heating problem...AGAIN!

2drcam · Mar 12th, 2005, 07:55 PM

I replaced the water pump a few days ago because I was not getting any heat. I posted something about this about 6 months ago and haven't really pushed the issue, but now it's too damn cold.

so with the waterpump replaced I fill it up with coolant and drive the car around. it warms up like normal but still no heat and it also begins to overheat. 6 months ago the same problem occured and i just removed the thermostat and everything was kosher. now it's not so kosher.

even with the thermostat out the car is overheating extremely fast. it's very weird..... i will be driving down the road and the car will appear to be heating up as normal and all of a sudden the needle will spike to the first bar before high. as this is happening steam is coming out of the overflow tank. i look like a GOD DAMN choo choo train coming down the road. it also sounds like there is air being blown into the overflow container and steam is spewing out like crazy.

before anyone tells me what to do i'm going to tell you what i have done to the car.

1) replaced the radiator
2) new water pump
3) flushed the heater core lines
4) put numerous thermostats in
5) did a pressure test to the entire cooling system. absoultely no leaks at all
6) did a CO test, that was negative
7) did a compression test each cylinder way a whopping 155 psi exactly in each cylinder
8) forced compressed air thru all the hoses to make sure there was no blockage.

so, if anyone can think of anything else i can do i'm all ears. also the last step i'm going to try is to do an acid flush at the dealer ship as a last resort. by some chance there is a blockage somewhere.

thanks,

any input would be so very helpful

**Asleep** · Mar 13th, 2005, 11:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2drcam

I replaced the water pump a few days ago because I was not getting any heat. I posted something about this about 6 months ago and haven't really pushed the issue, but now it's too damn cold.

so with the waterpump replaced I fill it up with coolant and drive the car around. it warms up like normal but still no heat and it also begins to overheat. 6 months ago the same problem occured and i just removed the thermostat and everything was kosher. now it's not so kosher.

even with the thermostat out the car is overheating extremely fast. it's very weird..... i will be driving down the road and the car will appear to be heating up as normal and all of a sudden the needle will spike to the first bar before high. as this is happening steam is coming out of the overflow tank. i look like a GOD DAMN choo choo train coming down the road. it also sounds like there is air being blown into the overflow container and steam is spewing out like crazy.

before anyone tells me what to do i'm going to tell you what i have done to the car.

1) replaced the radiator
2) new water pump
3) flushed the heater core lines
4) put numerous thermostats in
5) did a pressure test to the entire cooling system. absoultely no leaks at all
6) did a CO test, that was negative
7) did a compression test each cylinder way a whopping 155 psi exactly in each cylinder
8) forced compressed air thru all the hoses to make sure there was no blockage.

so, if anyone can think of anything else i can do i'm all ears. also the last step i'm going to try is to do an acid flush at the dealer ship as a last resort. by some chance there is a blockage somewhere.

thanks,

any input would be so very helpful

theres no mention of bleeding the system here... also, did you check the hot water valve thats located on the firewall behind the intake manifold? if thats stuck in the "cold" position, you wont get heated water thru your heater core. have you checked your radiator for cold spots? these are spots on the radiator that are cooler to the touch than other spots on it when the engine is warmed up. did you replace the radiator cap? seems unimportant but is very important for a properly running cooling system. are your cooling fans coming on at all?

2drcam · Mar 13th, 2005, 01:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AsleepAltima

theres no mention of bleeding the system here... also, did you check the hot water valve thats located on the firewall behind the intake manifold? if thats stuck in the "cold" position, you wont get heated water thru your heater core. have you checked your radiator for cold spots? these are spots on the radiator that are cooler to the touch than other spots on it when the engine is warmed up. did you replace the radiator cap? seems unimportant but is very important for a properly running cooling system. are your cooling fans coming on at all?

i did not check the hot water valve. but i have checked the radiator. the cap looks and functions fine (brand new) . i have bled the system. it's that bolt above the negative cable right? it's also spewing coolant out of the radiator cap when it is off and i'm running the car. would the hot water valve make this much of a problem if it's not functionally properly?

thanks

**Asleep** · Mar 13th, 2005, 02:32 PM

imo, no it wont cause overheating problems in itself but it will cause your heater not to work. are you currently using a thermostat, i know you pulled it but did you ever put it back in? the other thing i would check is to see if you have any air bubbles in your coolant or any water in your oil. a bad head gasket will cause it to overheat as well...

2drcam · Mar 13th, 2005, 05:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AsleepAltima

imo, no it wont cause overheating problems in itself but it will cause your heater not to work. are you currently using a thermostat, i know you pulled it but did you ever put it back in? the other thing i would check is to see if you have any air bubbles in your coolant or any water in your oil. a bad head gasket will cause it to overheat as well...

as of now there is no thermostat in the car but it is still overheating. it's even worse now then what is was a few months ago. it's hard to tell if there are any bubbles in it because the overflow looks like when you blow air thru a straw in chocolate milk. that's how bubbly it is.

KA24Tech · Mar 22nd, 2005, 03:23 AM

A blown head gasket wouldn't necessarily show up in the compression test but it should in a cylinder leakdown test as air bubbles in the radiator filler neck. You said the CO test was negative did you mean an HC (hydrocarbon) test for the coolant? Are there any bubbles in the filler neck as the car warms up? Try running the car with the cap off to do most of the inspection and to top it off as necessary.
Is the coolant flowing thru the radiator while watching in the filler neck? Did you notice if the fans come on?
Also I'm saying that these are the problem but for preventative maintence, I recommend changing all the hoses if they are more than 4 years old including the water pipe elbow hose that comes out of thethermostat housing and goes into the water pump pipe.

Troy

2drcam · Mar 22nd, 2005, 08:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KA24Tech

A blown head gasket wouldn't necessarily show up in the compression test but it should in a cylinder leakdown test as air bubbles in the radiator filler neck. You said the CO test was negative did you mean an HC (hydrocarbon) test for the coolant? Are there any bubbles in the filler neck as the car warms up? Try running the car with the cap off to do most of the inspection and to top it off as necessary.
Is the coolant flowing thru the radiator while watching in the filler neck? Did you notice if the fans come on?
Also I'm saying that these are the problem but for preventative maintence, I recommend changing all the hoses if they are more than 4 years old including the water pipe elbow hose that comes out of thethermostat housing and goes into the water pump pipe.

Troy

I'm fed up!!!

I replaced the headgasket now and it's doing the same exact thing. but now it really overheated. after the headgasket was done I was on my way home and coolant started coming out from everywhere. when i popped the hood i couldn't even tell where the leak was coming from. it looked like it was coming out of the radiator cap. I've replaced just about the whole cooling system. i have no idea what to do now.

KA24Tech · Mar 23rd, 2005, 12:05 AM

Was the head checked for warpage or cracks or was the block checked for distortion before the head gasket was replaced?

Troy

2drcam · May 5th, 2005, 09:15 PM

ok guys i hate to bring it up again but i FINALLY FIGURED OUT THE PROBLEM..

and you guys are going to laugh your ass OFF.

story:

I'm driving home for lunch one day and i'm thinking about the altima and how i replaced just about everything that deals with the heating/cooling system. then out of the blue a thought crosses my mind that i've seen a picture of this motor out of the car on the internet somewhere. with that in mind the belt caught my eye, so i had one of the local dealers fax me a belt diagram of this motor and BEHOLD the belt was on the wrong side of the water pump and it was spinning the opposite direction causing a reverse flow system. So finally after all this bs with replacing the waterpump, radiator, headgasket, flushing the heater core all i had to do was figure out the belt direction, HOWEVER, keep in mind that when i bought the care the belt was already on the wrong way and since everything was running i ASSumed that was the way the belt was supposed to be.

I figured you guys might get a kick out of the happy ending of this story.
thanks for all your help
the END

**Asleep** · May 6th, 2005, 01:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2drcam

ok guys i hate to bring it up again but i FINALLY FIGURED OUT THE PROBLEM..

and you guys are going to laugh your ass OFF.

story:

I'm driving home for lunch one day and i'm thinking about the altima and how i replaced just about everything that deals with the heating/cooling system. then out of the blue a thought crosses my mind that i've seen a picture of this motor out of the car on the internet somewhere. with that in mind the belt caught my eye, so i had one of the local dealers fax me a belt diagram of this motor and BEHOLD the belt was on the wrong side of the water pump and it was spinning the opposite direction causing a reverse flow system. So finally after all this bs with replacing the waterpump, radiator, headgasket, flushing the heater core all i had to do was figure out the belt direction, HOWEVER, keep in mind that when i bought the care the belt was already on the wrong way and since everything was running i ASSumed that was the way the belt was supposed to be.

I figured you guys might get a kick out of the happy ending of this story.
thanks for all your help
the END

lol, good shit.

back in the day when i was an altima newbie, i did the same thing but with the alternator belt... i felt like an ass too. couldnt figure out why the belt wouldnt tight up correctly lol. well, glad you got it all figured out.