This really sucks... I have no other form of transportation to work so I had to drive it to work tonight(I work 11pm-7am), and I'll be having to drive it in the morning to get it home.... and am terrified to do so now. I'm at a loss and my hands are tied. I think I'm screwed!!!!!!!!!!!!!AZhitman wrote: ↑Tue Jun 11, 2019 10:19 pmLimited time, so I'll be brief:
First - No driving until it's fixed. Do not allow it to heat up again until we've figured out what went wrong.
Don't ever pour anything into your vehicle that purports to 'repair' anything. The stopleak likely clogged a vital coolant passage that was already compromised, and created your failure.
Likely a blown head gasket. Do an oil change - look for coolant in the oil. Drain the coolant - Look for oil in the coolant. If both are clear, then let's move on. Start it and look for tailpipe smoke. White = coolant, blue = oil. Both are bad.
You need a pressure test of your cooling system. Testers can be rented, or let's find someone local who can pressurize the system. Let's replace the thermostat - After an overheat condition, it's likely compromised.
The "idle hunting" you describe is a separate issue, most likely - or it could be a symptom of a bigger problem. Regardless, if it starts and idles smoothly, you may have dodged a bullet. Let's not go to the dealership just yet - they're not in the "diagnosis without repairs" business.
I think you guys are the only light of hope I can get right now. I just can't believe this happened. I should have never put that junk in there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Any kind of leads in the right direction are the best leads. Thank you! I'll have to check it out.macgiver wrote: ↑Tue Jun 11, 2019 11:00 pmI was following on youtube FAST-RELIGION , I believe S. Shore Boston area , guy seems intelligent and very dedicated to Nissan ( Infiniti ? ) . I bet Matt I think may be able to steer or help . Next time in Boston I was going to take the Juke and discuss tuning mods with them.
Geez ,I hope this is accurate info , it's late, sometimes ya start writing something and .......
I just tagged Matt in a link to this thread on Facebook. He said he doesn't have a NICO account to reply, but asked to post this:qx4_girl wrote: ↑Tue Jun 11, 2019 11:44 pmAny kind of leads in the right direction are the best leads. Thank you! I'll have to check it out.macgiver wrote: ↑Tue Jun 11, 2019 11:00 pmI was following on youtube FAST-RELIGION , I believe S. Shore Boston area , guy seems intelligent and very dedicated to Nissan ( Infiniti ? ) . I bet Matt I think may be able to steer or help . Next time in Boston I was going to take the Juke and discuss tuning mods with them.
Geez ,I hope this is accurate info , it's late, sometimes ya start writing something and .......
Believe it or not, there are more Mark Jackson's in Vero Beach than you'd imagine haha. Couple of profiles with kids or just the dudes themselves.
I apologize for the late reply here! There is no smoke coming out of the tailpipe. ! I topped her off with some water I had in the car, not distilled but I did pick up a gallon today to keep in the car. I drove halfway home with the heat on high and made the choice to turn it off for the rest of the way and she never overheat. The gauge was just over a notch from the middle. She ran hot the night before because I was lacking fluids and didn't see that til' I did the water in the AM. I haven't driven but I have started her up and is still running smoothly. I have yet to take care of the thermostat as I haven't had a chance to buy and install it, but that's my next feat in the next few days. I luckily have an outlet for getting to work, so no risking my baby!AZhitman wrote: ↑Tue Jun 11, 2019 10:19 pmLimited time, so I'll be brief:
First - No driving until it's fixed. Do not allow it to heat up again until we've figured out what went wrong.
Don't ever pour anything into your vehicle that purports to 'repair' anything. The stopleak likely clogged a vital coolant passage that was already compromised, and created your failure.
Likely a blown head gasket. Do an oil change - look for coolant in the oil. Drain the coolant - Look for oil in the coolant. If both are clear, then let's move on. Start it and look for tailpipe smoke. White = coolant, blue = oil. Both are bad.
You need a pressure test of your cooling system. Testers can be rented, or let's find someone local who can pressurize the system. Let's replace the thermostat - After an overheat condition, it's likely compromised.
The "idle hunting" you describe is a separate issue, most likely - or it could be a symptom of a bigger problem. Regardless, if it starts and idles smoothly, you may have dodged a bullet. Let's not go to the dealership just yet - they're not in the "diagnosis without repairs" business.
I cannot thank you and the others in this thread. Y'all have brought me to tears with all this help. This is seriously so awesome and I appreciate you a lot for doing that. I am absolutely going to reach out to him on Facebook and hopefully [soon] I can get my baby out there, since AAA will cover the miles it'll take getting there and back LOL~ From the bottom of my heart, seriously, THANK YOU!!!!!!!!EZcheese15 wrote: ↑Wed Jun 12, 2019 6:42 amI just tagged Matt in a link to this thread on Facebook. He said he doesn't have a NICO account to reply, but asked to post this:
Matthew Parris Stop leak is the cause of your issue. Odds are it clogged up the thermostat and chunks damaged the water pump. Modern engines are far too close of tolerances for additives like this. If this where brought to me first thing would be to pull the water pump and thermostats. Replace them, then use a hose to flush the engine. If the truck was driven too hot for too long you may have head warpage, but you need to have it running and warmed up properly to see if there is any sort of internal damage. Long story short: never use stop leak. Fix the leak the right way. Id bet money it ruined your cooling parts.
EdBwoy wrote: ↑Wed Jul 03, 2019 8:04 amI think that you guys threw a nuclear solution to the issue a little too fast and too early in the game.
There is a philosophy of "let it fail" and we use it specifically for leaks and drips. Fluid droplets on the ground under a vehicle vary in severity and hence determine what kind of solution should apply to it.
What is dripping?
How fast is it dripping?
What color is it?
How does it feel to the touch?
Is it constant, or only when the vehicle is running?
Where exactly is it dripping from?
As already mentioned, stop-leak products are not advisable, but I would have done my best to determine what was leaking first. My opinion (and going by your observations) is that it was not likely to be coolant.
1. Since there was no evidence, it could be as minor as normal AC system condensation that evaporates with time, which requires no interference. Note, that I don't exactly recall whether the R50 drips on the side or in the middle of the firewall in a location likely to be confused as "middle of the motor".
2. It could also be as annoying as a RMS (rear main seal) leak, which will drip oil starting where the engine meets the transmission, more or less centered L-R.
3. Or really a coolant leak perhaps from the crossover tube... My point being that it needs positive confirmation of the source of the leak first.
I don't know if you have addressed the timing chain as you wished yet, but my big question is this - did using the stop leak in the cooling system actually stop this leak that started this whole adventure?
Forgot to mention that I don't have a working A/C compressor and it's not assembled to a pulley either.EdBwoy wrote: ↑Wed Jul 03, 2019 8:04 amI think that you guys threw a nuclear solution to the issue a little too fast and too early in the game.
There is a philosophy of "let it fail" and we use it specifically for leaks and drips. Fluid droplets on the ground under a vehicle vary in severity and hence determine what kind of solution should apply to it.
What is dripping?
How fast is it dripping?
What color is it?
How does it feel to the touch?
Is it constant, or only when the vehicle is running?
Where exactly is it dripping from?
As already mentioned, stop-leak products are not advisable, but I would have done my best to determine what was leaking first. My opinion (and going by your observations) is that it was not likely to be coolant.
1. Since there was no evidence, it could be as minor as normal AC system condensation that evaporates with time, which requires no interference. Note, that I don't exactly recall whether the R50 drips on the side or in the middle of the firewall in a location likely to be confused as "middle of the motor".
2. It could also be as annoying as a RMS (rear main seal) leak, which will drip oil starting where the engine meets the transmission, more or less centered L-R.
3. Or really a coolant leak perhaps from the crossover tube... My point being that it needs positive confirmation of the source of the leak first.
I don't know if you have addressed the timing chain as you wished yet, but my big question is this - did using the stop leak in the cooling system actually stop this leak that started this whole adventure?
I did the test when sitting and cooled in the parking lot of Advanced Auto Parts. We just did a fast borrowing of the kit they've got. It sounds like the cap would be unlikely only because I've had the same cap since I bought it. It had never overheat before any of this. Would the cap be compromised after a situation like this? That seems odd to me.
The clutch seems original to the car anyhow. I don't mind updating the part since I can rule it out indefinitely now that it's not close to being a contributing factor. It was loosey goosey though! Is looping the hoses as easy as it sounds? Maybe I could attempt it?AZhitman wrote: ↑Thu Jul 11, 2019 11:18 pmOK, let's slow down... I get that this is frustrating, but a couple things are apparent:
1) Leaking near 2 hoses in the rear. Those are likely your heater hoses. If you still have a leak, NOTHING you do is going to help. Period. Your cooling system is compromised. It won't hold pressure, which means it WILL overheat. The good news is you can loop those, you just won't have a heater. No big issue.
2) Your Pops sounds like he means well, but we already said there's nothing wrong with the fan. Revving the piss out of it isn't going to do anything. If he's not interested in expert advice, that's fine, but there was no reason to spend money on a fan clutch... or stop-leak.
3) Call that shop and tell them I said to F off. In fact, post their info so we can ALL call them. What were they planning to rebuild? IDIOTS.
4) A radiator cap can and will go bad if overheated. It's cheap, replace it.
Back to the leak: Let's address that. Everything else is a waste of time. If the heater hoses are indeed leaking, the rest of this is a wild goose chase. Post a pic of the leaking area - if they can be capped or looped, that'll get you back to normal.
I shall try this out! I'm glad in a way you've experienced this. It helps me get that much closer to solving the problem, or at least figuring it out.born2lse wrote: ↑Fri Jul 12, 2019 10:26 amYup the shop can f*** off. Unlike the 4runner, qx4/Pathfinders very rarely will have head gasket issues.
The reason I'm suggesting replacing the radiator cap is because I went through your situation recently. I bought a qx4 and found out it had an overheating problem. The seller had mentioned the radiator was new but I didn't think to question him on it. I spent a weekend doing coolant changes, burping the system, and changing the thermostat but those didn't work.
What did work was I noticed the overflow bottle was boiling and figured if the radiator cap wasn't holding pressure then the coolant will boil at a lower temperature; creating air pockets in the cooling system. The air pockets prevent proper coolant flow which ends up overheating the engine.
I recommend you grab the pressure kit again and see if you can get the qx4 to overheat while maintaining proper system pressure.
Holy smokes people, why has everyone ignored this statement.?qx4_girl wrote: ↑Tue Jun 11, 2019 9:38 pm
My dad says that when he was working on my brakes that there's been a drip coming from the middle of the motor. Myself, any time I went to the car I never saw any puddles that looked unusual because I've been to HELL and back with my brake system continuously failing and dripping all over the ground(which is from the wheel well being cracked via whatever the way the previous owner(s) used to drive it - which was hard!). So any time I go over a bump, the line is being stressed. Why anybody would beat on a beautiful truck is BEYOND ME. So the way that I hit bumps was affecting the new line every time. Golly.
I've replaced the same damn line in the same damn spot because of what I stated previously due to the wheel well being cracked. So my dad and I finally "solved" the issue by bending a metal tube that will half-a** flex until I can find a steel-woven wire and c'est la vie, it'll be like brand-new. As far as overheating, the temp gauge was ALWAYS right in the middle of H and C. Perfectly normal. It never when up, never went down.