# coolant leak & boiling, battery & brake sign on



## Jack McKinely (Aug 4, 2004)

Okay guys,

I have a 93 sentra, I have been reading a lot of the posts and have a problem that is unlike most of what I read. Before any of the coolant leaks I started to have the battery and brake sign go on at the same time, oddly, this is followed by the windsheild wipers turning on at full speed when I press the gas. I used the car as little as possible until I could get it to a mechanic. 2days later when i was checking to see if the problem was still occuring the coolant started leaking in massive amounts and whatever was left was boiling. 

From what I gather from the reads my first problem may have been my alternator and the second is my radiator. Are the two of them related in anyway? Are there other things to check for? If I wanted to do this myself would the Chilton guide of repairs be a good thing to buy? 

Thanks for the help in advance.
-Newbie


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## Zombie Elvis (Jun 21, 2004)

Jack McKinely said:


> From what I gather from the reads my first problem may have been my alternator and the second is my radiator. Are the two of them related in anyway? Are there other things to check for? If I wanted to do this myself would the Chilton guide of repairs be a good thing to buy?


Extremely unlikely except for the fact that they are both probably the same age.

Electrical faults are often bizarre and best solved by a GOOD auto-electrician.

As for the coolant leak, it may not be the radiator unless it's clearly leaking from there. Don't forget that radiator caps start to leak, so if it seems to be blowing out of there, replace the cap - piss-easy.

Once the pressure is out of a system (even from a tiny leak) then the boiling point of the coolant drops because of the lack of pressure, and then it'll boil earlier. The sudden pressure from the steam of the boil can cause a pressure spike that may pop some other leak waiting to happen.

There should be evidence of where the leak is - look for stains. If it's really clear where the leak is then you have to deal with that component.

Be aware that if you have had a very slow leak for a while, it will have taken the pressure off the system. If you have to regularly top up the fluid then count on having had a slow leak for a while.

The reason I mention this is, once you fix the current leak (which might have been a slow leak) the system will then put pressure on the next part that is begging for a chance to pop a leak. It's a really smart idea to replace any of the radiator hoses that look old because they are probably brittle and will be the next to go.

If you can afford it get the thermostat and waterpump looked at and upgraded too if necessary.

93 is starting to get a bit long in the tooth. My 92 pulsar (N14 with SR20DE - is that the same as the US Sentra?) wore out 3 radiator caps over it's life span, and had one radiator hose that started leaking, but if it's had a good life in a decent environment then I'd expect a 93 Nissan to still look quite decent in the engine bay.

Sticks and stones hitting the radiator could phark it up I guess, and if you live in an area that salts the road during snow season then I guess corrosion can be a MAJOR worry?


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## Zombie Elvis (Jun 21, 2004)

Jack McKinely said:


> If I wanted to do this myself would the Chilton guide of repairs be a good thing to buy?


PS - sorry, I don't think we get Chilton guides in australia (do we???) we get Gregories or you can buy the Nissan Service manuals. The service manuals are less useful than you might think because they are very light on the step-by-step instructions. They are very detailed but they really rely on the user having good mechanical skills to approach all the components properly.

The Gregories are decent if you are reasonably mechanically competent (which I barely am;-). If the book gives step-by-steps then 1/2 the battle is won. The rest of the battle depends on not losing parts, labelling them properly, writing down the sequence u remove them and any tricks it took, having decent tools that won't phark up the components, and never forcing anything that's stuck unless you know for sure or have good advice on how to force that particular stuck component.

Personally I won't touch my daily ride no mo'... But good luck if you've got enough spare time to proceed carefully. It's good fun and a good sense of achievement when you finish eh?


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