96 Maxima possible blown head gasket

ANUBIS679

MEMBER
1996 NISSAN MAXIMA

Hi. This problem started about 6 weeks ago.
First the water pump was going and we did get it fixed but not before we had an engine overheat, which at the time did not seem like a major overheat since I have been through engine overheats before. However once the water pump and thermostat were replaced the engine did not run properly. It seemed to be bogged down and stressed when running and it also still ran hot. I also got a Check Engine alarm code. The code was for a bad Engine Coolant Temperature Sensor which I replaced myself considering it was right on top. After replacing it and resetting the PCM the engine ran better but the car still ran hot.
What I couldnt figure out was why the coolant would circulate into the engine but not back into the radiator from the engine.
I flushed the radiator thinking their were possible deposits or blockages. I also found a vacuum hose at the rear of the engine that was lose and hissing and replaced the clamp on that as well. After doing that and turning on the engine again white smoke started pouring out the tailpipe. However the white smoke only pours out when driving it not when in park-idle. Thats when I thought blown head gasket.
What I was wondering is could the white smoke be caused by anything other then a blown head gasket? If not then do u know the ballpark price for repairing a blown head gasket on a 96 Maxima with 140,000 miles?

Thanx,
Joe from Florida

1 Reply

RASMATAZ

MECHANIC
75,992 POSTS

Without touching anything or further diagnosing it-I will poison it with Thermagasket its cheap and it works for me. Now a days its high tech. And am getting lazy and using it to my advantage. Even liquid copper will do the trick.

With an engine fully warm-up, things gets expand inside if there's a leak in the gasket or a warped head it will gradually open with high combution pressure/temperature This is why you see smokey the bear behind above idle. Boils down to pressure. BTDT

What I couldnt figure out was why the coolant would circulate into the engine but not back into the radiator from the engine. Maybe you have a bad new Stat- or an internal blockage. My concern here is the smoke-perhaps the blockage caused the problem. Now you've to knock out the blockage and then attack the gasket.

BTW have you check for coolant inside the cylinders and the crankcase.

Give me a PM and I'll help you chase Damian all the way out to the tail pipe.

Good Luck comrade