flush out heater hoses
Even though you have already replaced the thermostat, there are other issues that can cause your Nissan Maxima to overheat. Your fan may be stuck and not operating as it should.
It's complicated to answer that question.
You should use a thermostat gasket along with the thermostat housing ring. The gasket should be replaced every time the thermostat housing is opened.
The thermostat CANNOT be repaired it has to be replaced. There should be a hose coming out of the top of the radiator hose going to the engine. Where it connects to the engine should be a housing with two bolts on it. Disconnect the hose and the bolts and the thermostat is behind the housing. You might have to move something out of the way to do this, but it is usually rather easy. Hope this helps.
It should switch on and off automatically, if it is not it is stuck and needs to be replaced.
The thermostat or the fan relay for the radiator fan. If the temperature gauge shows the engine to be hot the fan should be on. If the fan isn't on you can check it by removing the electrical connection to the temperature sensor. If the fan is all right it will come on by default when the wiring connector is removed. Usually it is the thermostat which needs to be replaced when the engine is overheating. If the top hose going to the radiator isn't hot when the temperature gauge shows the engine to be hot the thermostat is stuck shut and should be replaced.
Ingeneral, the fan will run only if the temperature of the radiator is above the normal range. If the fan is running, then the radiator must be over temp unless the radiator fan thermostat or it's relay is defective. If the radiator truly is over temp then you have a larger over-heating problem You state the thermostat was replaced. if you replaced the fan thermostat then either the radiator really is over temp and it is doing what it should, or there is a problem with the thermostat-fan relay or switch. If you replaced the engine thermostat that controls the flow of coolent between the engine and the radiator, then that probably wasn't your problem and you should look elsewhere for an overheating cause. I would start by determining if the engine actually is overheating or not. If it is, I would look for coolent system problems like the engine thermostat (if you didn't replace it already), water pump, leaks, scale build up in the radiator, or blockages in the system. If the engine isn't overheating then I would consentrate on the fan, fan thermostat and relays.
Any sign of overheating, just replace the thermostat. On a 8 year old car it should be replaced and the cooling system serviced.
Yes it can be replaced, if it is of the replaceable type. If you are in doubt about how to do it, perhaps you should have it done by a plumbing professional.
In the thermostat housing. Follow the upper rad hose that should hook into the thermostat housing. It usually has 2 bolts holding the stat in place
I just had the thermostat housing replaced on my 99 Jetta VR6. It's on the right (driver's) side of the engine block. The battery and battery tray should be removed to get access to the thermostat.
Can't give you an exact price, but i just replaced the thermostat in my eclipse gt and it was like $20 for parts, assuming you do the install.