Same problem, different source... rad problems sourced and fixed; now car is again overheating and steam coming from rear of motor driver's side. Suspect split hose...?? Can't (that is, I can't) isolate potential source/access! Help please....
Think you're on the money; did have heater problem (not working) during winter - but, air con seems to working OK... Are the heater hoses accessible from above?
sure are, look at the back of the plenum on drivers side between firwall and engine, youll see 2 pipes running from middle of engine to firewall. they are replacable with engine in, and are reasonably easy to do....not super easy, but not terrible lol
Thank you, Sire.... just back from Chrissy visit to hospital, so will hopefully get a better look tomorrow! Mike
if you haven't done so already, take the plenum off and do a water bypass, this will leave you with just a few water hoses at the rear and so much less hassle when having to track down possible splits. I warn you now though, if you are splitting hoses, id change as many as you can get to as once one goes, for some strange reason, others follow. so far with my over heating issue that i had. ive burst 2 x water bypass hoses, one drivers side from turbo to matrix feed, then passenger side turbo to matrix feed, then the small bridge tube that goes on the matrix to drivers turbo (should of eliminated it at the time i did the bypass) then of all things the heater matrix feed to the heater matrix rubber hose. Problem when over heating, is taking the pipes off and putting them back on, the clips slowly ware into the rubber, so its a better option to replace for new now the over heating problems are sorted out.
thats true that one follows the other in failures, to put it simply, its the point of least resistance that goes next. ie: first hose to blow will be the worst condition hose, so any other poor condition hoses will continue to seem fine becasue the other one lets go and lets them of the hook. however, if that hose is replaced then the next weekest will go, and so on and so on....remember your talking abot 20 odd year old rubber hose here, thats been through so many heat cycles its amazing they last as long as thye do in all reality
The turbo water line feed hoses both split on me at different times. They're hard to access and will be expensive to have fixed via a mechanic! Got access to a coolant system pressure tester? They'll help you pinpoint the leak.
I'd say big Al is probably on the money... About a year after I got my Z I was about to head out for a 700 mile trip to go to Zdays in the smoky mountains of North Carolina here in the US. I went for a little test drive to see that everything was solid, and saw some steam. It was a turbo coolant line. Luckily it was on the battery side, so I changed it in about an hour. You might put a clean piece of a big box under the motor, start the car and let it run and as it heats up the pressure will make it leak so you can see where it's dripping. If the hose is gonna be a bitch to get to, and you have to delay fixing it, you can run the car without the thermostat but your gas mileage will suffer, and the heater won't work very well. But to a great degree it will relieve the pressure that forces the car to loose coolant in a short time. It wil at least slow the leak way down.
Errrmmm...... a shiteload of work when you can do the same thing by loosening the radiator cap one notch and depressurise the system in an instant..... L8r E
Removing the thermostat will not decrease the pressure in the system if the radiator cap is still on, all it will do is make the engine take longer to come up to temp and then you will have the same pressure in the system anyway. I really wouldn't recommend driving around with the rad cap off, or half off thats just asking for trouble. Find the leak and take the time to repair it, being a water pipe unless its under the plenum, its going to be pretty easy to get too. as i said, take 2 hours out of your life to simplify things, and just remove the plenum, do the turbo bypass replace all the hoses you can for new ones (or you will most likely end up with the same problem again) new plenum gasket (considering how cheap they are) and put the plenum back on. Not really that hard. getting it off if you haven't done the by pass, is going to take the longest time, but as you will be doing a bypass, you can just cut through the small water pipes that join the plenum to the engine (just don't cut the PCV hoses and be careful with them) The one thing i would not skimp on is the cooling system of your car, if it fails you could be looking at a HG failure which is going to be a bitch to change and even then if you have really cooked your engine, you could be looking at warped heads. so for the sake of a few hours and a few $$$ in pipes is it really worth "getting by"
Shortish careful drive has revealed driver's turbo hose is leaking; top heater hose was also slightly loose, but turbo hose is main culprit. If I can't fix I've advertised a Tech Day for Jan 15th (awaiting approval) at our Castle Hill factory. Maybe full plenum pull is in order...??
Bugger!! I REFUSE to work on my Zed on NY Day! I will not spend a repeat of 2011, fixing, fixing, fixing.... Maybe Oni made a wise decision....!!
Damn.... despite my NY intentions I'm in trouble here! Had another look today and can't quite see what I'm doing! If anyone out there who can do a turbo cooling hose swap, is willing to help, and prepared to accept payment (!!), I'd love to receive a PM. With this dear (??) car unusable I'm without transport and, like the car, my temperature's rising...
getting to will b emuch easier with plenum off, but it "may" be doable with it on, i havent tryed that hose that way lol..... got some long nose *plyers? (*spelling?), youll need them, plus some coolant hose in the appropriate size....... you can do it mate, hang in there!
No, Mate, I can't!! Got the long-nosed pliers OK, but can't get access; tried from underneath as well but just as bad. Did my back in, again, trying! To be honest, only way to get access from what I can see is to remove fender and cut access hole thru' inner sidewall...???? They are sure getting their revenge for the War loss....
They're a PITA to get to. With the Plenum off, it gave me enough room to take the old ones off and fit fresh hoses. Putting them on by hand, not solely by pliers and working by 'feel' assured me the hoses were all the way home. I used fresh 'Tilton' (?) clamps and not the old spring clamps Mr. Nissan had on there. It might pay to do the ol' Plenum Pull, rid the under-plenum water hoses as per the tech-article and fit new turbo water lines at the same time. Knock it all over at once if you can afford to have the car off the road for a bit??
That's always the problem with this car... whenever you need it something else goes wrong! Thanks, Big al, I agree... my problem is old-age incompetence! Maybe I can get a volunteer who knows what he's doing to do the complete plenum pull/turbo hoses fix... in exchange for a healthy hourly-rate payment?? Else I'll be on my knees at the Tech Day on the 15th - if anyone's coming (??)
