I have a 2001 Nissan Pathfinder SE with 160,000 miles. I took my car in for an overheating problem yesterday after I noticed the coolant was leaking out of my car. I needed a simple hose repair to fix the leak problem, but now they want to replace the temperature gauge because they say that it is still running hot due to: “temperature gauge is stuck and not letting the cold water in.” He said that he fixed the hose and it is blowing the cool air to the motor, so the only problem could be the temperature gauge.
Within the past year, I replaced the radiator and hoses. He is saying the temperature gauge + labor would amount to around $300. The car is probably worth around $2250 for a dealer trade-in. I am planning on trading-in the Pathfinder towards the purchase of new one once I am able to present it to the dealer in workable condition. Does anyone have a suggestion of what to do?
You must mean the Thermostat. If the thermostat is bad it can cause over heating. Not sure about the 2001 pathfinders. They went to a timing chain and different setup for the waterpump and thermostat then my 98 pathfinder I use to own. For the 98 pathfinder the thermostat was very easy to replace. No more then 1 hour labor plus parts. $300 may be reasonable it’s a couple of hours labor.
As for trading it in…You’d be far better off selling it on your own. You should be able to get a lot more then $2200 for that vehicle.
Thanks, I did mean the thermostat. I am in the process of finding the diagram of the engine to see if the replacement is worth taking on ourselves. My brother is a pretty savvy car nut and he wouldn’t mind taking on the repair if it’s possible.
Most thermostats I’ve worked on are not too involved. The only one I ever had a lot of trouble with was my wifes 96 Accord. It was buried behind the engine. Just a pain to get to. The Pathfinder is a forward facing engine. So it shouldn’t be a big deal. Just follow the upper radiator hose to where it connect to the engine…and you’ll find your thermostat housing.