1996 MAXIMA....HEATER CORE ISSUES

[dead2day]

Hello again,

I am back with another pressing issue preventing me from thoroughly enjoying my 1996 Nissan Maxima.

I am fast approaching a very cold winter where i'm at and am now miraculously without heat. I believe my heater core is plugged up but i could be wrong. When I am driving its like sitting on the sun but the moment I hit a stop light it feels like the AC is on. The higher the RPM's the hotter the heater blows. Also IF this turns out to be a bad heater core please can anyone provide me with a simplified way of replacing it. My Chilton's manual scares the crap out of me most of the time. As always i appreciate any response and look forward to hearing from y'all.

Thanks
Cody

[maxhopper]

Check your coolant level and strength. You can get test strips or one of theose things that have balls in them to determine the protection level of the coolant.

[dead2day]

Okay so i took the problem to a 40 year master certified mechanic working behind the counter at Auto zone, and he told me i needed to buy a $50.00 infrared temp gun and play guessing games until i found an anomaly. Although this sounds like a great way to blow my afternoon, I don't have any more room in my toolbox nor the cash to buy a tool ill use once or twice. My friends say it could be an air lock which i'm really hoping that is not the issue. If I need to provide any more info let me know.

I just thought I would post my adventures hoping it would jog a memory somewhere.

Thanks

Cody

[maxhopper]

Any diagnosis will have to be done by you or someone else, there are just too many components and possibilities. No one is likely to post a magic answer that requires no effort from you.

Here is the link to the heating and a/c section of the fsm. http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/maxima/1996/HA.pdf

[dead2day]

Well now,

I appreciate your feedback and I did not expect a "magic answer that would enable me to sit on my butt and magically fix the problem."

Also, next time try not posting vague, "test strips or one of theose things that have balls in them" answers that honestly have little or no relevance to my issue.
As long as there is something in my radiator and the car is not overheating my coolant quality should not matter. (as far as this issue goes, no testing required)

As for the issue, I performed a highly taboo garden hose flush on it and it coughed out all sorts of crap. I threw it back in and voila! shes back in working order for now.

till the next problem, thanks for the help and i appreciate your input. (negative or not)

cody