# The Radiator 2002 Nissan Altima 3.5

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/the-radiator-2002-nissan-altima-3-5/77176>\
**Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\
**Created:** [February 5, 2013, 8:31pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/the-radiator-2002-nissan-altima-3-5/77176 "2013-02-05T20:31:59Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Ronda45](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/aeb1de/32.png) [@Ronda45](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Ronda45)\
**Post date:** [February 5, 2013, 8:31pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/the-radiator-2002-nissan-altima-3-5/77176/1 "2013-02-05T20:31:59Z")

</div>

Update on the radiator  
I picked it up friday, he wouldn’t even look me in the eye  
it drove fine until i got to the bank, started smoking…Took it back home and parked it. Drove it 2 miles to work and back Saturday not a problem Checked under the hood, no smoke, and there was antifreeze in the reserve  
Sunday I drove it and it started smoking. Took it back home and started some research. I was kinda thinking it was a water pump, This morning I poped the hood to check the oil and antifreeze, the dipstick looked fine, but when i took the radiator cap off and put the my finger inside it was all OIL…So has it blown the head gasket??

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![missileman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/missileman/32/1366_2.png) [@missileman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/missileman)\
**Post date:** [February 5, 2013, 8:36pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/the-radiator-2002-nissan-altima-3-5/77176/2 "2013-02-05T20:36:38Z")

</div>

It’s a blown head gasket or the transmission cooler on the radiator has failed. Either way…you need a good independent mechanic to check things out.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![RemcoW](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/remcow/32/2471_2.png) [@RemcoW](https://community.cartalk.com/u/RemcoW)\
**Post date:** [February 5, 2013, 8:39pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/the-radiator-2002-nissan-altima-3-5/77176/3 "2013-02-05T20:39:34Z")

</div>

+1 with @missileman.  
Oil in the radiator is an ominous indicator, tho. Usually that’s not good news.  
Get it towed to a mechanic. Don’t be tempted to drive it.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![db4690](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/db4690/32/2583_2.png) [@db4690](https://community.cartalk.com/u/db4690)\
**Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 6:56am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/the-radiator-2002-nissan-altima-3-5/77176/4 "2013-02-06T06:56:58Z")

</div>

@Ronda45 when you do get it fixed this is what you should get

BOTH head gaskets  
straightedge the heads and the block to make sure nothing’s warped  
water pump  
thermostat  
radiator cap  
flush the cooling system  
oil and filter change  
afterwards have a competent mechanic make sure your catalytic converters and oxygen sensors survived this adventure

Good luck!