I'm good with fixing cars, but I have never done a head gasket. How can i fix a head blown gasket on a 2003 Nissan Xterra without taking it to a garage?As weird as this sounds, it is not hard to replace one at all. The problem is time. It takes a while dude. Not like a week but give yourself a full day or more since you've never done this.
Basic stuff before you assume the gasket blew.
Is the car smoking WHITE out of the tailpipe? A blown head gasket allows coolant to get into the cylinder and burn. When white is coming out of the tailpipe, that's coolant. Blue = oil. Black = fuel.
Check that first at start up and when you are driving. If you see it, then yeah it looks like it. If not, check others.
Such as: What's your compression? A typical blown head gasket will lose compression is two adjacent cylinders. Example, number 3 %26amp;4, 5%26amp;6, 1%26amp;2 or anything next to each other. With compression, all of the cylinders should be within 15% of each other. Example: If the highest is 150 (don't know for your car - you can check with a compression tester), then your lowest one should not be more than 135. Do the math, I hate math but you need it with this stuff some time haha.
After exhaust smoke and compression, then check your oil. With a blown head gasket, you are getting coolant into the cylinder which can seap down into the crankcase and mix with your oil WHICH IS HORRIBLE FOR THE BEARINGS! If coolant and oil mix, your oil will look extremely bad! Chocolate milk looking. So if you look at your dipstick or cap or check your oil, then you can see.
After those three, then check your coolant. Are you losing coolant? If you are, bad thing bro. You should not be losing much at all if any. Check that for lowness (is that even a word?). If low, fill it up to the top. Then take the cap off and start the car. If it has bubbles in the radiator (the coolant is bubbly), then that is another sympton.
After that, check for regular things that can cause overheating. Blown hoses, leaking radiator, maybe the thermostat was installed incorrectly, the coolant is old/dirty or it is just low period. Check those. Simple stuff for checking.
You can check compression with a compression tester. Your local parts store will have one.
If the symptons I listed are there, then yes. Suspect the head gasket. Those symptons can also mean other things: Cracked block or cracked head. Unlikely, but I've seen it. So yeah, those are the things to check out.
When replacing it, follow your manual and go from there. I could give you an idea but I don't know your car exactly so I can't be sure. Just take your time, make sure you understand what parts the manual is saying and when you fix the gasket and all that, be sure you TORQUE THE HEAD BOLTS TO THE BLOCK IN THE CORRECT SEQUENCE AND AS TIGHT AS WHAT THE MANUAL CALLS FOR. It may be a good idea to buy new bolts too. Talk to your dealer. Make sure the gasket is set on there properly, enough sealant to hold it, and before you install the new gasket, be sure the old one is off completely and the block's surface is evenly aligned. Should not be a problem though.
But hey, you wanna check the other symptons I listed before going on and suspecting the gasket. Best of luck!
ADDED ON: First off, when was the last time you flushed your radiator or just replaced the coolant all together? Secondly, I take it that you have enough coolant to keep it cool if you noticed that you aren't losing any.
If you car is overheating, check these: Coolant, make sure it has enough and is the right coolant for your vehicle! Check with your local parts store to see. If it turns out you filled it with the wrong kind, then buy the kind your car takes and not the predeluted (sp?) type. Just get the kind with correct color and add 50/50. 50 %antifreeze to radiator, 50% water to radiator. What I do with that: 8 cups of antifreeze, then 8 cups of water and repeat until it's full.
Along with those suggestions, check to be sure your thermostat is installed correctly. After doing that, check these to be sure it's good: Your fans are spinning (working), your radiator hoses are good and that your water pump is functioning. Might have twisted something up in the installation. I have done it many times with many parts, but it happens.
So again, flush your system (new coolant - ask people at parts store), be sure your thermostat is working, be sure your fans are spinning, the radiator hoses and heater hoses are good, check your coolant sensor, and all those are how they are supposed be.
Shoot, I've seen cars that when you replace the coolant and fill up with new, the problem goes away. Good luck.
What I would start with: Open hood, start car and check to see if the fans are spinning. If they are, great. If not, there ya go. If they are, then you can move on.
Also, your timing may be off. Not usually if someone didn't touch anything regarding but if you messed with distributor or doing anything like that, it could be off. If you tried everything I listed and nothing helped, let me know and I will add on and try and get this solved.How can i fix a head blown gasket on a 2003 Nissan Xterra without taking it to a garage?AND WHEN YOUR DONE DOING THIS, YOU'LL NEVER WANT TO DO IT AGAIN. THE NISSAN V6 IS A HUGE PAIN IN THE BUTT.
GET THE BOOK AND FOLLOW IT EXACTLY !! THERE IS WAY MORE TO IT THAN YOU THINK IF YOU HAVEN'T DONE ONE LIKE THIS BEFORE . NOT THE ONE YOU WANT TO START WITH.. SOMETIMES YOU GOTTA KNOW WHEN TO SAY NO... How can i fix a head blown gasket on a 2003 Nissan Xterra without taking it to a garage?I tend to agree with inkjax. I'd rather rebuild an entire motor than do a head gasket in place. It never seems to go right the first time, and you have to mill the heads usually anyway.How can i fix a head blown gasket on a 2003 Nissan Xterra without taking it to a garage?It might just be easier to do a motor swap, that's what I did but im not the greatest with cars, just easier for me. My cars a 92 which makes it even easier, good luckHow can i fix a head blown gasket on a 2003 Nissan Xterra without taking it to a garage?I fixed my head gasket by using CRC compound. The leak became very small and then I sold it!
BTW a motor swap may make more sense. You need gaskets, time, manuals, straightedge and what nots.
