Sunday Session: Engine Cooling System

As I mentioned last week, Sonny and I are creating a video every Sunday where we'll cover a specific automotive topic. Last week it was the air conditioning. This week it's the cooling system. Next week? Who knows! Maybe oil if we don't change our minds from now until next Sunday. 

These videos are done in one take; so if we mess up, oh well! We're trying to stick to one take. Mostly because neither of us has time to sit down and learn how to create nicer videos, but also it's kinda fun to see how it turns out. We hope you enjoy these as much as we like making them :)

1999 Nissan Maxima - Radiator & Water Pump Replacement

Customer had his 1999 Nissan Maxima towed in to AAS. He told us smoke was coming from under the hood of his Maxima. We ran the engine to operating temperature (approximately 180 degrees). Radiators are constructed with seams and sometimes the seams can fail and leak, which is what we saw here. We replaced the radiator and ran the engine to operating temperature again and noticed a new leak coming from the front of the engine.

To find the source of the new leak, we had to remove the A/C compressor and A/C bracket. We discovered the water pump leaking. This is a common occurrence because once a new radiator is installed and the correct amount of pressure is restored, there is a tendency for new leaks to occur under the new, correct pressure. We called the customer and he gave us the green light to replace the water pump. No more leaky car. Be careful when its cold out. Systems can fail. 

New water pump (top), old, rusty, broken water pump (bottom left), radiator seam leak (bottom right).