Hey everyone~

My girlfriend has a 01' Sentra and she forgot to fill the coolant. Today the car was overheating so I filled the coolant back up hoping that it may fix the overheating issue. But it didn't help at all ... the car still over heats after about 3 minutes of driving. I know there are a lot of gear heads around here and I was wondering what the issue might be? I thought about checking the radiator but it was way to hot to open up so I'll probably take a look at that tomorrow.

Thanks for your time ....

If the coolant got too low, there is most likely air in the system. It must be 'burped' to get any air out. I don't know the specifics of the Sentra, but a good generic how-to is here:
http://www.ehow.com/how_7369_burp-cars-cooling.html
You might have to modify some of the details to fit this car, but the general concept is exactly the same. Also a little tip, on many cars it helps to turn the heater on (full) while doing this.




"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about
the former." - Albert Einstein

Dave is right. Easiest way to tell is pop the hood and look at the radiator cap. Is it the highest point of the cooling system? If not it needs bled. Also check the fluid again, you need to fill it up and let the car run with the cap off. So when the fluid goes into the radiator it'll drop the level down. You're probably still low.

If you try all this and nothing, being an 01 i'm gonna bet the thermostat is stuck closed. Pretty new for the water pump to go out. Best way is to let the car get up in temp. now grab the top radiator hose and the bottome one. One of them should be cool and the other hot. If not then its not cycling coolant through the system.

Most common problem is the thermostat. I dont know where they are located in the sentra but most are very easy to change and very cheap. Just need a new one, a gasket and a little RTV. It could be that, or the water pump. Also usually pretty cheap but most of the time a pain in the ass to change. Also make sure the water pump isn't belt driven. Maybe she just broke a belt I dont know the sentra's real well.

Let us know what you find and i'll try and help you out the best I can.

Also, I just had a problem with my Cav where the cooling fan was messed up. Something was up with the motor because I could stop the fan with my hand.

So... make sure the fan is doing it's job as well, just don't test it with your hand first.