Safari GQ overheating / coolant leak

[phraza]

Hey all,

Went hard today in Woodhill in the new safari. Which in turn the Safari (GQ) ended up overheating on the way home. Made it home and washed all the mud out of the radiator, will let it settle for a while.

Inside the truck on the drivers side, there is a slow drip of coolant coming from down the bottom of the dash. Seem to think its something to do with the heater? Was using that on the way home to try cool the engine down

cheers!

[flyingbrick]

whats the question? sounds like you have it sorted.

Don't worry too much about overheating the GQ. It takes more than a little heat to damage that motor (dont ask how i know).

Obviously fix the problem so it doesn't happen again tho!

[phraza]

whats the question? sounds like you have it sorted.

Don't worry too much about overheating the GQ. It takes more than a little heat to damage that motor (dont ask how i know).

Obviously fix the problem so it doesn't happen again tho!

Sorry should of been more specific haha, just regarding the coolant leak inside. It only started to leak when i used the heater (to cool the engine down), ill give it a go tonight without using the heater and see if thats the problem.

Good to know these are strong engines! Was freaking out a bit i did some internal damage

Cheers!

[sibainmud]

Heater coil for sure.
I understand they are a b!tch to replace.
Sounds like it has spent some time with no anti-freeze in it
Cheers,

[DaveM]

If the radiator is out, it's a good time to do the cooling system anyway.
They benefit from a fluch/rodding by a radiator workshop, and it's always good to spend a little on new hoses, thermostat, radiator cap etc.

[phraza]

Sweet thanks guys. Will definatly look into that when i have some spare time!

[Taz]

The join can let go where the pipe goes into the core, or if someone puts the heater hoses on the wrong way round it can cause a leak there also.
My old mechanic was good enough to teach me that one

It is generally a dash off job to replace it but if you have child like hands I think you can slide it out the passenger footwell.

[phraza]

Got the radiator out and there was alot of mud still in there. Pleased its all out finally. Put all new coolant in the radiator and took it for a drive and it still overheats

My mate said it could either be the Thermostat or Waterpump? Any signs you could tell which is buggered? I know the waterpump can be pricey?

cheers,

[DaveM]

How soon does it overheat? When doing normal driving?

Water pump is $99 on TM. I personally would get the radiator professionally cleaned internally, new thermostat and radiator cap.
When you do this, make sure you drain the block and heater as well (I usually reverse flush the motor), but if the heater core is leaking you may want to bypass it anyway

When you refill, it pays to make sure you "bleed" the system to ensure you don't have any air in there

[phraza]

How soon does it overheat? When doing normal driving?

Water pump is $99 on TM. I personally would get the radiator professionally cleaned internally, new thermostat and radiator cap.
When you do this, make sure you drain the block and heater as well (I usually reverse flush the motor), but if the heater core is leaking you may want to bypass it anyway

When you refill, it pays to make sure you "bleed" the system to ensure you don't have any air in there

Yea, when i flick the ignition on when its stone cold it already shows that its a quarter warm! And then after 5-10mins normal driving it creeps up to 3/4 warm and thats when i turn it off.

Next week i think im going to take the thermostat off and see if thats sticking close. Possibly check the sensor. and give it a good flush as you said

Cheers heaps

[Swamped]

if its going a quarter cold (does it do it with the key on but engine off?) to 3/4 it sounds more like the sender or gauge or something is off. Temp could be normal?

[DaveM]

As Swamped says, sounds like it's not reading correctly

[phraza]

if its going a quarter cold (does it do it with the key on but engine off?) to 3/4 it sounds more like the sender or gauge or something is off. Temp could be normal?

Yea when i put the key in and the engine is off it flicks up to 1/4 temp. And when i drive around for a while it slowly moves up to 3/4.

And when i pop the bonnet i can smell like a burning coolant smell too

[darinz]

If the water pump isn't leaking then I would touch it. Thermostat is simple a cheap fix as is cap. But if it has been run without coolant then you need to get a radiator shop to pull a tank off and rod the core out. Not all shops do this now so don't listen if they try and sell you a new rad. Getting you older one cleaned (if in good condition externally) is a better idea.

GQ temo gauge and sender are crap and unreliable. Yours is clearly not working so sort that out as you might not have a temp problem either.

[phraza]

If the water pump isn't leaking then I would touch it. Thermostat is simple a cheap fix as is cap. But if it has been run without coolant then you need to get a radiator shop to pull a tank off and rod the core out. Not all shops do this now so don't listen if they try and sell you a new rad. Getting you older one cleaned (if in good condition externally) is a better idea.

GQ temo gauge and sender are crap and unreliable. Yours is clearly not working so sort that out as you might not have a temp problem either.

Yea the water pump isnt leaking at all. I will take the thermostat out this week and check it out. Also a new cap wont hurt.

But think i will take it to a radiator shop to get it cleaned properly. This is what it looked like when i took it out, All the fins were sweet. i waterblasted all the mud out, took a while!

[FORGE1]

Hey bro did this on all my Safari's Turn the radiator upside down and put your hose in and flush it out until it runs clear. I did this on all the holes on the radiator and sorted my problem out. My first Safari (SWB one) did it the most and did that and never had any problem. I even used the water blaster and did the same thing and got more out again.

[phraza]

Hey bro did this on all my Safari's Turn the radiator upside down and put your hose in and flush it out until it runs clear. I did this on all the holes on the radiator and sorted my problem out. My first Safari (SWB one) did it the most and did that and never had any problem. I even used the water blaster and did the same thing and got more out again.

Hey Ray,

Yea i did that when i pulled it out, until it went clear from the water, put the hose into all the holes etc. Might give the other ways a go to see if it works. Hopefully it does! I want to do more off-roading! will have to show you when you next come down

[Drurban]

Hi Phraza,

I dont know if I should comment as not being a Nissan owner but had overheating issue.
I had no problem after I cleaned out my radaitor but I dont have a Nissan so every truck is different I suppose in that department, I do need to give it the Bombay test as that is where the temp gauge went up in mine, but I could not smell anything or no steam was present.

Cheers

Ruben

[DaveM]

Mine smelt like burning coolant for a couple of days, with no leaks, was just coolant from the rad that spilt around the motor when it was removed. Get the rad rodded and get the sender etc checked.

[phraza]

Mine smelt like burning coolant for a couple of days, with no leaks, was just coolant from the rad that spilt around the motor when it was removed. Get the rad rodded and get the sender etc checked.

Haha i never actually thought of that. Its probably it! Cheers for your help Dave, will you you know my progress on fixing it!

[kbushnz]

I would be careful using a water blaster to clean the fins out of the radiator.
You could damage them... And wreck the core.
Just a good blast from the garden hose.

As already said.

Gauge is faulty if already reading 1/4 when key on.

Change thermostat.
Change coolant.
Change cap.
Get radiator cleaned out internally. (Rodded)

Then as a last resort change pump.

As for the leaky heater core.... small hands, lots of patience.
Remove, leak check, fix... and install.
You can bypass it with a hose and keep truck running.

Calvin

[phraza]

I would be careful using a water blaster to clean the fins out of the radiator.
You could damage them... And wreck the core.
Just a good blast from the garden hose.

As already said.

Gauge is faulty if already reading 1/4 when key on.

Change thermostat.
Change coolant.
Change cap.
Get radiator cleaned out internally. (Rodded)

Then as a last resort change pump.

As for the leaky heater core.... small hands, lots of patience.
Remove, leak check, fix... and install.
You can bypass it with a hose and keep truck running.

Calvin

Cheers Calvin, thinking about replacing the temp sender and putting an aftermarket gauge in the truck too.

After work this week im going to take the thermostat out and replace and get a new cap. Then ill take the radiator to a shop to get rodded. i see there is a few radiator shops on the North Shore which i can take it to.

Cheers for your help!

[SirGerald]

While you have thermostat off I suggest removing the bung towards the back of the engine on the passengers side and flushing the engine out.

[darinz]

Water blasting radiators does get them clean but you must be careful that you go with th fins otherwise you'll bend then over. Also you should always wash the the worse off the outside and then work fron the back foward. There will be alsorts of little stones stuck in there which youwant to wash out not in.

[Twodiffs]

While you have thermostat off I suggest removing the bung towards the back of the engine on the passengers side and flushing the engine out.

Can someone describe flushing the engine in more detail or put up a link if they can?

I presume you disconnect top and bottom rad hoses (if the radiator is still in the truck), remove the thermostat and the engine bung. Then what - flush the donk until the waters clear?

FWIW I replaced my water pump with a genuine one from Nissan about 2yrs ago, cost $100 back then. I think the ones on Trademe are genuine Nissan as well, Cockram Nissan (ChCh) regularly sell stuff on Tme.

[phraza]

FWIW I replaced my water pump with a genuine one from Nissan about 2yrs ago, cost $100 back then. I think the ones on Trademe are genuine Nissan as well, Cockram Nissan (ChCh) regularly sell stuff on Tme.

Yea saw them on there today, $99 from that place in CHC

[DaveM]

I used to remove the bung, but now remove the heater hose with the engine running and put the garden hose into the heater hose until it runs clear (heater on of course).
Was shown this by a Nissan Mechanic, and seems to work well

[phraza]

Alright i think i got it fixed (touch wood)

drained the radiator (keep the coolant as it was brand new). Took the thermostat off (gasket fell apart as i took it off).

Tested the thermostat with boiling water and it fully opened. Tested it with cold water and it wouldnt close. left about 1-2mm gap (i even put it in the freezer for 4mins to check haha)

Got a new one, put it in with a new gasket. Refilled coolant, checked all hoses, some are getting tired so thats next on my list. Unplugged the temperature sender and gave that a clean, had a bit of mud in it.

Turned the ignition on (not the engine), temperature showed stone cold (before it was showing a quarter even before i turned the engine on). Started it up, started fine. Took it for a drive for about 10-15mins and the temp gauge was sitting just under half the whole trip.

Hopefully that fixes it for now. Next im going to get new hoses etc

Cheers for all your help, appreciate it!

Fraser

[crazyclark31]

Hi I had the same mud issues with my radiator (Mud in it). Took it off and gave good hosing but this didn't get rid of it all. Ended up soaking it in the bath with some warm water Worked a charm . Saved the fins from damage to.

[phraza]

Hi I had the same mud issues with my radiator (Mud in it). Took it off and gave good hosing but this didn't get rid of it all. Ended up soaking it in the bath with some warm water Worked a charm . Saved the fins from damage to.

haha nice! Ill remember that for next time!