Nissan Terrano overheating

[maxnz]

Hi everyone,

I own a 1995 Nissan Terrano 2.7TD D21. I have had it since the start of this year now and it has been pretty good so far apart from the od wear and tear part needing replacing.

Last weekend I went on a 4x4 trip though the Nevis Valley, this track included a steep and steady incline of around a 1000m with non stop. About 300 meters from the top I noticed that my Water temperature gauge was at the 3/4 mark, I keept driving untill we were around 200 meters from the top when I decided to stop as the water temp gauge was almost at the top! I turned my truck off and radioed my Dad who was driving infront of us, when he came to me I was parked on a very steep section of the track so he told me to drive a further 15 meters up to a short section of level track, when I reched the level part of the track the water temp needel was above the H! I turned the truck off and poped the bonet, everything there seemned normal as ever, no steam, boiling etc, it was very windy so we only checked it out for around 40 seconds before Dad wanted me to restart the engine. After it restrted with no trouble the temp needle was back to its normal position just under half.. I have no Idea why this happened and it continued the rest of the journy with no troubles what so ever, the needle dident move for the rest of the trip. The track comes out in Kingston and in order to drive back to Wanaka you have to cross the Crown Range, another Mountain pass at around 1000 meters also, it ran fine up there until the last 200 m when the temp gauge rose from 1/2 to just over 3/4 in a matter of seconds, however once over the top and back down the hill the temp gauge went back to just under 1/2 very fast, like 4 seconds maybe..!

I am just wondering if anyone else has encountered any problems like this, this is my first vehicle so I do not have much experice with overheating engines etc, if anyone has any solutions, reasons or help I would very much appreciate your help.

P.S: My truck had large spot lights mounted on the front on a bulbar, this was restricting alot of airflow getting to the radiator, could spot lights result in overheating?, also a couple weeks prior to this incident the hose of the radiator came lose while dring and spilt ALOT of the coolant, ofcause I have refilled it with coolant and water however can air in the cooling system cause these problems?

Thanks again!

[sibainmud]

Buy one of these
http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/car-par ... 981200.htm
Goodbye cooling problems

Cheers,

[maxnz]

Hi sibainmud, Thanks so much for your reply, Haha I wasent hoping to spend that much on fixing th problem.. Does ths mean that the standard radiotors are just o good in these trucks? Thanks again for your help!

[sibainmud]

After reading your post again, the water pump viscuss assembly could be shagged too. BTW, did anyone remove the cap on the radiator while it was hot?

Cheers,

[kiwipete]

I would strongly suggest getting the radiator checked out, flushed and the core cleaned, for a start.
Good antifreeze helps too.
Are you auto or manual?
If auto then you need to invest in a auto transmission cooler as well. I have had the same issues and it came down to lack of air over the radiator, travelling up hill with the wind, and a blocked radiator.

[trucked]

if you were overheating the temperature shouldn't change that quickly, when you refilled the system did you bleed out for air bubbles. I'm not a Nissan nut but where is the temp sensor on the teranno? steep angles could bring air bubbles to it. as air can give you a faulty reading.

seems odd to me to go from hot on the needle to half in 4 seconds when you got level again, water doesn't cool that quickly

[maxnz]

Thanks for all of the answers!

First: No we dident take the radiator cap off, we checked the resaver tank and it had heaps of coolant left in it.

Second: Yes its an Automatic, I have heard about the Automatic Transmissions cooling though the same radiator as the engine, the truck was full of people but it wasn't towing anything, could the Auto tranny really cause the truck to run hot?

Third: Yes It could be the water pump assembly, seems to be the most common one on terranos.. How much does it cost to fix this?

Fourth: No I havent bleeded it though, my truck gets back today so I will do it, does anyone know how to do this ona Terrano, does it have bleeding point?

Fith: Yea it was really wired that it cooled down that quickly.. It seems really wired and I am not sure if I should take it to the mechanics to get him to have a look at it?


Thanks again for all the answers its much appreciated

[Marco Polo]

if you were overheating the temperature shouldn't change that quickly, when you refilled the system did you bleed out for air bubbles. I'm not a Nissan nut but where is the temp sensor on the teranno? steep angles could bring air bubbles to it. as air can give you a faulty reading.

seems odd to me to go from hot on the needle to half in 4 seconds when you got level again, water doesn't cool that quickly

I agree. I'm not saying it didn't get a bit hot, but maybe not as hot as the gauge suggests. Factory temp gauges aren't all that great usually and are often designed to sit in the middle over a very wide temp range. DO check the radiator, fan, thermostat etc though.
To bleed, just open the highest point in the system (normally the radiator cap) turn the heater on full hot, and run the engine up to operating temperature. This is usually enough to burp the system.

[maxnz]

Hi Marco Polo

Thanks for your knowledge!

yea i dont know what was going on with it haha, I will do the bleeding of the radiator today

When you say check the radiator, fan, thermostat etc, what should I look for?

Thanks again for your time

maxnz

[Crash bandicoot]

Hi Marco Polo

Thanks for your knowledge!

yea i dont know what was going on with it haha, I will do the bleeding of the radiator today

When you say check the radiator, fan, thermostat etc, what should I look for?

Thanks again for your time

maxnz

take the thermostat out and drop it in a jug of boiling water It should open. if it doesn't replace it.

The radiator may look fine but the fins may be full of gunk. inside and out.

the viscous hub is most likely the culprit as simon mentioned.

If your truck has A/C i suggest unbolting the top mounts of the radiator and leaning it back toward the engine slightly and having a look for any leaves grass dirt etc between the two radiators.

[trucked]

while I should add to my comments, please don't just think it's a faulty sensor. pull the radiator out take it in to be flow tested, pull out the thermostat and test it in hot then cold water to ensure it opens and closes like it should. check the fan works as it should, I assume it's viscous? they have oil in them so they engage at the right temperature.

if your unsure how to do these I'm sure Google would provide service manuals that will show you what to do. if your not confident take it to a mechanic

[will i am]

one off my old terranos T1, use to get to 3/4 every time going to queenstown over the crown range, then down to 1/4 once going down hill.
never sorted the problem, just sold it on.

i can have a quick look over ya truck if you want
work in wanaka (mechanic)

[kiwipete]

As for the thermostat, for what its worth, I'd simply replace it, it aint a great expense.

[maxnz]

Very late reply,

The entire cooling system has now ben replaced.
The Water pump started to leak about 3 weeks after it overheated.
The Radiator also got sent away to get rodded out, was 70% blocked!
The Thermostat was replaced as well as the water Pump with fan assembly ( they are one unit ), new Top tank on the radiator as the other one had a broken hose fitting ( plastic top tank ), new hoses as they were getting brittle on the inside and lastly all good new coolant. Replaced all the old belts while they were of anyways.
All up took me a few hours but I never had any problems with overheating again.

Thanks again for all the replies!

[lax2wlg]

My junk nudged 100 degrees (according to aftermarket gauge) on the way back on Sunday. I just cleaned the radiator, its absolutely fine.

I love the industrial nature of these Nissan diesels, they just dont give a shit.

Radiator is filling up with mud too easily though. Going to put in some vinyl or rubber shield in the space between the bumper and rad.