[marco91]

Well I'm a complete rookie when it comes to engines so I thought its probably best to ask. I've got a 1996 Suzuki Samurai which is running an engine from a 2000 Jimny (I'm guessing that makes it a G13BB?). Over the last 2 weeks it's been using water, I might top up 1L every week. Its also puffing white smoke on cold starts for approx 10 seconds. Flicking through some of the other threads it would suggest either a cracked head or a head gasket. It's come at a bad time as I was hoping to get some trips in over xmas.

Are G13BB engines prone to cracked heads or is it likely to be just a gasket? Saw something about a pressure test - is this the way to find out if the head is damaged? Ideally I'm hoping its just a gasket and I can order one tonight and have it all fixed in a few days.

The stupid part of it is that the temp gauge in the truck isn't working and I've had the new gauge and pipe adapter sitting on my shelf for the last 2 months waiting to be installed... lesson learnt

[jimny_timmy]

White smoke on start up is common for an engine of that age... Is there white milky residue in the oil cap? Oily water? There could be a air bubble in your cooling system, maybe your thermostat is rooted also.

I'd start with the thermostat and flush the coolant while it's out and replace with new stuff

[Mike57]

marco - if you have to add that much water every week then it is going somewhere. Get a pressure check on the radiator at the local radiator shop and confirm that there is a hole somewhere. Then make sure it is not an external leak before pulling the head off. Loss of water can be because the radiator cap is not holding the pressure or something more serious. Rule out the simple things and then confirm that there is a leak internally. After that there is no option I know of other than removing the head and taking a look. A blown gasket will be obvious but a crack can be a little harder to find sometimes. A compression check on the cylinders might be another check but not always conclusive.

[jimny_timmy]

^^^ this

To make my post a little more clearer, it could be pumping into the overflow bottle, but like mike also said (and I didn't think of) a hole in the radiator or one of the hoses.

[JrZook]

Fingers crossed its something simple tho the g13bb's do have a tendency of cracking heads