BobLoblaw Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 (edited) I noticed yesterday (because my truck was running like crap, after a few weeks of -20C temps) that my radiator was way short on coolant. The temp gauge was going screwy - my first clue. Anyway, last night I filled the rad up. Today, everything was fine - full rad, normal temp gauge, normal heat. I drove the ar once today for about 15-20mins. Got home and shut it off. About 4 hours later, I went out and started it again, only to hear a strange idle, that eventually steadied out. I shut it down immediately and checked the rad. Sure enough, it was very low again. What is wrong with my pathy? I don't see any puddles below the truck. Could it be leaking the whole time I'm driving? Could it be something worse than a busted hose? Thanks Edited January 28, 2009 by BobLoblaw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BowTied Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 (edited) This could be bad. The coolant is goining somewhere and you need to find out where. It could be leaking in a non-obvious spot (hopefully). It could be leaking into the oil (cracked block) leaking into the combustion chamber (blown head gasket) or into the automatic transmission fluid (cracked lines inside radiator). EDIT How much down was it the second time, maybe the system just burped some trapped air? Edited January 28, 2009 by BowTied Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamzan Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 http://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=7404&hl= Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobLoblaw Posted January 28, 2009 Author Share Posted January 28, 2009 This could be bad. The coolant is goining somewhere and you need to find out where. It could be leaking in a non-obvious spot (hopefully). It could be leaking into the oil (cracked block) leaking into the combustion chamber (blown head gasket) or into the automatic transmission fluid (cracked lines inside radiator). EDIT How much down was it the second time, maybe the system just burped some trapped air? It was down low enough to see the metal. I'm worried. Even though it's idle has been fine (when my 280zx head gasket blew, the idle was screwed) I always fear the worst case scenario. Of the 3 bad ones you posted, what are the costs to repair each (in Cdn, if you know)? This is total BS!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BowTied Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 It was down low enough to see the metal. I'm worried. Even though it's idle has been fine (when my 280zx head gasket blew, the idle was screwed) I always fear the worst case scenario. Of the 3 bad ones you posted, what are the costs to repair each (in Cdn, if you know)? This is total BS!!! Sorry I don't know costs, but if it is a block you are looking for a whole nother engine. The link posted about that certain hose - I hope that is your trouble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamzan Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 (edited) Read my link oops sorry bowtied Edited January 28, 2009 by adamzan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BowTied Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 no biggy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobLoblaw Posted January 28, 2009 Author Share Posted January 28, 2009 no biggy thanks for the link. That gives me hope. I don't want my pathy to die! I'm still going to have to get a shop to look at it for me because it is so damn cold here right now. I looked at the part of the hose I could see and didn't see a split ( I could only see 2 inches of the hose tho). I'll post with an update by the end of the week. On a side note, would having a low coolant rad cause any type of squeals or squeaks at startup or when driving at high RPMs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrimGreg Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 It could be your waterpump telling you that it wants to die. They have a weep hole that will leak when they need to be replaced. I had a "mysterious loss" of coolent and could not find the leak until one day I turned the engine on and just closely examined everything until I saw the little drip from the bottom of the water pump. BTW, if it is the pump, might as well do a Timing belt job since it has to be removed to remove the pump. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indigent Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 Did you do a compression test on it? Compression testers can be purchased cheap or even rented. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 I noticed yesterday (because my truck was running like crap, after a few weeks of -20C temps) that my radiator was way short on coolant. The temp gauge was going screwy - my first clue. Just a thought, could you have loosened a freeze plug or maybe stretched a seam in the radiator? That's aweful cold!! B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nismojunky Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 blowen frost blugs are a pain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobLoblaw Posted January 29, 2009 Author Share Posted January 29, 2009 It could be your waterpump telling you that it wants to die. They have a weep hole that will leak when they need to be replaced. I had a "mysterious loss" of coolent and could not find the leak until one day I turned the engine on and just closely examined everything until I saw the little drip from the bottom of the water pump.BTW, if it is the pump, might as well do a Timing belt job since it has to be removed to remove the pump. Okay, here's my next noob question. Where is the water pump? Can it be seen when looking under the hood? Do you have any pics? As for the compression test, I'm taking it into a shop either tomorrow or Friday. I don't know how to do that test. And what are "Blowen frost blugs" Nismo? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingman Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 Okay, here's my next noob question. Where is the water pump? Can it be seen when looking under the hood? Do you have any pics? As for the compression test, I'm taking it into a shop either tomorrow or Friday. The water pump is the very bottom most pully, and yes you can see it. On top of that there is a little tiny hole where coolant will leak out of when the seal is blown, thus informing you that you need a new water pump. A seizing water pump can make a horrific screeching noise. A compression test is very simple to do. Buy, or rent, a compression tester. This is a piece of hose with a guage at one end, and a fitting at the other. This fitting screws into the spark plug hole, which means you have to remove the spark plug of the cylinder you are testing. Once it is securely in place, unplug the coil wire to the distributor and crank the engine about 5 rotations. This should be enough. The reading on the guage tells you the compression. These engines I think run about 90 or so, someone correct me if I'm wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrimGreg Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 The water pump is the one the fan is attached to (not the bottom, that is the crank). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingman Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 The water pump is the one the fan is attached to (not the bottom, that is the crank). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobLoblaw Posted February 2, 2009 Author Share Posted February 2, 2009 A quick update on this situation: I filled in rad back up originally (when I first noticed the problem of coolant loss) and the following day it was lower. So I filled it up again. Since then (last Wednesday) it has not lost any coolant at all, and I've driven it alot, checking the coolant before every start! Where did it go the first time? As I mentioned earlier, it has been very cold here. Could this contribute to the coolant loss? Needless to say, I'm happy with this outcome, but I'm worried that it will happen again (finger crossed that it won't though) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrimGreg Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 When had been the last time you checked it before you noticed it was low to begin with? Definately check it and keep an eye out for drips under the truck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingman Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 Ohh boy, mine did this with me for over a month. Drive it a while with no loss, then suddenly started randomly losing coolant. It was the bypass hose on mine, leaking sometimes depending on the temp outside. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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