Regular maintenance intervals and consumables
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Contents
Forecourt Information
Information you may need on the forecourt of a garage.
Please ensure this information applies to your specific vehicle and country, as variations can occur.
Important common notes
General awareness about proper fluid selection
- Beware that selecting a suitable / proper fluid (oil, coolant, etc.) is vital for the longevity of the mechanical systems which use those fluids!
- For example, the longevity of the engine, gearbox, etc. is highly dependent on what exact oil type is used.
- Using a high quality fluid from a good manufacturer is one thing, but equally as important is using a properly matching type of fluid.
- However, selecting a proper fluid type can be a rather tricky endeavor, as there can be significant differences among seemingly unimportant specification details.
- For example, the most common misconception regarding oils is that only the viscosity specification is relevant / important.
- This means choosing an engine oil only by looking if it's 10W-40 or 5W-30 or etc.
- Oil's viscosity is just one of its attributes.
- Oils have many other chemical attributes which are equally as important.
- Generally, the petrochemical industry and technology is so vastly complicated in discerning all the types, standards, classifications, ranges, compositions, ratings, regulations, gradings and whatnot, that it is very hard even for professional petro-chemists to discern it all.
- This is additionally made worse by several "moot" standards and classifications in that industry (example are API GL-x classifications).
- In short, the industry has never settled on properly formulated international standards about many material and chemical characteristics of petrochemical products, so there are various country-level or even "industry jargon" standards in use around.
- For example, API classifications are an old American industry rating which has not yet been replaced by anything better designed and with world-wide consensus.
- In short, the industry has never settled on properly formulated international standards about many material and chemical characteristics of petrochemical products, so there are various country-level or even "industry jargon" standards in use around.
- This is additionally made worse by several "moot" standards and classifications in that industry (example are API GL-x classifications).
Choosing proper fluids
- Luckily, ordinary motor vehicle users do not need to dive deep into all those peculiarities of the petrochemical industry.
- Otherwise, it would have to be a really deep dive indeed!
- As long as a few specific guidelines are being adhered to, an ordinary user can make a proper fluid selection.
Common notes about motor and transmission oils
- Engine and transmission oils can be of mineral composition, semi-synthetic or fully synthetic.
- There is no formal industry standard or classification for this, so generally any oil (for example: "5W-40 ACEA B3" engine oil) can either be mineral, semi-synthetic or fully synthetic. The only way to determine that is to read the description on oil's container, and one of these three should be written in plain English.
- Mineral oils should be avoided, as they are generally too much susceptible to many things and influences, and they loose their chemical and physical virtues relatively quickly during use.
- Fully synthetic oils should be used whenever possible, as they generally provide the most chemical and material virtues (depending on quality) and have the longest longevity.
- Semi synthetic oils are a very "moot" category, as there is no definition of what a "semi" really represents in terms or percentages or so.
- In other words, an oil which is 95% mineral and only 5% synthetic is also called "semi synthetic", with equal rights for that "name" as an other oil which is 20% mineral and 80% synthetic.
- This "vagueness" in definition is usually exploited in the industry.
- With semi-synthetic oils, the only rough estimation of what percentage of a semi synthetic oil is really synthetic, is to compare its price with its competition.
- Higher price should mean more synthetic compounds in it.
- This is why only a fully synthetic oil is a "safe bet".
- It was written earlier that viscosity figures ("xW-y") of oil are not the only important parameters.
- With engine oils, equally important characteristics is the exact "ACEA" or "API" category of the engine, or the exact vehicle manufacturer's standard which the oil needs to conform to.
- Either the ACEA classification, API classification or vehicle manufacturer's own classification will be specified for required engine oil in vehicle's owner's manual.
- Examples: API SH, API SL, ACEA B3, ACEA C4, Mercedes-Benz 229.3, Renault RN0710, Volkswagen 505.00, etc.
- Either the ACEA classification, API classification or vehicle manufacturer's own classification will be specified for required engine oil in vehicle's owner's manual.
- So, to properly choose a suitable engine oil, you need to watch out for three important parameters:
- Suitable viscosity (example: 5W-40);
- Suitable chemical characteristic classification (example: ACEA B3, API SL, Renault RN0710, etc.);
- After you find engine oils on offer which match the first two criteria, it's then your own choice to choose a mineral, semi synthetic or fully synthetic oil among them.
- With transmission oils (for the gearbox, transfer box and the differential), the other very important parameter (except the viscosity figures) is their API chemical classification.
- Using a transmission oil of wrong API classification can kill the gears in your transmission!
- So, if the vehicle manufacturer has stated to use API GL-4 oil, make your best effort to adhere to that!
- The difficult part here is that API classifications are quite old and they have been poorly defined from technological viewpoint, so many oil manufacturers now produced "combined" or "enhanced" transmission oils which "exceed" the requirements of these classifications.
- The most common example is a transmission oil which is classified as "API GL-4/5" (non standard manufacturer's "classification").
- This is quite absurd, as API GL-4 and API GL-5 classifications are by definition totally incompatible!
- The other common example is a "classification" called "API GL-4+" which does not exist in any official books.
- In summary, when choosing transmission oils, after selecting a suitable viscosity, make sure to select an exactly matching API classification.
- Try to avoid any "enhanced" or "combined" classifications like "API GL-4+" or "API GL-4/5" etc.
- In other words, if it says to use API GL-4 or if it says to use API GL-5, the safest decision is to use only precisely that one (no "+" or "combo" "APIs")!
- Try to avoid any "enhanced" or "combined" classifications like "API GL-4+" or "API GL-4/5" etc.
- The problem is that proper API GL-4 oils (which Jimnys use for the gearbox and the transfer box) are becoming hard to find these days (as Jimnys were designed in the 20th century you know).
- One of tried and recommended API GL-4 transmission oils Ravenol TSG.
Notes about engine coolants
- The situation with suitable engine coolants is the most chaotic of all.
- In the simplest overall terms, just know that there is no common standard whatsoever about types and variants of engine coolants.
- Also be very much aware that a color of an engine coolant does not determine its type!
- Determining engine coolant's type based on its color is like determining person's religion based on their hair color!
- There are various types and private "standards" of engine coolants, and not all are suitable of just any engine!
- In the simplest terms, most Asian (Japanese, Korean, Chinese etc.) vehicle manufacturers use phosphate based engine coolants and they avoid silicate based coolants like poison.
- On the other hand, most European vehicle manufacturers use silicate based engine coolants and avoid phosphate based coolants like plague.
- Finding a phosphate based engine coolant in Europe is like finding a pig in Teheran.
- Usually the only sources of phosphate based, silicate free engine coolants in Europe are official service workshops of Japanese vehicle manufacturers, where you should be able to buy OEM Toyota, Mazda, Suzuki, Nissan etc. coolants.
- However these OEM coolants can be quite expensive, or even hardly available.
- Also, they are usually available only as a pre-diluted mix, which might not be suitable if you want to control a precise mix ratio with distilled water when replacing the coolant.
- However these OEM coolants can be quite expensive, or even hardly available.
- No aftermarket engine coolant manufacturer in Europe has been found that produces phosphate-based engine coolants.
- If you find out about one, please add that info here!
Luckily, there are imperfect, but at least more or less compatible alternatives:
- German chemical mega factory BASF has their "standard" G30 which is both silicate and phosphate free, so is advertised as a universal formula for both Europe and Japan.
- German manufacturer Volkswagen also has a similar "standard" VW TL 774 F, which is also called G12+ (note: only one "plus"), which is also both silicate and phosphate free.
Since your main goal is not to introduce silicates in the cooling system, both of these coolant types are at least not outright damaging to your Suzuki engine. The lack of phosphates might not be such a major issue, since both of these coolant types have other (organic) types of additives which should more or less make up for the lack of both silicates and phosphates.
Examples of aftermarket coolants based on BASF G30:
Examples of aftermarket coolants based on VW G12+ (VW TL 774 F) are plentiful and many.
- However, don't confuse them with G12++ type, which is quite a different type!
- Also, make certain that a G12+ coolant states to be both silicate and phosphate free on the product labeling.
And remember - color of an engine coolant is irrelevant!
But what is relevant is that you perform a thorough flush of the entire coolant system (radiator, expansion tank, engine block, heater core) with plenty of soft or demineralized water before pouring the new coolant in!
G13BB petrol engine, UK
| Type | Quantity | Specification |
|---|---|---|
| Engine oil | 4.5 l | SAE 10W-30 (UK recommended) |
| Gearbox oil | 1.3 l | API GL-4, SAE 75W-90 |
| Transfer gearbox oil | 0.9 l | API GL-4, SAE 75W-90 |
| Differential oil (front) | 1.35 l | API GL-5, SAE 80W-90, hypoid |
| Differential oil (rear) | 1.5 l | API GL-5, SAE 80W-90, hypoid |
| Engine coolant | 4.5 l | Ethylene glycol, strictly non-silicate based, preferably phosphate based |
| Power steering | ? l | Dexron IIE |
| Brake fluid | ~0.9 l | DOT-3 |
M13A (non-VVT) petrol engine, UK
| Type | Quantity | Specification |
|---|---|---|
| Engine oil | 4.0 l | SAE 10W-30 (UK recommended) |
| Gearbox oil | 1.1 l | API GL-4, SAE 75W-90 |
| Transfer gearbox oil | 0.8 l | API GL-4, SAE 75W-90 |
| Differential oil (front) | 1.1 l | API GL-5, SAE 80W-90, hypoid |
| Differential oil (rear) | 1.3 l | API GL-5, SAE 80W-90, hypoid |
| Engine coolant | 5.2 l | Ethylene glycol, strictly non-silicate based, preferably phosphate based |
| A/T fluid | 1.1 l | Dexron IIE |
| Power steering | ? l | Dexron IIE |
| Brake fluid | ~0.9 l | DOT-3 |
M13A (VVT) petrol engine, UK
| Type | Quantity | Specification |
|---|---|---|
| Engine oil | 4.0 l | API SJ or SL, SAE 10W-30 (good) or 5W-30 (better) or 0W-20 (best) |
| Gearbox oil | 1.3 l | API GL-4, SAE 75W-80 |
| Transfer gearbox oil | 1.13 l | API GL-4, SAE 75W-90 |
| Differential oil (front) | 1.65 l | API GL-5, SAE 80W-90, hypoid |
| Differential oil (rear) | 1.35 l | API GL-5, SAE 80W-90, hypoid |
| Engine coolant | 5.9 l | Ethylene glycol, strictly non-silicate based, preferably phosphate based |
| A/T fluid | 5.7 l | Dexron III |
| Power steering | ? l | Dexron IIE |
| Brake fluid | ~0.9 l | DOT3 |
DDiS diesel (K9K 700 engine, 48 kW), continental Europe
| Type | Quantity | Specification |
|---|---|---|
| Engine Oil | 4.0 litres | ACEA B3 or B4, SAE "X"W-40 (10W-40 good, 5W-40 better, 0W-40 best) |
| Gearbox Oil | 1.9 litres | API GL-4, SAE 75W-90 |
| Transfer gearbox oil (lever shifted type) |
1.2 litres | API GL-4, SAE 75W-90 |
| Transfer gearbox oil (push-button shifted type) |
1.13 litres | API GL-4, SAE 75W-90 |
| Differential oil (front) | 1.65 litres | API GL-5, SAE 80W-90, hypoid |
| Differential oil (rear) | 1.35 litres | API GL-5, SAE 80W-90, hypoid |
| Engine coolant | 7.0 l | Ethylene glycol, strictly non-silicate based, preferably phosphate based |
| Power steering | ? litres | Dexron III |
| Brake fluid | ~0.9 l | SAE J1703 or DOT3 |
- Air filter, oil filter and fuel filter for diesel Jimnys are different than for petrol Jimnys.
- Most DDiS Jimnys with 48 kW engine have the lever shifted transfer box, while the last production examples from 2005 have the push-button shifted transfer box. Hence two specifications in the above table.
- The user manual for DDiS Jimnys strongly warns against using engine oils with "X"W-30 viscosity, as engine damage is promised in that case.
DDiS diesel (K9K engine 63 kW), continental Europe
| Type | Quantity | Specification |
|---|---|---|
| Engine Oil | 4.9 l | ACEA B3 or B4, SAE "X"W-40 (10W-40 good, 5W-40 better, 0W-40 best) |
| Gearbox Oil | 1.9 l | API GL-4, SAE 75W-90 |
| Transfer gearbox oil | 1.13 l | API GL-4, SAE 75W-90 |
| Differential oil (front) | 1.65 litres | API GL-5, SAE 80W-90, hypoid |
| Differential oil (rear) | 1.35 l | API GL-5, SAE 80W-90, hypoid |
| Engine coolant | 7.3 l | Ethylene glycol, strictly non-silicate based, preferably phosphate based |
| Power steering | ? l | Dexron III |
| Brake fluid | ~0.9 l | SAE J1703 or DOT3 |
- Air filter, oil filter and fuel filter for diesel Jimnys are different than for petrol Jimnys.
- The user manual for DDiS Jimnys strongly warns against using engine oils with "X"W-30 viscosity, as engine damage is promised in that case.
Page last edited on 17/09/2018 by user Bosanek
