[amoooocow]

Hey guys, you have probably had a heap of these but the topics i found didn't fit my symptoms exactly so here goes.

Purchased my G16B Vitara back in march this year and changed the oil, flushed the radiator and filled her up with Tectaloy coolant as soon as i got her home. As she had just ticked over to 200 000km on the clock i decided i would schedule in services every 5000 to 7500km. She drove surprisingly well and even went on a few 4wd adventures and didn't miss a beat. However midway through august with the car fully loaded in a drive thru on a warmish day i noticed the temperature gauge was sitting about 3 quarters of the way up so i pulled up and switched the engine off and let it cool for about 20 minutes. i kept an eye on the gauge the whole way home but didn't go above halfway and i kept monitoring the temperature over the next month and a half where she didn't run hot once so i assumed it was a once off. But as the temperature started to pick up over here in Perth for the summer i noticed that the temperature gauge would start to rise on hot days to 3 qtrs when i was stuck in stop start traffic after driving for over 30 minutes, but turning the heater on full blast always brought it down to halfway. As soon as i started moving again i could switch off the heater and the car would run at normal temp. Until last week i just kept an eye on it and managed the problem ensuring it didn't go over 3 qtrs but then on a 38 degree day and peak hour the temp gauge went up to abut 80 percent to the H symbol with the heater on so i pulled over and switched the engine off and waited until it cooled so i could get it home. However this motivated me to workout the problem so i began looking at what it could be. things i have noticed:

There is no oil in the coolant reservoir and no milky coloured oil as i checked regularly and drained both today.

When i checked coolant levels when the car used to get hot i noticed the level of coolant in the reservoir would fluctuate from being over the full mark down to just above the low mark and upon pouring the coolant back into the radiator only a small amount would go in before it would be full.

The clutch fan spins all the time as soon as the engine is started.

Upon flushing and refilling the radiator today to check for blockages i noticed there was tiny bubbles or foam coming out of the radiator when bleeding the air out.

Possibly unrelated but every now and then the engine doesn't always start first time but always starts the second time.

So at this point after some reading it seems it could quite possibly be head or head gasket related but the car runs fine and the temperature only starts to increase in hot weather in traffic which could be cooling system related. At this point after reading so much im ready to accept any suggestions or advice anyone may have, and would greatly appreciate your responses.

Thanks.

[AckerDackerly]

Since you do not have oil in the coolant, I doubt that you have a head gasket problem.

I suspect that: (in no particular order...)

You may have a bad thermostat - it isn't opening properly when the heat builds up.

OR...

The water pump is dieing. Replacing it is also is a great time to replace the timing belt!

OR...

You may have an air pocket in the system caused by your recent flushing of the system.


Finally, be sure that you are using the recommended coolant type. With new engine technologies, there are different blends of coolants. Just because a coolant is something new does not necessarily mean that it will work well with our older trucks.


I hope that this helps!

[Reubs]

Sounds like a typical G16. Block is cracked. Looses coolant very slowly, runs reservoir down, sucks in air, coolant checked hot, air stays in system.

I have owned so many of these blocks now (near a bouts 10) and probably 8 were confirmed cracked and others strongly suspected. Cracks are very hard to spot as they occur under the inlet manifold where you have trouble looking and and coolant leak evaporates quickly.

Suggest another flush and use chemiweld to fix the problem. A new thermostat and gasket would be wise afterwards with new coolant also.

Long term this isn't problematic. LWB vit has 380,000km with chemiweld for last 80,000.

[shandy92]

Hey mate, i would be checking the basics and do the thermostat. The fan will spin as long as the engine is running, if it doesnt spin the you have a problem. With the engine off and watching 1 fan blade, give it a good spin and see how far around it gets. If it does more than 2-3 full revs then its buggered. Easily to fill up the liquid with some toyota silicone oil.

If u need help at all let me know, ive done most things on the g16.

[Onderbroek]

I had similar issue. Ended up being blocked tubes in the radiator


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[amoooocow]

Don't mean to bring up an old thread but haven't driven the vitara much up until recently. However, i decided to take it to mechanic to have the head gasket and block checked before i start spending money on other parts. Came back good news as the mechanic said there were no signs indicating a cracked block or head. He said he gave it a compression test and came back 125 on all cylinders. I'm going to start with replacing the radiator and thermostat and have noticed that prices vary considerably for a new radiator, found one on suzistore for 330 and this one for 130 here https://www.alphaautoparts.com.au/radia ... r/aap13427. Leaning towards the cheaper option unless you guys think an extra 200 is justifiable from suzistore?
In regards to thermostats i have seen several different types and am confused on which one to get.

[jdk81]

125 psi on all cylinders is very low.
Factory service limit is 175 psi, or max of 15 psi difference between them.

Did the mech do a wet compression test?
This will tell you if its the head/valves or rings.

I would investigate before spending $ on a nearly dead motor.

[amoooocow]

Hm I will have to check with him although he was pretty confident the engine was in decent condition. Would the low compression be the reason the car takes a few times to turn over when it hasn't been driven in a few days and dropping revs until the engine warms?
Thanks for the reply.

[shandy92]

Yes low compression would cause its to crank over a few more times than usual, unsure about lower revs when warm tho.

[amoooocow]

saw the mechanic again today and asked him about the low compression. he said that 125 psi for a car this age is fine and that it really only matters that all cylinders are producing the same compression, which they are. I also asked about the valves/rings and he said it didn't look like they were in a bad shape and to not worry about it.

[fordem]

Low compression is NEVER "fine" - it may be expected, or understandable, on an older, high mileage vehicle, but in that situation, it's an indication of worn bores/rings - uniformly low compression, especially if the numbers do not increase in a "wet" test, can also be an indication of incorrect valve timing, which may be a result of crank keyway damage (a known issue with these engines), and it can also be the result of incorrect testing procedures.

[Gwagensteve]

I don't want to sound like a hater or flippant, but if you have vanishing coolant and 125psi compression, it's time to look for another motor. Your motor is done.

[amoooocow]

thanks for the reply's guys its just confusing to hear that the motor is done when i've had it for a year and haven't had any issues other than the overheating on hot days.
excuse my lack of knowledge but whats the next step from here before confirming the motor is stuffed and look for another engine/car?
ask the mechanic to do a "wet" test? is this something i can do myself? get him to check the valves/rings?
is a rebuild on the cards or not worth it? how much do these engines usually cost for a rebuild?
sorry for all the questions but really appreciate the help.

[fordem]

Properly done, wet & dry compression tests are the first step in evaluating the condition of an engine.

Properly done - engine warm, all plugs removed, battery fresh & fully charged, throttle plate wedge fully open - dry test - attach the compression tester to each cylinder, and, one by one, crank the engine through 3~4 compression stroke, you'll see the gauge needle jump with each compression stroke, it'll usually stop increasing after 3~4 strokes, record the reading at that point and move onto the next cylinder, after you've done all four, move to the wet test - which is essentially a repeat of the dry test, but with a teaspoon or so (just a few ml) of engine oil added - you're going to add the oil to the cylinder you're testing, immediately prior to the wet test, and again record the readings.

If you do NOT see a jump in the compression numbers between the wet & dry tests, with the wet compression numbers approaching the FSM specified numbers (approx. 199 psi), you need to investigate and determine the cause - if there is a significant difference between the wet & dry numbers, and the wet numbers are close to the FSM spec, the low compression will be caused by worn bores/rings. Possible causes for low numbers, both wet & dry, are leaking valves (a leak down test can be done to verify this), and if they are evenly low, incorrect valve/cam timing.

If you have 125 psi "across the board" because of worn bores or rings, you have a very tired engine, and it's time to look at a rebore & a rebuild - some folks don't feel these engines are worth rebuilding - a rebuild is my preference, but, I am not in Australia, and face a different economic situation regarding the rebuild/replace discussion - I understand it's not too difficult to source a good, used, low mileage motor over there, that is not the case here, making the rebuild more attractive.