Nissan Frontier Forum banner

Coolant Temperature and Overheating

26K views 91 replies 20 participants last post by  MiniDuti 
#1 ·
I've been dealing with no heat at idle for a while now, and I know my coolant level was a bit low. I was due for a flush anyways, so I hoped that would fix it. Nope. I took it to Christian Brothers yesterday and they said it was the thermostat that was stuck partially open. They replaced it with a 180° thermostat (brand unknown) and said it was fixed. I picked it up and the truck was running extremely hot at highway speeds. It would not go below 222° (I have a Bullydog GT) and it peaked at 235°.

I took it back to Christian Brothers today and they replaced the 180° thermostat with a 170° thermostat. During a 25 minute drive, the temperature stayed around 205° and peaked around 212°. This is an improvement but I still think this is hot. In the five years that I've had the BGT, I've never got the temp above 200°, the truck lived in the low 180s. I should mention that these temps were observed with an ambient temperature in the 20s (F).

I know there could be air in the system, but I think this is unlikely as CB is very well regarded in CO and my family has had great luck with them in the past; I don't see them screwing up something that simple - twice.

Any ideas?
 
#3 ·
Why not use a Nissan part? Make sure radiator cap is a plain rubber seal and plastic tank gets the cap with spring on it or it will run hot. On the thermostat the little jiggler piece faces the top.

Clint
 
#8 · (Edited)
Why not use a Nissan part? Make sure radiator cap is a plain rubber seal and plastic tank gets the cap with spring on it or it will run hot. On the thermostat the little jiggler piece faces the top.

Clint
The cap has nothing to do with temperature. The cap controls pressure, which determines boil over point. If the coolant temp is 230° with proper pressure, all is good. If the temp is 230° without pressure, because of incorrect cap position, it will boil over. But the temp is still 230°, at least until you start losing coolant.
Under 212°, you don't even need a cap other than to control spillage
 
#5 ·
I took it back to Christian Brothers today and they replaced the 180° thermostat with a 170° thermostat.
That doesn't sound like something a good mechanic would do.

That sounds like something a "mechanic" who didn't know his a** from a hole in the ground would do.

Seriously - I would be looking for another mechanic.
 
#7 · (Edited)
Verify the rad caps are in the right order. Install an OEM t'stat and retest. Then change water pump. These guys are idiots, you keep lettin them fool with it, they're going to cook your engine.
I have a 195 stat in my truck, the OEM that came with it new and it never gets above 200F unless I'm wheelin at 2MPH in 85+ ambient heat.
 
#9 ·
Wrong, on the frontier switch the caps from factory placement and watch the temperature rise. What’s on the radiator is a seal cap only, the pressure cap is on the bottle.
In the 13 years I’ve been a member here you have no idea how many people had this issue, switched their caps and magically no more high temps, simple as that.
always study what you take apart so you can put it bad as it was.

Clint
 
#62 ·
Wrong, on the frontier switch the caps from factory placement and watch the temperature rise. What’s on the radiator is a seal cap only, the pressure cap is on the bottle.
In the 13 years I’ve been a member here you have no idea how many people had this issue, switched their caps and magically no more high temps, simple as that.
always study what you take apart so you can put it bad as it was.

Clint
This just saved me! Couldn't figure it out. All good now!
 
#14 ·
Caps are on correctly. I drove it a fair amount today in 65° ambient air temp and it seems like the truck wants to live in the 200-210° range now. Highway, moderately heavy city traffic, idling, hills, hard acceleration and it stayed in this range. If I downshifted to increase the RPMs, the coolant temperature would drop 5-10° pretty quickly.

One thing that I find kind of alarming is that the temp gauge in the instrument cluster doesn't move at all from it's normal spot until the coolant reaches ~200°. If the coolant is between 180-210°, the needle stays at the 3:30-4:00 position. It's nice to know that the temp gauge is as inaccurate as the fuel gauge on my truck.
 
#15 · (Edited)
The OEM temp gauge is absolute junk. It has three positions, Cold, Running and YJBUYE ( you just blew up your engine ) which is why I installed AutoMeter coolant temp and transmission temp gauges on top of the center stack. 200-210 range is still too hot, you still have something not right. It should be 180 to 195F.

I have an EDGE CS as well which displays a myriad of sensors including engine coolant, but I prefer to use that for other functions and have a dedicated temp gauge that's not dependent on the ECM sensor for a reading. I prefer redundance, a border-line OCD trait I picked up from the engineering world, I suppose.

312345
312346
312347
 
  • Like
Reactions: MiniDuti
#18 ·
The OEM temp gauge is absolute junk. It has three positions, Cold, Running and YJBUYE ( you just blew up your engine ) which is why I installed AutoMeter coolant temp and transmission temp gauges on top of the center stack. 200-210 range is still too hot, you still have something not right. It should be 180 to 195F.

I have an EDGE CS as well which displays a myriad of sensors including engine coolant, but I prefer to use that for other functions and have a dedicated temp gauge that's not dependent on the ECM sensor for a reading. I prefer redundance, a border-line OCD trait I picked up from the engineering world, I suppose.

View attachment 312345 View attachment 312346 View attachment 312347
Do you have a link for that sensor/pickup?
The factory gauge is just an idiot light pretending to be a gauge.

Clint
 
#16 ·
HoneyBadger
200-210° is perfect. It can get a lot higher under load in hot weather. Frontiers have 180° thermostats, which is the point where the valve starts to open. It takes another 15-20° to fully open, which would put it about 200°.

Remember the temp sensor is located close to the thermostat in most engines. Care must be taken with aftermarket in-line temp sensors so they are not subject to cooler coolant coming off the heater core.

Fill your radiator with 75% coolant and 25% water and you'll never have a problem. Skip the 50/50 premix stuff.

Also be certain your radiator is clean. Hit the condenser and radiator with a garden hose, power washer, or self-serve car wash wand. Coolant cools the engine, and air cools the coolant.
 
#17 ·
More water than anti freeze will help with cooling

Why Use Both?
You may be wondering why both water and antifreeze are needed. While water is the best fluid for cooling, it can cause corrosion. Antifreeze has a lower freezing point and a higher boiling point than water so it helps protect your engine in extreme weather conditions. However, it is not very good at drawing heat away from the engine– as antifreeze was actually produced as an aid to water.

Climate Control
Buying an antifreeze that requires you to mix it with water can be a little more involved. However, it gives you more flexibility when it comes to mixture. Generally speaking, a 50/50 mixture of water and antifreeze is a good place to start. However, when speaking in terms of climate, you may want to take temperature into consideration. For example, 50/50 may work best in more moderate climates where the temperature gets below 32 only on occasion. However, in climates where temperatures drop below 32�F for long periods of time, mixtures closer to 70% antifreeze and 30% water are better suited to keep coolant from freezing.

 
#20 ·
^IIRC, the transmission temperature in the current-generation Frontier isn't available from the OBD connector.
 
#25 ·
Marcus, I get that they may be a highly rated shop, and they may have done excellent work a thousand times before, but what they're doing here is throwing parts at a problem, not fixing it. Diagnose, order, install and test. Changing a 180 to a 170 stat is something a tech on his first week at the shop would do. Install an OEM stat and retest. If the engine overheats at speed its a clogged radiator or bad water pump, most likely. Pull the rad and test flow rate. If its good and the stat tests good, replace the water pump. Too many shops these days just wanna throw a fistful of the owner's dollars at the problem and pray they solve it. Not a good way to repair a vehicle.
 
  • Like
Reactions: RamTest
#28 ·
There is mass confusion concerning your problem. First off CB should be castigated for the way they approached your problem. You want from no heat at idle to hot engine with a new T-Stat. CB's solution was to put in a lower temperature T-Stat. El Wrongo.

Are you getting heat at idle?
 
#31 ·
Reading all this makes me wonder if I should get an aftermarket temp gauge. All three of mine have read exactly the same and never move after warmed up. The only time I ever seen any fluctuations is when I had air in the system, it would rise briefly then go back down fairly quick as I picked up speed. That’s the only time I’ve ever seen one rise above the “normal to me range” which is around the 3/8” mark, little under half.
 
#32 ·
I'm glad I added a temp gauge. Knowing the actual coolant temp is comforting. Especially after I realized the oem needle doesn't move between 160°- 210°. Yes that's normal operating temperature range but I prefer to know if I'm on my way to running hot as opposed to finding out after it's already overheating.
I have an Autometer Spek Pro that has adjustable hi temp warning feature. The gauge starts flashing red if the set hi temp is reached.
 
#38 ·
Nice work butterman, I like those gauges but is there an easier way to read temps? I really don’t tow much of anything but a 6x10 and that will be very seldom. I’m more worried about water temps since it sounds like our gauges aren’t worth sh:t.

Plus I do not go off road anymore.. do I really need to worry about temps?
 
#40 · (Edited)
@RyanD1966 and others provided me great info back when I was wanting to add coolant temp gauge.
I agree 100% with his line of thinking on the preference to have a dedicated temp gauge that's not dependent on the ECM / ECT sensor for a reading.
I installed my coolant temp sensor using same adapter method as he...but with additional nonsense.

I rarely tow, rarely take my 2wd places meant for 4wd but always have my bed loaded down with work equipment and tools.
It took one overheating incident for me to decide that I HAVE TO KNOW actual coolant temp.
I'm hard on this truck in the South Texas heat too. I think I hit 200k back in Oct 2017 and currently sit at 271k.
 
#43 ·
Let me preface this with....I do dumb sh it when bored.
It's a BMW dual temp fan switch that's connected to Volvo dual speed fan relay for my Volvo dual speed e-fan that is in a Taurus shroud that's mounted into my oem shroud.
I spend a lot of time driving my truck... a lot of time idling too. AC always blows cold whether moving or not.
Brutal winter down here. Yesterday the high was 75°
 
#44 ·
Butterman, don't apologize, I don't see that as dumb shiite at all, I'm slightly in awe that you got four different countries from three continents to co-exist peacefully, the UN should call you for advise. I really like the idea and may co-opt something similar for myself.
 
#47 ·
Lol. I'm not apologizing at all. It's just something I don't put out there in great detail because it could kill someone's engine if attempted.
Guess what I carry in my truck at all times because of this mod?
My old clutch and fan blade...just in case.
I just need to figure out how to gain access to the ice chest thru the rear slider like in my pre-bed cover days.
 
#46 ·
Which failed, the fans or the controller? As the fans were OEM, I'm guessing it was the controller pooping out.
 
#49 ·
Butterman, while I applaud your restraint in worrying about other's engines and life thereof, its on every user to be vigilant to their own level of electrical and mechanical competence or lack thereof.
Some on here have welded up their own suspension components including rear shock hoops and I am 101% cognizant that my current welding skills would be woefully inadequate to insure my truck were safe should I choose to follow this. Deviating from OE designs can result in better operation or new functionality not necessarily envisioned by the OEM but at that point you are assuming the risk of yours or others designs.
I for one would love to have some more details, as I got rid of my OEM clutch fan oh 20 yrs ago back or more, on an 83 Camaro and went with twin electrics at that point. It worked very well. And I built this from scratch.

312443
 
#54 ·
Butterman, while I applaud your restraint in worrying about other's engines
Now that I think about it, it's not restraint in worrying about others engines. It more like a preemptive saving face maneuver for the possible event that could have me saying "Hey everyone! Check out what I did to kill my perfectly running engine!"
I have plenty of details to share on anything and everything I've done to my truck.
Unfortunately, I never created a build thread because I felt it would've been more of a maintenance thread being a 1st Gen 2004. A few things I've done I think are cool. Might only be cool to me since I haven't seen anyone else do. But I also only give brief mentions is the "What have you done" thread. Quick list can be made.
To be continued...on a different thread. My apologies @ Honey Badger....not trying to thread jack.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top