My daughter’s 2006 Nissan Altima with 160K miles on it and in generally great shape will not start.
Tuesday evening she noticed the a/c wasn’t blowing cold air, then “steam” coming up from window vents. She made it to my son’s place (a few miles) and one of his roommates discovered her radiator was dry. They filled it with water, let the car cool, ran it on idle and all seemed fine. She drove home (20 mi.) and no issues with temp.
Wednesday morning the car would not start. She said it started several times then would die.
Wednesday evening I tried to start the car and it would turn but not start. While pumping the gas rapidly I was able to finally get it to start and it ran well. I stopped and started it several times. I then let it sit for about 4 hours and tried to restart it and it would not. It turns, but doesn’t start (no issue with battery or apparently starter).
I thought it might be the fuel pump due to the way it started, but not sure how to tell if it is getting fuel?
Could it be the water pump due to the overheating? I would think the car would still start if it was, but not sure? How do I tell?
Any help troubleshooting would be greatly appreciated!
If the no-start were directly related to the overheating incident there would be evidence of serious mechanical damage, like a blown head gasket, cracked or warped head etc.
You’d get steam out the exhaust or some other symptom when it’s running.
Any sign of leakage around the water pump?
The steam on the window could be a leaky heater core, which would also be the cause of coolant loss.
The AC probably stopped working because the engine computer sensed the engine overheating.
Did your daughter look at the temp gauge on the dash at that time?
Next time it doesn’t start try holding the pedal to the floor while cranking for a couple seconds.
This will clear the cylinders if it’s flooding.
The “steam on the windshield” is almost certainly a leak in the heater core or the hose connection.
You are focused on getting the car running. I think you have multiple problems, and a pretty sick motor. The good news is the motor isn’t seized due to overheating. Why did it lose coolant, and where did the coolant go? If coolant was splashed all over the motor that might short out the ignition system - hence no start.
If the engine bay is dry, then the motor might need new plugs and other ignition parts. These were last replaced when? A bad relay, bad fuel pump, or clogged fuel filter could come into play.
I think you need a tow to a good mechanic.
Also, filling the radiator with plain water is not good. When you get everything else straightened out, get it flushed and filled with proper antifreeze.
Thanks for the input. I am hitting the trouble shooting hard today and will see where it goes.
I did replace the spark plugs about 6 months ago. Unfortunately my daughter didn’t look at the gauges when all this was going on. Wish me luck.
Here’s what I found with the limited time I had on the car today:
No appearance of leaks around water pump or inside car from heater core
Found radiator leaking at the bottom
Car still would not start
Pulled plugs one by one and checked spark - all good; however, noticed in 2 and 3 and some in 4 moisture that was not fuel.
So now I am thinking the head gasket is blown and hopefully nothing worse.
Will do a compression test next if I can and then most likely tackle the head, unless I figure something else out.
Make sense?