[ramkris]

When I was driving back from native on my maruti 800(53000k regular oil changes and radiator flushes every 5k kms with regular maintanance), suddenly the car radiator boiled and the car stopped. I refilled with water and limped back to the workshop which required a couple of further refills for approx 25-30 kms.

The car was smoking a lot and I knew the head gasket blew.

I left it at the mechanic and he replaced the head gaskets, piston rings, etc, resurfaced the head and fixed the car. But for some reason didnt think of looking at the root cause of the radiator leak/failure.

The car was back and with my friend for a couple of weeks, who tells me the car was running fine. Then the first day I took the car, it again had a radiator boiling issue and was taken back to the mechanic. The mechanic then replaced the radiator and the car is back with me now.

Now the car is running fine and has been returning consistently 20+kms mileage as I keep the speed down to 60-70 kms.

The problem seems to be that the car jerks when there is some load (like climbing a hill) or immediately after downshifting for speed breakers and all.

What could be the problem, since the engine was opened, is there anything specific to that, or could it be the issue with the spark plug, wiring and all. The mechanics says since it is a mpfi model the timing cannot be adjusted.

I know the basic things to look for are

- fuel filter clogging
- injector cleaning
- sparkplugs
- wires etc
- and maybe bad valve seats causing compression leak

But is there something that could cause this issue other than above(it could even be one of the above), which occurs due to something missed during the engine overhaul.(I had never faced this issue prior to the radiator boiling/head gasket issues)

I just want to compile a list of things that I can ask my mechanic to check in order to resolve this issue.

Could you guys please help me in resolving this problem.

Thanks

[santsharan]

Originally Posted by ramkris

I just want to compile a list of things that I can ask my mechanic to check in order to resolve this issue.

Could you guys please help me in resolving this problem.

Thanks

Have you checked all the hoses for leaks? Check the coolant & engine oil level in the morning before starting? Might be some leaks here & there due to which the car gets overheated mostly on hills etc.

[ramkris]

Looks like the car engine is not holding up, even after servicing the radiator twice along with checking for any leaks and re-seating the head (twice) and new head gaskets as well.


My car radiator boils even on a short trip to office of around 10-12 kms.

I think doing onboard diagnostics might help in this case as that might help resolve any timing related issues.

I am not familiar with any service stations, but I heard Mandovi in JP nagar, bangalore is a pretty comprehensive one. I dont know of any person in the center so am a little hesitant to go there.

Can anyone provide reference person to the Mandovi MASS in JP nagar or any other competent MASS which will have the OBD scanners to diagnose and solve this issue.


Your help on this is really appreciated.

[Jaggu]

Check the water pump and oil pump also. Other members who are familiar can help with details of contact person.

[Psycho]

Have you checked if the radiator fan is working at the right temperature it could also be a blown water temp sensor or a faulty radiator cap.

[ramkris]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

Check the water pump and oil pump also. Other members who are familiar can help with details of contact person.

Hi Jaggu, thats a good point. When doing the initial head checkup, they had replaced the piston rings, checked the water pump and did surface the head and the head gasket was changed. I think this time I will ask them to look at the oil pump. Also the mechanic has removed the engine thermostat, which restricts the coolant flow, when the engine is not upto the operating temperature. This should obviously reduce the risk of overheating than otherwise. I read across forums that removing the thermostat would prevent the ECU from going into closed loop, thus causing poor driveability,emissions,mileage when the engine is cold, especially when driving locally. Otherwise it should not cause any further issues.

Originally Posted by Psycho

Have you checked if the radiator fan is working at the right temperature it could also be a blown water temp sensor or a faulty radiator cap.

Radiator fan is working and I found it to be working in fact excessively. So I will ask them to check the fan again.

Another thing I noticed is, the temperature gauge was normal today when the radiator water was boiling and making some boiling sound in the reservoir tank. I couldnt infer anything from this. Could be the temperature gauge is faulty too?

I am really surprised so many things could be faulty when the car has only just crossed 50K kms. I am losing faith in the servicability of maruti now. Can the largest selling car in India could be so difficult to troubleshoot? (This being a 5 speed engine, same as in the Alto)

I am going to leave the car for repair tomorrow so inputs on reference to any person in Mandovi MASS will help me better, as this will help in more focused diagonising and in turn less cost, as they would not be changing stuff on trial and error and cost me more, if the person is known.

As mentioned earier, pointers/reference to any good garage with OBD tools would also be preferable.

Thanks,
Ram

[ramkris]

Any references as mentioned above to a comprehensive workshop for service is greatly appreciated

Thanks

[amit_mechengg]

i think you need to go to the MASS and plug in the Tech2 and drive for say 10-12 kms with it, along with a competent service engineer.
you can check all the parameters on the tech2 and find out which sensor is giving the error reading due to which the coolant cycle is not effectively operating. this is leading to excessive temperatures. also you said that the temp needle on the console doesnt rise. that means its not indication properly.

[ramkris]

Originally Posted by amit_mechengg

i think you need to go to the MASS and plug in the Tech2 and drive for say 10-12 kms with it, along with a competent service engineer.
you can check all the parameters on the tech2 and find out which sensor is giving the error reading due to which the coolant cycle is not effectively operating. this is leading to excessive temperatures. also you said that the temp needle on the console doesnt rise. that means its not indication properly.

Thats exactly what I am trying to do. But the problem is I am still trying to scout for any people who might give me a reference to a competent MASS with the Tech 2 itself. I am scouting through the forums to find people who may be able help me get reference to one of the MASS locally.

[ramkris]

At last, the problem seems to be solved now. No trouble after getting repairs done by Mandovi.

The problem appears to be an earthing issue. But had to replace the radiator as well, coz it got clogged due to the overheating. Cost around 3000 Rs in repair including parts.

Had the injectors cleaned as well and put on a new thermostat as my old mechanic has removed it earlier, citing the overheating issue.

After a whole lot of repairs including, 2 head gaskets, piston rings, 2 radiators and being stranded on the road for more than a couple of times during late hours, now the situation is back to normalcy


Still observing the car, daily while driving to office for 20 kms per day. No issues so far, expect for the fact that the temperature needle is little closer to the middle, due to the thermostat maintaining the normal operating temperature, I guess.

Thanks also to VBV who has provided a contact named Shivanand in Mandovi, who also happened to work on my car.

[NFS-II]

With RAMKRIS can someone help me please...


A similar problem is occurring in my car too. There is a significant drop in coolant level every 15-20 days such that I have to top it up. If not the coolant starts boiling which is obvious. I have not found any loose hoses either which could have been the reason for the drop in coolant level.

A quick background about my car..
I own a Maruti 800 (1999 model) Carb version. Bought it 2 yrs back, got it retrofitted with Lovato LPG kit. I run this car on LPG. Of late, I had problems with the pipe circulating coolant into the vaporizer the one fitted by the retrofit centre had turned brittle. I was stranded twice as this pipe gave way! I have got it replaced.

As said I have checked all hoses and there is no leakage. The car temp indicator shows normal operating temperature however, I have noticed a strange "vacuum noise" these days.

Can anyone suggest me what could be the problem?

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[dr.faramroze]

We started our journey from Surat on Saturday afternoon, 17th July 2010, heading towards Borivali, going around 100 kmph and suddenly near Charoti, the coolant reservoir cap blew up and all the pressurised coolant was out on the highway NH8. I added coolant and water mixture and proceeded further towards Borivali, and again after 60kms near Virar, the same thing happened. Finally I called my mechanics in Borivali, Valsad and Surat, they told me to disconnect the thermostat switch and drive at a lower speed. I disconnected the thermostat so the fan ran continously and we reached home. After emptying the car, took it to a known and trustworthy mechanic in Borivali. He opened the hose and valve, the valve was jammed, so he removed it, changed the gasket packing and thermostat switch. There was no coolant leakage anywhere. Drove the car in Mumbai for two days and again today morning we started back to Gujarat. While climbing steep highway near Manor, pressed the accelerator hard and there goes the cap in the air and all the green fluid into the engine bay. Topped with coolant, switched the ignition key to on position so that tha fan can cool down the radiator fast. After another 30kms near Vapi, it happened again, somehow managed to reach Valsad.

It took Rs 400 petrol from Borivali to Valsad, so the fuel consumption seemed ok. There were a few guys suggesting head gasket replacement, but I ran away from them. There is a mud like layer near the radiator filler cap. I have changed the water pump a week ago. Will it be a clogged radiator? Can the radiator be serviced at home with Drainex or Muriatic Acid? Should I replace the radiator with a slightly bigger one? What can be the problem?

[SirAlec]

Since you live in relatively hot/warm place. Just remove the thermostat valve.

check various hose and radiator for leaks and blockage. If possible flush old coolant completely

change the radiator cap.

[dr.faramroze]

SirAlec, I got it opened today and discovered that the radiator was fully corroded, junk and clogged, hence replaced the radiator with a new one. Car is now in perfect running condition. The mechanic told me that the coolant was not guided into the engine because of the choked radiator so it boiled and threw up, wonder if there could be any damage done to the engine.

[SirAlec]

Drive it for a while and check the temp needle. It should not cross more than half way mark.