Newbie

[girly240sxvert]

I came across this site looking for some help with my Nission 240SX, and figure why not join... I brought my 240sx in a hurry one day because I needed a car badly, and the guy I brought it from had the right price at the right time... I didn't realize how great of a car it was until I started driving it around.

The car needs some work like a new back window, a new paint job, get some dents out, and the car inside needs to be done... I love the leather seats, but they are wore from years are owners not taking care of them.

This is the first car I've own that I am actually taking pride in and trying to learn how to fix it on my own. My BF laughs at me about that, but I told him just wait till I have to fixed up nicely and I let him drive it during the summer with the top down along the beach... then he won't be laughing so much.

I do just have a question though. I turned on my heater this winter and the only thing it is blowing is cold air. Does anyone have any advice on how to fix that. I would be thankful for any help I get.

Megan

[Piper]

Well, first off, welcome!! You came to the right place if your having problems. It sounds like your having problems with your coolant. It could be that your hoses are pluged going to your heater core. Or your thermostat is stuck open. Or maybe your selector for your heat setting is unhooked.

And second, don't let your BF drive it. It sounds like he dosen't know about cars very much or else he would have helped you. And with that said, if he does drive it, I will bet he will try and be cool and try to drift in it. And that will end bad. LOL Hope that helps and good luck with your bad azz car you just got!!

[girly240sxvert]

A few months ago my car over heated and we had to replace a hose, and the thermostat. After he fixed that for about two weeks the heater worked great. Then one day it just stopped working. Could over heating my car have done something? I know nothing about cars so this is a learning experience for me... trying to stay away from the shops if i can.

And by the way your right BF now nothing about cars. He is a computer geek, but when it comes to cars he send them to the shop.

[cmkelly]

Welcome to the crew. Like Piper says it might be coolant (you can go to an auto parts store and have them check) or thermostat. Does the temp gauge rise to where it should when running? If it's plugged hoses or your radiator I imagine you'd be overheating. If it's the heater core you might be leaking.

Look at the easy things first like thermostat and resistance on the heat selector inside. Usually heat problems are easy to fix.

As for your BF, nobody can give you advise there. You've got a great car and with a little TLC she'll be the belle of the ball.

Again, welcome and merry Christmas!!!

[girly240sxvert]

After we first fix the car the temp gauge would jump around. I would be driivng up a hill and it would start to move towards the hot side and then I would go down the hill and it would get cooler. That stopped after like 3 days of me not knowing if my car was hot or not. NOw my car gauge stays right in the middle, but it does take a while to warm up.. I'm going to say at least 20 mins until it goes from Cold to the middle.

If the heater core was leaking where would it be leaking from?

Once again thanks for the help.

Megan

[billythekid]

to me it seems as if you may have a coolant leak somewhere i have a mazda mx6 that had the same symptoms and if i had looked a little closer i wouldnt have blown it up. check all your lines then coolant and for even a pin hole leak in your radiator

[TonkaTruckin]

I'm gonna agree with billythekid.. in my years of working in my shop the majority of the problems were caused by a leak. If you don't have enough coolant, thermostats tend to freak out and if there isn't enough coolant to be pushed up to the heater core there wont be any heat to blow. Now I have never seen a leaking heater core in a 240 before but I am guessing it will be like 99% of the rest of cars and it will smell sweet inside the car. Usually it is located under the passenger side dash and it is obvious if it is leaking because your carpet will be wet..

I know you just got the car but has it always had the problem? because sometime the leak can hide for a while and the only way to really tell is to pull up the carpet and look for mold.

Sorry if none of this helped.. I tend to ramble and often don't make since. Good luck figuring it out because I know its getting cold in Colorado and I like my heat...

[biggie]

Given you did the DIY coolant replacement, the car could have an air bubble in the system. And I've also like never seen a coolant like in a S13, unless its a headgasket. But either of those should also be causing overheating issues.

[girly240sxvert]

When I lived down in NC I didn't noticed if the heater was working or not, and when I moved up here it worked just sometime took a while to work... it might have taken me like 30 mins for my car to start warm up, but it worked and it worked good after that. It was until my car over heated that I came across this prob...

I will look to see if the heater coiler is leaking when I go out later.

Just a question though if there was a leak some place wouldn't my car be overheating?

Sorry for all the stuip question, bu as I said I have o car experience.

[Coolwhip]

yea the car would have a tendancy to over heat if leaking coolant. And your heater will not operate like it's suppose to if there is no hot coolant flowing through the heater core to pull heat from.

If the heater core inside your car was leaking, your car would smell like anti-freeze and your carpet would eventually become wet on your passenger side (dependant on the size of the leak if any)

[DoctorRobert]

Welcome! I got my 240 the same way... needed a car, got a 240 in seemingly poor condition and easily turned it into a GREAT car.

I'm not sure about your heater. The heater in my 240 takes FOREVER to heat up. But eventually it does, and it gets nice and toasty.

[TonkaTruckin]

Just a question though if there was a leak some place wouldn't my car be overheating?

yes and no.. if it is a small leak then it could appear to operate fine for a little while, then once enough coolant is gone start to overheat. Like you said, worked great right after you got the work done then got worse..

[TonkaTruckin]

oh.. and I got a dumb question for you. why did you replace just the one hose? when it overheated did it break the hose, separate the walls of the hose, or was it just leaking at the end by the hose clamp? OR did you just do it because you wanted to?

[slip69]

welcome aboard!!! and i would post pics up ASAP !!! you have about maybe 2 hours before we get dexter on you about that!!!

[girly240sxvert]

oh.. and I got a dumb question for you. why did you replace just the one hose? when it overheated did it break the hose, separate the walls of the hose, or was it just leaking at the end by the hose clamp? OR did you just do it because you wanted to?

I replaced the one hose when I over heated because I had a tear in it... When I went to the auto store they told me is was the heater hose... We replaced that with a new hose.

welcome aboard!!! and i would post pics up ASAP !!! you have about maybe 2 hours before we get dexter on you about that!!!

Well today I'm going to go out and clean the car up then I should be able to get some picture up... I'm just detailing the inside though were getting a foot of snow tomorrow I take her to the car wash after some snow melts

[DeXteR]

Too late...

[Piper]

Well if you did the replacement your self, you most likely didn't "purge" your coolant correctly. And if there is a air bubble in your system, it will cause it to expand when heated and cause the car to overheat until the the coolant reaches the fan and cools back down. Its a nasty cycle. And if that is the case then there is no heated coolant getting to the heater core. Thus no heat.

On another note, why do the geeky guys get the cool girls that like cars? I mean come on i would love a girl like that!! Dexters lucky enough to have one like that, why not me? HAHAHA

And you better get on those pics. Dexter will be all over your post until he is satisfied. You have been warned!!

[slip69]

And you better get on those pics. Dexter will be all over your post until he is satisfied. You have been warned!!

its true!!!! If you dont comply he has the power to change your title!!! just look what he did to piper's!!!

[GoinTopless240]

Oooo... Oooo .. What he said. A very common cause for Overheating as well. Does anyone have a picture of the little screw on the upper waterneck to show her? The way you "purge" the system is to start with a cool engine. Locate said bleed screw (look where the upper hose comes into the engine - should be a 10mm bolt). Get a small towel (to put under said screw - will get to why in a minute). Make sure you can loosen the bolt easily. Start the engine and let idle. Loosen the bolt a little bit. After a few minutes the engine will begin to warm up. As the engine warms up some coolant will leak out from bolt. (Ahh Haa the reason for the towel is to soak up the coolant so it doesn't go everywhere). After about 10-15 seconds of the engine peeing on the towel, tighten the screw again. That is how you bleed the system of air. If you don't do that you can trap air in the system and the thermostat won't open --- and guess what? The car overheats. Just a nice little nugget for a newb to have. When the car was in NC did the temp needle read in the middle of the gauge? If it was on the low side, someone may have removed the thermostat. No thermostat = No heat up north. Also means frozen radiator during cold days and cruddy running car/fuel mileage (stays running cold). Hope this helps. Whew..sorry everyone.

[Piper]

Wow its nice to have people back me for once. Maybe, just maybe i know what im talkin about?? Naw....

And i wanted that custom title.

It means that im bad azz. lol

[GoinTopless240]

Hey at least you got a title..lol.. guess I'm just a golfball.. titleless..yuck yuck

[cmkelly]

If you do a few write ups and then beg Eikon you get a custom title!

[slip69]

Wow its nice to have people back me for once. Maybe, just maybe i know what im talkin about?? Naw....

And i wanted that custom title.

It means that im bad azz. lol

I love that!!!!! maybe I can use Mexican Ninja because.......um I'm .... well I because I'm Mexican damm thats not a good one oh well I'll try something else. oh, this thread seems to be officially jacked

[Piper]

I love that!!!!! maybe I can use Mexican Ninja because.......um I'm .... well I because I'm Mexican damm thats not a good one oh well I'll try something else. oh, this thread seems to be officially jacked

how about brown mouth? i mean that is what you get if you do slip when your 69. hahaha. i like that one. poopy mouth. dirty tongue. Brown tongue. And yes this thread officaly way off track and jacked like a blown tire on your way home from work.

[slip69]

how about brown mouth? i mean that is what you get if you do slip when your 69. hahaha. i like that one. poopy mouth. dirty tongue. Brown tongue. And yes this thread officaly way off track and jacked like a blown tire on your way home from work.

oh snap dude you had me crackng up in the office!!!that was awesome!!!! what was this thread about anyway???

[DeXteR]

what was this thread about anyway???

It was about a n00b not posting pictures...

[Piper]

Yeah what cool dude Dex said, where are the pics?