[magician35]

'97 Suzuki Sport JLX 1.8L, automatic,a/c, 4x4. Can anyone with a manual tell me what the coolant capacity is? Also need to know if there is a block drain. Thanks

 

[fordem]

Information for the 1.8 Sidekick Sport can be very hard to find - if no one else chimes in with the correct information, consider the following...

The J20a & the J18a share the same block & head - the coolant capacity for the J20a engined Vitara is listed as 5.6 litres for the engine, radiator & heater, with an additional 0.9 litres for the reservoir, so total 6.5 litres, the Sidekick Sport is probably quite close to that.

Edit...

Some non US markets had a 2.0 engine Vitara with the same body style as the Sidekick Sport - I have the owner's manual for that and it also shows 6.5 litres, so I think that would be a safe number to work with

 

[m000035]

'96 Suzuki 1800 Supplementary manual.
Coolant capacity = engine, radiator and heater = 7.1 liters. (15 us pint.)
Plus reservoir of 0.9 liters (1.9 US pints)
for a total of 8.0 liters. (16.9 us pints -- 2.1125 US Gallon)

No block drain. the water pump is the low point of the block cooling system. The manual just has you draining the radiator.

 

[rasmeidirtrider]

Coolant Capacity for the Sport?
Look at the file attached!
__________________
'96 (07/95) Sidekick Sport 16V, 1.8L, 4 auto, 4x4, 4dr, A/C, ABS in stock.

 

[m000035]

Obviously one source is incorrect.

I suspect it is the (my) '96 Suzuki 1800 Supplementary manual. I can measure when I get my J18 installed, but do not hold your breath. I work kind of slow!

 

[fordem]

I suspect it is the (my) '96 Suzuki 1800 Supplementary manual.

Yesterday I noticed your description and was curious, but, knowing that my documentation was not specific to the Sidekick Sport, not willing to ask - today, having seen the Sport information I will do so.

To the best of my knowledge the J18a was only used in two vehicles - the SV418 Sidekick Sport (with a 6.5 litre capacity), and the SY418 Baleno/Esteem (with a 5.3 litre capacity), your supplement shows 8 litres.

You describe the manual as a "96 Suzuki 1800 supplementary manual".

The SY418 supplement says SY418 on the front, I would expect the SV418 supplement to SV418 on the front (it's how Suzuki labels their manuals), your's either doesn't or you didn't tell us - what vehicle is it for?

 

[Kodiak]

Coolant Capacity for the Sport?
Look at the file attached!
__________________
'96 (07/95) Sidekick Sport 16V, 1.8L, 4 auto, 4x4, 4dr, A/C, ABS in stock.

That is exactly the same as my owners manual states.

 

[m000035]

... You describe the manual as a "96 Suzuki 1800 supplementary manual".

The SY418 supplement says SY418 on the front, I would expect the SV418 supplement to SV418 on the front (it's how Suzuki labels their manuals), your's either doesn't or you didn't tell us - what vehicle is it for?

The cover on my manual is a bit dirty and the "SIDEKICK" blends into the white stripe on the front. The actual title is: "96 Suzuki SIDEKICK Supplementary Service Manual 1800 99501-51A20-33E". It looks like this manual (Just dirtier as I got it CHEAP!):

1996 Suzuki Sidekick 1800 Dealership Service Manual Supplement | eBay

There is chart on page 6B-6 with the total coolant capacity listed as 8.0 liters. I will not insist that "my" manual is correct, as all these manuals have little errors.... some are just typo's or not properly updated. Few are big errors. If two of three manuals say one thing and the third says something different...

Anyway,

When I fill my J18... when I actually get it installed, I'll have two gallons of coolant on hand. I just do not expect it to take it all.

 

[fordem]

Very strange - I wonder if I can track down a pdf based on that wording - I've never been able to find SV418 pdfs, and maybe that's the reason.

 

[magician35]

Thanks for all of the information. I missed seeing these replies for some reason and just posted the same basic question again. Anyhow, 7-8 liters is good enough to do a proper flush and refill to maintain a 50/50 ratio. After the flush, I'll drain 3.5 liters and replace with 100% antifreeze. If it measures weak, I'll figure out how much of the mix I have to drain and replace with 100%. When it's all over, I should be able to tell you the true capacity which I'll post here probably tomorrow.

 

[magician35]

In my day, changing coolant was a matter of opening the drain valve, sticking a garden hose in the radiator and running the water and the engine until what was running on the ground was clear. Then you turned everything off, drained the block and radiator and filled it back up with 50/50. Not so today.

On the Sport, I drained the system through the valve on the radiator and got a total of 5.5 L. What I drained measured a concentration of 58%. I replaced the 5.5 L with distilled water, ran it to mix and drained 5.5 L again. The concentration of what I drained was 8% which is consistent with a total capacity of 6.5 L.

Since the 1 L remaining in the system contained less than .1 L of coolant (and .9+ L of water) I decided that was sufficient flushing so I topped it off with a 50/50 mixture.

After running, the coolant in the system measured 49%. So, I go along with the '97 Sport 1.8 having a coolant capacity of 6.5 L. (And I have 11 L of coolant to haul to the local recycling facility after I make an advance appointment.)

Thanks for the help. Malcolm

 

[m000035]

Thanks for the update.

Now I know I do not need as much coolant as my FSM states. But as it comes in gallon jugs, it really doesn't change how much I'll have on hand.