The Nissan Path

About a week ago, I started noticing coolant leaking near the right front tire. Checked hoses and anywhere I could think the leak was coming from. It was then that I noticed that I was getting spillage from the reservoir.

Headed down to O'reilly's and picked up a new cap for the radiator and reservoir. Didn't see any leaks for a few days until I decided to run my AC and noticed my temp gauge climbing up. Quickly pulled over and fluid was coming out of the reservoir again.

I spoke to a friend with more automotive knowledge than I and was told that the thermostat was the likely culprit.

Replaced the thermostat and did a radiator flush. Everything was running great and no overheating issues. AC blew cold air and heater blew hot air. It was a few more days later that I noticed more fluid on the ground in the same location.

I was still having fluid bubble out of the reservoir. I went to run a quick errand and noticed the temp gauge start to climb again. Turned off the AC and the gauge began to drop. Once I came to a stop the gauge started to climb.

I'm a little stumped on what I should try and do from here. I'm not in the best financial position right now and trying to avoid taking it to a mechanic.

Has anyone had a similar situation or have suggestions on what I should try next? It has 142k miles on it.

Little side note, while this has been going on. In the morning when I go into reverse I feel a hard slam. I always give the suv a few minutes to warm up before driving. This has been a new development since the overheating issue began. Is there any correlation with this, or am I just unlucky and the transmission starting to go?

Any insight will be much appreciated!

Thanks,

If the overheating only occurs when the vehicle is sitting still with the engine running or at slow speeds and stop and go traffic, but it doesn't occur while driving at highways speeds, it could be that you have a bad fan clutch on the mechanical fan. Also, does the electric fan work?

Could be a failing water pump...

smj999smj wrote:If the overheating only occurs when the vehicle is sitting still with the engine running or at slow speeds and stop and go traffic, but it doesn't occur while driving at highways speeds, it could be that you have a bad fan clutch on the mechanical fan. Also, does the electric fan work?

Yes, the electric fan is working.

lee928 wrote:Could be a failing water pump...

I was afraid of that

It "could" be a bad water pump, but water pump failure in VQ engines is pretty rare and when they do fail, it's usually a leak issue. I've yet to see an impeller fail on one.

Based on what I've read, I'd be wondering about your head gasket on one side of the engine... Bubbling over in the resevoir is never good, and could be a sign of exhaust pressure pushing coolant out of the resevoir. Had this happen on an old honda civic.