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I have a 2005 nissan Altima 2.5 liter 4 cylinder with 107,000 miles. Had no problems with it until 7 months ago when the radiator busted. Replaced that but 2 months later a head gasket busted and the car was overheating. Just the other day I started hearing a clicking noise anytime I had the engine on. The dealer says there is metal in the oil pan and that I need a new engine. $4300 quote with labor. Anyone have experience with Altima? Is it worth it to get the engine replaced? Or is this only the first of many repairs I'll need?
Unfortunately you probably have a dead engine...or at least dying. If it'll run, I'd run it to the nearest dealer and find a new car as this is not going to get better. Nissan used a pre-cat on that engine. These are well documented for coming apart and the hard silica comes into the engine via the EGR and pretty much shreds the cylinder walls. Replacing the engine alone means you'll be doing it again and soon. You'll need to replace the pre-cat and the exhaust system with a new engine. And that means spending way more than the car is worth to get it running right again. But you have gotten over 100,000 miles of use out of it which is good. Bad part is that the car with a dead engine is all but worthless. A Nissan dealer MIGHT make you a deal on a new car but they might also see you as a captive customer. If it fits your needs, the Frontier is the best Nissan made with the 4.0 engine. The 4 door is a nice rig but fuel mileage in town will be in the high teens at best.
If you don't let the engine overheat or run out of oil, it will be fine into perpetuity.
The overheating from the "busted" radiator was probably the beginning of the end for your current engine. I'm not sure why a radiator would have failed so early, but it did, and when it overheated that time, it weakened the head gasket, leading to its failure and further overheating.
Since you don't seem to be very mechanically inclined, trade it and take what you can get. Let someone else figure out what to do with your old car. I'd usually say keep the car, and keep it in good repair and it should serve you well, but this car also has a belt-driven CVT (continuously variable transmission), which doesn't yet have a proven record for longevity. It's not a bad thing necessarily. By 2008, they weren't failing prematurely, but earlier years did have issues. I'd be leery as this transmission costs almost as much as the engine. If it goes out in 20,000 miles (or 50,000 miles--it doesn't matter), you'll be cursing yourself.
With your new car (and every car, actually), the main thing is NEVER drive with your cooling system low on coolant or compromised in any other way--not even a pinhole leak. Any leak prevents the system from pressurizing, leading to boiling of the coolant and air/steam pockets forming inside the coolant passages in the head, preventing cooling in those spots, leading to uneven expansion/contraction, leading to a warped head and a busted head gasket, leading to a $4,000 repair bill. Low coolant has the same effect.
Always check your coolant (and oil) level and have all recommended service done, including coolant flushes. That way, all the money you DON'T spend on an engine can go to the other repairs and maintenance a modern car needs to go for its 200,000 mile expected life.
EDIT: I don't know what transmission your car has. I misread the year of your vehicle. I'd still trade it anyway.
Last edited by Thegonagle; 10-30-2012 at 02:50 PM..
If you don't let the engine overheat or run out of oil, it will be fine into perpetuity.
The overheating from the "busted" radiator was probably the beginning of the end for your current engine. I'm not sure why a radiator would have failed so early, but it did, and when it overheated that time, it weakened the head gasket, leading to its failure and further overheating.
Since you don't seem to be very mechanically inclined, trade it and take what you can get. Let someone else figure out what to do with your old car. I'd usually say keep the car, and keep it in good repair and it should serve you well, but this car also has a belt-driven CVT (continuously variable transmission), which doesn't yet have a proven record for longevity. It's not a bad thing necessarily. By 2008, they weren't failing prematurely, but earlier years did have issues. I'd be leery as this transmission costs almost as much as the engine. If it goes out in 20,000 miles (or 50,000 miles--it doesn't matter), you'll be cursing yourself.
With your new car (and every car, actually), the main thing is NEVER drive with your cooling system low on coolant or compromised in any other way--not even a pinhole leak. Any leak prevents the system from pressurizing, leading to boiling of the coolant and air/steam pockets forming inside the coolant passages in the head, preventing cooling in those spots, leading to uneven expansion/contraction, leading to a warped head and a busted head gasket, leading to a $4,000 repair bill. Low coolant has the same effect.
Always check your coolant (and oil) level and have all recommended service done, including coolant flushes. That way, all the money you DON'T spend on an engine can go to the other repairs and maintenance a modern car needs to go for its 200,000 mile expected life.
EDIT: I don't know what transmission your car has. I misread the year of your vehicle. I'd still trade it anyway.
This is really what is confusing me. I've done all the recommended maintenance - oil changes every 5,000 miles, even sprung for dealer 60,000 mile and 90,000 mile service routines. The only other problem before the radiator was an OC sensor at about 60,000 miles.
I actually had them run diagnostics on the transmission and they tell me they don't see any problems with it and rarely have to replace transmissions on Altimas. They also mentioned nothing about the pre-cat or exhaust but I notice there were several recalls before I bought this used in 08.
I'm trying to be thrifty with my car purchases because I only drive 15-20 miles a week. What do you know about the 1999 Chevy Malibu? Found one with 34,000 miles on it (I'm guessing this was one of those some old lady just drove to church).
I definitely think your radiator should not have failed, and that sucks. It lost you your coolant, and that lost you an engine. (And if you ever think you're losing coolant STOP NOW! Same with the oil light.) That's the short way of saying everything that I was thinking.
I would not recommend the '99 Chevy Malibu.
Not everyone is a fan of Consumer Reports auto reviews, but they know how to compile data from reader surveys, and they can tell you the used cars that you should definitely avoid. That generation of Malibu is on their list of cars to avoid.
Last edited by Thegonagle; 10-30-2012 at 05:47 PM..
I definitely think your radiator should not have failed, and that sucks. It lost you your coolant, and that lost you an engine. (And if you ever think you're losing coolant STOP NOW! Same with the oil light.) That's the short way of saying everything what I was thinking.
I would not recommend the '99 Chevy Malibu.
Not everyone is a fan of Consumer Reports auto reviews, but they know how to compile data from reader surveys, and they can tell you the used cars that you should definitely avoid. That generation of Malibu is on their list of cars to avoid.
Would the overheating have damaged anything external to the engine?
I doubt the overheating damaged the pre-cat, but it probably did damage the head gasket. Most cars with an idiot light for water temperature, the light comes on way high like 250F on older GM cars. Many with a gauge the red line is way high too, if the gauge gets to halfway between N and H, I'm for stopping and figuring out what's wrong.
OP sounds like the 05 Nissan you bought is, long story short, a turkey, you should dump it and get something better (not necessarily newer or more expensive, just a better design).
I had never heard of a pre-cat before reading about it in this thread. What a radically stupid idea.
I have a 2005 nissan Altima 2.5 liter 4 cylinder with 107,000 miles. Had no problems with it until 7 months ago when the radiator busted. Replaced that but 2 months later a head gasket busted and the car was overheating. Just the other day I started hearing a clicking noise anytime I had the engine on. The dealer says there is metal in the oil pan and that I need a new engine. $4300 quote with labor. Anyone have experience with Altima? Is it worth it to get the engine replaced? Or is this only the first of many repairs I'll need?
They are all related. The radiator was not really the problem.....it was the head gasket that took down the engine.
The blown head was sucking coolant into the engine...and this probably caused wash-out in the cylinders....grinding things up. The burnt coolant also screwed up the 02 sensor causing further problems with feedback to the PCM.
I assume they changed the radiator because it was losing cooling?????? Should have done a pressure test.....probably could see/hear the leak near whichever head was blown.
I am assuming there was some tell-tale signs besides the obvious dead car and radiator change-out??? Any check engine lights come on.......poor performance.....decrease in performance/mileage....overheating even with the coolant topped off??????
They are all related. The radiator was not really the problem.....it was the head gasket that took down the engine.
The blown head was sucking coolant into the engine...and this probably caused wash-out in the cylinders....grinding things up. The burnt coolant also screwed up the 02 sensor causing further problems with feedback to the PCM.
I assume they changed the radiator because it was losing cooling?????? Should have done a pressure test.....probably could see/hear the leak near whichever head was blown.
I am assuming there was some tell-tale signs besides the obvious dead car and radiator change-out??? Any check engine lights come on.......poor performance.....decrease in performance/mileage....overheating even with the coolant topped off??????
The O2 sensor problem was way back before any of the recent problems started. The only obvious signs were before I got the radiator replaced when the car started overheating and the heat blew cold - but this only happened at stoplights. I drove it straight to the dealer both times this happened. The first time, it was the radiator they fixed, then three months later, the head gasket.
The only obvious sign this time (6 months after head gasket replacement) was the engine's clicking sound. There was no overheating. I took it directly to the dealer after this happened, and that is where they told me that there was metal in the oil pan.
I've always gotten 200,000-plus miles out of my cars, so I'm having a hard time dumping this one after only 100,000.
If the overheating didn't damage anything other than the engine, what else do you think would start failing now? I had them check the transmission, and the service rep told me they rarely have to do transmission work on these things.
I've also looked at a 2006 Honda Accord 4 cylinder with 100,000 miles on it. What do you guys think of that make and model?
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