Coolant System Issue...Blown HG

[JSpecV03]

Need some ideas here guys. Here's the problem. As of last night, i started throwing code P0217, Engine over temp condition. my temp gauge in the car spiking in the red zone. however it dosent seem like my car is over heating but I'm not sure. My heat goes from hot while I'm driving to luke warm while im waiting at a red light. Thermostats, yes, you read that right, are only a year old. (This car has 2 of them.) And it has a brand new coolant temp sensor. i added a little coolant about 2 weeks ago, but i havent looked at it yet. in the morning when i wake up ill do it. water pump is still oem from 03.

so why would the car do this? throw the code, spike the needle if its over heating? its not steamy away from the radiator, and the car feels like it allways dose when im driving it. so im thinking maybe my head gasket is wasted. gonna do compression, leak down, and coolant pressure test tomorrow evening.

but to get some ideas, what do you guys think?

[pinacup7]

First things first is pressure test the cooling system and make sure it is holding pressure. Second thing I would do is look at what the coolant temp sensor is reading with a scan tool while it is overheating. You said it's a brand new sensor, it is possible you got a bad sensor. If you can find the spec for it online you can ohm it out with a DMM

[ASIAN JUL]

Need some ideas here guys. Here's the problem. As of last night, i started throwing code P0217, Engine over temp condition. my temp gauge in the car spiking in the red zone. however it dosent seem like my car is over heating but I'm not sure. My heat goes from hot while I'm driving to luke warm while im waiting at a red light. Thermostats, yes, you read that right, are only a year old. (This car has 2 of them.) And it has a brand new coolant temp sensor. i added a little coolant about 2 weeks ago, but i havent looked at it yet. in the morning when i wake up ill do it. water pump is still oem from 03.

so why would the car do this? throw the code, spike the needle if its over heating? its not steamy away from the radiator, and the car feels like it allways dose when im driving it. so im thinking maybe my head gasket is wasted. gonna do compression, leak down, and coolant pressure test tomorrow evening.

but to get some ideas, what do you guys think?


Is the reading on the temp gauge consistently staying hot?

I know you said your thermostats are pretty new, but that'd still be one of my first things I'd check being that it's cheap. You could test em yourself at home before you replace them if you aren't convinced. I'd also replace the rad cap to see if that changes anything.

Are your fans working as they should? Have you found any leaks/dried coolant in your bay? Maybe you have a clogged rad?

Burp the system just to make sure you don't have any trapped air, then check for air bubbles.

I'd go through all of the motions just to be sure. Me personally, I'd start with the cheapest solutions and work my way up, lol.

[Erik@R/TTuning]

Pressure test the coolant system and burp any air that may be trapped in the system.

[JSpecV03]

I was watching the the coolant temp on the scan tool in live data mode and when its fine at normal operating temp its claiming the engines at like 190 deegres. Then when it starts rising just outa no where and is reading like 220-250. And yeah the rad fans are kicking straight into the high position. But yeah I'm gonna do all that stuff tonight, hopefully just a purge of the system will fix it
Thanks for the adivce/tips guys.

[DPancoast]

Usually a spike out of nowhere can be a huge air bubble or 2. In to see if it's a simple fix!

[JSpecV03]

yeah i know, im hoping it is. My concern is where and how is the air bubble getting in at? Mark and I are gonna work on it tonight at the shop and see whats what with it. ill let ya know.

[BlkWhtTSI]

Easy things to do would be a pressure test, also after its fully warm squeeze the upper rad hose, it should be solid. If by you mean spiking that the temp goes to red and then back to normal, you have an air bubble in your system. Just take the rad cap off and let the car idle until the thermostats open.
If you had a bad HG you would see white smoke that fluctuates with throttle position and the car would run like poop.

[JSpecV03]

I know thats whats getting me. car dosnt smoke at all. just normal exhaust. im gonna do the pressure test. see what happends with that. its more than likely an air bubble and and thats exactly what its doing. going to red then right back to normal op temp. and yeah the car runs completley fine.

[JSpecV03]

ok well the head gasket is wasted. found in coolant layin on my piston in cylinder 1 and 2. coolant system lost 10psi of pressure in like 3 minutes. soo yeah....fml lol

[96Clipse]

Head gasket probably went as a result of the overheating heat cycles you put it through, root cause was the air left in the system from last time it was opened. I work at Nissan and they all have a HUGE problem with air staying in the system since all the points it could bleed out are at low spots in the cooling system.
The only ways to truly bleed these cars is either
A) Jack up whichever side overflow bottle is on and run system with both rad cap and overflow cap off.
Or B) Fill cooling system using a vacuum fill tool such as RadKitPlus or other equivalent tool.

So in case you should choose to keep the car and replace the head gasket, keep these in mind so you don't run into these problems again.

Air is your enemy ;)

[JSpecV03]

Head gasket probably went as a result of the overheating heat cycles you put it through, root cause was the air left in the system from last time it was opened. I work at Nissan and they all have a HUGE problem with air staying in the system since all the points it could bleed out are at low spots in the cooling system.
The only ways to truly bleed these cars is either
A) Jack up whichever side overflow bottle is on and run system with both rad cap and overflow cap off.
Or B) Fill cooling system using a vacuum fill tool such as RadKitPlus or other equivalent tool.

So in case you should choose to keep the car and replace the head gasket, keep these in mind so you don't run into these problems again.

Air is your enemy ;)

yeah im gonna def keep the car, i like the idea of having a 4 door car for everyday daily use, esp since im having a kid in june.
im gonna just get a stock rebuild kit for it and enjoy the benefits of a fresh engine. this head gasket lasted 175 thousand miles on fun driving.
i also sovled another issue that was hear or there, cyl.1 would miss fire slightly. well coolant in the clyinder is responsible.

ugh....well thanks for you help guys. appreaicted.

[ASIAN JUL]

Ugh, sorry to hear that, man!

[JSpecV03]

yeah it blows major donkey nuts...im prob just gonna rebuild it.

[BigWhiteTodd]

I know this is way off topic but my brother just bought a 03 sentra se-r spec v, how are these cars like do they have alot of problems? I know nothing about these cars and he really did not give me a heads so I could ask around and see if it was worth it. sorry about the blown headgasket. just make sure you check the block and head for squareness nothing like putting a motor back together with a wrapped head or block surface.

[JSpecV03]

I know this is way off topic but my brother just bought a 03 sentra se-r spec v, how are these cars like do they have alot of problems? I know nothing about these cars and he really did not give me a heads so I could ask around and see if it was worth it. sorry about the blown headgasket. just make sure you check the block and head for squareness nothing like putting a motor back together with a wrapped head or block surface.

there are really good cars. my cars millage is right now just shy of 180k and this car stats right up and runs fine. even with the blown head gasket lol.
There are 2 issues that are common in these cars, but their easy fixes. the first one is inside the intake manifold, their is a second set of valves that open at 5k rpm and the little screws that hold the butterfly valves inplace can come off. easy fix just get some loctite and loctite them in. the 2nd is the pre cat, their known to come apart like if the car starts miss firing really bad, under compression pieces of the cat can be sucked back into the engine and score the cylinder walls. the most obvious sigh of this is major oil consumption. easy fix throw a header on, i did this shortly right after i got the car at like 40k.( i drive A LOT) lol. other than that mines been super reliable. i just replaced my alternator, i replaced my starter only cuz i broke it when i was changing my clutch, just little odds and ends. as with any car, proper maintenance will take you a long way. its hit or miss with these cars, just the same with any other sport compact. when i bought mine it was a lease trade in, and only 1 owner so i made out good.

[Godofelru]

Sorry to hear that.

[DPancoast]

damn John, sorry to hear. good luck on the rebuild man

[JSpecV03]

Head gasket probably went as a result of the overheating heat cycles you put it through, root cause was the air left in the system from last time it was opened. I work at Nissan and they all have a HUGE problem with air staying in the system since all the points it could bleed out are at low spots in the cooling system.
The only ways to truly bleed these cars is either
A) Jack up whichever side overflow bottle is on and run system with both rad cap and overflow cap off.
Or B) Fill cooling system using a vacuum fill tool such as RadKitPlus or other equivalent tool.

So in case you should choose to keep the car and replace the head gasket, keep these in mind so you don't run into these problems again.


Air is your enemy ;)


Hey this is kinda off topic really fast but im gonna do the gasket soon, whats the timing chain removal/install process like on these? meaning its it a major pita or somewhat easy? never done this on one of these cars, but im sure the same process is the same as a car with a belt. im picking up new chain, tensioner, and the 2 guides and gonna throw in that stuff in while im at it. wish these things had belts instead lol

Sorry to hear that.

damn John, sorry to hear. good luck on the rebuild man

thanks guys, i ended up deciding on doing the top end instead. bottom end is still strong as a rock. moneys tight anyway. gonna pick up all new gaskets and what not and ship my head off to the maching shop to check it out to make sure everything is good with it and not warped and have some new valve seals installed to.
anyone know what kinda price im looking at for a machine shop to do this? ballpark estimate?

[92awdtsi]

$300-600

[JSpecV03]

thats not bad at all. i was thinking more like 700-1000.

[96Clipse]

Hey this is kinda off topic really fast but im gonna do the gasket soon, whats the timing chain removal/install process like on these? meaning its it a major pita or somewhat easy? never done this on one of these cars, but im sure the same process is the same as a car with a belt. im picking up new chain, tensioner, and the 2 guides and gonna throw in that stuff in while im at it. wish these things had belts instead lol

It all depends on your own personal mechanical skill level, if you're asking personally do I find it difficult? Not at all. The Sentra's are one of the easiest and overall simplest cars Nissan has ever made lol.

Honestly be glad you have a chain, while it is more in depth to change, the money it saves you from not breaking is IMMENSE.

[JSpecV03]

It all depends on your own personal mechanical skill level, if you're asking personally do I find it difficult? Not at all. The Sentra's are one of the easiest and overall simplest cars Nissan has ever made lol.

Honestly be glad you have a chain, while it is more in depth to change, the money it saves you from not breaking is IMMENSE.

yeah my mechanical skill level is pretty good. my buddy mark whos working on this with me, knows whats hes doing with his eyes closed so between him and me this will be a breeze. but yeah that so true though. timing belt thats break are soooo bad off

[SpEcRv9]

I know this is way off topic but my brother just bought a 03 sentra se-r spec v, how are these cars like do they have alot of problems? I know nothing about these cars and he really did not give me a heads so I could ask around and see if it was worth it. sorry about the blown headgasket. just make sure you check the block and head for squareness nothing like putting a motor back together with a wrapped head or block surface.

there are really good cars. my cars millage is right now just shy of 180k and this car stats right up and runs fine. even with the blown head gasket lol.
There are 2 issues that are common in these cars, but their easy fixes. the first one is inside the intake manifold, their is a second set of valves that open at 5k rpm and the little screws that hold the butterfly valves inplace can come off. easy fix just get some loctite and loctite them in. the 2nd is the pre cat, their known to come apart like if the car starts miss firing really bad, under compression pieces of the cat can be sucked back into the engine and score the cylinder walls. the most obvious sigh of this is major oil consumption. easy fix throw a header on, i did this shortly right after i got the car at like 40k.( i drive A LOT) lol. other than that mines been super reliable. i just replaced my alternator, i replaced my starter only cuz i broke it when i was changing my clutch, just little odds and ends. as with any car, proper maintenance will take you a long way. its hit or miss with these cars, just the same with any other sport compact. when i bought mine it was a lease trade in, and only 1 owner so i made out good.

they're hit or miss cars....

(edit: just read the bottom of johns post lol)

mine was a miss.