Hello all,

Just a sanity check. A couple of weeks ago I had the oil changed and was told my coolant was low. They topped it off and sent me on my way.

About a week (and 500+ miles later) my car suddenly started overheating on short trips. Really it didn't seem hot but the temperature gauge spiked and no hot air was coming from the vents.

I took it to my local import shop and they said the thermostat was stuck and needed to be replaced. We ordered it and they replaced it for $340 OTD.

However, later that day the car overheated again. Same basic issue. I drove it right back and left it again. This time they called and said the water pump was shot and it was not pushing any coolant through. Funny, they said the problem before was that the thermostat was stuck and pushing too much coolant so that it was coming back out the top. But now the water pump is shot.

So they ordered a water pump and said they would put it in, another $350 or so. But they are having problems because they say my timing chain tensioner is stuck. They think they are going to need to "remove the cover to take it off."

Does this all sound right or do you think something else is going on here? I wouldn't know and they know that although this place has proved to be very honest in the past (I had what we all thought was a $500 problem and they cleaned up the part and fixed if for about $50. Heck they could have done that and charged me the $500 and I would have never known)

I trust them mostly but would like a sanity check on this one. It is getting pricy.

 

Well that seems to have fixed it but they are having a lot of trouble bleeding the air out of the coolant system now. It is gurgling and blowing cold air at idle and warm air when reving. I will have to take it back for them to keep trying.

 

And no. Drove it for about an hour and it overheated again and spewed coolant out the overflow all over the side of the engine compartment. The conversations with my local shop are going to get a lot more difficult.

I wish this wasn't such a monologue. I know this site has died down over the years but somebody must know something about this topic?

 

Amazing. They spent two more days "bleeding" the air out of the coolant lines and then testing it by driving it for 50 miles. No problems.

Then I pick it up and drive downtown for a show Friday night and it overheats again leaving a huge puddle of coolant in the parking lot. WTF?

It is weird. I can drive it on the highway or cruise through town and the air blowing over the motor (20 degrees out) will do a decent job of keeping it from overheating. But stop and go driving with the engine revs and slow speeds leads to overheating. It will go to H in one minute flat driving short distances between stops but if I can get it up to speed and cruise at 35-50 mph or even more it will cool down to 1/2 or 3/4 on the gauge. And it does it in 30-60 seconds. I can watch the gauge move up and down.

It's going back to the shop obviously but please,please, doesn't anyone here have a clue what the issue is?

 

Now the word is "probably blown head gaskets." $2700 more.

No guarantee it isn't a cracked head or that the overheating hasn't damaged the cylinders or even the block.

No smoke or steam though so maybe it is fine but wow. $2700 more?

 

The shop seems to just be throwing parts at the problem rather than actually diagnosing it IMO. It sounds to me like there are still air pockets trapped in the cooling system. How are they bleeding it? They should have the heat on full blast and the front of the car elevated while squeezing the upper rad hose until no more air bubbles come out

Edit: if you do end up having a blown head gasket or cracked head as a result of them not bleeding the system correctly, I would absolutely have them foot the bill to repair/replace the motor

 

Bro 2700 will get you performance parts for your G, tell them to go stick it where the sun don't shine.

here's how I know... 800 for radiator from nissan/infiniti

350 for a legit racing radiator from mishimoto

and you could get a tranny cooler from stillen as well

you're getting reamed from behind.

 

THIS THIS THIS THIS

the crooks will try to get away with it claiming it was your fault. Threaten to call corporate or make them pay for it full on.

 

wow, thanks for all your replies!! I ended up telling the shop I wanted a second or even third opinion and called a few other shops in town. Most said it probably was the gaskets BUT the manager of the local Infiniti dealership said he really doubts it. He offered to do a complete diagnostic on the car for half an hour's fee ($66 or something). I was able to drive - coasting mainly - the 8 miles to the dealership with no overheating at all. They are looking at it now and said they would give me a verdict tomorrow.

He felt that there was something else, maybe even an obstruction or dirt between the radiator and condenser. I don't know but I am more likely to choose the verdict of the dealer. We shall see.

I'm not sure how they are bleeding it. They said they had a tool that did it but I am not confident. The second time I got it back it gurgled a great deal but that has not happened since they gave it another shot at bleeding it.

 

So I got a call from the dealership who is looking at it.

They say the RADIATOR IS DIRTY and it is 70% covered leaving not enough surface area to transfer heat. Additionally, the import shop put straight coolant in it not the recommended mix with water. And the tab on the fan shroud is broken.

Wow.

 

OMG!!!



I drove 50-75 miles and son of a gun, the car overheated again. AGAIN!! Same exact thing. Started blowing cool air at idle but warm while driving. Then a few minutes later, overheating and coolant coming out the overflow.

FYI, here is a picture of the dirty radiator before they cleaned it.

So the dealer was sure, SURE this was the problem. But still no luck.

One month. I have had the car for about 4 days of it. And it is still doing the EXACT same thing.



What the hell?

 

In my opinion it couldn't be your head gaskets. If that was true, you would more than likely be getting white smoke from your exhaust.

If you are still getting cold air from your heater while sitting at a light for example and only getting heat from the heater while your car is moving, you have air in your system still.

Try bleeding your system yourself.


This plug is in the right rear of the engine bay as if you are sitting in the drivers seat. Turn the Heater to 90 degrees F and the fan speed to as high as it will go.

And as far as your radiator goes, it's clean now right?

Did the dealer put in 50/50 coolant water mix?

Also, if your car was low on coolant, you should pressure test your cooling system and your radiator cap for leaks.

 

Radiator is clean. And 50/50 yes.

The dealership asked me to bring it back tomorrow and let them look at it again. It's funny, they were SURE the dirty radiator was the problem.

I doubt it is the head gasket as well it just doesn't fit. The car drives fine for a bit until it seems like the coolant level drops. Either there is a leak somewhere or maybe the fan isn't kicking on consistently? No fan and then overheating and then reduced coolant due to overflow. Then it overheats all the time?

Or maybe they are not getting it bleed well enough?

So leak? Or bleed problem? Or fan switch? Any other idea?

This is killing me and my view of the car I loved.

 

To me this sounds like a thermostat issue. Or, you have massive amounts of air in your system. Did you have your coolant flushed recently? I'm thinking the schmucks at the initial shop didn't replace the thermostat like you wanted. It sounds like the thermostat gets stuck closed allowing the coolant in the cylinder head and block water jackets to get really hot which then finally causes the thermostat to open which then causes the really hot coolant which is beyond it's boiling point (since combustion temperatures get around 4,500 F) to come gushing out into the overflow. I would also have the dealer check to see if your water pump was replaced like you requested as well. And have them bleed the hell out of the cooling system

Water has a boiling point of 212 F. Coolant ("Antifreeze" and water) has a boiling point of about 230 F. Your radiator cap will add another 3 F for every psi the radiator cap is rated at.

The fans only really come on at idle and low speed since not much air is helping cool the engine, etc. The fans will also come on when the AC is activated to help with cooling since the engine has more stress put on it from the Ac.

If you suspect a leak, have the radiator cap and your cooling system pressure tested at the dealer. Once the Technician hooks up the pressure tester to your cooling system he should be checking for leaks at the upper, and lower radiator hoses, radiator, water pump, etc and watching the pressure on the pressure tester. You yourself could check for possible leaks by looking for white stains around your hoses and radiator cap along with the smell of coolant.

Ask the service writer that you are dealing with at the dealer to see your vehicle while the technician is diagnosing your car if you'd like. I work at a Ford dealership and I along with the diesel technician that I help occasionally get customers that come back to our stalls which is fine since customers want to get the nitty gritty status on the vehicle to see failed parts, etc. Or you can just request that they put the failed part in your car.

 

Yea...don't give up.

Sounds like the dealership is honest. Perhaps they let the new guy bleed it.......

air in the heater core will cause the spewage you describe. I've been dealing with similar issue for a while now and I've been bleeding it myself.

Hope your not going to get a new fan assembly because of the broken tab!?!? I would ask them to see if they can just zip tie it in there.

Good luck and keep the Faith!