Nissan Repair: Xterra overheating, radiator cap, gauge needle

Question
How can I tell is the water pump is or is not working on my 2003 Xterra? It overheats under normal conditions, I should say I live in Tucson AZ and is very hot this summer. The car worked fine last summer.

Answer
Hi Rafael -

The easiest way to tell if your water pump is working is to remove your radiator cap, run the engine to warm up temperature, and see if the water is circulating in the radiator. However, water pumps rarely go out.

Other items you may want to check -

Thermostat being stuck - Runs the engine until normal operating temp and feel the lower hose and the upper hose. If the lower hose is substantially cooler than the upper hose, or the radiator is sptting out coolant, then your thermostat needs replacing.

Cooling fan not working - Again, run the engine to operating temp and see if the cooling fan turns on automatically. If the temp gauge needle goes past midway, and the fan is still not on, then you need to check the fan - fuse, motor, switch, or relay in order of likelyhood of failure. If you have 2 fans, one goes on with the A/C.

Also when was the last time you flushed out your cooling system? Might be time for that one.

Hope this helps -
aloha
calvin