2000 Nissan Altima: Blown Head Gasket?

[Phishin]

Today my 2000 Nissan Altima (165k miles) drove fine all day. Tonight while leaving the store to go home, it immediately started to "stumble" under low throttle. It continued to get worse on the way home. At first, the stumble/miss went away once more throttle was applied, but as I neared home (during this 4 mile drive), the stumble was there all the time. The car stalled out when I went around a corner. It restarted and stumbled/missed real bad the last 1/4 mile home.

Once I stopped the car, there was white smoke pouring out of the rear of the engine. I couldn't find where it was coming from.

My coolant level is low. Ouch. Would a blown head gasket cause white smoke to raise up between the engine and the firewall?

I had the intake manifold gasket replaced 20k miles ago. When it was being done, my mechanic replaced one freeze plug because it was bad. Could have one of the others failed and cause the coolant leak? I see no coolant on the drive way. Radiator is full, but reservior is almost dry.

Last, after the car cooled down, the car will not start. I don't think my oil is showing any signs of coolant contamination. It's not chocolate milk colored. But it might have a slight haziness to it...but it does have MoS2 in the oil....so hard to tell.

And just a few weeks ago, my mechanic replaced the radiator (it was cracked) and the water pump.

Any ideas on where to look?

 

[Mr Nice]

What did the temp gauge read when you realized you were low on coolant?

 

[01rangerxl]

Yes, that sounds like it could be an external head gasket leak. The coolant is burning off, which is why you are seeing the steam and not liquid coolant. At operating temp it will burn off outside of the pressurized cooling system.

Sorry to hear that happened after all the work you put into it.

 

[Highline9]

Pull the spark plugs have a look.

 

[Chris142]

im guessing a blown heater hose back there

 

[Phishin]

Originally Posted By: Highline9
Pull the spark plugs have a look.


I just did. All the plugs look the same. black and sooty. Not caked, but definitely oily/black/sooty. Hmmmmm.....not sure what to think about this.

But now the car won't start. I can't get it to start. Obviously, it's not 100% electrical, because of the steam, there HAD to be some sort of mechanical failure.

Would a blown head gasket prevent a car from starting?

 

[01rangerxl]

If it overheated, absolutely.

Does the engine turn over and not fire, or do you just hear the starter solenoid clicking? If you just hear the starter solenoid clicking, it's probably locked up from overheating.

 

[Phishin]

Originally Posted By: 01rangerxl
If it overheated, absolutely.

Does the engine turn over and not fire, or do you just hear the starter solenoid clicking? If you just hear the starter solenoid clicking, it's probably locked up from overheating.


I didn't notice the coolant temp was overly high when I was driving it. But that just means I didn't notice it. It could have been hot. I was listening to the car....and forgot to look at the coolant temp gauge.

The car does turn over. Quite easily. It just doesn't start. If you crank it for a bit, you might get it to "start" or fire for just a revolution...but basically, there is no combustion going on.

If it wasn't for all the smoke, I'd be inclined to think it was something easy....like a bad plug wire or a plugged fuel filter. But all the white smoke pouring from the rear of the engine has to be something....coupled with low coolant in the reservoir tank.

But not being able to get it to start now....but it easily turns over....I don't have a clue.

 

[JackAlan]

I had the admission complex gasket reinstated 20k miles in the past. When it was can't help being done, my technician supplanted one stop fitting since it was disagreeable. May have one of the others foundered and create the coolant hole?

 

[mechtech2]

Originally Posted By: JackAlan
I had the admission complex gasket reinstated 20k miles in the past. When it was can't help being done, my technician supplanted one stop fitting since it was disagreeable. May have one of the others foundered and create the coolant hole?


HUH?

 

[Slacker]

Take a good look at all your hoses at the back of the engine. If it is still sucking coolant out of the reservior , then your system is still pressurized. When I first started reading your post I immediately thought: BAD GAS.

 

[supton]

Black and sooty plugs? Doesn't sound like its drinking coolant.

Symptoms are pointing every which way. But if it turns over easily, might the cam jumped timing? Is this a timing belt motor?

 

[Phishin]

Originally Posted By: supton
Black and sooty plugs? Doesn't sound like its drinking coolant.

Symptoms are pointing every which way. But if it turns over easily, might the cam jumped timing? Is this a timing belt motor?


No, she's got a timing chain.

On my way home last night, when it began to stumble, I stopped at Autozone and had it scanned for codes. Nothing. While I was there, I was thinking BAD GAS, so I dumped a bottle of ISO-HEET in the gas tank and topped off the tank with 3 gallons of fresh fuel.

This has me stumped because:
1.) Car began to stumble/miss
2.) The car died on the way home, I got it started, and barely made it home
3.) When I shut the car off, there was white smoke coming out between the engine and fire wall.
4.) Now the car won't start

Yeah, the symptons are pointing every which way.....but if it was a hose at the back of the engine, some kind of line, or a head gasket failure, why wouldn't it start?

 

[Phishin]

I'm starting to think that a freeze plug blew a hole in it and was the cause of the coolant leak....causing my coolant reservoir to be low, and the white smoke I saw behind the engine.

Does anyone have any idea what the leaking coolant could have destroyed causing the car to stumble/miss and finally, not start?

Thanks.

 

[Kruse]

The plugs are sooty? Buy some of the cheapest copper spark plugs that you can find, screw them in and see if it starts.

 

[supton]

Hmm... How good is the coolant temp sensor capable of working when there is no coolant? If it's submerged--and then not--? I wonder if it ran out of coolant, overheated, warped the head and/or scored the cylinders, and now is kaput.

Ignition timing off badly? Hmm, I'm trying to think... Fast crank, with the occasional hit--could be fuel delivery. Maybe the fuel filter up and quit, or the fuel pump. Those could absolutely nothing to do with the coolant issue; you may be dealing with to unrelated problems here.

I don't think coolant in the exhaust would take out the O2 sensor nor catalyst.

 

[Vikas]

If you have compression tester, why not check the compression first before worrying about blow head gasket? Even with a blown head gasket, I thought the engine would run albeit badly.

How about some logical trouble shooting before condemning the head gasket? Spark, fuel, compression, timing etc

 

[Phishin]

Originally Posted By: supton
Hmm... How good is the coolant temp sensor capable of working when there is no coolant?


The radiator is full of coolant. It might be a 1/8" lower than it would be if it was all the way full. Just the reservoir was empty/nearly empty.

I don't even think it is the head gasket now. I think the freeze plug went.

Here is my new theory:
1.) When the IM gasket was replaced 2 years ago, the mechanic replaced one freeze plug, but not the rest because they were hard to remove. He replaced the one that looked the worst. So, the others were "bad" too.
2.) One month ago, I replaced a leaky radiator (which I tried to solve using radiator stop leak of some kind about 10 months ago when it started leaking.) New coolant = no gooey stuff to prevent the freeze plug from leaking. New water pump was also installed, so higher pressure on the coolant system as well.

But if this theory is correct, the leaking coolant must have fried something in the ignition to cause it to stumbe/miss and finally, not start.

 

[mattd]

By the coolant loss/stalling/no run, i would check the intake gasket job again and make sure no coolant leaks were developed from his work or a freeze plug didnt blow out. It will still run with coolant leak. I'm sure MIL came on so check codes if possible.

 

[Phishin]

Originally Posted By: mattd
By the coolant loss/stalling/no run, i would check the intake gasket job again and make sure no coolant leaks were developed from his work or a freeze plug didnt blow out. It will still run with coolant leak. I'm sure MIL came on so check codes if possible.


Yeah, it's the "not running" part that has me confused/worried/concerned. That's why I'm hoping the quantum leap from "leaking coolant from freeze plug" to "leaking coolant fried a circuit/wire harness/etc." holds true.