scmaxima

ok so since i bought it, the car used to leak antifreeze every once in a while, so i just started filling water. it took like 1 week for the water to clear out completely... lately it started finishing all the water tank in 1 day.... and today when i went to get my car painted and came back.. i saw smoke starting to come out of the engine bay then i checked and it came from the radiator/ and reservoir tank... then the car stopped in the middle of the highway whenever i dont give it gas!!!!


luckily an undercover cop came like 1 minute after it happened and cleared the way till i cranked it up for a minute or 2 and it started...

now that i got home with so much struggling, i open the engine bay fill it up with antifreeze, and the thing boils so hard with soo much steam coming after it... and 2 minutes later i looked back to see that all the antifreeze has leaked... without even starting the engine...

oh and i forgot to mention that i think before it only leaked when i turned the heat on?? not sure though

and last thing i just saw that the radiator cap's plastic piece is cut , but i dont think its the entire problem as theres an entire leak under the car =/

please help and tell me whats the problem! i am very stressed now hopefully its not a headgasket or something =/

mista0406

iTrader: (22)

you need to be really careful when it comes to the parts that cool your engine... sounds like your radiator finally crapped out or a hose line burst. depending on how long you drove your car after the incident on the highway will determine if something major happened to your engine but for right now lets be positive and hope its only your radiator. GL

scmaxima

so is it the radiator, or just a hose? it cant be a blown gasket?!
i drove it exactly 10 minutes after the paint job was finished..

scmaxima

can anyone tell me ... =/

scmaxima

im reading that if the antifreeze leaks its a head gasket smh

Feldman

iTrader: (1)

uhhh i must be missing something, if your entire radiator is emptying in a matter of 10 minutes it should be pretty obvious where it is coming from... and thats the part you need to replace

scmaxima

well right now it is yea in like 2 minutes the whole thing is leaked. could it just be a broken hose?

sgtboehn

iTrader: (3)

Have you gotten underneath the car and taken a look at it? It should be very obvious where it is coming from if it is leaking out that fast! Could be a hose, radiator, headgasket, cracked head...etc!! Take a look...hope its not too bad...good luck!

scmaxima

thanks!
well i looked at its coming from a place thats close to the alternator and belts? this area... not from under the radiator =/

vqmaxman

It sound like it's coming from the waterpump area, the belts and the alternator. Still fill the car up completly with 50/50 coolant and start the car and check for the white smoke that should be coming out form your tailpipe and it should smell like coolant. Then you will know if you got a blown headgasket.

trooplewis

iTrader: (1)

It could be something as simple as a lower radiator hose, easy fix and about a $35 part.
Even if it need a new radiator, you can get one for under a hundred bucks.

As someone above mentioned, if you are having to put water/antifreeze in your system on a regular basis, you have a problem that you should not procrastinate on. It could cost you an engine, rather than a new hose.

scmaxima

very true, it was my fault of being lazy, i just really wanted to learn on the car so i said that id just fill it up every once in a while and forget about it..

scmaxima

well look it doesnt smoke at all... except from the front of the car but that was cause of the antifreeze burning.
however once today when i tried cranking it to start after it stopped in the highway, white smoke then black smoke came out...
but this stopped fast and it started normally.

Nozama

iTrader: (1)

Replace the waterpump and hope there's no other damage.

vqmaxman

uhhooo.. if your talking about black smoke It's possible that you have damaged your engine because black smoke only can have two symptoms from this, It could be oil burning or the gas is getting burned. Just to make everyone including yourself reliefed about the headgasket issue, try checking the oil dipstick check the color of the oil on the dipstick and make sure it's clear oil color or dark black dirty color, avoid the milky white color on the oil dipstick. I know needing a new engine or tranny really sucks.

scmaxima

no the color is pretty good, not super clear but not super dark . definately no milky white 0.o
and no no that black smoke came out for a second or 2 thats it.. it was when i tried starting it thats it

vqmaxman

That's good hopefully that means your headgaskets ok, but did you find out where the leaks coming from.

scmaxima

well not quite, but i see its coming from where the alternator is, so maybe a water pump? what are the symptoms of a bad water pump lol im pretty sure the old owner never changed it. car has 145k miles

mightyMax95

iTrader: (5)

you overheated and destroyed the seals around the waterpump. the water is leaking out of the weep hole, which is located EXACTLY from where you said it's leaking. you need to pull the water pump (read PITA, lol) and replace the seals. depending on your mileage you could replace the pump too as a preventative measure but mechanically, i don't believe there's much to go wrong with the pump itself other than some mineral buildup.

mightyMax95

iTrader: (5)

overheating?

Nozama

iTrader: (1)

Just replace the pump it's less than $50 bucks so why just change the seals when it's the same amount of work?

scmaxima

thats the best answer so far! lol thanks
and yes i do believe thats the problem and because i usually overheat once every 2 weeks or something but only for like a mile or 2 then i re add the water/anti freeze..

so ok what kind of seals do i need to buy? and yea i can find a cheap waterpump from ebay... can you like show me pictures or a link to the "seal" that youre talking about lol
and i have 145k miles!
dont think the old owner changed the water pump

8ender

Jesus. Stop letting your car overheat. Every time you overheat an engine you run the risk of killing it right on the spot. If it doesn't die right away there's lots of other things overheating can do like blow your head gasket, wreck your rod bearings, and other very expensive damage.

You're lucky the VQ30DE is a tough engine but you might not be out of the woods yet. If it continues to overheat and use coolant after you plug all the external leaks then you have a big problem. When a car overheats its not normal.

FallenOne

iTrader: (17)

thats because the water pumps on Maxima's almost never go out...

mightyMax95

iTrader: (5)

any distance is too much. you can go to a dealership or parts store and just ask for the water pump seals. there's two large o-rings, one orange and one black.

or...

+1

some people demand only OEM... i went with autozone, lol

Dbird

From your description, it sounds like that’s the water pump. If I were you I would replace the whole water pump and not just the seals. I had a similar problem a couple of months ago so I replaced my water pump with a brand new one for $35 from AutoZone. The problem disappeared and my car doesn’t overheat or leak coolant anymore. My old water pump was in pretty bad shape when I took it out.

scmaxima

hmm sounds good..
ok so the question is, is it a DIY or do i need to go to a mechanic..?

scmaxima

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/NEW-W...Q5fAccessories

is this good?!

and yea im looking at the writeup.
question is how long will it take a noob to do it =/

vqmaxman

It's the water pump like everyone said,but you should of got right to it, the day or the day after,because the water pump is a serious issue and so is over heating which and lead to a blown headgasket or an internal engine damage. The best bet will be a genuine NISSAN water pump OEM,but It's gonna cost a bit. If you go with the NISSAN go with the NISSAN gaskets there lifetime products. It's your money your car and make the right choice.
The better the part is the better your car will run and last for a long time.

FallenOne

iTrader: (17)

Hey bud, idr if i directed you to or not, but download the FSM in my Sig!

also it claims its good for a Maxima.. go for it.. also when you buyin my VI?!

scmaxima

this weekend i should be getting my paycheck . dont worry lol

FallenOne

iTrader: (17)

Yay! i got school to pay for!

NJ3ndri

If its a headgasket youll notice smoke at the tail pipe. you need to look under your car to see for a puddle and where its coming from. (i didnt read this entire thread but it sounded like you had a hose leak or radiator cracked)

scmaxima

hmm my best bet would be taking it to a mechanic i guess...
should i do this by taking the car there or what?

whiteSE

iTrader: (2)

water pump was a nice learning experince, and took me the whole day to do. i took my time so i dont screw anything up.

vqmaxman

If your good at working on cars and you know what to do go ahead and do it, but it will take about 1hr30min-2hrs depends on how your speed and knowledge on cars are and having the right tools to do the job.

dr_rabias

iTrader: (2)

i changed the water pump on my 240sx and it was easy as pie, i've done it on my 300zx and is nowhere near as easy as it was on my 240sx, mostly because you have to remove a lot more things to reach it.

on my maxima i've never replaced the water pump, but i've analized the system and it seems a little complicated, not hard to do, just tedious.

Take your time, use the right tools and everything will be fine.

Nozama

iTrader: (1)

The most important parts of the job are.

1. Pin back the timing chain tensioner
2. Do not drop anything down the inside of the timing cover.

If you take care of those things it's not a hard job, if you don't you might be pulling the timing cover, oil pan off.

scmaxima

hmm ok i went to the mechanic and it definitely is a waterpump and he said also get a thermostat .. however he said 550-600 bucks rip off but yea.
the parts online OEM are around 60 bucks total brand new.
Im not really that great with changing parts mainly because i dont have the tools...
so should i just take it to a junkyard and fix it, or can someone like do it thats here in the area?

Mr.A32ftw

iTrader: (12)

If you are in NY like your location says, they are plenty of people in your area that can do it for you. You should join this site http://nycmaximas.org/. I'm sure you will find someone who can do it for you.