I have a nissan altima 2001. I have 128,000 miles on it. I have fully paid for the car. While climbing a steep hill at 2nd gear, the engine overheated, and I seem to have broken the gasket. What are my prospects? Should I put a new engine, should I fix the gasket or should I abandon the car?
View 2 RepliesI have a hyundai elantra 2005 with over 200K mi. last month it started overheating. I could not go a mile before it reached H again. No one could find any leaks and fan would go on if I put the AC on. Yet it would get so hot the car wouldn't start ( sounded like it was out of gas) I finally got to my mechanic and they said and showed me the fan had cracked and was bubbling water/coolant out. It had been okay could I have made it crack by still driving it? I stopped everytime and let it cool down..
They replaced fan but car was still going to H immediately. They then told me I had blown the head gasket. Between that and the fan it cost me 1100.00 I just got it back today and the AC is blowing hot air and it is driving oddly. It lurches and the tach sometimes jumps to 3 while I'm driving. they also replaced the timing belt again which the mechanic there had just did a few months ago. It feels like its going to stall out all the time and when I get around the 60 mph mark it lurches or feels like its not even in gear as though I'm revving it. Could this be normal because the head gasket is new and has to break in?
My 1994 Acura Integra with 243k original miles on it apparently blew a head gasket a couple of weeks ago, overheated, and ended up at the mechanic's shop with the head removed. He had it pressure tested, and they found a crack in the head's coolant jacket. So, it's toast. Wanting to keep the car (it's in great shape otherwise), I was presented with two choices.
Replace the head Replace the engine.
My question: What do I need to make sure the mechanic does or checks out on the new-to-me engine, to be sure I can get another 100,00+ miles out if it? It comes with NO warranty, and there are no records of how it was maintained or driven by its original owner(s). It's basically been "preserved" (how?) and sitting on a pallet in New Jersey for the past 16-ish years.
He says he's had good luck with them in the past, but has not done very many. He also claims that it will be an exact match, for smog / registration purposes, or he "will send it back" (his words). But I'm still nervous. Have I made the right choice?
Do I buy an engine or sell the car for parts? My son’s car overheated while driving down the hwy due to a radiator leak. After a first and second opinion, two separate mechanics told me the engine has no compression so basically was shot. The car was in good shape with 102k miles and everything worked. Internet surfing has some used engines with 80-100k miles from $800-$1200, some guaranteed some not. Is it better to rebuild the original engine or buy another used one? Labor cost on top of an engine wont be cheap. Are other parts under the hood expected to be replaced too as a result of the engine overheating?
View 3 RepliesI have 2006 Nissan Maxima SE with the 3.5 engine. I have used regular gas for the entire 88K miles. Lately the engine knocks (diesel like). I asked my guy what to do. He said a nitrogen fuel injector cleaning.... Did that. No change. When I use premium it stops. However, I suspect something more is wrong. In fact, I suspect a head gasket issue. How can I diagnose without going to the garage? If it is the head gasket, am I doomed (cost a fortune to fix).
View 12 Replies2004 Sentra, 100K, rough starting, running good. Dealer diagnosed Head Gasket leak, #3 cyl. misfire. $!300+ est. No can do.I added K&W Head Gasket&Block Sealant, per instructions. Filled radiator and reservoir with 50/50 coolant.Car start improved but CAR NOW OVERHEATS after 15 min. driving. Blasting heat brings guage to normal zone.DID SEALANT CLOG SYSTEM? How doI diagnose? What to check next?
View 5 RepliesI have a 2001 Nissan Altima. I seem to be having a fan problem. I started noticing that about 2 seconds after I turned the car off, the fans would come back on and run for ~25-30 seconds. I brought it in and my mechanic was thinking maybe a defective thermostat, so we replaced that. It still keeps happening, but now I've realized that the fans come back on anytime the car is turned off when the fans are running. If the fans are not running, they won't come back on. I've been trying to pay more attention to what is going on and when I first turn on the car, no fans are on (at least not the high fan, not sure if there are more than 1) After driving around town, the fans will turn on.
Normally, I believe the fan should then turn off once the coolant temp gets below a certain level. I let the car sit idling in the driveway for 15 min and the fans never turned off. I took it back to mechanic and repeated the idling for 15 min, fans never turned off. He checked the coolant temp with some sort of sensor and the temps were reading between 166-170 depending on where he aimed his device, so he said the fans should be turning off and it doesn't seem like the car is overheating.If he unplugged the temperature sensor, the gauge would go all the way to cold, but nothing changed for the fans, so he didn't think that was the problem.He took the fan relays along the edge of the car and swapped them around and nothing changed, so didn't think it was a relay problem. He removed some sensor on the passenger side on the back part of the engine and the fans got really loud and really fast. When he replace that, the fans would go back to normal until the engine temp got hot enough to turn them on and then they wouldn't go off again. He's thinking that sensor might be the problem, but isn't 100% sure. I think he said this was the cooling fan sensor or switch.
On a side note that may or may not be related. About 5 years ago the water pump broke. It started having the fans on all the time (even from a cold start), that turned out to be a faulty knock sensor. There was a knock sensor code and he replaced the knock sensor and then the fans went back to normal cycling. I didn't have any problems until early last fall, when I started noticing my current problems. I didn't worry about it until now, because as it got colder outside, it wasn't an issue. So outside temperature definitely effects it.
There are no codes this time.
I've been told that the 2002 Santa Fe that I drive has a small leak in the head gasket and that this will be a major problem for the A/C compressor in the not-too-distant future. Supposedly the compressor is located below where the leak is and that over time (5-6 months) this can/will cause the compressor to need to be replaced. Does this seem like a credible scenario?
View 2 RepliesI have a 2001 Nissan Altima. Recently it started to surge when I come to a stop. It doesn't always happen, in fact it can do fine for a day or so. But every once in a while, when coming to a stop, the engine rev's up to about 4000 rpm. It immediately returns to a normal idle, but I have to throw it into neutral to stop. Nissan said it was the idle sensor in the throttle body, so I replaced the throttle body. Still happens. Another Nissan mechanic said it could simply be that the sensor needed to be re-programmed. Did that, still happens. Today, it happened, but stayed at 4000 rpm until I took my foot off the brake. Then it returned to normal idle. It doesn't matter if I come to a quick stop or let it drift to a slow stop.
View 5 RepliesMy 83 year old mom has a 2001 pt cruiser. The gauge is overheating. Some water was leaking from the radiator, not a lot. 3 mechanics have given estimates. The first said it was the water pump. The second said per computer is was not the water pump from his experience it was the head gasket. Third thought it was the radiator cap then said no. A hose was somewhat loose but that did not cause the problem. It heats up going down the hill and not up a hill. Water pump is okay must be the head gasket. Both said it held 15 lbs of pressure. She is too upset to handle this and it is left up to me. Do you think it is the head gasket?
View 3 Replies2001 Chevy Silverado with a 5.3 L engine and a leaking head gasket that was getting worse (at 217,000 miles). Car has rusted body (upstate NY), so not going to spend too much for repairs. Decided to try one of those "magic elixors" in a bottle. Went for the Bars Leaks head gasket repair stuff - Followed directions, etc (put it into the top radiator tube, NOT the overflow bottle). The stuff had little strings of copper-looking stuff floating in it. It worked. After a little more loss of coolant, the coolant loss has finally stopped. Amazing that something like this really worked.
View 7 RepliesWe bought a used 2001 Nissan Altima. It has 123,000 miles on it. It had a few minor issues, but recently it has started lurching when we go over 35 miles an hour and it will not accelerate.
View 2 RepliesIf I dont constantly keep my foot on the gas pedal then my car will die.
View 1 RepliesHad the head gasket replaced and metal machined due to HG failure. 2001 Forester, 120K miles. After I got it back, a bad oil smell. Cleaned and sprayed it, still there, though less; seems to be on drivers side. Comes into cabin from the air vents below windshield when stopped.
Could it be the line from manifold vacuum to brake master cylinder ie servo amplifier? Or something else?Should I worry? The car seems to get about 15 mpg, used to get 18 mpg, and the check engine MIL is on.
Our 05 Elantra (170k miles) is leaking coolant externally from the head gasket. At first I thought it was coming from the freeze plugs, but it's actually leaking from above. I'm mechanically inclined but have no experience with head gaskets. I have access to Alldata but no service manual. Will it tell me everything I need to know? The farthest I've gone inside an engine is removing valve covers car runs great and we like it enough to want to keep it for a while ... I'll also mention I will be replacing the timing belt as well.
View 7 RepliesMy girlfriend's 2005 Jetta 2.0 overheated and then broke down after making some pretty awful clanking noises. Now it will not start. I'm going to be doing the repairs myself (and learning a lot along the way).
The car will not start. When I try to start it, it makes a 'whining' noise, which I'm assuming is the starter. This is not the first repair I've done on her car. She wants to get rid of it, but now that I've done so much work on it, I've grown a bit attached to it. Plus I think I can save her a bunch of money in the long run If I fix this myself. Here's where I am so far:
I removed the cover over the camshaft pulley and had a look while my SO turned the key to try to start the car. I noticed a couple things:
1. There are no teeth on the timing belt.
2. The camshaft pulley still turns, but not continuously. It turns a little then stops, and then tries again. (Engine not seized?)
I have ordered a code reader which should be here in a couple days. With that I'm hoping to check if there's a compression problem. If so, I'm under the impression that that would indicate a blown head gasket, or bent valves. I checked the oil to see if it looks milky and It still looks like regular oil.
Back Story: Ok so in my infinite wisdom I let myself get distracted when I was looking at an 01 F250 V10 Crew Cab. I thought, it needed all new breaks/rotor & 2 calipers. And new carpet and seats, then I would have a good hunting rig.
So I went and looked at the truck in the dark (first mistake). The guy was very honest with me and told me about all the body and interior issues. Even informed me of the caliper that he disconnected because he could not afford to fix it. He informed me that it did burn a little oil and it's been a while since he checked the oil. Well at that point I was going to look under the oil cap to check for any milky residue. Well I got distracted (Second Mistake).
So here we are 2 weeks after getting bringing the truck home. I already replaced the carpet and seats, breaks & rotor & 2 calipers. Well today I decided to go get some new oil and a filter, and do a quick oil change since who knows when it was done last.
Issue:While draining the Oil it seemed like there was an abnormally large amount of oil in this engine. (See photo of bucket full of oil from this rig.) Well didn't think much of it and swapped the filter. And went to add new oil to the engine and found that under the cap was some milky substance.
The V10 has 420K original miles. I have heard that is no big for the V10 but thought it would be good to note this detail. Questions I have: Should I get some kind of test kit to confirm it's a blown head gasket? If so what kind of Kit should I look for? Do you think this truck is worth replacing the head gasket?
Any chance this may just be a known issue for the V10 and I just need to replace some kind of valve? I could not find any you tube videos of a head gasket replacement on a V10 any thoughts where I should look?
My Skills: Just to be clear I don't know anything about the V10 motor. I have a 94 f-250 but have never had to dive in to a head gasket replacement before. I have done a head gasket replacement on smaller engines (IE: car and a jeep) but those were obvious that they had a bad head gasket.
The starter cranks, fired a couple of time but will not start. Mechanic blames the key interlock ... Apparently the key contains a microchip that blocks starting... Does this sound right ?
View 3 Replies2003 Nissan Altima 2.5 SL automatic - starts fine when the engine is cold but won't when the engine is hot. It acts flooded. I've changed the camshaft and crankshaft sensors, spark plugs, one spark plug coil, radiator, valve cover and the coolant temperature sensor. The car will turn over but will not start - sometimes it will after 5-10 minutes of trying.
View 1 Replies2001 Oldsmobile Alero, 4cyl, purchased in March with around 150k miles.About a month and a half ago I topped off the coolant. 2-3 weeks ago I noticed the exhaust was intermittently throwing off white smoke. Not thick, opaque plumes or anything, but more like how your exhaust might look on a cold day. Being May though, I knew the temperature was not responsible.
This white smoke would occur intermittently and usually stop after driving for a a little bit. Since the white smoke was not constant and the coolant levels seemed to be okay I figured maybe it was something with the EVAP system or the fuel mixture. On a hunch and as a matter of maintenance I put in new Oxygen sensors a few days ago. The next day my coolant light went off again. Since then I've put radiator stop-leak in the coolant and some STP "gasket rejuvenator" in the oil.
My theory: if the head gasket is indeed cracked, it's a very small crack--small enough so that after the engine warms up a bit the gasket expands essentially sealing the crack. This would explain the intermittent nature of the white smoke and and slowness of coolant leak. Are there any other tell-tale signs I should look for with a bad gasket, if this indeed that case? I saw in the store some stuff similar to stop-leak specifically designed for sealing head gaskets that involved draining the radiator, dumping this stuff in and running the engine for a bit, draining it out, and letting the car sit for a day before putting new coolant in. If the head gasket is the issue would the combination of stop leak.
Recently bought a 2001. In the process of reading about this engine I discovered there is a some what regular breakdown of head gaskets causing water to leak into cylinders and oil pan, all of which is serious.
Given the vehicle is 12 years old and has 89K miles it appears it is in the age and range of where this leakage can occur. Any knowledgeable engine rebuilders that are familiar with this issue on the 4.2 have any comments???
1. Can this issue be avoided by replacing head gaskets now rather than waiting for future failure???
2. Are there new and improved head gaskets for this motor???
3. Does the problem occur on both heads gaskets?
4. Is that all that needs to be done or are there other seals that need replacement???