And there it was...

My Hijet overheated! Fan stopped working after I changed the coolant. Turned out I messed up myself (didn't refill properly - fuck me).

There also was an older problem: one fin had already broken off the pump and jammed the thermostat. I should've known this as the Hijet always heated up very quickly (after which, normally, the fan kicked in). But lack of experience and probably stupidity prevented me from noticing it as a bad thing.

I was lucky enough to know a guy who could fix it all. He refilled the coolant properly and changed the thermostat. Everything seems fine now. Apart for the fact that my pump misses one fin. Should I replace the pump straightaway (I probably should)? And any other things to pay attention to?

I'm not as mechanic but if your pump isn't pumping as it should because of a missing fin the cooling of the engine isn't as it should be. I think you better replace it and at the same time check the timing belt.

Someone is in need of a proper spanking!

How did he fix it?

I would think getting that pump fixed is a priority!

He fixed the problem by refilling the coolant properly (he'd already fixed hijets before) and by changing the thermostat.

So apart from installing (or rather: asking somebody to install) a new pump ASAP i'll just have to wait and see if the problem comes back?

 what have you done


i hope it stays good...
you should have let the mechanic replace the pump when he did his work.
it would only have cost you 35 euros for a pump or so.
i would say its a wonder you did find somebody that fast who knows hijets.
i couldnt find anybody here in twente..including daihatsudealers.. who had the balls/info to do the job.
at the time i was serioesly thinking about taking it to higlyjetted  

-did you drive far with the overheated engine or did you stop and let it cool down?
-when you looked at thermostat did you put it back the correct way? pin wise..?

worstcase scenario your head i warped or you cooked the gasket to
time will tell..
i worked on the coolingsystem to a lott, every time everything seemed ok for a while
and then it would overheat again  

i know you learning a litle mechanicskills but let me give you one tip.
dont touch a hijets coolingsystem, its like walking in a minefield !!
let your mechanic change the pump to.. its nothing to be ashamed off

i hope everything stays ok..
but be prepared for it to fail though

Yeah no I ain't touching that shit anymore!

I got lucky. The guy who's teaching the course in car mechanics is more of a hobbyist who doesn't know anything about Hijets but the manager of the 'doe-het-zelf-garage' (do it yourself garage?) is a very experienced mechanic. He knows a bit about them, enough to know when to call a friend in England for expert advice, which he did

I would have let him change the pump but he finished the job before contacting me about it. Anyway, I will never ever touch the cooling system again without proper accompaniment. Or any other complex system for that matter.

did he call higlyjetted ?

dont let this put your mechaniclearnings on a sidetrack
most things are verry simple and if you think logically everybody can do it.
most things... except a hijets coolingsystem.. thats the unicornpenis of the carworld

keep your head up
everbody makes mistakes
i bett you learned a lott

Thanks Scotia! I'm still interested in mechanics although I think that learning more than the basics is not an option for now. So many other things to do and not enough time!

To bad about your cooling system. But replace that pup a.s.a.p.!
I red on this forum that the cooling system is a real bitch. Hope my Hijet's don't overheat. So far I was lucky!
Recently took my whole Hijet pickup apart and painted inside and out. But the only thing on the inside I left in place was the heater. Didn't want to take the risk, and as they say: if it ain't broke don't fix it!

Recently noticed that there are also more dutch people on the forum than I thought! We can almost start our Dutch Micro Van club

Scotia opened a topic about the Japan Classic Sunday. Check that out if you have time!

Yeah i saw that! I have a crazy schedule the coming months: plans made for almost every day. So no chance of going to the japan classic. And my Hijet's still looking very scruffy with a half-removed spray dip paint job so I wouldn't even dare going if I had the time haha

why is your dip paint half removed? Did you let your car dip? Or was this already on before you bought it? And what is your opinion about dipping a car?

To bad that you can't come the the Japan Classic Sunday.. would be nice to see more Van's

My van was dipped when I bought it! I liked the quality but disliked the color so that's why I started removing it (or rather: my girlfriend started removing it while I wasn't looking so there was no way back). The only thing: it's not as easy to peel off as they want you to believe. But that might be because the former owner did something wrong?

I think dipping is not a bad idea. It's reasonably priced and some like the fact that you can remove it. However, the more I'm thinking about it, the more I'd like to have a definite color. So right now I'm leaning towards rolling instead of dipping.

it doesnt peel because the dipper did something wrong..
or different than he was supposed to..like sanding it before dipping

yeah he sanded it! the bastard!

I was also thinking about rolling my pickup in the beginning, but ended up painting it inside and out! Even doing the paint job yourself isn't cheap. The paint was expensive, but than all the rest you need for preparation and protection. Al the small bills ad up in the end. I think I spend around 750euro when you add everything up for the finish of my pickup. So dipping or rolling can really save you a lot of money.

(also quality spray cans add up in the end)

The guy who fixed my cooling problem is also gonna fix the pump. Made an appointment for next week.

I expect him to know what to do but a little advice from the Hijet forum wizards can do no harm! When I search for a water pump for my car I find lots of results (like here for example). Is the nipparts the best?

And are there any other tips I should give a very experienced mechanic?