[Irfanulla]

Hi All,

I have a 2005 Maruti Versa which I have bought second hand just a few weeks ago.

I have a peculiar problem - every time i am on a long drive (more than 50km) and I come home and part my Versa on the pavement the put the engine off - almost more than half of the coolant drains out through the cap of the coolant reservoir- weird, on short run's this does not happen.

now coolant is sure expensive stuff

well I chkd with the local MAS and they told me that may be the thermostat valve would be faultily working - or may be the head gasket is leaking.

we chkd the fan and its working alright,

I did a 300km trip yesterday and as soon as I parked it at home and put the engine off the whole of the coolant goes down and I was like - what the heck" - that too when there is no power to the engine,

I recently got my car serviced recently and there are no leaks in any of the hoses.

hope anyone can help me out.

RGDS
Irfan

[Psycho]

Definite symptom of a blown head gasket.

[CrackedHead]

AFAIK - a blown head gasket will also cause coolant to spill while the engine is running (so the spill should not start after the engine is switched off).

Also, the engine should be overheating if the head gasket has a leak.

[Jaggu]

Check thermostat and the radiator cap first. Both are easy jobs.

[shamanth]

The same thing used to happen in my Zen. I changed the thermostat of the fan, then it came to normal.

[Irfanulla]

Ah to test the fan - I started the engine and let it to run for 5 min and then it started to operate when the coolant was I think hot enough - may be thats faulty.

the engine never heats up when the coolant is already present,

I will ask my MASS to take a look at the thermostat and the radiator cap - but also versa parts seem to be very costly :(

RGDS
IRfan

[Irfanulla]

I was reading some other threads - the thermostat valve -

if i crank up the engine in the morning then the coolant should not come in the radiator and instead circulate in the the engine right???

when I cranked the engine this morning with the radiator cap open there was coolant flow into the radiator - is that valve not working or something?

RGDS
IRfan

[Jaggu]

It means either the valve is missing Or its stuck in open position OR it can be a blown head gasket (if its bubbling).

Did you check the Oil and Coolant condition, any apparent decoloration? If so head gasket is the culprit.

[Irfanulla]

the oil was changed recently and the coolant is not discolored either - and there was I think no bubbles - I may have to confirm that, I will probably replace that valve, first thing is that I will bypass the valve and see if the problem persists - if it does then I will refit the valve else replace it - then I will chk for the thermostat and the other things.

[deutscheafrikar]

what kind of a fan does the versa radiator have? electric or fan belt driven. Im not sure cos I think it's a rear wheel drive so should be a belt to it like the van even though its the esteem engine

Try idling the engine for a while after you come back from a long drive the next time. Check if the temp guage comes down a bit and then shut off the engine.

Also try changing the radiator cap with a genuine ome from maruti. Dont know how good your radiator is nor how many km your versa has run.

But a new cap is a cheap way to go for a start. maybe the rubber of the cap is bad, or the spring tension is weak or the cap is not genuine or it needs to be changed.
Try it

[IndrojitSircar]

Hi Irafabulla,

Well you have to do something very simple to see what the culprit is.You just check the engine oil level and see if it seems diluted and the other thing check if the radiator has got and oil in it.If any of these two happen then it surely is the head gasket.

But on the other hand if this is not the case then its surely the thermostat.Now the thermostat is for a quick heating which is required in countries where there is a seveare cold temperature but not required for our climateic conditions.So now,what you need to do is just take it to the MASS and ask them to just remove the thermostat and leave it as it is.I can garuntee you the problem will be solved.Have faced this preoblem in many cars and have done this as a solution.


Best of luck and get this done as soon as possible.

[Ramesh75]

Originally Posted by IndrojitSircar

So now,what you need to do is just take it to the MASS and ask them to just remove the thermostat and leave it as it is.I can garuntee you the problem will be solved.Have faced this preoblem in many cars and have done this as a solution.

Thermostat helps your car to obtain optimum temperature quickly and maintains that temperature. Removing thermostat will affect your mileage and reduces engine life too. Cars without thermostat will run much cooler and wears fast. It will give trouble in the long run.

[IndrojitSircar]

Originally Posted by Ramesh75

Thermostat helps your car to obtain optimum temperature quickly and maintains that temperature. Removing thermostat will affect your mileage and reduces engine life too. Cars without thermostat will run much cooler and wears fast. It will give trouble in the long run.

I agree that the thermostat is for quick heating but why do you need something like that in india?Think logically in a hot place what is the need to have something that will increase the temperature quickly?As far as maintaining the temperature is concerned we have the fan to do that job.What is the fan there for ?To cool the engine down once it reaches a certain temperature.So the termostat doesn't have anything to do with maintaining the temperature.If the thermostat was there to maintainthe temperature why woulfd be require fan?Think about it.

Thermostats are mainly used in cold countrues and are of no useof them in hot climatic conditions because you don't require quick heating as it will automatically become hot due the climatic conditions.

Apart from that i don't see any way it will affect the milage and reduce the engine life.Could you please explain how that happens.

[Ramesh75]

Originally Posted by IndrojitSircar

Apart from that i don't see any way it will affect the milage and reduce the engine life.Could you please explain how that happens.

The coolant will be always on re-circulation mode and your engine will run cooler most of the time. A colder engine will increase fuel consumption. By letting the engine warm up as quickly as possible, the thermostat reduces engine wear, deposits and emissions.

[honeybee]

Originally Posted by IndrojitSircar

I agree that the thermostat is for quick heating but why do you need something like that in india?Think logically in a hot place what is the need to have something that will increase the temperature quickly?As far as maintaining the temperature is concerned we have the fan to do that job.What is the fan there for ?To cool the engine down once it reaches a certain temperature.So the termostat doesn't have anything to do with maintaining the temperature.If the thermostat was there to maintainthe temperature why woulfd be require fan?Think about it.

Thermostats are mainly used in cold countrues and are of no useof them in hot climatic conditions because you don't require quick heating as it will automatically become hot due the climatic conditions.

Apart from that i don't see any way it will affect the milage and reduce the engine life.Could you please explain how that happens.

I guess the operating temperature of a car engine is always the same, irrespective of the outside climate. For e.g. if a santro were to be run in Chennai under a hot noon sun, and a santro were to be run in J & K on a chilly night, when the engines are running their operating temperatures would be approximately the same.

Without a thermostat either the engine will never reach its operating temperature resulting in a loss of fuel consumption or will overheat resulting in a loss of the engine (worst case). If a part is faulty, it should be replaced, not removed.