Outer Limits 4x4 Board

driving to work this morning at 6.00, I noticed the engine warmed up quicker than normal, and then kept getting hotter! so i went home and got the missus car and went to work.

checking it out this arvo, the radiator reservoir is empty, and the radiator shows no water in the filler neck. I filled it up started the motor and the top hose gets really hot while the bottom hose is cold - warm. do the squeeze test on top hose and cant feel any surge of water when i let go.

my diagnosis is that the water pump is forked and possibly the thermostat. But its got me buggered where all the bloody water went. there is some coming out of exhaust pipe but im unsure whether its just condensation or not.

Could a cracked head or head gasket cause this??

Thanks.

hi mate,

i am in the middle of pulling the head off my motor at the moment for the same reason.
my symptoms...

car getting warm,
water gone from radiator,
no leaks, no water in oil.
starting to see condesation (steam) in exhaust.

sounds very similar to yours....

when i pulled the rocker cover off, i had 4 snapped head bolts.

waiting to see the damage when i finish getting the head off tonight.

Cheers
Stew

The head bolts are torque to yield, and not to be used again after removal. Having said that, after doing my head, the engine builder said don't worry and use the old ones. So I rang two Nissan dealers and they both said they always use the old ones and don't even have new head bolts in stock anyway.

so it sounds like i need some sort of head job...

yeah bloke sound like what I had a week B4 christmas.
Missus drives the car during the week but didnt tell me it had been getting fairly hot, I did however notice it kept needing water. Filled the radiator right up and watched it with out the cap, sure enuf little bubbles...... fun to watch if its someone elses car!
Turns out it had a cracked head thru #1 and #2. I did the job myself so I saved a fair bit but still bloody dear
-new cylinder head casting from nissan machined by ORGERS with new valves $1850
-genuine head gasket (had one but I thinK $200

This may not be the case with yours but I couldnt see the crack from thru the filler hole like you can with some and my oil was not milky.
Also about the head bolts you can definitely use the old ones I have built plenty of High horse power RB-30's with used head bolts, nissan use good sh*t to hold everything together.

cheers Brunsy