OK, this will be a thread on how to do the underbonnet checks on a 1.6 16 valve Vitara, though it will mostly be the same for a carby vit.
These are the sort of checks yo might do when getting fuel, before going for a days wheeling, or when you wash your car, ideally you are doing this once a week but over time you get an idea of what's going on and when you need to do it. Its a lot better to do this when the engine is cold and hasn't been running for a while, like in the morning after being parked.
First up, then engine bay, here are the bits we are going to look at
Starting with Checking the engine oil
The dipstick is used to show us the level of the oil in the sump, which is at the bottom of the engine, too high and the oil can drag on the stuff spinning around in there, too low and the pump may not be always be able to suck it up which is bad
So find the dipstick, which is just next to the top radiator hose and should have a yellow handle
Pull it out and with a rag or paper towel or whatever, wipe all the oil off the end of it and have a look.
Youll notice engraved into the end is a F and E and a crosshatched area, F means full, E means empty and the crosshatched area is where you want the oil level to be.
Stick the clean dipstick back in till it seats and pull it out and have a look at where the oil is on the stick too, if its at F that's good, if its above by a bit thats OK but keep an eye on it, if its between E and F that's also ok but you can decide to top it up, if its below E or not even reading that's bad and you need to top up, if its way above F or a funny colour that's also bad and you might want to start a thread about it.
Topping up is easy, right up the back of the engine is the oil cap, it might say OIL or 710 on it depending on model, and unscrews.
Once you have it off it helps to have a funnel to stick in there so you don't make a mess and slowly tip your correct grade of engine oil in there, From E to F is about 1 litre so use that as a guide, it pays to go a little at a time and keep rechecking your dipstick if you aren't sure, remember to give the oil you have tipped in about 30 seconds to drain to the sump before checking it.
Next up is the Coolant.
Now a safety warning, Coolant can be hot and under pressure, this is a great combination to burn you, take skin off you, send you blind, all sorts of things so be extra careful if your engine isn't stone cold.
Luckily Vitaras like most modern engines use a coolant recovery system, as the system heats up and the coolant expands the cap allows it into an overflow bottle and when it cools and contracts it sucks it back in.
So starting with our coolant bottle we can look on the side at the marks
Hopefully you can see something between them marks, if you are above min when the engine is cold, thats all you need, remember it will rise when the engine is hot
If you cant see anything in there, pop the top and have a look
If its dry there could be a problem and at least monitor the level as often as you can, running out of coolant is very bad!
For the first time and then now and then we can pop the radiator cap and have a look, remember that warning, DO NOT DO THIS IF THE ENGINE HAS AT ALL BEEN RUNNING IN THE LAST 4 OR SO HOURS) under here we want it to be full, if your recovery bottle was empty expect here to be down, if the bottle wasn't empty but here isn't full means you may have a cap problem or other cooling system fault to look at
Topping up
If you need to fill the radiator, just pop the cap and fill till full, if you put more than 500ml in there you may need to keep rechecking after it warms up and cools down. For the recovery bottle, just fill to between empty and full, remember the cooling system is sealed, if you find you need to keep topping up you have a leak that needs to be sorted.
What to put in it
Mixed Coolants cause troubles, so if you are unsure the EXACT brand AND MODEL of coolant in there, just top up with clean water, rainwater or de mineralised is best but tap water is better than it being not full.
Washer Bottle
This is pretty easy and a lot like the coolant bottle, except its just a tank so fill it to the top.
Easy to see through the side
Topping up
I like to use a washer additive, there are plenty out there that do all sorts of stuff, I use the turtle wax stuff as it doesn't seem to lose its suds, but plain clean water will do. Try not to use anything not designed for the task like dishwashing liquid and so on as it can promote fogging and make your wipers squeal
Power Steering
The power steer is a lot like the engine oil, it has a dipstick to check the oil level in the reservoir.
So to check, unscrew the lid, wipe the dipstick, put it back in and turn to lock it, then pull it out again and have a look.
To top up use either a dedicated Power steer fluid or Dexron III transmission oil, you wont need a lot and be sure not to overfill as it will go everywhere when it warms up
Power steer oil also shouldn't go anywhere so if you are constantly topping up you need to get it looked at
Battery
The battery is full of plates and acid that through a reaction create electricity, part of this reaction sees the acid level (electrolyte) used up so requires topping up now and then
A safety note, battery acid is bad for you, on your skin it feels funny, in your mouth it can taste strange or burn you, in your eyes IT WILL CAUSE MORE PAIN THAT YOU CAN IMAGINE AND MAYBE EVEN BLIND YOU, I know this from experience, given that you need to peer in the top and its dark and sometimes batteries bubble a bit, if you feel you should wear some glasses, then do so!
A battery has 6 cells, each with a cap on the top, pull them all off and we are going to look inside, if your caps are a flush type with a curved slot in them, you can get a special tool from pretty much anywhere that's fits well to help you unscrew them, they are only worth 10c as well
This is an example of a battery that isn't low yet but needs attention, you'll see the electrolyte level is still above the plates but not as high as it can be.
Topping up
Demineralised water is the go here, but ive only ever put clean tap water in a battery and never had one fail early. Grab a small bottle and fill it up and tip t into each cell till the water hits the markers that stick down from the top, the easy way to tell when its high enough is the water level will 'cats eye'
The only thing left is the brake fluid, I didn't get a pic cause it was windy and the bonnet was trying to kill me
Checking is similar to the coolant, there is a high mark and a low mark you can view through the side, there is also a switch in the cap that will light up a warning light on the dash if it gets low
Topping up
If you need to top up (and I wouldn't unless its at low and you aren't able to check the brakes) then just unscrew the cap and pour some brake fluid in, normally whatever run of the mill stuff is at the parts shop is fine, but remember synthetic ones and some DOT 5 don't mix so don't think getting an expensive one to top up with is always a good idea)
Remember brake fluid is also hygroscopic, meaning it takes on water from the air, degrading its performance so only use fluid from a sealed container and if you are unsure of its age just get new stuff, its not dear for what it does. Brake fluid also damages paint so don't spill it, if you do, wash with water, do not wipe it off
This is also a sealed system so losing fluid means a leak that needs to be looked at, also note that over the life of the front pads the level will drop, this is normal and why I recommend not topping up unless its very low and you cant check the brakes, as replacing the front pads will cause the level to come back up and spill.
That just about sums up everything you need to do under there, hopefully it helps any of you that arent real sure to get in and have a look.
