Suzuki Cultus Fan Club (2000-2016)

[brownrose78]

@ahmedali.kas9 @officialmusman
Both of you should change pcv valve now and go for Engine seals and packing. I will suggest you to buy complete seals kit and packing as per aging factor of your cars.

@ahmedali.kas9
For Carburetor version, you can use use Zic 10w40 X7000 with original Guard oil filter and oil filter.

@officialmusman
You cannot guess oil leakage this way, take car to good mechanic and even if it comes during drive, he will find out

[pwuser162853199183]

Dunno about carby Cultus but i don't know how some dumbass at Pak Suzuki decided 20w50 would be good for the 4cyl EFI Cultus. For your Cultus I wouldn't suggest switching to a different grade of oil after running 20w50 for 11 years. But if you do then check the oil level every 2-3 days to note if it's decreasing or not. @xulfiqar might be able to provide you with a definitive answer.

[ahmedali.kas9]

oil level has never decresed before, and by time time we have to change the oil, it is usually only an mm or two low.

[pwuser162853199183]

What I mean is that your car was driven on a higher viscosity oil for a long time. When you switch to a lower viscosity keep the oil level in check for a while to see if it's reducing oil or not. If it's reducing oil then you should switch back to 20w50 if it's not reducing any oil then you should continue to use the lower viscosity oil.

[ahmedali.kas9]

i visited the mechanic today, he said the head gasket needs replacing, i asked him about the pcv valve and he said it doesn't exist on a carby cultus. (what do u call a PCV Valve in mechanic? so to so speak). I asked him about changing the grade of oil, he said he'd do it if i asked him to, but he wouldn't recommend it as the cars been running absolutely fine on 20w50 for over a decade now. Are you saying that i get all the seals changed?

[krafiq]

A cursory YouTube search gave following

Magic of internet

[ahmedali.kas9]

if the car is reducing the oil on the newer, lower viscosity oil, what does that mean?

[ahmedali.kas9]

Guys my car has been running on some local coolant (dont rmrbr which) it was red when we put it in and now (i have no idea how long it has been) it has become translucent (lost all its red coloring) and very water-like yet there is rust on the radiator cap and orangish grills when i look closer inside, but the water is clear. So i'm looking to make a change, i have heard that suzuki long life coolant would be best and according to Chat GPT "the recommended coolant is a high-quality ethylene glycol-based coolant with corrosion inhibitors". So does anyone know how many liters of coolant i need to buy? Or if you guys have any recommendations?

[brownrose78]

Immediately change your mechanic first. Go to some sensible mechanic.

Yes, Replace PCV valve and all concerned seals together with main seal as it will not be too costly. It usually comes in set otherwise if you will change 2-3 seals today, then next will fail tomorrow so do it.

Your car seems to be poorly maintained so solve issues 1 by 1.
Get your radiator serviced and then use Toyota Coolant if you can afford otherwise use Suzuki coolant. Then replace gasket, packings and other seals.

You can shift to 10w40 easily which will give comfort and ease to your oil pump, engine and eventually increase your Engine's responsiveness, fuel economy(Average Mielage), better sound and temperature management (Your car will feel cool in comparison to pumping heavy oil like 20w50 which is itself a hell)

[ahmedali.kas9]

When he returned the car today, he admitted that after some research, he was indeed, wrong and there was infact a PCV valve. He showed me the older one and has replaced it as i had requested earlier. He told me he had bought a kit outright and changed the seals altogether. He had also brought the older ones along and boy am i glad they got changed. (apparently my dad told him to change em all but i didn't catch on). What makes you think that my car is poorly maintained? I wasn't too keen on the oil change either as the car is doing fine, it doesn't heat up at all. When driving without ac the temp needle barely rises above the operating temp (c). When the ac has been running a while and so has the car, the needle rises but it has only gone just shy of half-way once. But never above. As of today the car is doing much better and incredibly responsive. I can't believe i'm saying this, but there is no lag whatsoever when i press the accelerator.
some points that concern me regarding changing to thinner oil.

Engine Protection: Thicker oil provides better protection against engine wear, especially under high-stress conditions or in hot climates (such s karachi). If I switch to a thinner oil, it may offer slightly less protection against wear, particularly if my engine has significant wear or operates under warmer climates and challenging conditions (karachi's stop and go traffic, awful roads/traffic that sometimes require solely the first gear).

Oil Consumption: Thinner oil has a lower viscosity and may be more prone to burning or evaporating, resulting in increased oil consumption. Need to monitor oil levels more closely and top up as needed.

Temperature Stability: Thicker oil generally provides better temperature stability and can handle higher operating temperatures without thinning out excessively. If I switch to a thinner oil, how can i be sure that it can adequately handle the temperature range in which the engine operates.

@Xulfiqar please offer your thoughts

[krafiq]

Edit this post and add xulfiqar to comment on your above concepts/ reservations. He will surely guide best

[Xulfiqar]

Hoo boy!!

Is your engine a fossil from the early 1920s? That you are presenting us with the Ustaad misinformation of heavier oil?

Anyway, your engine operating temp needle sleeping at C is far far worse that it being overheated, the thermostat is missing which will cause the engine to run very poorly on oil full of condensation (water moisture) and this is also why your pcv valve got clogged.

If you want to dive into the function of how oil cools the lower end bearings, you will probably understand why the manufacturer specifies a viscosity range and explicitly tells to use the lowest range possible.

Btw Karachi isnt that hot as you make it to be and neither is it bad, do a drive in Rwanda or Burundi in their summer and Ill ask you how was the summer.

Or drive in phoenix arizona, plastic trash cans outside businesses literally melt. Its that hot; yet Ford F150 with half million miles pulling a loaded trailer runs happy on cheapo 5w20. (Super thin flowing oil)

[ahmedali.kas9]

I was pretty sure that being at C is the ideal operating temp for one's car to be driven. Not below not too high. How do I know if a thermostat is missing, doesn't it come factory fitted? I'm well aware of the heat in Arizona, yet i don't believe that an F-150 running on 5w20 is an appropriate comparison to an engine from the 1980s being driven in a place like Karachi. Another thing i wanted to ask, is using distilled water (from an ac) a substitute for coolant?(I only ask this because this is advice from a mechanic) I believe i heard that if your car doesn't have a thermostat and is running on lain ol'e tap water, you should switch too coolant and get a thermostat installed. It is not advisable to run a car with a thermostat on tap water. Could you attest to that? Also are there any coolant recommendations that are beneficial to my car's health and not too heavy on the wallet. Also, are there any repercussions to changing to 10w40 after running 20w50 for a little over a decade? Is engine failure etc a possibility?

[ahmedali.kas9]

I was pretty sure that being at C is the ideal operating temp for one's car to be driven. Not below not too high. How do I know if a thermostat is missing, doesn't it come factory fitted? I'm well aware of the heat in Arizona, yet i don't believe that an F-150 running on 5w20 is an appropriate comparison to an engine from the 1980s being driven in a place like Karachi. Another thing i wanted to ask, is using distilled water (from an ac) a substitute for coolant?(I only ask this because this is advice from a mechanic) I believe i heard that if your car doesn't have a thermostat and is running on lain ol'e tap water, you should switch too coolant and get a thermostat installed. It is not advisable to run a car with a thermostat on tap water. Could you attest to that? Also are there any coolant recommendations that are beneficial to my car's health and not too heavy on the wallet. Also, are there any repercussions to changing to 10w40 after running 20w50 for a little over a decade? Is engine failure etc a possibility?

[ahmedali.kas9]

I just wanted to add. I just had cng removed recently and the rear end of the car is uncomfortably high. I'm assuming i have to get the springs replaced. (and if not are there any other solutions to this?) does anyone know how much softer springs cost these days? How much would that affect the ride quality? For better or for worse? @brownrose78 @Xulfiqar @krafiq

[sleeper]

The day you stop doing what uneducated mechanic tells you to do with your car, is the day from which you will stop having problems.

The oil viscosity related points you made in your post are totally incorrect, most probably conveyed by your uneducated mechanic. Follow what sir zulfiqar told about it.

Regarding radiator, thermostat etc;

Engines are designed to run between a specific temperature range advised by the manufacturer. For the engine to run in that range, a thermostat is placed to maintain that temperature. The temp is further maintained by automatic fan and a specific coolant, also advised by manufacturer, which helps in proper heat rejection from the system via radiator.
The uneducated mechanic advising you incorrect stuff is what's destroying ur car slowly. There's no sub for coolant, so kindly use coolant only... Then, pls know that the factory cooling system is an engineered one, not made by a jugaru mechanic... Factory cooling system, has a thermostat, auto fan, and coolant in it, that's it... Any combination other than this is incorrect, simple as that.. even if ur car is running fine on incorrect setting, it is actually having a slow death.

Now that you are coming away from the grip of mechanics, u have realized that C is not the ideal operating temp for an engine.. the gauge in all cars stays almost always between 40-50% i.e. almost center of its range.

[Xulfiqar]

You think the ford 2valve v8 is modern?

[Xulfiqar]

You seem to “hear” a lot from unknown sources, Why not pay attention to what the manufacturer said.

They have provided a “normal” for the engine, gearbox, infact everything and also published a service manual for it if anything goes out of normal spec.

Btw

Ac condensate is not distilled water.

Do share with us the source where you gathered the information that needle at C is ideal engine temperature.

[krafiq]

So I went through the exercise of removing cng kit.
There were spacers installed in the front two shock absorbers and on the rear side as well. Just had them removed to nullify the excess jump I was getting. No idea as to the price of shocks or coil spring. Go to afzaal Bhai for all suspension related work. He is most economical and competent in his field.
Afzaal Bhai 03002116069

Coolant is coolant and water is water. Period.
Distilled water is used to mix with concentrate coolant. Caltex coolant is advised on these forums.
You can get distilled water industrial scale from scientific store.

You don't have tstat installed/ taken out by mechanic so engine doesn't overheat and also your fan is direct. That's why you see needle at C. Fan needs to be auto and tstat installed for optimum operating . temperature. These are factory specs

[omarabdullah022]

The engine really doesn't know or care if you're in karachi 40 degrees celsius or dubai. Use genuine filters and recommended oil. Your car comes with a tstat valve and fan only switches on when needed. Temp needle goes to half and stays there. Buy a good coolant like caltex, fuchs or the toyota genuine one and fill it after ensuring your cooling system is free of rust and leaks. Its a one time cost and lasts for 100,000kms or 5 years.
Pretty sure switching from 20w-50 to 10w-40 won't cause an engine failure but I'm not a mechanic, zulfiqar can probably guide you better on that.

Personally, i wouldn't ever buy a car that has run on tap water on a cold engine because its engine is probably gunked up with deposits because of running rich and the oil not being able to clean anything and is almost always guaranteed to have a host of other problems because of poor workmanship and ustaad engineering which is what brought the car to its current state.