[gopa99]

So was it the bent tubing that was the culprit? Or anything else??

keep us posted!

[headers]

hi,

pls check your water pump, if OKay then

1. Flush Radiator
2. Replace with a good brand coolant in the correct ratio

There is a chance that your AC is overloading the car. Drive the car without AC for a few days to find that out!

cheers

[dinar]

Originally Posted by fiery enzyme

I took the car to MASS. The guy wanted me to turn in the car so he can check. I told him to take a drive and see if anything is wrong. He drove the car however the needle stayed normal now. He said there could be a blockage. I asked him if we can flush the radiator. He says the core for Baleno is too small and hence we can't flush it . We might have to replace the whole thing. I asked him a ball park estimate, he says 5k.

He also said the gasket might be blown and that he needs to check it so I have to turn in the car. I asked him for a ball park estimate and he refuses to give me one. I told him I'll bring in the car later. Wasn't comfortable if those guys knew what they were talking about.

Then I ran into another Bhpian, who took a look and said the lines might be clogged. He pointed out that the return lines were bent in such a way water can't flow through. He recomended me another place which I'm going to take the car tomorrow to. In the mean time he advised me not to use the car since he felt the heat coming of the engines were too hot for a car that had run only 5 kms (since I started the car today morning)

So question to Baleno owners.

Does the car usually generate a lot of radiating heat, for ex when you have driven the car for say 10kms with A/C and you open the driver door you can actually feel heat coming off the underbody of the car?

Hey buddy if the pipes are bent it advisable to replace them, but if the radiator is clogged, get radiator flush and you can do it at home. I had similar problem with My indica and was told that radiator can not be cleaned using flush but will have to open it [rmember this is plastic sectioned one not complete metal so sealing back is issue] or else replace it, estimat Rs 7000 for told job.
I did the cleaning myself, it took me 2 hours to clean the cloged rad, but it worked and I payed only for the flush.
I had to use a wire to get the sediment loose at the radiator tape below. But it worked and the car has been running with the same radiator, no issues at all.

[ankitahuja]

I faced a very similar issue. Read on:
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techni...ml#post1302062

Simple problem was that the theromostat was stuck. I got the radiator flushed and refilled as well. The problem has vanished.

You may want to check the following:

The return pipes (which you say are bent)
Radiator fan
Thermostat valve
Clogged radiator (you can get it flushed or get proper Chemical cleaning)
A loose radiator cap (can cause trouble if it's not air tight)
Etc that the other members have advised.

[fiery enzyme]

Thanks guys for all the inputs. Today I took the car to the mechanic and he ruled out the bent pipes. He said they are not an issue. Apparently they look like that.

He said the condenser might be clogged?? He took a water pipe, the kind used in water wash and ran them over the radiator and inside the fan and all over. He showed me dirt coming out of them. Yup I did see a lot of dirt come out. I asked him if a radiator flush needs to be done. He said for a 60k km run car- not necessary.

On the way back i took a detour and drove up to mmst trying to see if the needle will go up again. It did not. I did speeds around 120 no change. hmmm.

I'm going to drive upto Tirupati this weekend and see if anything changes. Will report back. Initially thought of cancelling the trip but now I need to test the car.

P.S He said if the needle still goes up we could disconnect the thermostat valve. Is that advisable

Also can some explain what exactly is radiator flushing?

[codemarauder]

Originally Posted by fiery enzyme

I'm going to drive upto Tirupati this weekend and see if anything changes. Will report back. Initially thought of cancelling the trip but now I need to test the car.

P.S He said if the needle still goes up we could disconnect the thermostat valve. Is that advisable?

I am facing the same issue with my Palio 1.6. Service center guys say radiator needs flushing by dismantling it. I got the coolant changed but did not have time to flush it.

On a highway drive on Sunday, when temperature shot to 60% of the gauge, I turned the heater on which extracted the heat from engine cooland and engine temperature became normal and then I was able to drive at 80kmph.

For return journey, I got the condenser coils cleaned with forced water and was able to run car at 120kmph with AC on and temperature well below 50% but a bit higher than the normal.

[ankitahuja]

Flush would mean to drain the radiator completely. Add an additive (chemical) that runs around the radiator and then flush that again (this is mainly to clean the dist/grime) and then the radiator is normally filled up with coolant and water.

Your car's radiator and cooling system needs to be clean to be cool. As time goes on, your car's radiator builds solid deposits that can clog the cooling system. A quick, inexpensive radiator flush can keep the system in shape.

[unni.ak]

Originally Posted by fiery enzyme

@SB, nest time when you drive your car with A/C on, can you just stop somewhere after 15 to 20 mins, open the driver door and sit in your car? I could feel the heat from the underbody of the car coming from the side of the car.

With AC on or even if radiator fan is running, you can feel a draft of warm air if you open the front door. This I believe is purely due to the fact that air is being pulled in to the engine compartment by the AC or radiator fan, from outside. So this air does escape through the sides of the car and only route is underbody since bonnet is closed!!

[fiery enzyme]

Originally Posted by ankitahuja

Flush would mean to drain the radiator completely. Add an additive (chemical) that runs around the radiator and then flush that again (this is mainly to clean the dist/grime) and then the radiator is normally filled up with coolant and water.

Your car's radiator and cooling system needs to be clean to be cool. As time goes on, your car's radiator builds solid deposits that can clog the cooling system. A quick, inexpensive radiator flush can keep the system in shape.

Cool! Thanks for the info. I need to get that done.

Originally Posted by fiery enzyme

P.S He said if the needle still goes up we could disconnect the thermostat valve. Is that advisable

Any answers for this ??

[crazydiablo]

Its not advisable, thats a shortcut not a solution.

[Trust_In_Thrust]

Removing the thermostat is not advised at all.
There are two elements to the engine temperature maintenance.
1.) Thermostat is installed very close to the engine and it remains closed till the engine reaches its operating temperature.Also please be clear without the thermostat the engine will take long time to reach operating temperature which is harmful for engine a lot especially during cold start , in winters etc.
2.) Now the thermostat opens up instantaneously when the temperature exceeds the engine operating temperature range .This opening up allows the coolant to move from the engine to the radiator and cooled coolant flows back inside the engine from the bottom part of the radiator.Now radiator fan will again not work till the temperature in radiator below a set point.And when the coolant temperature in radiator is above the set point the fan works to keep the coolant temperature below the set point.

Regards

[fiery enzyme]

Thanks I'm definitely not getting the thermostat removed then!

[shivshanker]

Hey F Enzyme,

Congrats on the purchase of a Baleno.

I own a 2005 baleno VXI, which has run in almost 80K Kms till date, I have run from Bombay to Hubli non stop a distance of over 611 kms at speeds beyond 150 kms wiith the AC on. This was when I has a death in the family.

The point I am trying to make is that the Baleno is a very sturdy car and can take a bashing.

Question for you is : How sure are you that the ODO of 60K is real,

Secondly, please have a "C" check and change all oils, belts etc. Try and follow the Owner's manual for a complete overhaul, I have found this handy at times in my present as well as previous cars.

all the best with your baleno and PM me for any additional Inputs you need.. as I have lived with a beautiful and tempermental lady for the past 4 years.

Cheers !

[fiery enzyme]

I have the complete service records and latest one 4 months ago reads 58k.

I do thinkI should follow up on your idea to get everything checked and replaced like wearable parts.

If I can request you to give me a list of things that I need to make sure get replaced I would be grateful. Whatever their condition is right now doesn't matter. I'd rather change them so I can have peace of mind in my out of station trips.

[CrackedHead]

Don't go about putting in new parts un-necessarily (I've been there and I know how it feels).

A couple of things I'd like to share from my experiences with overheating cars -

- Find one good mechanic and stick with him for troubleshooting (everytime you go to a new one, he has to start over)
- Have a little patience. There's only five key components to be checked.

a) The radiator fan and the switch that triggers it
b) The thermostat
c) The radiator itself, the hoses, and radiator cap.
d) The water pump
e) The head /head gasket

Go thru this list checking things from (a)-(e) and you'll eventually find the culprit. It my case, it was (e) - I had a leaky head gasket and I spend over a month narrowing it down one by one.