Anyone have instructions on changing the radiator on F50?

[O5Q45]

So my Q pretty much exploded today. The engine light came on and I looked down and it was hot. So hot, the entire top of the radiator blew off and turned to shredded plastic. It looks like a bomb went off. Sounded like it too. I also got the P1217 cylinder 5 circuit short B+ thing.. I guess I'll get to that after I get a radiator put in. Found on rock auto for 114$ but I've never done it. Any of you pros able to give me a 123 on how to do it? I've got to pay for methotrexate (medication) so I can't afford to pay anyone to put it in.. I can't stop the medication treatment so...

[qship96]

never did one on that model q,but it should be similar.....remove all fasteners,unhook hoses and pull out then replace.You will lose some coolant and atf as the atf coolers are part of the radiator so be sure to have some on hand.I would be concerned as to WHY it overheated,as just replacing the radiator may lead to a second busted radiator.....check waterpump,hoses,and replace thermostat for sure.

PS....not trying to be mean,but you are having way,way too many problems with such a low mile Q that IMO, based on how expensive labor and parts {if you can still find them,it seems infiniti is discontinuing many for the no longer made Q series} I would seriously consider if you want to continue to keep this car long term.Not sure what you paid for it,but if you can get close to that,I would consider cutting your losses.I had my 96 from new til 315K and most of what you are experiencing never occured throughout my entire ownership experience....

[O5Q45]

I wish I could get the money out of it. I paid 10,600 From AR motorsports in Atlanta area. It's worth about 5500$ I had all the fluids changed when I bought it like the Nico club thread says for people thinking of purchasing. I myself have never had a car problem. I've never been broke down before.. till now.. I'm wondering, what was done to this car.. it is irritating, but I'm dealing with some medical expenses right now till I can get through Chemotherapy.. I can't trade or sell it. I'm going to try to find instructions and just do it. I followed Instructions and changed the plugs.. I like the car ALOT, I love how it drives, I love the LED tail lights, I love the 340 HP, I love rear wheel drive. I love the white diamond paint.. so I guess me and the car both will try to keep fixing lol.. just spent 1200$ on Michelin's..

[GoadQ45T95]

Radiator is fairly straightforward. It's similar to the G50. Read the FSM, its a great help. You can plug the trans/coolant lines with pencils or clamp them shut with hose clamps to avoid losing fluid. I would also encourage you to label the associated lines coming off the rad, that way you don't mix them up re assembling.

The P code is an overheat code (Engine Over temp). That should go away after you replace the rad. May as well do the t stat and associated hoses if you can spare the cash. You are taking most of it apart anyway.

[EdBwoy]

Man, sorry to hear about the misfortune. When it rains, it pours as they say. I hate to pile on you during this time, but since you are planning to keep the car anyway, I'd recommend you check for other effects of the overheating.
I've dealt with/ know of oil issues more than anything else on these engines, but my m45 overheated on me once... and it was for a short period too. Never got to know what caused my right bank to overheat, but I had coolant in all the wrong places and it made more financial sense for me to just replace my engine.

I really hope your situation is not as bad as mine was, but I think it's worth checking before spending any more money.

And to the topic at hand, I would have to point at the FSM, but I guess I had replaced enough radiators that by the time I was doing my m45, the only nuance was the hydraulically operated fan. I bet any generic instructions you find online will get you really close.

[O5Q45]

Thanks Ed, I hadn't thought about checking the oil for a head gasket breach. I assume the oil would be milky?? Or;
I ordered the premium radiator off rock auto but they only had two choices. The spectra was 114$ so it was most expensive and I assume better quality? Also new thermostat and Nissan Green concentrated coolant.. I would have got the Blue but it wasn't going to ship from Amazon until Dec 10!!! Hope the greens the right choice and I hope one gallon of concentrate is enough for it doubled up with water..

[O5Q45]

Also, we noticed the morning before this happened, it was 34 degrees and I could not get heat very well.. it was warm coming out, but usually when it's set to 90 it gets HOT, not just like warm... Was this indicative of something? The temp gauge was in its normal zone...

[qship96]

if it got below 32 degrees overnight for a long stretch of time AND your radiator was filled with water instead of coolant,the water would have frozen and expanded cracking the plastic radiator......hard to believe someone would have only used water to refill a coolant system,but you never know- you could look at any remaining fluid in radiator/overflow container and inspect color of fluid and put a tester on it to check concentration of antifreeze mix.

[EdBwoy]

Thanks Ed, I hadn't thought about checking the oil for a head gasket breach. I assume the oil would be milky?? Or;
I ordered the premium radiator off rock auto but they only had two choices. The spectra was 114$ so it was most expensive and I assume better quality? Also new thermostat and Nissan Green concentrated coolant.. I would have got the Blue but it wasn't going to ship from Amazon until Dec 10!!! Hope the greens the right choice and I hope one gallon of concentrate is enough for it doubled up with water..

Yes, the oil could be milky if you checked the dipstick soon. Eventually the water settles at the bottom and your dipstick would only show the oil, maybe even show it as overfilled, depending on how much water crossed over. I usually drain my oil and transfer it to settle in jugs so I can see such things.

Also, look at the coolant reservoir. Is it past full level? Does it have an oily sheen? Another way is to pop the valve covers

Also, we noticed the morning before this happened, it was 34 degrees and I could not get heat very well.. it was warm coming out, but usually when it's set to 90 it gets HOT, not just like warm... Was this indicative of something? The temp gauge was in its normal zone...

Was the air blowing cold when stationary, but getting warmer when at speed?
The immediate indication to me is that you were losing coolant. Since your heater core depends on hot coolant circulated thru it and the fan to blow air - you were not getting enough coolant.
You'd either lose it by dripping below, or seeing the white smoke from the tailpipe.

... or you had enough coolant in there, it just wasn't being circulated efficiently to pick up heat. I haven't seen many nissan water pumps go bad, but it's very accessible in the VK, so I'd check to see if the blades are good.

[EdBwoy]

Refer to the manual on coolant capacity, but I know 1 gallon is not enough for a dry engine.
I usually use regular green prestone concentrate from walmart or auto parts store. I buy an equal amount of distilled water and mix equal parts into another container then pour it into the filler neck. 50/50 mix is good for my part of the country. YMMV
This engine is very easy to add coolant to then purge, so pretty soon you'll be done. Return unused supplies if you please.

Back on what qship said: however, if the fluid in your reservoir is not the proper mix, you need to drain it all and do it right.

[O5Q45]

The coolant reservoir is full to the brim with either blue or green coolant. I had previously tested the coolant a month ago and it said it was good to 40 below... So I know the mixture was right.. as for the heat, the warmth that we were getting with it set to 90 was constant, speed nor rpm didn't cause any variation. I checked the oil and having just had it changed at the Nissan dealer it is still full and fresh amber color..
Of the coolant that went everywhere when the top blew off the radiator, it is green. I am going to post a picture of the radiator. You should see how huge an explosion this was...
I'm going to get a better photo, but this shows the whole top blown off.. so, you guys think there's enough info out there for me to be able to do this? The hydraulic fan, and transmission lines worry me, also, what about these lines that look like air conditioner refrigerant lines? - if I were to sell, what should I ask for it after I get it fixed? It's in perfect cosmetic condition... I'm beginning to think there one main issue somewhere that's caused all this... Pic below

http://pho.to/ASLLf

[O5Q45]

Here is the add for my Q and where I bought it. It's a beautiful car. The interior doesn't have any flaws. Dash is perfect, only place is the cheap vinyl section of the driver seat on the bottom, side..

http://pho.to/ASLNu

http://pho.to/ASLOM

[EdBwoy]

The coolant reservoir is full to the brim with either blue or green coolant. I had previously tested the coolant a month ago and it said it was good to 40 below...

Damn, what a blast!

The full reservoir indicates that something wasn't working right in your cooling system. The radiator cap might have been leaking by... unless the reservoir was already full to the brim when you tested the mixture? A leaky cap could result in coolant loss as well.

I was gonna say that there probably was a clog/ major restriction somewhere in the system to be able to bite off that huge of a chunk, but the radiator cap is supposed to vent way before ABS plastic raptures. The other thing I can think of is that you had a crack in the radiator before. That could result in some coolant loss. Would the presence of air in place of liquid explain the blast? Not certain, but I've heard it said that air pressure is more dangerous than water pressure.

Have you by any chance received any quotes to do the work?

[EdBwoy]

From your picture it doesn't seem like you have the hydraulic fans (being a 2005 I suppose). Look on the back of your cooling fan, do you have electrical plugs leading to them or tubes?
Or take another picture with the engine cover off if you would.

[O5Q45]

Alternate views of 2005 engine in Q last photo is year/vin # options..

http://pho.to/ASLiV

http://pho.to/ASLib

http://pho.to/ASLih

http://pho.to/ASLin

http://pho.to/ASLiv

[O5Q45]

Did those pics come thru or the links?? That's the motor cover off , yes it's 2005 produced 12/04

[EdBwoy]

Yup! No hydraulic fans over there, you have a conventional electric system. Much easier to work with, good luck.

[Q451990]

Wow, you aren't kidding about exploding radiator tanks! I've seen failures on my G and a friend's identical 05G radiators, but they were just cracks along a seam in the upper tank in exactly the same location. Replacement should be pretty straight forward. The G uses some tabs sticking out of the bottom tank of the radiator to hold the fans, but I'm not sure if the Q has the same design. The biggest issue I had helping my friend replace his radiator was getting the thermostat to open so that the engine would take coolant. Does anyone have a good way of accomplishing that? Eventually it opened, but we overheated the engine a second time in the process.

[O5Q45]

I ordered a thermostat and radiator from rock auto and decided for 240$ labor to let a mechanic do it.. I just don't have the knowledge and I definitely don't have anymore time. It's been parked for days now under a car cover.. so sad.. the mechanics computer alluded to there being two thermostats.. I've never heard of this, have you guys? He said one for in and one for out ?? Anyways, I only ordered one.. also have the green concentrate Nissan coolant. I hope one gallon is enough, at 50/50 it will yield 2 gallons.. surely...enough.. yea, when the radiator exploded it was like a bomb went off and steam out of every possible point came out like a steam locomotive.. was quite unnerving.. and loud.. actually sounded like a collision sounds..the crunch.. needless to say after all is put back in place the engine is getting cleaned.. the tow truck driver started the car and drove it onto and off of the truck while it was completely cooled off, isn't that bad for some part of the engine? Water pump or..

[Q451990]

Your tow truck driver didn't do your engine any favors... hopefully there was some coolant in the cooling jackets next to the cylinder walls... either way you'll never prove that something he did damaged your car, since you just had an overheat - so try not to worry about it. Looks like there's only one thermostat.