1999 Nissan Pathfinder Engine overheats on a short drive.
Engine overheats on a short drive.
What is your question?
It occurs after a short ride. I set the heater to Hi which helps lower the needle. I say needle because the temp gauge spiked once on a cold engine so it may be a bad sensor. Got home raised the hood & noticed coolant on opposite ends of condenser or radiator as fan shroud was in the way. Coolant settled settled under condenser or from radiator. I am unsuccessful in tracing the leak as it requires the removal of components.
I also drained, flushed, & filled the coolant without bleeding/ purging air from air relief valve, purge valve, plug or screw. Using those terms confuses me more as they are used interchangeably. I could not locate said purge valve. To compensate that step,
I used the No-Spill funnel kit as an optional method to burp or address the airlock within cooling system that may be causing cavitation.
What makes this problem better or worse?
Setting heater to highest level helps
How long has your 1999 Nissan Pathfinder had this problem?
RepairPal Certified shops can diagnose and repair your 1999 Nissan Pathfinder. They provide transparent pricing with a minimum 12-month or 12,000-mile warranty on repairs and services.
Hi this is Dusty, I'm one of the auto experts on RepairPal's Car Genius team!
I totally understand your frustration with this situation
The spike may have been the result of a bad temperature sensor, but taking into consideration the entirety of your inquiry, it may have been an air pocket in the cooling system.
With it sounds like you may have a leak, possibly from the radiator (the condenser is part of the air conditioning system so we can eliminate that) or another component nearby.
My first recommendation would be to clean the area using a drain pan to catch and recover the lost coolant and allow the area to dry.
Use your No-Spill funnel to top off the coolant with water (after repairs use the appropriate coolant and distilled water), as your filling squeeze the coolant hoses to promote movement of any air pockets.
Once the Pathfinder stops taking in more water, use a flashlight to look for any drips, if you don't see anything, then you'll need to locate a cooling system pressure tester (some parts stores may rent them).
Follow the instructions to setting it up, and attempt (you have a leak so it's not going to hold for long) to build pressure (follow the pressure listing on the radiator cap) in the system to pinpoint the leak(s).
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