[heatherz]

Hey guys. Tried searching but couldn't find anything helpful, so hopefully this hasn't been covered in depth yet. I'm posting this for a friend so I'm not sure if this will make complete sense...

Her '04 350z has a problem with overheating. The temp guage will rise to the line just before high when the car is in stop-and-go traffic/idling but on the freeway everything is fine. When the car is idling, the fans are always on at full power. Her dad wants to try changing the thermostat and asked me to find out if a vacuum is needed, but I figured I'd post the whole story and see whether or not the experts have any other ideas.

Thanks!

 

[Spongerider]

How many miles on your Z?

Sounds like a bad thermostat or a clogged radiator.

 

[heatherz]

54,000 miles. Any quick DIY on thermostat replacement?

 

[Spongerider]

I don't have DIY for you.

 

[Old $chool]

+1 on what sponge says. more than likely a bad thermostat. The thermostat is right behind the hose going from the rad to the block. Real easy DIY.

 

[Spongerider]

Right, but I would not say it's easy because you need to drain and remove the rad, fan, belts, TB hoses, timing cover, and water hard pipes.

My 2 suggestion would be do a complete 60K and only use OEM parts because in the past aftermarket parts give you a headache and cost more money down the line.

 

[Old $chool]

clamp the hoses shut before you pull them off...I did mine in 5 minutes. Only thing you really have to contend with would be air in the rad later down the road if you dont know how to bleed the system.

+1 on 60k mile service.

 

[wm_sorg]

I am having the exact same issue. I also noticed when the car is running hot I turned on the heater to tey anc cool it down and got no heat. Going to replace the thermostat.

Does anyine you have a good procedure for bleeding the system? Can this really be done in five minutes?