Top 20 1998 Suzuki Esteem Questions & Answers

Did you have a manual with you to find the torque specs on the job you were preforming? If not your gasket job will be too tight in some areas or too loose in others!

Ohm meter is not a reliable test for an oxygen sensor, the output of which should be tested with a bar type digital voltmeter so the voltage pulses can clearly be seen. In theory at least, the required idle speed is programmed into the management computer which should be maintained by varying the ignition timing and the idle air valve. In the absence of other faults a failure to idle could indicate a faulty or sticking idle air valve. It is wise to check for such things as intake air leaks and basic engine settings, breather system... Considering the age, if nothing else is found it would be wise to suspect the injector spray patterns.

G16b engine , in USA> owned 3, know them too well. that is alternator shorted out , 1 of its 3 phase huge diodes. 60amps, im looking now. at real esteem book. sad but there are 4x 60amp fuses there. an guess what THAT MATTERS BIG TIME that tells me which branch on tree shorted here ill do them all 80amp 1 alt shorted 60amp 4 ABS shorted 30amp 5 rad fan shorted 60amp 6 heater short, (HVAC heater blower) 60amp 3 IG , feed 33, feed 15 cab box. with 15amp fuse, (nah) 60amp 2 lamp. (huge )white -blk feed. all have small fues but. tail light relay? shorted? off hand if fuse 2,3,or 6 blows, then the cab box has a huge nasty short to body or someone was hacking there. which one?

you are being lied to. easy fix.avoid this mechanic purchase a new bracket or get one much cheaper at a auto scrap yard (you must remove yourself) . you can go on youtube type in year,make and model/replace power steering bracket. you will see a step by step video to do it yourself. good luck.

got it, you in states, wife's car outside Continental USA.it's 3 way post, you to remote person, kinda matters no?at zero cash what to do.? you never said, how to fix a car with no cash, so, that matters too, (like 10x so)well,pull the HL fuses. in the day.at night put them back in0 buck fix.if they dont come on at all, bad fuses. or will cost money.the operators guide shows where the HL fuses are. head lights.

Yes they are different lengths.

pull the code from the SRS system and check out problem then it should reset on its own. some have to be reset through the use of a scan tool.

Spark plugs in your case 4. New air filter. Carburator cleaner to clean the throttle body. In case you want to change the oil, oil filter and 4 quarts of oil. In case you want to change transmission fluid, 5 quart of transmission fluid and transmission fluid filter

1.6L or 1.8L 400s are evap or EGR. EVAP Pressure Sensor Range/Performance reset it, tighten the gas cap, and see if 451 come back. or a new cap if it leaks. if not that, then the EVAP venting system needs pressure checking next. (takes tools to fix cars so....) get it serviced.

what are you doing, what job. pan off is just 1 step in many jobs. not stating the job makes answers useless ,IMO eg , it leaks (most leaks are not due to this !!!!) ask how to find leaks! new pickup screen,, new rod bearing. timing chain on J18 oil pump. rusted out pan, and leaks? in Salt belt locations? G16 or J18 engine? details. matter. the fSM says , ":remove pan" on the G16 the CKP sender must be removed first. just screws, and most are RTV glued on at the factory with no gaskets. if you add a gasket (bad) to the G16 ,that makes the CKP sensor fail, due to stand off of said sensor, "I warned you"

G16B engine, with mAF and is air density EFI. sure they are all easy. if you know a few tricks if spark is good x4 (after all it takes 4 to run), then try test fuel my guess, is you never do 60k mile tune ups, this decade.? the cam belt slipped and compression is not 170 but 80 PSI x4 and test fuel test ,fails. right?

putting gas where? gas tank or doing the Test fuel procedures? is this a barn find/ field found car, or it ran perfect last week, and DD for months. (daily driver?) all this maters and is unstated. 1.6L or 1.8L engine, G16 or J18 suzuki enignes? major different they are. with old engines, we do this and win every time. all FUSES good, (EFI and spark fuses up to 3 or more) 1: compression test, sparks out , wide open throttle. warm to hot engine. 180psi on all,, good, if like 90, the timing belt slipped. if J18. we have 3 folks now on our forum that managed to slip a chain (they ingored huge noises from engine,,,, amazing) 2: spark got good on all 4 cylinders. and timed right not guessed at using a real tool called a timing light for 20 bucks. 3: with fuel pump relay pulled i test engine on test fuel. runs for 3 seconds, each spray and SOUNDS good. ok it does that.. (this avoids flooding issues) 4: i put back the fuel pump relay. and it dont start. i check for injection, i find all injectors, dead. the ECU is cutting injection, i connect scan tool and see the CKP DTC errors , the CKP is dead or CMP on G16. dead. the ECU reports them cranking only, on a dead engine. the ECU will cut fuel if it seen spark dead. the ECU will cut fuel if the TPS sensors signals wide open throttle cranking i checked all that and its good. i find fuel pressure a 0 , cranking, (one more cheap tool) i find 12vdc good to pump cranking (a 10 buck meter at walfart) the pump is bad. no the wires are corroded. at the pump line.... super common on old cars. this is 1 example path of 100s. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=064Ilsz8Fzg&NR=1&feature=fvwp

You can try some starting fluid sprayed inside the air cleaner box. An engine needs 4 basic elements air, gas, spark and compression. It is a good idea to test for all 4.

the pump is fuel cooled and fuel lubricated. lacking fuel it can wreck a good pump, if key is left on. or cranked for long times, with no fuel the operators guide warns all drivers of this fact. make sure you have 12v to pump cranking yes, the open (crack a fitting there) the fuel rail and crank, no fueL? then bad pump. if you see fuel that dont mean it can run like the OLDEN days carbs it takes over 28PSI (or as the FSM STATES) pressure for injectors to even work.

no trans mission stated auto or stick shifted? the auto has 3 specs. on fluid.

1. total rebuilt
2. drained
3. or new clutch and fill.

my wild guess , using this method. #2 DRAINED. only. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnac_the_Magnificent#/media/File:Carnac.jpg guess 2, A/T box. is ATF , automatic transmission fluid on a drain, what comes out is UNKNOWN. by no man on earth. think of a large sponge, (full of ATF) and know that only 1/3 will comes out, the rest is in the SPONGE and the BIG clutch (TC) so what we do is measure what came out and put back what you found, assuming it was correct to start. all A/T same answer, mostly. the service manual lists those 3 ways. and then says, volumes can very by normal variances in the building of the transmission.

which engine.? 1.6L or 1.8L radial differences, 1.8L is DOHC newer engine. became 2.0L later, try some comma's please. ILL take a wild guess, you have the G16b ENGINE. And is OBD2 car, USA, and as such has the new CKP crank sensor and you bought a non suzuk gasket set, that came with a non suzuki pan gasket, i guess you didnt notice the car HAS NO PAN gasket and if you add one, it makes the CPK sensor too FAR from the tone wheel on the cranks, seen 100s like this fail all for using a gasket if you look close, the CKP is too far from the tone wheel. and will fail. next time ask how to fix a G16b first. 1.8 liter has a structural aluminum oil pan, totally differ. the pan must be put on with RTV, just as the FSM shows. alldata.com or read the same engine facts here. sidekick G16b here. RTM see chapter 6a here, engine its all there ,every step on engine. G16 http://www.acksfaq.com/trackerfsm.htm

1. why do that ?, why not post the symptoms and ask for help.?

i suspect you meant the engine will not crank. ???????????? no engine starts unless, cranked or push started (my stick car starts 3ways, starter cranked, push started or gravity(hill) started. my guess is this Esteem is A/T tranny. and only 1 way. And will not crank. here are the steps and logic.

1. all fuses good, battery lugs cleaned.
2. jumper cables, on your battery to other car, running.
3. it crankes and runs , your battery is dead or only discharged.
4. so you find it dont crank jumper cable started.
5. the means its 1 of 2 things, bad starter or bad key LINE>
6. so you then , hot wire the solenoid, on side of starter , it has 2 big lugs and 1 tiny lug, keys in pocket you jumper the tiny lug to big outside lug, (battery lug +)
7. you find out the started cranks now. wow it works. i saved you 4 hours labor and trips to store and all that bull. THE KEY LIKE IS DEAD.!
8. if it dont crank now the starter is bad (with charged battery)
9. ok it cranks hot wired, it wont start cuz key in pocket for safety.
10. you then do these tricks see here.
11. http://www.fixkick.com/nocrank.html#tricks
12. see the other tests there, and the hot wire too. and lots more.
13. there is no need to guess, if you have a voltmeter, 100 points.
14. The rested battery voltage should be 12.6vdc if not its discharged. so charge it.

on the starter mount 1: remove neg battery lug 2: remove cables and 1 small wire from starter. solenoid 3: unbolt starter. pretty much all cars. gaining access on some are challenge. or if you are too big...

19981.6L or the 1.8Lgood pressure. no melted cat.so what engine,, (but both are MAF based systems)soooooolow power, all the time. lits call it bogs. (3letters)elaborate that, when does power end.hot , cold both engine temp?only tip-in BOG... you move foot fast , it bogs then catches up.?or you TIP-in and its bog city all the way to WOT. ( wide open throttle)when was the last time car was DD, a daily driver.last week ,month or decade? key question.bad fuel of over 6months old fuel?here are the tests.1: all fuses good. (always for ever and ever)2: key on,3: the dash lights up , oil, charge, and CEL, is the CEL on, it must be.4: start car, CEL goes out , does it, stay out running???????5: bogs, hot ,or cold engine block?6: no codes, does that mean an OBD2 scan tool shows no DTCs stored, and no pendings, and all monitors complete, no it wontwith the CAT gutted,, it will show P0420x for ever. bad dead cat.what does no code mean.here is a oBD2 1996 scan of the G16b ENGINE,the J18 engine would do same......http://www.fixkick.com/ECU/Authority/A_Full_OBD2_scan.htmlsee the tests. here.bogging with either engine, hard lasting hot bogging, is:in no order... fate is random , in many cases...1: low fuel pressure, (not you) stated for full correct.2: clogged injectors.3: bad fuel.4: weak maf, ECU cant tell weak , only dead. or just a dirty maf. ask.!one way to prove a WEAK maf, is to unplug itthe ECU then see that and creates a virtual simulated MAF.it will not have full power, but will have lots.it will run in suzuki limphome mode, with retarded timing, and low power and limted RPM.it will suck fuel.i never do it because i have the outputs logged. i use a voltmeterhttp://www.fixkick.com/sensors/92-95MAF/92-95-MAF-testing.html

double posted back up 1