[notmyrealname]

Hello Zookers
Long time lurker first time poster.

My 2.4L '09 GV has been overheating on hills will going 105k+ The aircon goes off and the temp starts creeping up.
At first it was leaking coolant but a replacement radiator cap has sorted that one. The head was pressure tested and it seems ok.

I've taken it to the local mechanic and he wants to do the thermostat, the radiator and the waterpump all at the same time. I'm a bit time poor at the moment so I can't really do anything myself. He's quoting over $1300 to do all of the above. I thought it would have been reasonable to replace the thermostat first and then see how it goes? Also he says that it's good practice to replace the water pump when replacing the radiator?
Also both sides of the radiator are the same temp and the coolant doesn't appear corroded.

We're under a bit of time pressure as I'm heading away and when I get back we head off to Morton (I'm getting a lift kit for this too).

Any advice would be really appreciated.
TIA

[bumstein]

Hey notmyrealname (ar you sure that's not your birth given name?)

Welcome to participation!

Have a look at this thread viewtopic.php?f=5&t=51919

Similar issue discussed here recently, there was a few different opinions but mostly revolved around the solutions you already mentioned. Might be helpful

[notmyrealname]

Great thanks Bumstein.
Do you think it's reasonable to replace the water pump and the radiator at the same time?

[bumstein]

If it's overheating under load, it means (in my opinion) that either the coolant isn't circulating or the heat isn't transferring from the rad to passing air at a rate that compensates for the increased heat produced under load.

Personally, I'd be pulling the water pump and see if it's corroded. Replacing it while you have it out isn't a big deal. Same with the thermostat, if it's sticky it may not be opening enough to allow coolant to flow at its maximum rate.

I'd be surprised if an '09 model car has a blocked radiator. I'd expect a catastrophic failure, ie split tanks and dump all the coolant rather than blocking the core and loosing efficacy.

I'd do the water pump and thermostat first, unless a new rad isn't expensive then I'd do it all at once.

[bumstein]

The above is assuming that the water jacket is full (not low on coolant), has no air lock and there's no head gasket leak..

[notmyrealname]

Yep true. I'll go an get another opinion/quote. As I said I don't really have time to do this myself at the moment otherwise I would do it.
Thanks again for your help.

[notmyrealname]

Just to follow up I did the thermostat and no problems so far. We're off to Moreton this weekend so that will be the real test!

[losfer]

If the coolant has been changed before and they didnt use genuine suzuki coolant it will have a blocked radiator caused by cross contamination of coolants much like this kizashi radiator......

[losfer]

[notmyrealname]

Yikes. Thanks for the heads up. We've taken up it hills and over 110km in the middle of the day with no problems. If we get any overheating on the island that will be our next port of call. Thanks again.

[buzbox]

How time poor are you? It's approx. $300 worth of parts and a few hours time.

I'm sure the radiator would need to be removed to do the water pump anyway, so replacing the radiator would ensure trouble free motoring. The thermostat is easiest and cheapest to do and wouldn't be a bad idea to replace before you go on your trip. It may even solve the issue.

[notmyrealname]

Hi Buzbox
See above we've already replaced the thermostat and haven't had any overheating since. Still it's hard when you lose trust in a vehicle for overheating.

[buzbox]

Think of it this way. That part has been in there for 7+ years and how ever many km's. It's a consumable item and now a new part is in it won't need to be replaced again for quite some time.

[notmyrealname]

buzbox wrote:

Think of it this way. That part has been in there for 7+ years and how ever many km's. It's a consumable item and now a new part is in it won't need to be replaced again for quite some time.

Very true. Now all I have to worry about is the wrong #%&*@% springs the mechanic put in my car. They're good blokes I'm sure they'll sort it out.