SX4 Overheated; Service Center Says Engine Head Damaged

[stingray91]

Hi jesrani and Other fellows,
I also have sx4 2009 model and running it on CNG since last 3 years. Now, it's getting shut down when I slow down the car or when put off my leg from accelerator. This is happening in both CNG and petrol. Since last one month I am running car only on petrol. When I shown my car to authorized service station where I used to go for car service, they are saying that engine head needs to be replaced and for this coast is around 40K to 45K. They are saying that this happened due to CNG and valve of 3rd cylinder (4 cylinder car) is damaged or leaked.
So, my question is should I go for engine head replacement and invest this much money for this car or just sell it out?
How much more will this car work after engine head replacement (i.e. How many kilometers or years ?) .
Will it work with CNG as well after replacement or I have to run it on petrol only?
jesrani : Have you opt for engine replacement? Was your car ran properly on CNG after head replacement or only in petrol? Any other problems you faced after engine head replacement?

If only one cylinder is the issue, whole engine will not stop at low speeds.
Just try removing spark plug wire of that cylinder and see what happens in idling,
Report back what happens.

As service guys says valve seals have gone, does exhaust smoke whitish? Or whitish blue tint?
Rev the car to check smoke!

How did service guys come to know 3rd cylinder valve is the issue?
Did they open the head?
Did they charge you anything for checking it?
Means new gasket? Filling paste? Labour?
If not they have blindly told you,
Just because replacing new head will solve the issue,which is simple for them.
As car runs, i suspect its a minor issue
Tell them to chk whether knock sensor is working or faulty!
Tell them to chk continuity between sensor wire to ecu.
Is your engine light glowing after you start your car?

Please do a compression test in all cylinders to check whether problem is related to engine.
If every thing is fine, you are free , its some Minor thing making issues.

By just doing a cylinder compression test will narrow the issue! Do it first

 

[apurv146]

Hi stingray91,
First of all thanks for the reply. No they have not opened engine head yet. When I faced this problem for the 1st time, at that time they charged me for cleaning throttle body and injector, but still the problem not resolved. And to further diagnose the prob they told me that they have done "some" adjustment test (I forgot that name), which was Ok. And then done compression test for each cylinder. They told me that for the 3rd cylinder it was 6 instead of 16 (I don't know what this number stands for).

 

[stingray91]

Hi stingray91,
First of all thanks for the reply. No they have not opened engine head yet. When I faced this problem for the 1st time, at that time they charged me for cleaning throttle body and injector, but still the problem not resolved. And to further diagnose the prob they told me that they have done "some" adjustment test (I forgot that name), which was Ok. And then done compression test for each cylinder. They told me that for the 3rd cylinder it was 6 instead of 16 (I don't know what this number stands for).

Opps, so compression is less in 3rd cylinder. That's a bad news

Figure it out, where the compression is leaking
In head or piston rings

If piston rings
You can chk it
Open bonnet, remove oil level stick
Rev the car
If you can see considerable amount of smoke or air or evem oil spilling out.
It may be piston rings worn out.
If so you have to rebore block and change piston rings.
If block is in good condition.
Changing rings will be a quick fix


If not, head gaskets or valve seals are gone.
You can recondition the head.
Its not nessesory to buy new head

As its a k12b famous engine. Found in swift and other cars.
You can get a used head from a engine scrap ward. In local.
Ask any mechanic shop near to source the parts.
It will be a cheap and smart fix

 

[Kichu]

As its a k12b famous engine. Found in swift and other cars.
You can get a used head from a engine scrap ward. In local.
Ask any mechanic shop near to source the parts.
It will be a cheap and smart fix

Did he swap his engine? AFAIK, 2009 petrol sx4 comes with 1.6L engine and its not a Kseries engine.

 

[stingray91]

Did he swap his engine? AFAIK, 2009 petrol sx4 comes with 1.6L engine and its not a Kseries engine.

Its not k series :O ,sry.

 

[apurv146]

Opps, so compression is less in 3rd cylinder. That's a bad news

Figure it out, where the compression is leaking
In head or piston rings

If piston rings
You can chk it
Open bonnet, remove oil level stick
Rev the car
If you can see considerable amount of smoke or air or evem oil spilling out.
It may be piston rings worn out.
If so you have to rebore block and change piston rings.
If block is in good condition.
Changing rings will be a quick fix


If not, head gaskets or valve seals are gone.
You can recondition the head.
Its not nessesory to buy new head

As its a k12b famous engine. Found in swift and other cars.
You can get a used head from a engine scrap ward. In local.
Ask any mechanic shop near to source the parts.
It will be a cheap and smart fix

No, I have not swap the engine and yes I know that it's 1.6L petrol engine. I have not checked the way you told, will check and revert. But what the service station guy told is that there is a leak or damage in valve of 3rd cylinder and need to replace that. And also told that once the head is opened they have to replace all the valves (total 16 valves of 4 cylinder), Is it true? and one valve cost around 1K.

But coming back to my original question :
How much more will this car work after engine head replacement (i.e. How many kilometers or years ? Just an approximation based on experience.) .
Will it work with CNG as well after replacement or I have to run it on petrol only?
Is it worth to invest 40K for this solution?
Any other problem can be faced after the engine head replacement?
Will it be like the new engine ?

My concern is even after investing these much money if car does not work properly then I have to sell the car anyhow and the resell value would be much less once the engine is opened. Am I right?
Also, one more question, currently I am using this car in such condition. Is it fine or it will damage the engine or head further if I keep using car in such condition?

 

[Surfer]

This might help you

http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/f...alling-frequently-help-required-resolved.html

 

[apurv146]

This might help you

http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/f...alling-frequently-help-required-resolved.html

Thanks buddy for the post, I gone through your complete thread. So, your car ran 53K after head replacement or in total 53K? And I believe that you ran car most of the time on CNG without any trouble, right?

Also, one more thing I would like to share is my car is not heating at all till now.

 

[Prav]

My suggestion is - Get it serviced from a local retailer service center (better one) and sell it off. I also drive an SX4 ZXi and overheating has been a problem for the last 2 years. I have driven the car less than 2700 kms in the last 17 months and the problem persists. Despite having spent 65k at MASS Authorized Service Center and another 21k to a local one, I again have the same issue. I am planning to sue Maruti and their registered dealer through which I bought my car couple of years. It has been driven a total of 60k kms in the last 8 years and for the last 2 years, I have spent more on maintenance and servicing than fuel.

 

[kkn13]

My suggestion is - Get it serviced from a local retailer service center (better one) and sell it off. I also drive an SX4 ZXi and overheating has been a problem for the last 2 years. I have driven the car less than 2700 kms in the last 17 months and the problem persists. Despite having spent 65k at MASS Authorized Service Center and another 21k to a local one, I again have the same issue. I am planning to sue Maruti and their registered dealer through which I bought my car couple of years. It has been driven a total of 60k kms in the last 8 years and for the last 2 years, I have spent more on maintenance and servicing than fuel.

The post is a dinosaur :D
Nearly 3 years old