Heres the problems. First of all the coolant reserve bottle never gets sucked down with the truck running and heater on. The truck runs perfectly fine with normal coolant temps, radiator fan kicks on when appropriate, and working cabin heater, then for no apparent reason the heater looses its heat and the coolant temp starts to rise and the radiator fan does not kick on. Now the coolant stays hot and no heat in the cabin and then will sometimes go back to normal operations again after this period of overheating and no heater and other times it just continues to run hot and I shut off the truck. We just installed new head, intake, and exhaust gaskets because it was suggested that these symptoms are indicative of a blown head gasket. So now we are either dealing with a warped head? or some other issue? I do not know much but I would have guessed that with a blown head gasket the overheating issue would be persistent with no cycles of normal operations. And why isn't the coolant being circulated into the reserve bottle? With blown head gasket/warped head wouldn't the coolant system still function properyly? What do you guys think the problem is? I've tried opening the bleed screw on thermostat housing...I get coolant coming out when things are running right and during the overheating cycle I get air usually.
You gott'a burp it like a baby. I like to go to a 45 degree angle. Others will say that less will work just fine; I just don't like to mess around. Drive it up a hill face and set the park brake, pull the cap off and start it up. Some like to put a 2L pop bottle into the neck of the rad, (bottom cut off), in order to hold most of the coolant during the burping process. Two guys is best. You will see when things are hot, and when the water pump is "in cycle" via the thermostat. "Fluid Pulsation". I just keep adding 50/50 (hot...engine is hot now) and catch the cycle with the thermo closed, give her a quick "top up", and get buddy to throw the cap on..fast. If he's too slow, he gets burned... Sounds crazy, but that's the way to do it...otherwize you get "ghosts"...air pockets that move around the system. Who ever you talked to...well, see how that works out for you.op: NB, almost forgot to mention, have the heater at "max hot", not the fan, just the flow divider.
I'll give it a shot. Man I hope this works. I removed radiator and flushed it and all the hoses, disconnecting them at various points to ensure that water was flowing unobstructed. If this doesn't work I guess I'm pulling the head off again and sending it to a machine shop.
Naw, naw, naw, NOT joking around. If the burping process does not fix your problem, and it WILL... BTW, your explanation, of the condition is exact, all of the minis are notorious for the need of this process; it is covered HERE, multiple times, THEN, you have a break in the lines somewhere, and it is sucking air. Probly the cap, could be the line to the can; but a head gasket...TWICE? Not on this planet... BURP-IT...
spaner is right also there is a bleeder screw on the thermostat housing that will help get rid of some air as you are filling system initially but you have to be very careful if you try it as it is fragile.It's just a 6mm bolt that's hollower out and really thin.
Wow. It freaking worked. I had left the bleeder screw open when I got frustrated and shut off the truck and walked away with the sound of the air blowing out the bleeder screw. Came back after reading spaners post....tightened down the bleeder screw. Jacked up front of truck. Opened radiator. Started engine. Filled radiator with hose I don't think it even burped once since I let all the air out the bleeder screw but I left the cap open with a funnel full of water sitting in it for 15 mins with engine running, waiting for it to burp. After the engine running normal for 15 mins and fan kicking on to cool things down like normal I lowered the jack and took off on a 25 minute drive. Never even got past half temp...was actually cold the hole time since I removed thermostat (first time the truck has behaved like a vehicle without a thermostat should). Can't thank you guys enough. It all makes sense now. I had replaced the radiator fan in the fall after a tree limb got jammed in it and noticed the engine overheat, in the process I got air in the system. Days later I noticed the problem. Did some research and came across the "air bubble" stuff but after talking to some other guys and hearing "plain and simple it's the head gasket" I just went that direction at full speed. Turns out that I did all that for the fun of it... up side is I now know these suzuki carry's way better than I should haha. Got the timing set today at about 8-9 BTDC and she runs better than ever. So there are some upsides to this whole extravaganza. Got some new plugs, plug wires, and filters coming and will also be putting in a new thermostat and now will be expecting air in the system. Thanks again everyone.
Yup, Might just as well do your valve adjustment now. See, cu'z you understand now, It don't matter how you got to the point of understanding, (money-time-frustration) you just "understand" now, Probly more than most, Enjoy the truck... NB. NGK 6's are best below 10C, 8's above...gapped to 26, for power, You want economy, buy smart... Spaner :sly:
