be and every time it should be Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racaron Posted October 14, 2007 Author Share Posted October 14, 2007 (edited) 95shakinPF: The good thing is that I got the universal joint! This little piece will be very handy in the future. I left the truck running w/o the thermostat, is not really needed here in SoFla. Now on to the pump task. Your idea of replacing the timing belt while working with the pump is not bad at all. When I realized that I needed to replace the H2O pump I thought of it, but not sure if I am going to do it because I have never replaced a t-belt before and I dont want to mess up anything. Question. Do you need to remove the timing belt cover in order to replace the pump? Can you maneuver around the cover to have the job done (pump replacement) without having to remove the t-belt cover? RedPath88: Interesting you mentioned the fan clutch. Last night while talking to my dad about the Pathy issue, he also mentioned the clutch. See, if I leave the truck on idle for 30 mins (with the a/c on!) it wont overheat. If I take it for a spin after a while it will star overheating very slowly. Today I will make a test, will drive it around my neighborhood at low rpm to see if it will overheat. If it doesnt, I will take it to the road at higher rpm to compare. I called Advance Auto and was quoted 92 bucks for the clutch, although through their website I can get one for 40 bucks. The idea of installing an electric fan is something I am interested. Besides the electric fan, what else do I need to complete the installation? What stills bothering me is the way the coolant is flowing. Initially the flow is strong, and then it slows down dramatically. Thanks for all the help guys. Edited October 14, 2007 by racaron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
95shakinPF Posted October 15, 2007 Share Posted October 15, 2007 Yes, unfortunately you will have to pull the timing covers as the water pump goes all the way across the whole front of the block! There are posts in here about t-belt replacements however a Haynes, Chilton, or Factory service manual will be helpful as there are a few things to be careful of! My Haynes manual was the essential tool in the step by step process. You will have to take your harmonic balancer off the crank and will need a balancer puller for this.(Other than this and a breaker bar all other tools are basic sockets and wrenches) I removed my starter and wedged a tire iron in the flywheel teeth to be able to break the bolt loose on the crank,(per Haynes manual) then I read about wedging a breaker bar on the frame and "bumping" the key to get it loose(which sounds a whole lot easier than R & R the damn starter like I did!). Point Im trying to make is read up on the process before actually going at it, then if you get stuck someone will be around to give you some info and help! As far as actually changing the timing belt, I pulled the #1 plug and used a flathead screwdriver to get the piston to TDC as well as looking at the rotor in the distributor! Once youve got TDC then proceed to tear everything apart,loosen the t-belt tensioner-slide the old belt off- slide the new belt on-tighten the tensioner back up and double check all your t-marks as per manual. Oh yeah,If I can recall correctly,the crank bolt is size 26mm! Someone will probably correct me if I am wrong on that one! If you need any more assistance on this, dont hesitate to E-mail or PM me. Ill try to keep an eye on this thread as well to see how it turns out!! GOOD LUCK! Billy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedPath88 Posted October 15, 2007 Share Posted October 15, 2007 You'll find a write up by 5523Pathfinder in the Garage/HowTo section on Timing belts... much of it will be usefull for the water pump as well. As for the electric fan, you will need an electric fan control kit... any parts store will be able to get you what you need. And if you do a serch here there is a lot of info on this sucbject, including what used fan is best Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msavides Posted October 15, 2007 Share Posted October 15, 2007 You'll find a write up by 5523Pathfinder in the Garage/HowTo section on Timing belts... much of it will be usefull for the water pump as well. As for the electric fan, you will need an electric fan control kit... any parts store will be able to get you what you need. And if you do a serch here there is a lot of info on this sucbject, including what used fan is best This could be a long shot bit it sounds like a collapsing Coolant hose, A bad water pump is not going to give less flow when it heats up, however when coolant hose starts getting old it could start to collapse when it gets hot and would explain the lower flow. Just My 2cent. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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