I was driving to my soccer game this morning not boosting or driving hard at all coz my clutch needs replacing bigtime and I noticed the temperature guage sitting on 3/4! I automatically pulled over and it was steaming up on the left hand side although it didn't appear to come from either the top or bottom radiator hoses. I got the car home this arvo in the same fashion having to pull over and stuff and have just taken the radiator out. The hoses appear to be fine and there are coolant stains on the left-hand side all up and down the radiator. SO i'm assuming it has a small crack on this side somewhere. What I'm worried about however, is my head gasket... How do I determine whether I've done any damage guys? John
You may be lucky if it was only a leak ... ... from the rad and you didn't lose too much coolant. I trust you topped up when cool(er) b4 attempting the trip home? A tow might have been prudent.Fix the rad, do a pressure test and keep your fingers crossed.Cheers, Rob.:-Z
nah thats the thing... I stupidly didn't top it up and there wasn't much coolant left when I got home coz it took me 3 little water bottles to fill it up. So there wouldn't have been much coolant left in it at all. I'll have to get a compression test done to see what's happening. If the had has gone... How much you think the repair bill is gonna be?John
I think it would be ok especially as your needle was sitting only at 3/4 and you stopped immediately. This happened to my previous motor on a number of occasions and each time I fixed it all was OK. Overheating occurred due to coolant loss due to splitting hoses. CAUSE BELOWUntill one day the engine finally overheated and died due to rust pieces from the block that accumulated and blocked the overflow pipe! This created excess pressure and splitted the bottom rad hose. All due to no maintenance by previous owner.In a nutshell I think you may have saved it unless you got the death rattles - you would know if you did. Loud lifter noise and the stench of burned oil = cactus Seriously, - Tow your car to your mechanic, don't drive it regardles of cost. - Perform a pressure test to determine the source of the leak - Determine the cause of the faulty part. If its the radiator causing this? is it a split hose? and Why?Just remember - this is where I got caught out. If no further investigation is performed after you have located the faulty part, the end result will be the inevitable at the most aukward of times.Leason learned, cooling system matters are not to be taken lightly.Hope all is OK PeterPressure check before you hit the road again Peter
If your engine has been cooked, expect a repair bill anywhere from 6 grand or more for a second hand engine this should include fitting, that's only if you have a piston/block problem. Othewise you can replace the heads as long as you/the mechanic is convinced the bottom end is ok. If that's the case, then it should be significantly cheaper - not sure though how much.Funny thing is that in my case all looked well. for eg. No smoking, smooth idle, no water in the oil, no oil in the water. But I still had a leak in one of the pipes underneath the plennum. All looked good until the plenum was removed for the repair of the leak and all was revealed. But in my case, I really, really, really did cook the motor.Also, after reading your followup post, you drove the car home and had to put in approx. 3 liters. This is not good.Also, if you do have to start your car for whatever reason, CHANGE THE OIL as what you may have in the engine now is just left over crap and is completely useless.I really hope all is ok - talk to your mechanic.Peter
When my head gasket was replaced..... it cost me $3880. That included engine removal, new hoses, gaskets etc etc and 2 new heads. The bottom end was not touched as it was deemed to be in "excellent" condition. My car never overheated, but thats because I caught the leak in time. Also, keep in mind that the needle on the temp guage only start to move from half way, when the water temp has hit something riduculous like 104 degree's. By then, its too late.. Also, I think driving home did you no favours. Should have gotten it towed. Either way, its done and there's nothing you can do now. Get it checked out ASAP and hopefully all will be ok. If not, then while the engine is out you can do lots of nice things to the engine.. Hope all is ok dude....Cheers
i think personally it'll be fine... time will tell though. I've taken out the radiator and we'll get it and the hoses checked out and then replace whatever needs replacing. Then I'll drive the car easy for a few days (coz of clutch) and see if there is coolant in the oil. If not, i'm cheering...if so...gasket gone and I'll be pissed off! :x John
trouble is..... you wont always get coolant in oil or visa versa with a blown head gasket. Need to get it checked properly to be sure.Cheers
Radiator is the culprit... with the left end tanks being cracked. Is it worth repairing the end tank as the radiator is in good condition? I'm considering going in the group buy for that radiator anyway so I don't ever have to worry about cooling again. Some info on replacing the end tank would be usefull if anyone has had any experience?Thanks... John :-Z
Not expensive to replace side tanks ... ... go to nearest radiator shop. They'll do a full overhaul of the rad and pressure test. Wise to take the car back once rad re-fitted and get a power-flush, new coolant/inhibitor, and a full system pressure test.I would not be surprised if the FULL pressure test reveals other minor leaks.Here I'd expect tp pay around $250 all up. In SYD, maybe $350?Cheers, Rob.:-Z
I agree with Jedi's comments 100% it is not always the case that you will see oil in water or vise versa. You can replace the radiator and etc.. and chance driving it but it is best that you let a Z expert mechanic look at your car for signs of damage beyond the obvious. Sorry to sound like a purist. I do understand it all comes down to money at the end of the day. Peter
Very timely advice, my zed is in right now ...for heaps of preventative maintenance whilst it's having an auto to manual conversion including cooling system flush, radiator rodding and pressure test. New: water pump, thermostat, coolant temp sensor, fuel filter, oil gallery flush then fresh synthetic Oil/filter, all water hoses including removing plenum and replacing the 6+ under there, all Belts including checking the timing belt supposedly done 40K ago, clean Injectors, several sensors, spark plugs, timing, any suspect engine bay wiring, ECU, MiNes Chip and Climate Control checks and an additional port tapped into cooling system to allow a second and more accurate water temp guage and dyno run to check boost and power. Lots being done and I'm sure some parts will technically be okay but have requested to replace just to be sure. The zed's a long term project so will eventually have to do everything at some stage and would rather do it all now in one lump instead of one-by-one stuck on the roadside and risk overheating/damage each time ... Good luck with your test Zonny :YD
you should remove the under plenum hoses com pletely. It makes it much neater, less prone to failing hoses and also easier to remove the plenum again.
Yup, thanx- already doing that! Makes you wonder why Nissan had them there in the first place if they can be removed safely with no side effects ... um, are there any potential side effects I'm not aware of like overheating ?
Reason for hoses..... The reason why Nissan put all those hoses there, is for zeds in much colder climates than what we experience here in australia. The idea is that the hot water will heat up the plenum and throttle bodies, and potentially stop any nasties that 0 degree weather can cause. Like your throttle bodies remaining opened or closed due to frost. Cheers
none at all. Wouldn't it actually be cooler air if the water isn't there heating them up @ around 80 degrees? Say if i have the nos spraying with the hoses there, would it be warmer passing through the throttle bodies? Or would it make no difference??
