the loss of coolant is critical. if it just keeps going away. in 1 week.
I nor anyone can answer that questions but what can be answered is that
you have a leak, and if the leak is NOT on the floor of your parking spot then it is being eaten by the engine. ( and may be doing more damage to the CAT and Oxy sensors)
there are many failure paths for that to happen.
bad head gasket.
craked head.
cracked block.
cracked heater core in cab or in the in main induction of 16v or manifold of 8v or IAC cracked and even a crack in the autotransmission cooler. (tranny oil milky)
the coolant loop is complex on these engines.
it most likely is a gasket. but you mechanic surely knows how to do the tests required
to find the leak. All Ase certified mechanics know these procedures.
this is a first order problem. id recommend finding someone who knows how to troubleshoot coolant problems.
if it is a head gasket and the proper steps are not followed , it will only repeat.
warped head.
uneven block top deck.
or worse there being a crank in the head or block from previous overheating.
I know it dont freeze PHIL, as i lived there for 1 year. (Nam vet)
not sure about Mount Pinatubo ? LOL.
PS: with proper tools and technique your issue can be diagnosed. I am sure.
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91'-8v,2dr,4wd,Conv. Market#E03
My server has Engine Repair proc/data. Check it out.
The problem of rough idling on start up remained so i had my vit undergo top overhaul to see once and for all the cause of the problem... Upon removing the head we did not notice any major leak or damage to the cylinder gasket. The bores were perfect! no scratch whatsoever. no signs of valve leaks. All the valve heads have the same color which according to the mechanic indicates good valve seatings.
Here is the picture of the engine...
The head gasket also did not show any combustion leakage. One thing we noticed ,the three cylinder head bolts on the middle exhaust side had some carbon deposits. The rest of the bolts had none. It is probably here the slight combustion leak goes.
I think we should have just retorqued the cylinder head bolts and we could have cured the problem. lol We also noticed thatwhen we were loosening the head bolts, they didn't offer any major resistance.
Anyway to make sure, we brought the cylinder head to the machine shop and had it resurfaced and cleaned.
I also replaced the water pump. The old pump had only one blade left!!!
We will be assembling the engine tonight and i hope and pray everything will be fine and the idling issues will be completely eradicated!!!
i would say the last head gasket was of the old poor variety that needed at least 2 or 3 retorques in 10k miles. ( the good old days,not.)
a modern gasket will not need that. Felpro, oem, etc.
the pump was missing blades, was it corroded off? looks like mice eat it. little teeth marks, but is heavy corrosion.?
thanks for pump discovery, you were smart to examine any high mileage pump.
note to others reading, a simple compression test discovered this truth.
any engine running strange, you need to check this , especially on 16v , interference engines. if all cyl. low do not drive it, your belt is slipped. Death of engine will ensue.
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click me.
91'-8v,2dr,4wd,Conv. Market#E03
My server has Engine Repair proc/data. Check it out.
Great news!!!!!! We assembled the engine last night. I made sure that we use only oem parts. Problem solved!!
No more rough idling on restart after a brief rest of the engine.
By the way, we also replaced the engine supports. No more vibration when i shift to reverse. The left support was almost ripped off.
Thank you very much sir jtgh!!! Your advice convinced me to have the top overhaul done right away.
When is the right time to have the head retorqued? i used oem head gasket.
So far my vit is working perfectly!! No more idling issues. I will be bringing it to the province tomorrow. (sir jtgh, it's near mount pinatubo.lol)
I have one last question sir. When the mechanic installed the cylinder gasket, he wiped the top of the block with a thin film of engine oil and also the top of the engine gasket! I asked him why he had to do it. He said it's just a pre cautionary measure thing so that if a problem occured and we have to remove again the head, the head gasket will not be damaged and can be used again. Was he right in doing this??
And since no problems occured and so there is no need to remove the head again wont there be any effect on the head gasket since he placed some oil on it?
i think the oil is fine. ( using old gaskets is not adviced at any time)
pinatubo ,, ouch !
on after market gaskets, it has a sheet/ paper , with it explaining all that.
some clearly state ,put nothing down.
others recommend permitex copper coat, but the trend is nothing.
Some gaskets have graphit on them so any oil might mess up this method.
(common on alum head and iron blocks, not yours)
it may be academic as the oil will vaporize in short order as engine gets fully hot.
it will turn to carbon. this oil. very soon.
my shop manual says nothing at all.
my master mech. book says.
nothing on surface , no oil, or old gasket ,etc.
and that the head gasket is the most complex of all gaskets and to follow the directions of the maker.
if using old tech. gasket retorque is required at 500 miles.
__________________ http://carfix.stufftoread.com/
click me.
91'-8v,2dr,4wd,Conv. Market#E03
My server has Engine Repair proc/data. Check it out.
Again thanks for the reply sir. I will update if i will be having any problems when i go to the province today. Maraming Salamat po (thank you very much)
Hi edc55, I am from Malaysia. My Suzuki Vitara 1996 1.6 16v auto had exactly the same symptoms as yours. Glad you managed to solve your problem. Following your experience and jtgh's recommendation I just bought a top overhaul kit from Suzuki spare part dealer for USD110 and will do the top overhaul next week. Hopefully the problem will be resolved. The mechanic requires two days for the job. I thought it is a simple job that can be accomplished within a day.
By the way did you replace the heater out water hose? Mine gave way last night last night after 12 years but still able to drive cautiously back home. Replacement part from Suzuki is USD11. Have changed all the radiator hoses previously but overlooked this small hose.
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