Nissan Primera P12 Overheating on hills

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   P12 2002 2lt QR20 with a CVT box

Hey long time lurker first time poster as managed to get most of my answers from other topics but now i'm stuck with the P12 overheating on a big hill. sorry if its a bit of a ramble

The car is mainly used around town and to the mother in laws 1 1/2 away no real big hills. 

Yesterday went up the main mountain range for about 20mins which has lots of uphills then flattens off then hills again. Temperature gauge goes up and down a bit with no big issue till a fairly longer and steeper stretch push the temp all the way and activated the warning temp sign. Lucky we were on the next flat spot and pull over and down a side road which is down hill and dropped the temp straight down. also its summer down here so about 23c. 

Checked and the expansion tank was full, no steam or water leaking just a hot engine, top and bottom of the Rad was hot.

So spent part of the day checking a few things. 
Head compression between 150-160 psi  (changed the Head gasket 4 years ago)
Thermostat good
Water control thermostat good
Coolant flushed and replaced.
No error codes coming up on the dash
Looked at the auto tension and seems to be in the right range but bloody hard to see without stripping it down. 

Side note the AC stopped working 2months ago and looks like the clutch isn't engaging so just left it till we had the spare cash to sort. 

Normally when it over heats its one of the sensors but comes up with a error code so easy to sort. 
done the Crank, Cam, Input gear box and output gear box. 

Hopefully someone can point me in the general direction to what else it can be. 

Many thanks
Dave

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Dwalton Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List NPOC Guest Joined: 10 Apr 2015 Location: New Zealand Online Status: Points: 3	Post Options Post Reply Quote Dwalton Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: Nissan Primera P12 Overheating on hills Posted: 20 Jan 2019 at 8:05am
	P12 2002 2lt QR20 with a CVT box Hey long time lurker first time poster as managed to get most of my answers from other topics but now i'm stuck with the P12 overheating on a big hill. sorry if its a bit of a ramble The car is mainly used around town and to the mother in laws 1 1/2 away no real big hills. Yesterday went up the main mountain range for about 20mins which has lots of uphills then flattens off then hills again. Temperature gauge goes up and down a bit with no big issue till a fairly longer and steeper stretch push the temp all the way and activated the warning temp sign. Lucky we were on the next flat spot and pull over and down a side road which is down hill and dropped the temp straight down. also its summer down here so about 23c. Checked and the expansion tank was full, no steam or water leaking just a hot engine, top and bottom of the Rad was hot. So spent part of the day checking a few things. Head compression between 150-160 psi (changed the Head gasket 4 years ago) Thermostat good Water control thermostat good Coolant flushed and replaced. No error codes coming up on the dash Looked at the auto tension and seems to be in the right range but bloody hard to see without stripping it down. Side note the AC stopped working 2months ago and looks like the clutch isn't engaging so just left it till we had the spare cash to sort. Normally when it over heats its one of the sensors but comes up with a error code so easy to sort. done the Crank, Cam, Input gear box and output gear box. Hopefully someone can point me in the general direction to what else it can be. Many thanks Dave

roy.2 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List NPOC Elite Member Joined: 23 Jan 2010 Location: Nr Bourne Lincs Online Status: Points: 3976	Post Options Post Reply Quote roy.2 Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 20 Jan 2019 at 11:34am
	Hi Dave. Welcome to NPOC. Nearly 4 years on. When it was getting hot, did you put the heater on to Maximum to get rid of the heat? If so, did it work. if it did not come through hot, you may have an air lock.
	Roy

timeshock! Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List NPOC Guest Joined: 29 Jan 2006 Location: Newcastle Online Status: Points: 14483	Post Options Post Reply Quote timeshock! Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 20 Jan 2019 at 5:54pm
	Hi and welcome to your first post you lurker The only think I can't spot in your post is that the radiator fans are running, 23^c is no great shakes. I would also check the condition of the radiator paying particular attention to the fins on both sides. As for your air con, the clutch not engaging indicating you have no pressure/coolant gas in the system, this may be a severer leak, a small leak over a long period of time (when was it last re-gassed), if your aircon people are like ours over here, they check the system for free, attaching the re-gas machine, if there is a leak no gas is pumped in. Sometimes the Schrader valves go on them as well The condenser on these sit in from of the radiator and catch the crud and grit and are susceptible to being punctured.

Dwalton Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List NPOC Guest Joined: 10 Apr 2015 Location: New Zealand Online Status: Points: 3	Post Options Post Reply Quote Dwalton Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 20 Jan 2019 at 6:50pm
	Hi Thanks for the reply. Yes the blower pumps out hot, shouldn't be an air lock with the time i spent filling it up. plus took the same amount of water that came out. But there was a few bubbles coming into the header tank after the test drive, didn't smell like exhaust and only a few. think it's the last of the air being pushed out. Will check again tonight though, same with the Radiator fins. I thought the clutch would engage even if no pressure and no they charge down here to have a look, sometimes they do a free check in winter if they are quiet. You can get a can of AC gas which you can top up the system with for $50 but it also says if the clutch doesn't engage don't use the product. Looks like it will be going to the garage end of the week if i have no luck. thanks again. Dave

timeshock! Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List NPOC Guest Joined: 29 Jan 2006 Location: Newcastle Online Status: Points: 14483	Post Options Post Reply Quote timeshock! Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 20 Jan 2019 at 7:18pm
	The clutch disengages to prevent damage because the gas also carries lubricant in the form of PAG oil. I would have thought your AC re-gassers will be using the same equipment as here and will not discharge gas if it can not pressurise the system and therefore would not charge you for the service.

Dwalton Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List NPOC Guest Joined: 10 Apr 2015 Location: New Zealand Online Status: Points: 3	Post Options Post Reply Quote Dwalton Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 28 Jan 2019 at 6:27pm
	Thanks for the explanation Timeshock. So the garage pulled out the radiator and had it checked and came back as 80% blocked. in went a new one plus a new set of Thermostats so hopefully that is all that is wrong. Haven't had time to run it back up the hill yet but the gauge is running a little lower and the fans for not as long after i turn it off. Thanks for all the help.

timeshock! Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List NPOC Guest Joined: 29 Jan 2006 Location: Newcastle Online Status: Points: 14483	Post Options Post Reply Quote timeshock! Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 28 Jan 2019 at 6:55pm
	That sounds encouraging, let us know what happens next time you go up the hill in the heat