# No heat in Sentra 2002



## TazmanianDevil (Oct 29, 2016)

I have a 2002 Sentra GXE and last week, all of a sudden, there was no heat coming. The fan blows fine and the a/c works too, coolant is enough. I took it to a mechanic and he said that the thermostat was bad. He replaced the thermostat, gasket, and the radiator cap as he said it was loose. He also replaced the coolant. After that the heat was coming on and I drove it for around 20 minutes. I turned the heat off for a while and turned it on, the problem came back, no heat! The next day morning, after driving for around 40 minutes, when I turned the ignition off, I heard a bubbling/boiling noise from the radiator. I also noticed some coolant leaked beneath and around the tank. I took the car back to the mechanic. He looked it again and said that there is some air getting into the radiator somehow and that is why the coolant is not getting warm enough and it would cost around 1500 dollars. He also said that the leak is normal and a pipe that goes underneath the coolant tank spill a little bit of coolant while you drive for the first five minutes . I don't quite get that and my car is around 185000 miles now and it's not worth spending a lot on it. Have you guys experienced this and any thoughts this could be.


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## quadraria10 (Jul 6, 2010)

Find a new mechanic. Not only is the guy full of it, he is a crook. 1500 to replace a rad and possibly a couple of rubber coolant hoses and some clamps, on 2002 Sentra. A rad costs 100 or less Canadian and each hose around 10 each. Its possible the guy installed the wrong thermostat or a defective one. Also maybe your system has an air pocket and needs bleeding. But it does also sound like you have a leak which should be traceable. Seriously you need to bring it somewhere else that is both competent and honest. Forgive the bad pun, but that guy is trying to hose you.


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## ommynous (Aug 23, 2016)

I bought a new radiator and thermostat online.. Spent about $90. Took 2 hours in my front yard to install it. That bubbling noise is just the gurgling sound of the air pockets. With those, you're not getting full flow through the heater core, and loosing heat quickly. Especially if you have a small leak. Try finding out where the little hole is. 

What your mechanic REALLY means, is he tried burping the system, and did a piss poor job. It took me 3 days to burp my car's coolant system when I redid my radiator. I'd drive it, check it the next day, see if it needed coolant, and it did. I kept doing that and eventually it was completely full, and my cabin heat works again. Don't fuss. I know exactly what you're going through, especially with winter coming around the corner. It sucks. 

Check the hoses and make sure that the clamps are COMPLETELY around the hoses, and the hoses are ALL the way one. I thought my thermostat housing was leaking, until I found out the house was just 3% unclamped. Readjusted the clamp and all was well. If you do find a tiny leak, you may be able to patch it up with JB weld, but that's generally a hit or a miss.

Good luck with whatever you decide.


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## quadraria10 (Jul 6, 2010)

Good stuff ommynous, but somehow I dont think our Tasmanian friend has the mechanical know how. As for the mechanic he used, I am pretty sure he is incompetent at the actual job but more than adept at taking advantage of his clients trust and ignorance. People get rid of perfectly fine cars and get hurt financially because of this kind of crap.

PS you do not have to search very hard on this forum to learn how to raise the front of the vehicle and let it idle to get rid of air pockets.


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## TazmanianDevil (Oct 29, 2016)

Thank you Ommynous and Quadraria10 for your awesome advice! I did realise that the mechanic is blushing when he threw the $1500 job at me and he was insisting me to sell the car asap before the coolant gets into the engine and if that happens, I have to scrap the car eventually !. He did say that he bleed the system again after I took it back. This guy had been doing a decent job in the past and I hate when people don't admit the fact that sorry, I can't fix it or don't know how to fix it and check with someone else. It's real hard to find some honest mechanics nowadays . I have read the forums about clearing the air pockets and I am going to try that. Thanks again folks, your prompt responses are truly appreciable.


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