2003 Enthusiast w/ 56k miles. Was driving and the car began to shake and I noticed I was overheating. Pulled over to let it cool, went and got some water and got it home.

The car will idle and rev up and not overheat when standing still. When I drive it it will go to H pretty fast. I am thinking it is the thermostat.

I have also read that the shaking and loss of power was due to the ECU cutting fuel and changing timing. Is this correct? I want to make sure I didn't damage the engine. It runs now but I haven't really got on it yet since it overheats so fast.

As for the repair, I have 2 options, let the dealer do it, or do it myself. I am pretty confident I can do it myself but I do not want to give the dealerships any reason to void my warranty.

Sorry if it's a dumb question I have owned old cars all my life a never really dealt with a warranty before, or ECU's for that matter.

 

What warranty do you have on an '03? Lots of things can cause a car to shake though...can you specify what exactly is shaking? Perhaps since you think it's the engine, is the engine misfiring or anything? Does it always shake when moving or only when it's overheating? ...so many questions, lol.

 

Since it only did it for a very short time, as I quickly turned off the car, and it is current not doing it - best thing I can say is that it felt like the rev limiter. I gave it gas and it just sputtered causing the car to shake.

As for the warranty, I might not be under warranty, bought the car so long ago I could have swore I got a 10 year, but the dealer is saying 7 year, I have to find my paperwork.

ECU question still stands tho, will the ECU cut fuel and timing when the car is getting too hot.

 

Psytropic,

It sounds like your thermostat could be the culprit behind your Z's overheating issues.

The thermostat gasket, which seals the space between a thermostat and the manifold, can leak, causing radiator fluid to leak onto the engine manifold. Inspect the thermostat housing and look for any noticeable leaks.

The water inlet gasket is ref #13050P in the diagram below:


*diagram courtesy of nissanpartszone.com; all rights reserved

 

Thanks for the info techtalk, I went to Courtesy and got that same diagram, and am going to replace the thermostat this weekend. My main concern now is the car's performance when it was overheating, I hope it was a 1 time ECU involved thing, and that I did not damage my engine.

 

350z thermostats and bleeding the air out of the cooling system is a *****. there could be an air bubble getting stuck behind your thermostat. steam won't make the thermostat open, hot coolant will. I was having the HARDEST time getting all the air out of the cooling system after i replaced the thermostat so after like a week of trying, i took the thermostat out, and drilled out the guts. All i have on the car now is the thermostat housing allowing coolant to flow 100% of the time. takes a couple minutes for the car to warm up in the morning but it NEVER overheats. super easy to do. lemme know if you wanna give this a shot. i've got pix and can walk you through it.

 

Is the AC fan running? There's a recall that affects your model

 

Thanks for the help guys, car seems to be fine. iheartmyz I am sorry to say I got the t-stat on in under an hour, started up the car, opened up the bleeder on the heater hose by the battery and as soon as coolant flushed out I tightened it. Drove it for 20 mins, even got on it hard a few times, gauge never moved from the 40% line it always used to stay at.

Does anyone know if the oem gasket has an adhesive backing? The one I got, I am now second guessing if it did, because I never peeled any backing off.