audiwhore Posted December 18, 2008 Share Posted December 18, 2008 Just wondering if the Nissan tends to run cold when the weather is below freezing (32*F and below). I tried blocking half the radiator using a piece of clear plexiglass but didn't make it run any warmer. Temp gauge reads a little above "C" even when driving for extended period of time. Coolant level and condition are good. Cabin heater doesn't get real hot, so I'm guessing the coolant is not getting up to operating temp. Advice? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingman Posted December 18, 2008 Share Posted December 18, 2008 Just wondering if the Nissan tends to run cold when the weather is below freezing (32*F and below). I tried blocking half the radiator using a piece of clear plexiglass but didn't make it run any warmer. Temp gauge reads a little above "C" even when driving for extended period of time. Coolant level and condition are good. Cabin heater doesn't get real hot, so I'm guessing the coolant is not getting up to operating temp. Advice? Hmmmm...usually motors run too hot if anything, not too cold. Do any hoses look bloated? Try blocking the entire radiator, used to do that with my Explorer when it was extremely cold out, never had a problem overheating at idle either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Posted December 18, 2008 Share Posted December 18, 2008 Could be the t-stat is stuck open. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingman Posted December 18, 2008 Share Posted December 18, 2008 Could be the t-stat is stuck open. x2, how long did it actually run for? Freezing temperature coolant takes quite a long time to become warm, especially if its constantly flowing while cold, and not having a chance to heat up in the engine block before circulating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
audiwhore Posted December 18, 2008 Author Share Posted December 18, 2008 x2, how long did it actually run for? Freezing temperature coolant takes quite a long time to become warm, especially if its constantly flowing while cold, and not having a chance to heat up in the engine block before circulating. Yeah I was thinking the T-stat might be bad. How difficult is it to change? I'm heading to the auto parts store later today for a few other items and could get a new T-stat while I'm at it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Posted December 18, 2008 Share Posted December 18, 2008 It's no fun....but doable. Some tight spaces to contend with. I've only ever done it while changing my timing belt, so to rate it on it's own, I'm not sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94extreme Posted December 18, 2008 Share Posted December 18, 2008 they can run cold in the cold. t-stat would be the first thing i check.. well, after seeing if the hoses are hot or not as your guage could be bad. your heater core could also be bad but one thing at a time. let us know what you find out from the above advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingman Posted December 18, 2008 Share Posted December 18, 2008 (edited) Yeah I was thinking the T-stat might be bad. How difficult is it to change? I'm heading to the auto parts store later today for a few other items and could get a new T-stat while I'm at it. Welllllll if the front housing is the same with the VG30E as is the VG30 I, its not hard at all. Right under the timing belt cover is a triangular (sort of-ish) looking metal housing with a short rubber hose heading downwards and then a metal tube going to the radiator, that's it. Here's what mine looks like, just undo the hose, drain the coolant, unbolt the housing (3 bolts) and remove it. Then, take out the old thermostat, and use a razor or gasket remover to scrape all the old gasket residue from the housing, on both sides (the one side that's still attatched to the block, and the other half that you just took off). Apply the gasket sealer, and gasket, and put in the thermostat the only way it'll fit properly. Common sense should work with which way it inserts. Then, reassemble the opposite of how you took it off. Fill the radiator up, start the engine, turn on the heater to hot, and let the coolant flow, and keep filling until full. Turning on the heater rids the air bubbles from the lines in most cases. I got my thermostat for $9 at Costless, and the gasket and sealer was like $3 or something. Edited December 18, 2008 by kingman92010 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edicer2 Posted December 18, 2008 Share Posted December 18, 2008 It shouldnt be to hard to change i dont know for sure i had a shop do it because i didnt have time and it was only like 100 bucks so it much of been a little over 2 hours(he workds for 45 an hour). But mine the temp guage only goes up like 1/3 of the way across even in the summer and it does heat up pretty good. I heard of alot of ppls motors (not nissan) running in the winter and the temp would drop to the c if they werent driving ha mine sits at a costant 1/3 weather im driving or not (it was -43 degrees windchill a few days ago and it did great and fuired right up!) So i would check the thermostat my old pathfinder the guage would hardly move and blew cold air then i changed that and it worked great! I can almost bet thats the problem also check to see if like they said above is the coolant is flowing or if its bulging a hose. Let us know how it goes and good luck! PS( i have this same motor in my z and i find it funny that my old z and my pathy start up better wit no heating block or anything to plug in and that alot of other car brands have to pplug theirs in or sit in a garage and still dont start I have seen a few 2000 or newer ones not even start. Goes to show nissan makes good stuff! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingman Posted December 18, 2008 Share Posted December 18, 2008 Thinking about it, coolant not flowing would only equal over heating, because the coolant inside the engine isn't getting out and being cooled by the outside air. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
audiwhore Posted December 18, 2008 Author Share Posted December 18, 2008 Thinking about it, coolant not flowing would only equal over heating, because the coolant inside the engine isn't getting out and being cooled by the outside air. Coolant is flowing. Hoses are pretty warm but not hot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingman Posted December 18, 2008 Share Posted December 18, 2008 Coolant is flowing. Hoses are pretty warm but not hot. Yeah, i'd vote for the thermostat on this one, simply because like i said it takes waaaaaay longer for coolant to heat up if its being exposed to subfreezing temps while still cold and not being heated inside the engine first. Did you look to see if the housing was the same on yours as on mine? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted December 18, 2008 Share Posted December 18, 2008 they can run cold in the cold. My experience with 3 Nissan trucks is that they all have efficient cooling systems and tend to run cold when everything in the system is in good shape. I have never had one overheat, even with a failing fan clutch in summer. This morning it was 25 degrees; my 'new' pathy ran cooler than it did when it was 70 degrees (new radiator). B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingman Posted December 18, 2008 Share Posted December 18, 2008 (edited) My experience with 3 Nissan trucks is that they all have efficient cooling systems and tend to run cold when everything in the system is in good shape. I have never had one overheat, even with a failing fan clutch in summer. This morning it was 25 degrees; my 'new' pathy ran cooler than it did when it was 70 degrees (new radiator). B x2, mine sticks around 1/4 to 1/3 all the time now since I did all the work on the coolant system. Because of the cold, its running just a weeeee bit colder than in the summertime. Unless your thermostat freezes shut like mine did the other day. Not good... Edited December 18, 2008 by kingman92010 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edicer2 Posted December 18, 2008 Share Posted December 18, 2008 x2, mine sticks around 1/4 to 1/3 all the time now since I did all the work on the coolant system. Because of the cold, its running just a weeeee bit colder than in the summertime. Unless your thermostat freezes shut like mine did the other day. Not good... that would suck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingman Posted December 18, 2008 Share Posted December 18, 2008 that would suck! Heh, tell me about it...it was 15* the other day, got on the freeway for my nice long journey to school WHICH WE WEREN'T SUPPOSED TO HAVE IN THE FIRST PLACE! and noticed my heater wasn't working. Awwww @!*%, that sucks! Then my temp gauge started going up and up, at this time I'm doing 65 and the exit isn't for another half mile. The sides of the freeway are sheets of nice next to a concrete barrier. Ouch? By the time I get off the freeway, temp is banked completely, and the roads are covered in ice. Great. Finally get into a neighborhood and shut her down. Coolant boiling...sweet. Let it sit for an hour with the hood open in cold ass weather with no heater, I drive it the short distance back to my house, and right as I enter my neighborhood, the heat comes back and my temp instantly goes down. Funny thing, when I replaced the bypass coolant hose, I had refilled it with water so I didn't waste coolant in case there was a leak. But it wasn't ALL water, just whatever had come out. I knew I was forgetting something... So moral of the story, DON'T FORGET TO PUT ANTI FREEZE BACK IN YOUR RADIATOR! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamzan Posted December 18, 2008 Share Posted December 18, 2008 I have a "winter front" on my pathy and it keeps the heat in quite well, warms up in about half the time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
audiwhore Posted December 18, 2008 Author Share Posted December 18, 2008 My experience with 3 Nissan trucks is that they all have efficient cooling systems and tend to run cold when everything in the system is in good shape. I have never had one overheat, even with a failing fan clutch in summer. This morning it was 25 degrees; my 'new' pathy ran cooler than it did when it was 70 degrees (new radiator). B My friend says the same thing about his other Nissan cars/trucks. They always seem to run very cool. He warned me it might not heat up if you don't block the radiator...and he was right. But I think some of it has to do with the T-stat staying open. Anyone know what the temp rating of the T-stat should be for a 1993 model? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k9sar Posted December 18, 2008 Share Posted December 18, 2008 ever since my 95 overheated and caught fire (a long story), it has been consistently only reading about 1/8 (barely above C) in the winter and slightly higher in the summer. Even while sitting in bumper to bumper traffic. I've noticed that the air coming out of the vent is not as hot as I would like. All my fluid levels are fine. Guess mine is just very efficient at dispersing heat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MY1PATH Posted December 18, 2008 Share Posted December 18, 2008 FYI everyone. There are 3 ranges of T-stat for the vg30. NISMO 160 degree OEM 170(iirc) OEM winter 180 (nissan sells this one so peoples heaters blow hotter in the winter) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edicer2 Posted December 18, 2008 Share Posted December 18, 2008 FYI everyone. There are 3 ranges of T-stat for the vg30.NISMO 160 degree OEM 170(iirc) OEM winter 180 (nissan sells this one so peoples heaters blow hotter in the winter) i did not know that is there any reason why you shouldnt just get the 180 one? does it have any effect on anything besides blowing warmer air? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingman Posted December 20, 2008 Share Posted December 20, 2008 Any updates? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MY1PATH Posted December 20, 2008 Share Posted December 20, 2008 i did not know that is there any reason why you shouldnt just get the 180 one? does it have any effect on anything besides blowing warmer air? I don't see any harm in it if it helps the engine stay warmer with out getting it too hot. If your summers get hot you may notice fewer MPG with the 180. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silver97ex Posted December 20, 2008 Share Posted December 20, 2008 (edited) Mine was doing the exact same thing. I just replaced my t-stat a few weeks ago with 180. The heat gets really hot now. It did take about 3 hours to do and I get to take it all apart again cause I didn't seal the t-stat housing correct WOOHOO!!!! edit: this was on a 95 SE btw Edited December 20, 2008 by silver97ex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingman Posted December 20, 2008 Share Posted December 20, 2008 Mine was doing the exact same thing. I just replaced my t-stat a few weeks ago with 180. The heat gets really hot now. It did take about 3 hours to do and I get to take it all apart again cause I didn't seal the t-stat housing correct WOOHOO!!!! edit: this was on a 95 SE btw 3 hours? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now