Overheating/out Of Oil

[jseidel40]

I recently purchased a 2001 Nissan Sentra and even more recently have had over heating problems with it. I pulled over on while on the interstate and the radiator was empty along with the overflow reservoir. I filled them both back up and continued the last few miles of the trip. About a week of city driving and speeds never more than 50 mph, notice the car over heating again and when I check...the radiator and reservoir are empty. I never see anything dripping from the car and there are never any puddles where I have just had the car.
On to the other day...I start driving (after refueling the radiator) and notice the oil light pop on. I stop and check the oil and I no oil on the dipstick. I quickly fill put 3 quarts back in the car but now Im just worried to even drive the car. A friend suggested a blown head gasket as he mentioned these cars are prone to them after 120k miles...but Im only on 96k. There is an after market exhaust and cold air intake from the previous owner but I dont know if that has anything to do with the problem. ANY ADVICE PLEASE!!! Thank you

[slideways...]

dont buy a modded car next time. this time, take it into a trusted mechanic/dealer to diagnose the issue. it may be a HG, may be other stuff also.

[inafogg]

hello i agree with slide but if ur looking to look at it ur self start with a pressure test of the cooling system.this will give you an idea of where the coolant is going. good luck

[slideways...]

but it wont show anything if the HG is blown. get a HG tester thingy. it comes with fluid that will show if theres combustion gasses in the coolant.

[jseidel40]

I didnt think to mention earlier that when I start the car up it usually takes about 10 seconds of me revving it inorder for it to get rolling. Its a stick first off, but IF I do have a busted HG could this "bogging" be the engine clearing the liquid inorder to get the required ignition to move? Once I rev it some, I dont have the problem driving until till the next day or if there is 8 or so hours since the last time I had it running. The overflow reservoir is also filthy if that has anything to do with it.

[nismo_pilot]

i would almost promise it being a headgasket, pull your plugs and look at the tops of your pistons, if you see shiny, just go ahead and grab your ankles, some shop is about to give it to you from behind

[nismo_pilot]

i see your in titusville, im in orlando if it turns out to be your headgasket ill work something out with you so it doesnt end up costing your first born to have it replaced

[inafogg]

so when u refill cooling system its ok besides the bogging on first start up.u drive all day & its fine??no rough idle or smoke or overheating??

[jseidel40]

Correct...I just check the fluids in the morning before I go anywhere and its fine. As long as I keep the reservoir full there is no overheating/smoke/bogging/rough idle...nothing. After filling up the reservoir all the way up, it might be fine for the next day too (after the initial 10-15 seconds of revving). I also noticed it seemed to take longer to quit bogging in the morning when the weather was under 50 degrees that previous night. A friend of mine who works at a dealership (Reid Nissan in Orlando - -nismo_pilot) suggested an engine swap (Spec-V) might be a little more expensive but a thought to consider. Any ideas on the swap or just stick to fixing the original engine?

[jseidel40]

so now I just got my car back from the YMCA because it didnt start when I wanted to leave. Seemed like it wanted to crank but just never happend. Tried to push start it (since its a 5 spd) and it just rumbled at 250 rpm before I ran out of parking lot and had to cut it off. Could this problem be related? I also put a new radiator cap on the vehicle about 3 hours before I tried to leave the Y...and yes I know the cap is on tight. Could a busted head gasket lead to the car not starting?
I finally did get the car started when my little brother pushed my car to 20 mph (helped by my mom's Pathfinder). I tried to pop in in first gear twice and it didnt work but when I got to 20mph I tried second and it rumbled again at about 250rpm and acted as though it wanted to start and after about 100 feet of that it finally cleared its "throat" and was fine. Problem is, white smoke was billowing out from the tail pipe. When I idled it just kind of came out, when the car revved up...ALOT of white smoke. Even after I turned the car off and waited to pull it home there was white smoke coming out of the tail pipe. Am I about to grab my ankles now or what?

[nismo_pilot]

yeah thats almost definitely a headdie