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2005 Suzuki Forenza DX
122000 miles, 4 cyl engine

Problem: Engine becomes extremely hot, though not registering hot on temp guage

Excessive loss of water in radiator reservoir, although no leaks are seen, after each drive

Some oil loss, but not excessive, after each drive

Slow acceleration...very sluggish taking off

Gurgling sounds heard when stopped after driving

Slightly rough idle

Engine coolant reservoir: coolant seems very dirty in color...almost like there is mud in it, or rust..

Son bought this car earlier this week. We were told it had an "exhaust manifold gasket leak", but were told it was slight.
Upon research, symptoms seem to point to a faulty IMG being the culprit. I am hoping that this is the problem, as I've received a very reasonable quote for repair from a certified mechanic.

My question to you is, do you think this could be the problem? Or is there likely a more serious issuse at hand? (I hope not! LOL)

This is son's first car, he is paying for it himself, and is crushed to think it could be something worse. Please help! Thank you in advance!

Any measurable amount of oil loss after a drive is excessive. These problems sound way more serious that just an intake gasket.

I'm not sure of the whole deal but if the boy is under 18 then Tom is right, you can't legally enter into a contract with a minor....

Thanks for the advice. Unfortunately, my son is just over 18, so getting out of the contract that way is not an option.

However, a slight edit to the list of symptoms:

The car is NOT using oil, as I'd thought...just water.
When it overheats, the engine becomes red hot, but steam does not come boiling out from the hood, as in most overheating cases.

We take it to the mechanic tomorrow. Crossing fingers, toes, and eyes for it being a not so costly fix!

Red hot? Please say thats an exaggeration. Do you mean the exhaust manifold is actually glowing cherry red?

Hmm. Coolant is either leaking externally somewhere or the engine is burning it. Don't feel too good about this one.

Ok...back from the mechanic.

It turns out, the problem is not an engine one, but a transmission one!

First, there are supposed to be two fans on this car. There is only one, therefore, the transmission is not being cooled sufficiently and is overheating.

Secondly, the one fan it does have was wired incorrectly, blowing backward instead of into the motor and transmission!

The fan was rewired at no charge to us. It is no longer overheating, and son is driving it fine. It will be going back into the shop in a few days to install the second fan, drain and replace the transmission fluid, and change tranny filter at a cost of $40 for the labor, and $125 for the fan.

The engine heat apparently was normal and registered on the mechanic's computer as just where it should be, and the loss of water in the radiator was due to a small leak that was repaired.

Thank you all for your advice! :)

Thanks for the follow up. At least you saved it before it could have been the engine or transmission.

Closed as solved.

2005 Suzuki Forenza DX
122000 miles, 4 cyl engine

Problem: Engine becomes extremely hot, though not registering hot on temp guage ______________________________________________________________________________ So stated it's not registering "H" or hot by gauge from first post. How hot we don't know but it's consuming coolant, T

While you are driving and notice the temperature gauge is all the way up to the H the car is overheating will occur shortly. Each time overheating occurs it causes damage to the engine.

2005 Suzuki Forenza DX
122000 miles, 4 cyl engine

Problem: Engine becomes extremely hot, though not registering hot on temp gauge

Excessive loss of water in radiator reservoir, although no leaks are seen, after each drive

Some oil loss, but not excessive, after each drive

Slow acceleration...very sluggish taking off

Gurgling sounds heard when stopped after driving

Slightly rough idle

Engine coolant reservoir: coolant seems very dirty in color...almost like there is mud in it, or rust..

Son bought this car earlier this week. We were told it had an "exhaust manifold gasket leak", but were told it was slight.
Upon research, symptoms seem to point to a faulty IMG being the culprit. I am hoping that this is the problem, as I've receive d a very reasonable quote for repair from a certified mechanic.

My question to you is, do you think this could be the problem? Or is there likely a more serious issues at hand? (I hope not! LOL)

This is son's first car, he is paying for it himself, and is crushed to think it could be something worse. Please help! Thank you in advance! ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ > I don't like to quote your whole post but this seems like a money pit right out of the gate with all that in the first week! Can you cancel the sale on this? If so I would. In most places if this was sold to "son" under 18 the contract can be voided. It's consuming oil each drive, loss of coolant, runs improperly, mud/rust in coolant noted, overheating likely despite gauge readings. Hope I'm wrong but this sounds like a disaster, T