Maxima '05 overheat

[Anthonyzitro90]

So... This is my first post, ive been looking around the web.. Looking for hope haha..
Heres the deal, this morning I was driving my Maxima '05 , for like 6 miles... Before that i checked the radiator and fluid levels cause it needed some water, i was having trouble with the radiator... But finally found the leak. The mechanic tightened the clamp that goes on the hose from the radiator to the Motor cause it was right there the problem, just got the radiator from a warehouse and was heading to a friends house to get it fixed since the mechanic was gonna charge me way more than I first thought..
Now at this point the car is running well no problem
With the temperature and it suddenly shut off the engine... With no signs of overheat ( from the gage), so I pulled over and when i was about to completely stop the car a little smoke came out don't know from where but just a little bit... Like barely visible.. And it smelled like something burned... ( something electronic like a sensor my guess) ( just want to make sure i said that the car was running grest and no signs of bad engine or any sound or the car running slower than usual... It just suddenly shut off..) i pulled over and saw that the part where the clamp was tightened fell off the radiator like if someone tried to pull the hose from the engine end and completely f*** up that part of the radiator.
Looked at the oil and didnt look like there was water on it... Still it wouldn't turn on ... It tried but no funny noises or anything.. It just didnt turned on.


My question is, do I have hope that changing the radiator ... It might work again?... That the engine shut off on purpose to as an emergency procedure?...
Or I'm screwed and might as well just sell it to the "pick your part" yard.

[NutriaforBreakfast]

often a water leak or antifreeze leak appears to be somewhere when it is elsewhere
I had a radiator fail at a top seam but it looked like a hose leak
You can go to Harbor Freight and buy a radiator pressure tester for a reasonable price
to look for the hole/break or just try looking really hard
A new radiator from O'reilleys is about $100 and is not too hard to put on. Rock Auto might
have a radiator for cheaper if you can wait for shipping.
You need to make sure both of your fans are running-they are electric and do go out sometimes
Be sure to run the correct mix of antifreeze and water in your system and make sure you minimize
the amount of air in your coolant system by elevating the front end when filling with jackstands or
something.

[centralcoaster33]

Heated coolant can have that burnt electricity smell.

If your gauge didn't climb, then go into the red, you may have a faulty sensor. You'll want to look into that since it's your main visual to prevent overheating. Or, there's the hope that you didn't actually overheat! That it just had the coolant hose pop off, sprayed some electrical components, shorted out something and steamed off of the hot engine somewhere for a little tiny "smoke".

You have a newer car, I suggest plugging in an OBD-2 scanner and seeing what kinds of codes the computer spits out for you.

That and get your coolant system assembled and in order; test and replace parts as necessary. Check your fuses, maybe coolant spit out and shorted something. I'm not sure there is a 'fail safe' sort of shut off for an overheating Maxima. Maybe. It seems like a great idea.

Everything NutriaforBreakfast said sounds good as well. Checking fans, locating leaks, etc.

Don't throw away your car! Find out what's wrong, then get quotes for a fix, then decide if it's worth it.