I was wondering if the caps on my cooling system are reversed? There is a cap for the rad and a cap for the overflow bottle.

Which cap goes where? 1 cap is just that, a cap. The other is the pressure cap with spring assembly etc in it rated to 15 PSI.

So where does the pressure cap go?

Pressure cap should be on the radiator.

Pappy wrote:Pressure cap should be on the radiator.

Not the case! I just checked, and in fact the caps are not interchangeable. The pressure cap only fits on the overflow tank. Also, the manual states that the tank is pressurized.

There are tabs on the caps of different widths which would prevent them from being interchangeable.

Let me know if you find something different. I will try to post pics later.

Merry Christmas!
t

My bad assumption.

I found my pressure cap on the reservoir, and just a thin metal cap on the radiator.

There is a cap for the rad and a cap for the overflow bottle. Which cap goes where? 1 cap is just that, a cap. The other is the pressure cap with spring assembly etc in it rated to 15 PSI.

I just dont get it, both of mine have springs and have the same pressure rating. I have an '05 also. I asked something about this quite a while back. I had the radiator flushed at an independent garage and I wondered if they mixed the two caps up when reinstalling them. The Dealer told me they are the same part number... In other words, the reservoir and radiator cap are the same.

Not the case! I just checked, and in fact the caps are not interchangeable. The pressure cap only fits on the overflow tank. Also, the manual states that the tank is pressurized.

There are tabs on the caps of different widths which would prevent them from being interchangeable.

Let me know if you find something different. I will try to post pics later.

I must have something different on mine. The tank and the radiator are pressurized. The tabs are the same, the two caps are totally interchangeable.

Here are my pics...

radiator cap


reservoir cap


both removed, side by side

BMXPath wrote:

There is a cap for the rad and a cap for the overflow bottle. Which cap goes where? 1 cap is just that, a cap. The other is the pressure cap with spring assembly etc in it rated to 15 PSI.

I just dont get it, both of mine have springs and have the same pressure rating. I have an '05 also. I asked something about this quite a while back. I had the radiator flushed at an independent garage and I wondered if they mixed the two caps up when reinstalling them. The Dealer told me they are the same part number... In other words, the reservoir and radiator cap are the same.

Not the case! I just checked, and in fact the caps are not interchangeable. The pressure cap only fits on the overflow tank. Also, the manual states that the tank is pressurized.

There are tabs on the caps of different widths which would prevent them from being interchangeable.

Let me know if you find something different. I will try to post pics later.

I must have something different on mine. The tank and the radiator are pressurized. The tabs are the same, the two caps are totally interchangeable.

I wonder if someone replaced your non pressurized cap with a pressure cap?

I should clarify, the pressure cap did fit on the radiator as well as the overflow tank. Just not the other way around, due to the wider tabs on the non-pressure cap.

I took some pics, but they are pretty bad quality. See attached:

Radiator Cap - nonpressurized.JPG


Radiator Cap - nonpressurized-off.JPG


Radiator Cap - nonpressurized-see the tabs.JPG


Overflow Tank Cap-pressurized.JPG


Overflow Tank Cap-pressurized2

Ok. Thanks for the pics, I see what you are saying now. My dealer (when I lived in Texas) told me that they were the same part number. Maybe check with a dealer in your area.

I wonder... Did you buy your P-finder in Canada? Maybe there is a difference in Canadian and US models.

BMXPath wrote:Ok. Thanks for the pics, I see what you are saying now. My dealer (when I lived in Texas) told me that they were the same part number. Maybe check with a dealer in your area.

I wonder... Did you buy your P-finder in Canada? Maybe there is a difference in Canadian and US models.

Yes my pathy is a canadian model.

I will check at the dealer and report back. But looking on the courtesy.com website, the PNs are unique:

Rad cap - PN 21430
Overflow Cap - PN 21430-A

http://www.courtesyparts.com/pathfinder ... _6861.html

I am assuming the difference is what I have observed on my truck.

t

My '05 has the same cap configuration as disallow (one pressurized/sealed, the other just a cap), but it was bought in South Florida (definitely not a Canadian model).

Could it be the build date? I bought mine in Feb. '05 - maybe Nissan switched to a new radiator cap mid-model year.

The curiosity is killing me! I have a 08 sold in Edmonton sitting in the driveway, however its -14F right now and I still have on my Spiderman pajamas (flannel, no feet).

On second thought, I'll get back to you on this, lets say in June! LOL

What about it Terry, how is the weather in Winnie?

Pappy wrote:The curiosity is killing me! I have a 08 sold in Edmonton sitting in the driveway, however its -14F right now and I still have on my Spiderman pajamas (flannel, no feet).

On second thought, I'll get back to you on this, lets say in June! LOL

What about it Terry, how is the weather in Winnie?

a brisk -22C. But its a dry cold...


t

dry cold, LOL!

I wnet out to reconnect the block heater and opened up the hood. I can say that the tank cap had the 1.1 on the bottom of the decal and the radiator cap decal did not. Other than that, no leaks, overheating or underheating to report so I touched nothing else!