Xterra, bypassed radiator. Any issues?

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So I recently purchased the Xterra in my sig. Online there are many issues with the radiators leaking antifreeze into the Atf. Most recommend closing the loop in the radiator and only using the air cooled trans cooler. I did this and now I am having second thoughts on how wise this may be ( thanks BITOG). Will this cool sufficiently? My concern is the summer time temps. Am i being a typical BITOG introverted paranoid vehicle owner or are my concerns valid? Thanks for the thoughts.
 
Originally Posted By: Chris142
I would add another air to oil cooler

Yeah i thought about that. Maybe just get a really big cooler and go with one.
My other concern now is getting the atf up to temp which the radiator assists with.
The obvious answer is to get a new radiator. Don't really want to, but that's the "right" answer.
 
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In Ohio, you're going to have some cold tranny fluid six months out of the year...but I don't think that will affect it too much. You might consider a thermostat in line with the cooler, to keep it from operating well below normal temps in the winter.

I installed a gauge on my 4 Runner. If you do nothing else, do that, then you'll know if you're running too hot, or stone cold....

In my case, it led me to install a second oil cooler...but that's because I knew it was running hot...I wasn't guessing...
 
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We had a 2005 Xterra, bought new. Once I heard about the transmission/radiator issue, the first thing I did was do a poor man's flush on the transmission. I replaced the Matic J with Mobil 1 ATF (although I was told I would grenade the transmission if I did this by some on a Nissan forum). I then did the simple bypass of the transmission cooler lines to the radiator. This was done at about 40k miles. At around 75K I did a simple drain and fill on the ATF fluid, again with Mobil 1 ATF. The Xterra was still running and shifting like a new car when it was sold at 93k miles on the odometer. I never felt like it was an issue after I did these things and the air cooled transmission cooler was more than adequate. Since we don't have the Xterra anymore I've not paid much attention to this problem. When we did own it the thought was that the Matic J and the radiator soldering weren't compatible causing an undesirable chemical reaction that ate the solder causing the ATF and the antifreeze to mix leading to the "SMOD" (strawberry milkshake of death). Did they ever determine the actual cause? I hope so because the Frontier in my sig has the same platform the Xterra did. Surely, after the beating Nissan took over this, they've fixed the problem. I sure hope so or I'll be back out in the garage repeating the same processes again.
 
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Thanks for the actual real life experience answer. I would assume nissan has rectified the issue, let's for sure hope so!! This is my 2nd 05 X and I had no issues with the first. Although I did not do the elimination of the rad cooler on the first one. I put in full syn maxlife ATF, I have had positive results with it.
Yes a new aftermarket radiator is undoubtedly my wisest option. Maybe do that soon
 
Originally Posted By: Richtrashman
Originally Posted By: Chris142
I would add another air to oil cooler

Yeah i thought about that. Maybe just get a really big cooler and go with one.
My other concern now is getting the atf up to temp which the radiator assists with.
The obvious answer is to get a new radiator. Don't really want to, but that's the "right" answer.


Yes, new radiator is the only long term answer.
 
The radiator in the winter does not add much heat. What do you think is the temperature in the of the coolant entering the engine when it's way below freezing?

Better to put in a big air to oil cooler and a thermostat on the line.
 
Originally Posted By: Richtrashman
Thanks for the actual real life experience answer. I would assume nissan has rectified the issue, let's for sure hope so!! This is my 2nd 05 X and I had no issues with the first. Although I did not do the elimination of the rad cooler on the first one. I put in full syn maxlife ATF, I have had positive results with it.
Yes a new aftermarket radiator is undoubtedly my wisest option. Maybe do that soon


MaxLife was my second choice for ATF replacement for the Xterra. I used this for an ATF fluid replacement on a 2002 Tundra we owned and it did a great job in that application. Glad it's working for you. As I said, I was berated numerous times on Nissan specific forums for taking the chance on anything other than a Nissan fluid. Didn't believe them then and still don't. My experience is proof enough for me. I'm no engine expert but I feel that the Nissan 4.0l VQ40 engine is a very reliable platform. It's one of the reasons we went with the Frontier when looking for a small pick up. I was familiar with it by having done all the maintenance on the Xterra since it's the same engine and felt comfortable selecting it again.
 
Had a 2007 Frontier with the same radiator. Problem was cracking that occurred on the tranny line inside the radiator. These were apparently caused by unrelieved stress in the part. I had the Fronty until last year and sold it but never had any problems with the radiator.
 
Originally Posted By: SHOZ
The radiator in the winter does not add much heat. What do you think is the temperature in the of the coolant entering the engine when it's way below freezing?

Better to put in a big air to oil cooler and a thermostat on the line.


Yeah, this. It'll cool your fluid when it's already cool and keep it a tepid 220'F come summer.

Radiator coolant temps are totally all over the place as the coolant thermostat keeps the engine temp constant at the expense of the rad. The only reason you have an ATF loop is it's hundreds times more efficient to have liquid-to-liquid than liquid-to-air heat transfer.

You can get a plate cooler to put inline with your stock one real cheap from advance auto that you can hang in front of your rad/condensor. I'd put it where the fan can pull through it.
 
Honda has a similar issue with some of their older Pilot/Ridgeline/MDX vehicles (ours included). Fortunately for us, rusting seems to be the culprit, and being mostly a southern vehicle, ours doesn't really have any. I have thought about replacing the radiator as a preventative measure...never have, though. I have thought about an aftermarket plate cooler for the transmission fluid. I read conflicting reports of them either not cooling enough in the summer or not letting the fluid warm up enough in the winter. I'm not interested in an add-on thermostat...just another potential failure.

I'm sure I'll just replace the $150 radiator at some point...
 
Originally Posted By: mrsilv04
Not to be confused with SCMODS.

"State County Municipal Offender Data System".


Xterras have catalysts and don't run good on regular gas.

Nor cop motors & shocks.

/off topic
 
Fwiw, I had the radiator issue at 80k and had't been running Nissan J since about 30k so I seriously doubt it was related to any J vs. solder incompatibility.

Luckily mine started to show as a bit of red on top of the coolant overflow bottle at 79,950. Ended up with a new radiator and transmission as they had just acknowledged the issue and extended the warranty to 80k.
 
The B&M coolers that somebody linked above are supposed to bypass colder fluid. Long Manufacturing makes a similar cooler. Maybe they even make them for B&M. I doubt the bypass is as effective as a real thermostat, but it might make some difference in cold weather.

With a non-Apple device, you can monitor trans temp pretty cheaply using the Torque app and a $15-20 OBDII adapter from Amazon. Couple that with some low-tech cardboard to block airflow if winter temps are too cold.

Are you a Tom Waits fan?
 
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