Ask technical questions or post on problems/issues related to the Kizashi under this topic. Symptoms and pictures of your problem are a good idea.
NOTE: Any car related technical question can be posted here.
Carl-in-NH wrote:
I am concerned that I have an engine issue, and I will try to determine what I can do about that. Head only ? Full engine replacement ?
I think you're okay. You and your wife did the right thing and stopped driving the car once the overheating issue arose. You also let the engine cool while limping back home. The people I know who blew their head gaskets while overheating are the folks who ignorantly kept driving the car even after it started overheating. At that point, the HG blew and the oil and coolant mixed. The result was either a junked car or a replacement engine.
I think you're fine and just need to get the cap issue resolved if that is the cause of this overheating issue.
Thanks, but I think I am into a head gasket replace at minimum. I will try a few things over the next few days to confirm that.
At any rate, not the end of the world, especially if the engine is salvageable.
I need to see if there is a way to determine whether any local (former) Suzuki shops have any particular experience in doing this. (southern NH/northern MA area)
Carl-in-NH wrote:Thanks, but I think I am into a head gasket replace at minimum. I will try a few things over the next few days to confirm that.
At any rate, not the end of the world, especially if the engine is salvageable.
I need to see if there is a way to determine whether any local (former) Suzuki shops have any particular experience in doing this. (southern NH/northern MA area)
Why do you think that's the case? Are you seeing the symptoms of a blown HG?
Usually, people are quite apprehensive about replacing a HG given the cost. It's going to be close to $1500. It usually marks the death of an older car. Given our Suzukis are considered rock-bottom in resale value in the US, I'd hate to spend that kind of money on the engine.
I've actually overheated before in my former Impreza due to a leak in the radiator. I was driving it when I was losing coolant and the coolant temp started to climb. I pulled over, popped the hood, and let it cool. The fact that it was snowing a bit helped too. After about 30 minutes, it was okay to drive again for a short distance. I made sure it did not climb too high in temperature. I then left it at my friend's place until I could replace the radiator a few days later. After it was fixed, the car was fine and gave me many more miles, going past 225,000 miles before I sold it.
Personally I feel Carl-in-NH has a good reason to be worried.
From reading it all, the vehicle has been driven a couple of extended times while over heated and run very low on coolant (ie. when the temp gauge went from hot to suddenly cool - indicating the head's coolant temp sensor was no longer even submersed in coolant!) The aircon shutting off would be the first warning sign to immediately stop driving - that would be a built in safety measure to try and get the engine temp down. The car not starting is also a worry- hopefully another safety device built in by Suzuki to prevent engine damage?
Hopefully it all work fine once the cap is replaced.
PS: If the head gasket does need replacing, it would be wise to get the head resurfaced to ensure it is perfectly flat (as it may have warped.)
murcod wrote:
PS: If the head gasket does need replacing, it would be wise to get the head resurfaced to ensure it is perfectly flat (as it may have warped.)
I second the motion to have the head resurfaced. I replaced a head gasket once without resurfacing the head. Trying to be cheap. Ended up replacing the head gasket again after resurfacing the head.
As for having a car serviced by a dealer. I took a car in for warranty work once and after bringing it back home found oil under the car the next day. Found a small puncture in the oil pan causing the leak. Like someone jabbed the side of the oil pan with a ice pick. I figure the dealer made the small puncture to get extra warranty work. I returned the car to another dealer to replace the oil pan and never went back to the first dealer again.
murcod wrote:
PS: If the head gasket does need replacing, it would be wise to get the head resurfaced to ensure it is perfectly flat (as it may have warped.)
I second the motion to have the head resurfaced. I replaced a head gasket once without resurfacing the head. Trying to be cheap. Ended up replacing the head gasket again after resurfacing the head.
As for having a car serviced by a dealer. I took a car in for warranty work once and after bringing it back home found oil under the car the next day. Found a small puncture in the oil pan causing the leak. Like someone jabbed the side of the oil pan with a ice pick. I figure the dealer made the small puncture to get extra warranty work. I returned the car to another dealer to replace the oil pan and never went back to the first dealer again.
I suspect the head gasket was bad first. Seems unlikely that normal radiator pressure could blow the cap off the overflow bottle. Plus, if the cap's bad, the radiator is not building up any pressure. Something we're missing here.
Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms
Should be a convenience store, not a government agency
When the coolant boils (at a lower point with the radiator cap not pressurising the cooling system) the coolant will overflow profusely. The overflow reservoir cap only has a small hole and would provide a restriction to the expanding boiling coolant - but provide little resistance (being a press fit cap) and easily be blown off.
Regarding the reservoir cap blowing off: one theory is that the HG failure is such that I am getting engine pressures out there through the coolant system.
I 100% agree w/ some of the others that jumping in to a head gasket, especially with the abundant lack of decent experienced Suzuki techs around, would be an extreme last resort. First off, I assume you see no evidence of coolant in oil or vice-versa. So then, replace the radiator cap as has been recommended, and drive it. Monitor the temp while driving and check the coolant level before and after. Do this for several driving cycles. Level in reservoir should remain consistent once all the air is purged from the system (may take a few driving cycles for this to stabilize). Have you had the coolant system pressure checked yet? Have you removed the plugs to have a look at their coloration? Cylinders burning anti-freezer produce a noticeable difference. You can also have a compression check made of each cylinder on a hot or at least warm engine. If what you suspect is a head gasket gone bad, then your compression will likely be out of spec and/or vary from cylinder to cylinder assuming the car has been maintained and rings and valve seats are in good shape. The results of all these 'tests' taken in to account together may then warrant an expensive head removal effort to further investigate the HG failure theory. Mind you that HG replacements, done incorrectly, will not last long. Even done correctly, more times than not, the issue returns or worse. Also mentioned was resurfacing the head. The need of which can only be determined once the head's pulled and examined, so now you're committed to a HG replacement bill. If it's bad enough that the head does need to be trued, then the block should be resurfaced as well. Waste of good money to deck the head and not the block. No net gain, and, another blown HG will be the result. This of course would require a complete engine removal and teardown to deck the block. Again, all extremely expensive and cost prohibitive (as in not going to happen). So, they'll slap a new gasket in, button it all back up so it's drivable (and outta their shop) and then hand you a hefty bill. If the head and block mating surfaces are still within spec, and the gasket was truly faulty then problem solved. If the block and head need to be resurfaced, your very next step then should be to cut your losses and unload the car as quickly as possible. Trade it in and take what ever you can get for it.
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