Suzuki Vitara cooling system

Tue 27 May 2003 21:59

Suzuki Vitara cooling system - Mudguts

I have a problem with the cooling system on my wife's Suzuki Vitara:

The temperature just rises and rises towards the red and unless we stop or switch the heater on to get rid of some of the heat the system boils over.

I have looked at the Haynes manual to see what the problem is and tried the test of pinching the upper radator hose to see if the pump is working or not but can't seem to feel the surge of pressure that one should as the hose is released.

I think that this could be that the pump is not working or that the thermostat may be stuck closed as I can't see any drop in temperature as I would expect when it opens... the temperature just rises all the way. I have tried tapping the housing to no avail. Can I run the car without a thermostat? ...and is there anything else to try before getting it to a garage. (replacing pump costs about £150)

Any suggestions?

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Tue 27 May 2003 22:10

Suzuki Vitara cooling system - Dave N

There's nothing to go wrong with the pump, as it's not a pump as such, merely some 'blades' on a wheel that paddle the water around. I would imagine it's the thermostat stuck shut, or the radiator's all blocked up with limescale.

Check for cold spots on the rad, and see if the top and bottom hoses are hot. If they are, then the thermostat is probably open. If the rads all cold in the middle, then you need a new one. Don't bother wasting money trying to flush it, as it'll be solid.

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