1997 Nissan pathfinder engine overheat

[A1218]

So one of the coolant hoses going to the upper plenum near the firewall went bad and emptied the radiator. Didn’t notice the gauge until I got off the highway and stopped. The gauge was at the high mark. I replaced the hose and clamps, refilled the rad and bled the system.

Everything is working fine and this is the first overheat on this vehicle. Vehicle is driving perfectly fine, no noise or smoke from the tailpipe. Commute to work is about 25-30 min (20min highway). It definitely happened when I was almost at work. Think any damage has occurred? I have 215k miles.

[VStar650CL]

If it just reached the bottom of the "hot" range and you didn't run it any further, chances are it's fine. It may have weakened the head gasket and that might show up someplace down the road, but there's no good test for that. You might want to run a combustion-byproduct chemical test on it to make sure it's presently okay.

[A1218]

If it just reached the bottom of the "hot" range and you didn't run it any further, chances are it's fine. It may have weakened the head gasket and that might show up someplace down the road, but there's no good test for that. You might want to run a combustion-byproduct chemical test on it to make sure it's presently okay.

Okay. Where can I get this test? Thanks

[VStar650CL]

They're all over eBay and Amazon, and all the parts stores have them too. Google "head gasket leak tester" and you'll get hundreds of hits. They come with a test fluid which changes color if there are combustion byproducts in the coolant. Here's an example:
https://www.amazon.com/Block-Tester-BT- ... B06VVBSFTF

[A1218]

They're all over eBay and Amazon, and all the parts stores have them too. Google "head gasket leak tester" and you'll get hundreds of hits. They come with a test fluid which changes color if there are combustion byproducts in the coolant. Here's an example:
https://www.amazon.com/Block-Tester-BT- ... B06VVBSFTF

Thank you. Is there anything else I should check or change after an overheat?

[VStar650CL]

There isn't much else you can check, other than keeping a sharp eye for pudding in the crankcase and radiator. The chemicals will detect even very tiny combustion leaks into the cooling jacket, but head gaskets can also leak into the oil jacket and even between cylinders. Watch for all of that.

[A1218]

There isn't much else you can check, other than keeping a sharp eye for pudding in the crankcase and radiator. The chemicals will detect even very tiny combustion leaks into the cooling jacket, but head gaskets can also leak into the oil jacket and even between cylinders. Watch for all of that.

I bought the kit and tried it twice. No leak detected, the fluid remained blue for well over two minutes in the tester cylinder.

[VStar650CL]

Just keep an eye on it, then. Like I said at the top, if it didn't go way over temperature and you didn't push it, chances are it's fine.

[A1218]

Well it has been a few days now, no coolant loss, smoking, or coolant in oil. Its idling smooth, hopefully everything is okay.

[VStar650CL]

[A1218]

It's been a month and still no coolant loss, or coolant in the oil after the overheat. However, when i changed my oil this past weekend I noticed some very fine bubbles in the oil. I've seen this before I believe, but never really paid attention to it. I should mention the drain pan I used was the same pan I drained transmission fluid into and emptied, so I'm not sure if the two fluids mixing in the pan caused the bubbles to appear.

However, should I go ahead and do a compression test on the engine? Any specific procedures to get this done?

I just want to ensure everything is alright with the engine, before investing in repairing the oil pan leak I currently have. I will post another thread on that.

[VStar650CL]

Any compression leak into the cooling jacket, even a tiny one, will eventually cause both slow loss of coolant and a yellow chemical test. So if your test is still negative after a month, it isn't using coolant, and there's no pudding on either the oil or radiator caps, I'd say that's conclusive. She's fine.