Another overheating Hijet...

Hi everyone,

Not long ago I delved into the world of both driving and driving Hijet (1.3 petrol) . As far as first vans go, i'm having fairly poor luck. So with no knowledge of mechanics at all, I humbly come and seek advice. I dont know where to begin unfortunately, All i understand is that the temp dial goes wild after 20 minutes of driving. I've taken it to the garage twice, in which they replaced rad hoses and thermostat and serviced it. The coolant level is low after every journey, the two rubber pipes under the passenger seat the top one is very hot, the other is cool. I've not bled the system i dont know how that may be a good place to start. Also the radiator fan is not going, and the air con only blows cold air.

What i'd appreciate is really a method of trouble shooting for issues, and then attempt to fix it myself. This cheap hijet is rapidly becoming expensive!
Also the hijet website is currently down. Does anyone have an offline copy of the overheating troubleshooting guide they have on there?

Thanks for all help,
George

I've done a bit of research, and I plan to flush out the radiator system (the van was bought after years of inactivity, im sure this would be detrimental to blockages that may occur), then bleed it and fill it with new coolant.

As for the radiator fan its not turning on when the engine gets too hot, so it really gets too hot when ran too long. I read that i can try and short the fan into working? and if it doesnt work then its electrical, and if it does then its the temp sensor? I dont quite understand and i dont want to poke around electrics til i have a better idea of that, any help appreciated there too.

Could well be an air lock stopping the fan comming on, you need to check the bottom hose to see if thats getting hot. If it gets hot it may be fan switch or fan, if not then an air lock so fan switch never gets hot enough to operate. Is it pushing water into the plastic tank in the engine bay when it overheats? Making a gurgling sound? All helpful things to help the experts on here guide you to a possible solution. Is there the correct antifreeze in?
I'll try to find the bleed instructions I put in here once, they are for a 993 not a 1.3 but I think the process is similar.

Try looking at this thread
Linky

You're right the bottom rad hose is not getting hot, i've bought an infrared thermometer to check, the top hose is reading 80-90c and the bottom hose is 20-30c. Yes it pushes water into the reservoir, goes from mid line between low and high to overflowing. and yes, gurgling boiling sound can be heard from 20 ft away! Red coolant fluid yes? Will be changing it out today for more new red. And will try the bleed method, too. Will report back once I'm finished. Any idea how to short the fan fuse to make sure its working? I could do with a pic of the wires I'm supposed to connect.

and the daihatsuhijet website is offline. Any ideas when it will become available again?

When I pull my finger out of my backside and find 10 hours to sort it.

I would suggest your current problem is an air locked coolant system.

So to start it needs bleeding properly.

I followed the manual instructions today to completely drain, refill and bled. Not sure If i did it properly as i'm pretty new but I followed the instructions to the best of my abilities. Started the engine and ran her round the block, still no fan, still overheating. Where do i go next from here?

Bottom rad pipe still cold, too.

I think the next step is testing the fan to see if it works? Does someone have a picture of the two wires to short the fan?

Bottom cold pipe = not your fan at fault.

The instructions under the grill don't really work.

I don't understand then, where do I go from here?

If bottom pipe cold then the fan wont come on as thats where the fan temp switch is. Switch will only operate when it gets hot enough, i.e. It is surrounded by hot water. You say bottom pipe stays cold, so thefore switch wont switch fan on. Your problem is elsewhere.

Roughly:-

https://hijet.forumotion.com/t1352-radiator-information#11792

Ah, couldnt fiind that when I went looking! Good bit of info. Can I suggest if after all that 'bleeding' info you still have no joy, then check the thermostat hasnt stuck shut or better still as a matter of routine to rule it out, change it. Check all pipe clips for air leaks, change rad caps for good new ones. If all this fails may be sonething a bit more serious, but before jumping to that conclusion, spend some time following highlyjetted's suggestions first, he has had plenty of experience.

Make sure the thermostat has the wiggle pin pointing upwards.

Every other week I work on a car that hasn't got the thermostat fitted correctly.

The garage industry is as crap as the building industry for actually knowing what they are supposed to be doing.

I recently had a garage replace the thermostat, I will check they replaced it appropriately. Will also try to follow the suggested methods of bleeding on the other discussion.

Could you please direct me in how to test the fan? I just want to be sure, and it's always good to learn.

Remove electical plug in bottom coolant metal pipe below passenger foot well.

Put paper clip etc to join the two pins.

Fan should run.

Engine on or off?

Doesn't matter. Don't even think you need the keys in the ignition from memory.

Thanks, will give it a go Wed if not Fri. 12 hour shifts mean I'm not home till dark. Convinced myself overnight I've not bled it properly (damn my inexperience) and will pursue methods advised, so thanks for that so far. Keep you posted

Before you waste anymore coolant. Remove thermostat housing, check bleed nipple is in correct place.

Then you can cut bleed nipple pin with wire cutters, which makes them less likely to air lock.

After a long time of trying to do this myself, a garage has sussed that the head gasket has gone.

I am now having to consider either having it replaced or selling the vehicle and starting fresh.

What is the best option do you think? I'm feeling pretty shit about the whole thing, this was meant to be my first car, and its done nothing but been a pain. I wanted to learn a few things, i guess all i learned is how much of a pain this can be. Any advice welcome.

Sack it off and buy something which isn't a hijet.

Trying to find good hijets is needle in haystack.

Fixing a boiler is more than just a head gasket job.

Mine was not a serious boiler but was heading that way and as body and everything else was in good nick I took option to spend and fix. Mine needed a crack welding, new gasket and system flushed (have to say a good hijet garage did all this for me) and its like a new van. No issues at all with overheating now, only ever really gets to quarter hot even in ques. Seems to have more power as well, drives really well so for me it was worth it. As I said look at the whole package and decide if its worth it, if van has bidy issues as well the as highlyjetted said, plent of others out there and you have one for spares then. I must admit while typing and saying how good mine is now....I am touching anything made of wood nearby, crossing myself, turning round three times and throwing salt over my shoulder!