Coolant leaking

[jetstream87]

Hello team! I been dealing with a mystery lately with my 1997 Nissan Pathfinder. As my prior post I had a hose burst on me about a week or two ago, I notice that when I got to work I smelled hot water (I currently did not have any coolant in the engine). When I was in line for gas at Costco I realize the car began to rough idle for a bit, looked into the temperature gauge and saw it climbed up. I was able to get off the line and pulled into a parking spot before the temp gauge climb all the way to the top. As I got out of the line, the temp gauge did began to drop to normal. As I opened the hood I saw the two hoses (located on the driver side) of engine burst. I notice that one did melted in the middle as the other one poured out water. Went to Autozone to get some generic ones for the moment, did not bleed the system out for air (it was late nite). I be keeping an eye on the temperature gauge since then and the temps are normal when idle and running at operating temp. Haven't had any over heating for temps climb. What concerns me is that I have to put water frequently in which I checked for leaks and no indications. I check the oil cap and no water vapor and normal oil color. Any idea what is going on? The car runs fine, no rough idling, starts perfectly fine. I have inspected for leaks and no visible leaks, I keep putting nearly 1/4 of a gallon of distilled water in the radiator nearly a week. I did get the heads resurface about a year ago (car overheated); normally I add small to none distilled water every week before this issue.

Still trying to figure out the hoses on my prior post, I did order the second hose (located on the right side, but can't find the one in the left side).

topic21103.html

[palmerwmd]

It is common for a newly refilled system to have large void spaces left over.

Put the nose of the vehicle as high up as you realistically can before parking it overnight.
Then in the morning top off.
Obviously dont just put in distilled water but actual glycol coolant too.

If you overheat remember the tempt gauge is not linear but dampend, so even a relatively small rise of the needle represents a large rise in temperature, so do not drive any more unless absolutely necessary for safety if you see any significant movement on the temp gauge at all.
aluminum engines do not like being over heated.

I just reread your post.
Are you saying you only put in water after the recent new hoses?
Or that you put in a half gallon every week?

PS: I am unsure on your model year what those hoses are, but Nissan often puts hoses that go from radiator to heater core in the back but best wait for someone else to chime in.

[jetstream87]

It is common for a newly refilled system to have large void spaces left over.

Put the nose of the vehicle as high up as you realistically can before parking it overnight.
Then in the morning top off.
Obviously dont just put in distilled water but actual glycol coolant too.

If you overheat remember the tempt gauge is not linear but dampend, so even a relatively small rise of the needle represents a large rise in temperature, so do not drive any more unless absolutely necessary for safety if you see any significant movement on the temp gauge at all.
aluminum engines do not like being over heated.

I just reread your post.
Are you saying you only put in water after the recent new hoses?
Or that you put in a half gallon every week?

PS: I am unsure on your model year what those hoses are, but Nissan often puts hoses that go from radiator to heater core in the back but best wait for someone else to chime in.

Thank you for the input, the reason for the distilled water is that I am flushing the cooling system since I plan on adding HOAT coolant. I do perform flushes in order to get all the waste out of the engine form the last major repair that was performed (Oct 2020).

I added water nearly a gallon when I switched the hoses that same day. From there forward I have gone thru another gallon of water in a span of a week; I still have a quart left from the second gallon of water I just added.

[palmerwmd]

That sounds like too much to be air pockets.
yes there must be a leak somewhere.
I hope its not your head gaskets.

What does your exhaust look like?

[jetstream87]

That sounds like too much to be air pockets.
yes there must be a leak somewhere.
I hope its not your head gaskets.

What does your exhaust look like?

The exhaust looks good to be honest, no White smoke, no smell as far I can tell. In the day time we do get to the 70's here in So. Cal and at night in the 50's.
The oil cap is clear as well; I am presuming it may be more air pockets due to the fact that my blower motor went out. My A/C will not blow air anymore; I may look into replacing the relay to see if that can open the heating core and help clear up any air.

I am hoping the same, I already replaced the head gaskets a year ago as well along with the timing belt + water pump.

[smj999smj]

I believe the hose you are looking for is Nissan # 14056-0W002. It would be part code 14056NB on the diagram. As far as the other issue, I like to use a Lisle spill-free funnel which has an adapter that lets you mount it to the radiator cap fitting on the top tank of the radiator. Raise the front end and fill the coolant system up to around 1/3 up the funnel. Crack open the bleeder screw on the upper intake plenum and let the air purge out before closing it. Start the engine and turn on the heater to the hottest setting. Run the engine between 2000-3000 RPM and you should see air bubbles coming up through the coolant in the funnel. Giving the radiator hoses a couple of squeezes also helps push the air through the system. Continue running for at least 10 minutes or until the air coming out of the heater vents is hot, about 140 degrees F. Return to idle and shut the engine off. Lower the front of the vehicle and install the cap after removing the spill-free funnel. Fill the reservoir to the MAX line. Start the engine and it should be fine. The following day when the engine is cold, remove the radiator cap and top it off with coolant and reinstall the cap. Check the reservoir and top off to the MAX line, as needed.
If you are still having problems, I would suspect a bad intake gasket or head gasket and a cylinder leakdown test should be performed with the radiator cap removed.

[jetstream87]

I believe the hose you are looking for is Nissan # 14056-0W002. It would be part code 14056NB on the diagram. As far as the other issue, I like to use a Lisle spill-free funnel which has an adapter that lets you mount it to the radiator cap fitting on the top tank of the radiator. Raise the front end and fill the coolant system up to around 1/3 up the funnel. Crack open the bleeder screw on the upper intake plenum and let the air purge out before closing it. Start the engine and turn on the heater to the hottest setting. Run the engine between 2000-3000 RPM and you should see air bubbles coming up through the coolant in the funnel. Giving the radiator hoses a couple of squeezes also helps push the air through the system. Continue running for at least 10 minutes or until the air coming out of the heater vents is hot, about 140 degrees F. Return to idle and shut the engine off. Lower the front of the vehicle and install the cap after removing the spill-free funnel. Fill the reservoir to the MAX line. Start the engine and it should be fine. The following day when the engine is cold, remove the radiator cap and top it off with coolant and reinstall the cap. Check the reservoir and top off to the MAX line, as needed.
If you are still having problems, I would suspect a bad intake gasket or head gasket and a cylinder leakdown test should be performed with the radiator cap removed.

Thank you for the update; I got two hose of the same which I do plan on exchanging tomorrow; just wanted to ensure they were the correct ones as I ordered two.

I did get a spill funnel as my colleague from work suggested. As far visible inspection there are no other leaks, one presumption is maybe it needs an oil change. I know your about to kill me over here but the last time an oil change was done was in Oct/Dec 2020 when the heads were re-surfaced. Since then I haven't been able to do an oil change due to the 65-70 hrs a week shifts I've been putting in.

Only time I see White smoke is when I first start the car in cold weather (55 F). Other than that the car idles fine, runs fine, accelerate fine. In my past experience when I had gasket leaks, I would be able to feel rough idling, smell of sweetness (coolant), and White smoke. I am praying it is not the heads again.

I will do the change this morning when I get home (4am) and hopefully that will stop the high consumption of the coolant in which it has happened when I first took ownership. The past owner kind of had it neglected.

[jetstream87]

Forgot to ask, where can I located the bleeder valve to release the air from the engine now that my blower motor gave out.

[jetstream87]

So I found out where my leak is happening. As soon I got home I was hearing a hissing sound. I may not be the best to describe it but it is a hose located on the passenger side right under next to the distributor. So I followed the upper radiator hose which connects to coolant outlet, on the right hand side of the outlet (moving a bit towards the driver side) there is a small hose appears to be with a 90 degree bent towards the bottom. Now that hose is where it is hissing creating the leak; is it confirmed that hose is the bypass hose? Judging the location of the hose I will need to remove the distributor in order to get access to the hose. I have never removed a distributor on a car, is this a job I can do myself? If I can, I would really appreciate a step by step on removing the distributor and installing it back together. I really appreciate the input and thank you all for your time.