[ike]

Originally Posted by Turbohead

Also surprised at the variation of part life in the same type of cars

That is what a city like Chennai can do to a car. Gannu's miles (at least a very substantial part of it) are on the highway. The stock clutch for example lasted him 150k KMS. A car driven exclusively in the city will last only a little more than half of that at best.

[PraNeel]

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

Sorting out the High Beam issue:

............
The headlight issue was finally ruled out to a pinch in the harness which resulted in the high beam wire to the co-driver headlight to give away. The wires were re-joined and taped properly by JP.

Hi Gannu

Just wanted to ask you, wouldn't this had been quicker and cheaper if you would have taken to JP first? I appreciate and understand that you are DIY guy, however sometimes the regular FNG guy is able to solve quickly as they come across such issues more frequently.

[Gannu_1]

Originally Posted by el lobo 6061

Do get it checked. If battery is up for replacement, got for Amaron.

Thanks man. I have an Amaron Flo 60Ah at the moment which is over 4 years old. Too early for a replacement going by Amaron’s standards, no? I’ll keep an eye out though.

Originally Posted by sudeepg

The straight connectors I bought from Morimoto india and the Ballast gave up on me as well, on a trip to Calicut.

Sorry to hear about your ordeal Sudeep. In my case, the ballasts were working fine but the right-angled D2S igniter/connector was the culprit. And with the ballast model I had, there was no way of replacing the igniter cable with the straight one without splicing it. I also opened up the ballast’s back plate to see that the whole assembly was potted with the epoxy material. No access to the circuit board.

All isn’t lost however. A new pair of ballasts with the straight D2S connectors will do the trick. Hopefully I will have the inclination to do it sometime.

Originally Posted by shibujp

One suggestion on my part would be to invest in a torque wrench to help you with the lug nuts in place of the breaker bar. It provides the necessary leverage and you can ensure proper torque while tightening.

Thanks Shibu! I have been using a Tekton torque wrench for sometime now. It has a range of 13.6 - 203.5 Nm - sufficient for most of the major jobs.



I’ve been largely using it for tightening the oil pan drain plug, steering wheel bolt, gearbox sump filler and drain plugs etc. For the wheels, I usually use the supplied lug wrench.

Originally Posted by shibujp

For loosening you can set the torque higher and get it loosened.

But dude, from what I read and based on the experience of our engineers who work on the propulsion plant of the ships and boats we build here, torque wrenches are never used for loosening the bolts/nuts. This will affect the calibration. Use a simple wrench/ratchet with the socket for loosening. Do check this aspect.

Originally Posted by shibujp

The final humiliation is me offering to tighten it myself after balancing etc. They can never live that down!

Originally Posted by sunikkat

How is Bilstein holding up after running 80k+ kms?

Thanks man! I asked JP about this during the service and he said the struts were just fine. Truth be told, I was pleasantly surprised! They have been subjected to a different kind of abuse - the roads from Ennore port to our shipyard is in shambles! I tread along this way s-l-o-w-l-y to preserve the mechanicals.

Originally Posted by Turbohead

Gannu!It was an absolute pleasure to meet you at the garage. I always wanted to bump into you and check out all the mods you have done. Unfortunately, the pandemic ruined it this time!

We will have an elaborate meet once this whole pandemic thing dies down man. Whenever that happens i.e.

Originally Posted by Turbohead

Didn't realise there was such a huge back story!

Man, it was quite a big learning if you ask me.

Originally Posted by Turbohead

Interested at the rate you got the single barrel headlamps for. Looking to replace ours shortly.

Rs 8732 inclusive of Rs 1118 shipping. I suggest you buy it from some outlet in GP Road. Would be cheaper. These are manufactured locally anyway and would be readily available in stock.

Originally Posted by Turbohead

Also surprised at the variation of part life in the same type of cars-

Haha what do you make of the ABS speed sensors then? Not one has gone defective till date! Plus I am on the same set of front rotors from the factory.

Originally Posted by shravansp24

In your 7 years of ownership, have you ever re-painted/wrapped or did any custom work to the paint?

Except the bonnet, no. The bonnet was once repainted because of vandalism due to some naughty kids in a society. No wrapping and no expensive ceramic coating either.

Originally Posted by shravansp24

As the black still looks really amazing and glossy!

Black on these VWs and Skodas look amazing man. Their paint quality is very good too. This shade is a pain to maintain though. On numerous occasions, I have had rains play spoilsport after a wash session.

Originally Posted by shravansp24

may I please know how do you maintain your cars beauty(external) throughout these years without getting the paint faded/visible scratches/rust etc?

Thanks!

Just the waterless wash on a fortnightly basis, pressure wash if she’s very dirty due to monsoons and such and, detailing at my trusted detailer - DriveClean. I’ve clayed her just once due to some paint aerosols from the ship’s paint sticking to the bodywork and waxed her with TurtleWax’s quick wax last year. Have tons of microfiber towels lying around. And yet swirls make their way through.

Originally Posted by PraNeel

Hi Gannu

Just wanted to ask you, wouldn't this had been quicker and cheaper if you would have taken to JP first? I appreciate and understand that you are DIY guy, however sometimes the regular FNG guy is able to solve quickly as they come across such issues more frequently.

Yeah man. That’s true. My concern was I had done several modifications, I had to explain in great detail to him, why the cluster’s 32 pin connector had additional cables outside the factory harness, why the BCM had 2-3 stray cables outside the factory harness etc. Which was also why I resorted to the single barrel headlights instead of the xenon assemblies before I visited his garage. One less headache to deal with for him.

Originally Posted by ike

I'd rather have a colonoscopy than come back to Chennai again.

Been there and done that. Wasn’t too bad an experience due to the full body anaesthesia administered. What was however painful was the day before the procedure wherein they wanted me to flush the internals thoroughly for the camera to work properly.

[shibujp]

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

But dude, from what I read and based on the experience of our engineers who work on the propulsion plant of the ships and boats we build here, torque wrenches are never used for loosening the bolts/nuts. This will affect the calibration. Use a simple wrench/ratchet with the socket for loosening. Do check this aspect.

Yeah I now remember this from an earlier post of yours. Use it for tightening your lug nuts too. I think it is 105Nm for the Polo. You will notice that you don't need excessive force to loosen it either in this case. If you need to stand on the lever etc to loosen the lug nuts then it probably means that it's being improperly tightened too.

Drive on,
Shibu

[Thad E Ginathom]

Just now replaced my Amaron Flo at a few weeks over four years. Maybe I didn't really need to. Maybe that failure to turn over was just a glitch. But I did.

Originally Posted by shibujp

YIf you need to stand on the lever etc to loosen the lug nuts then it probably means that it's being improperly tightened too.

I thought that was what foot pounds was all about!

[el lobo 6061]

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

I have an Amaron Flo 60Ah at the moment which is over 4 years old. Too early for a replacement going by Amaron’s standards, no?

Degradation is also dependent on usage i.e. Kms driven

You have covered nearly 70,000 Kms in these 4 years which is a lot.

My suggestion be to replace it before it gives up on you unexpectedly.

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

I have been using a Tekton torque wrench for sometime now. It has a range of 13.6 - 203.5 Nm - sufficient for most of the major jobs.

Attachment 2177619

I’ve been largely using it for tightening the oil pan drain plug, steering wheel bolt, gearbox sump filler and drain plugs etc. For the wheels, I usually use the supplied lug wrench.

You should also use it to tighten wheel lug nuts. That's the correct way.

VW Vento wheel lug nuts are rated at 120 Nm IIRC. Do check VW Polo manual.

Tighten wheel lug nuts using VW provided wrench enough and then lower car from Scissor Jack and tighten using torque wrench.

[allinbalance]

@Gannu_1 Your DYI spread is really impressive! Kudos man!

Polo GT is a unique car in its class, and the amount of personal DIY detailing you got into - is really impressive!

[Gannu_1]

Hey guys, sharing some updates after a long time. There are some interesting bits too.

• 8 years, 170,000 km up!
  
  
  
  October 7 marked the 8th anniversary of the car. Time really flies! I fondly recall taking a rickshaw to the VW dealership at Surat on what would have otherwise been a boring Monday, for the delivery! Some of you would know, on this day every year, I usually clean the car, deck her up and do a quick puja in the morn. Unfortunately, I was on a business travel and couldn’t attend to this. Travel by car has reduced drastically since the last couple of years. Not to mention the eye-watering fuel prices! The recent drop in the fuel prices has been a respite but not much. The odo is closing in on 172, 000 km as we speak.
  
  
• Ayudha puja 2021
  
  On the week that followed, 14 October marked Ayudha Puja. I woke up early that day, did a quick waterless wash at the basement, drove the car to the company premises where we have a Varasiddhi Vinayagar temple, did a quick puja, offered some sweets to the security staff who were curiously looking at what we were up to and drove back home.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Waiting at my apartment was my other car, our 22 year old Zen. She was cleaned and decked up too. I drove her out of the basement and did the puja.
  
  
  
  My tools, laptop and appliances too deserved their share of TLC:
  
  
  
  PS: Here’s the dedicated thread for the wall tool organizer in the snap above, in case you missed it.
  
  
• A gastronomic trip to Pondicherry!
  
  We traveled to Pondicherry with a few friends from work in the last weekend of August. For folks in Chennai, Pondicherry quite literally located at the backyard of their homes, is a popular getaway. We've been to Pondy several times and covered everything the place has to offer so we just wandered in the beach, church and streets.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  For this trip, we had only one thing in mind - F O O D and loads of it! French bakeries, pizzerias, restaurants that served local cuisine - we gorged ourselves on some delectable stuff! I’ll let the pics do the talking:
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Did I hear some tummies growling?! Trust me guys, the food was kick-ass! I am really looking forward to do this once again.
  
  We stayed at a beachside resort -L’ Amby Bay. Nothing too fancy or star rated but the place had clean rooms and linen, clean rest rooms, parking for the cars and a nice view from the front.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  We dined at the following places:
  
  a. Baker Street - Pastries, pastas, sandwiches, burgers and breads. Hands down, the *best* bakery in Pondicherry. Great service.
  b. De Bluefin - local cuisine. Great seafood, good service, located street-side so no parking.
  c. Les Saveurs - pizzas and salads. Great food but limited seating so it can get crowded quickly, service was a wee-bit slow, located on the street-side so no parking.
  d. Sri Kamatchi - local cuisine. Mind-blowing! This place is a must-visit if you visit Pondicherry. Plenty of parking space in an open ground adjacent to the restaurant.
  
  I also met an old friend and my high school classmate after a decade - Manu. Quite a reunion this was.
  
  And just when I thought we had a great trip and were driving back home, at the excise check-post where the cops check for liquor movement in the vehicles, I turned off the engine but the music system was on. That drained the battery completely! Lucky for me, I always carry the jump-start cables in my car and we had another car in tow, which drove past us so we called for help. Jump started the car and we drove back home. Guys, on that note - I think it’s a good idea to keep a pair of jump-start cables especially when your car battery is 3-4 years old. You never know when Murphy’s law will catch up!
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Battery replacement
  
  The 4+ year old Amaron 60 Ah battery (the second one in this car after the stock Exide unit) had gotten weak. I had tested the idling and cranking voltage using a DMM and indeed, they were on the lower side. The infotainment unit also began throwing this warning for a few days (neat!):
  
  
  
  Plus the experience during the return leg from Pondicherry sealed it for me - time for a new battery. Last time, I sourced one from batterybhai.com - had a great experience. This time, I chose batterywale.com for a change. As far as my understanding goes, these firms have tie-ups with local battery dealers across the country and they simply place the order on a vendor closest to our location. I placed the order in the morning and the rickshaw laden with batteries (fulfilling various orders I am guessing) drove to our apartment complex in the afternoon, the technician swapped the battery and checked the voltages. Had a great experience once again. Went with the Amaron Flo 60 Ah unit once again.
  
  

[Gannu_1]

• Bringing home our family heirloom
  
  I had shared this on the thread almost 4 years back:
  
  

  Originally Posted by Gannu_1

  In other news, meet the car which would be joining my garage shortly - our '99 peacock green Zen LX:

  I am glad to say, we finally brought her home during September.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  From 2010, the car was at my sister’s place at Madurai and wasn’t being used for quite some time now. Back in Gujarat where my wife and son stays at the moment, we wanted a car for the vaccination drives, monthly D-Mart visits etc. Paying for a cab was becoming a costly affair. Since we had the Zen in the family, we decided to send her to Gujarat. The thought of buying a car locally was turned down due to the family sentiment towards this car - she was the third car in our family.
  
  Some essential paper works were completed - renewal of fitness and registration, insurance etc. But before the drive, I wanted to change all the tires and get tubeless tires installed. The MRF outlet suggested that we get new rims; the stock rims were rusted beyond repair.
  
  
  
  If it’s a Maruti, D-BHPian Shashi is your best friend! He knows Marutis like the back of his hand. He was quick to send me the part number of the Zen’s steel rims with the boomerang-stamped holes and also pointed out the subtle difference between the 13” rims on the Zen and the ones on the Esteem which looked similar but had a different rim width (4.5J whereas the Zen has 4J).
  
  Visited an MGP outlet but they did not have stock. They advised us to visit their warehouse instead and confirmed the stock from the online system. We went to the warehouse and picked up 4 wheels:
  
  
  
  
  
  Relatively fresh stock too, manufactured in Nov. ’20:
  
  
  
  
  
  The car has to be overhauled properly from a good service center. When she was raised up at the tire shop, the underbody area revealed a leak in the transmission assy. and rusted bits.
  
  
  
  
  
  Went to an Indian Oil outlet for tanking up and noticed fuel leaking! My heart sank seeing the fuel dripping on the floor. This happened because of a cut/crack somewhere in the rubber hose leading to the fuel tank:
  
  
  
  But a quick workshop visit confirmed that the car is good to be driven back to Chennai and the rest of the things are in order. What could possibly go wrong in a purely mechanical, carbureted car like this one anyway? Stuck the Fastag on the windshield and recharged the tag. My parents accompanied me in the drive from Madurai to Chennai. This was quite a memorable one - we fondly reminisced our first drive in this car from Pondicherry to Palakkad back in ‘99. :’) We stopped midway for some snaps too.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  As I write this, the battery has been discharged completely. Will have to jump start the car and drop her at an authorized service center for a complete overhaul and ship her to Gujarat in a trailer.
  
  
• 12th scheduled service
  
  Completed the 12th scheduled service of the car at our company premises on a weekend.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  It was fun as always but a bit exhausting since I don’t have access to the hydraulic floor jack here so I’ve to rely on the Maruti’s screw jack. The single, hardest part of this entire exercise is this - turning the screw of the jack with the car’s load. Can be really tiring! How I wish I had a small, personal garage here in Chennai where I can have all my tools inside with space for just one car!
  
  As for the DIY, I’ve already documented the entire process in the DIY thread and in this ownership thread a few times. This time, we managed to click videos of the entire process, split them into different parts and am taking the liberty to share some of the important ones here:
  
  a. Changing intake air filter:
  
  

  https://youtu.be/a01fYf9OaQ0

  
  
  b. Changing engine oil:
  
  

  https://youtu.be/4LkdIwwM7Zw

  
  
  c. Changing oil filter:
  
  

  https://youtu.be/kZqx9yDp8wI

  
  
  
• A strange noise from the co-driver side seat!
  
  A 6-footer friend happened to ride along to work and I had the co-driver seat moved all the way to the AFT. After traveling some distance on an uneven patch, I noticed a strange noise emanating from the front seating area. The slightest creak drives me up the wall! Upon closer inspection, I finally zeroed it down to the noise from the seatbelt buckle rubbing against the plastic trim of the armrest. Pull the seat to the front and the noise goes away. Check out this clip:
  
  

  https://youtu.be/il0ljA1vgvo

  
  
  Some cars usually have felt-lining stuck on the tunnel-side of the buckles to prevent scuff marks and rattling:
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  I had some left-over felt-like cloth which was used for the luggage compartment floor.
  
  
  
  Cut 4 pieces from that and stuck it to both sides of the buckle. This has stopped the noise for good!
  
  
  
  
  
  If you're facing this issue in your car, try sticking some felt lining material to the tunnel side of the buckle.

[Gannu_1]

• A short vacation and a road trip with the family
  
  My wife and son had visited Chennai for the Diwali holidays. I took a week off from work, we drove to Kerala and had a great trip albeit short. I was also doing a long’ish road trip after a gap of over an year and we had our 1.5 year old son in tow for the first time for a series of long drives. I must admit, I was a bit nervous - we had initially thought of taking an overnight train but we decided against it. Some of my friends had cautioned me about toddlers getting road sick quickly and gave me some useful tips. He also refused to sit in a child seat despite my wife accompanying him in the back bench. So I decided to fill up the rear footwell behind the driver seat with a folded bed and filled up the gap completely so he won’t roll over. And my wife sat behind the co-driver seat. Guess what? He slept blissfully throughout the drive waking up for milk occasionally and he did not throw up once throughout the drive! We were so pleasantly surprised at the end of our trip. It’s in the genes perhaps?
  
  Here’s him sleeping in the rear bench:
  
  
  
  Since I was working that day, I had to catch up on multiple short naps during the drive:
  
  
  We visited some places - relatives, temples etc. for some ceremonies which we missed out due to covid last year. This raked up some precious km to the odo.
  
  [Digressing a bit here]
  
  Guys, I can’t tell you how obsessed this little guy is with cars! I take him for a walk, he stares at the vehicles on the road and babbles cah cah when he spots one. His favourite rhyme is Wheels on the bus. If he’s cranky, I take him to my car and you will not see a more obedient baby on the planet!
  
  
  
  I prefer a manual transmission for my first car
  
  
  Am I holding it right dad?
  
  
  
  
  On the night before they left for Gujarat, I took him to my car one last time before he visits in April next year.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  His loving nanny even got him a mini RC car and he turns it on, keeps checking its wheels often, opens the doors and sits inside, climbs over the bonnet, tries to open the bonnet to check the circuitry (and we had to tape the bonnet shut so he won’t mess around with it). He’s too young to operate it however. Check out these snaps when I had assembled it and we showed it to him for the first time.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  It was INCREDIBLY hard to return to an empty, quiet home after dropping them at Gujarat. Time just flew away before I knew it. I sorely miss him and my wife too (never know if she's reading this! Better be safe!).
  
  
• Co-driver side wheel lug bolt STUCK!
  
  I wanted to get the front brake discs machined when we were at our hometown since I know some lathe shops around and we had some spare time at our disposal. When I tried loosening the lug bolts before jacking the car up, all except one lug bolt refused to slacken! I’ve always used the VW supplied lug wrench and it kept spinning over the head - the head was rounded. I knew I was in for some trouble. I did not waste any time and took the car to a nearby workshop.
  
  1. They tried hammering a socket - a size lower than the size of the head and using the ½” wrench with a pipe for additional leverage:
  
  
  
  Result - The socket cracked.
  
  
  
  2. They tried welding a hex bolt over the lug and tried slackening it with the ½” wrench and the pipe. The bolt sheared at the threads/shank:
  
  
  
  3. Finally, they decided to cut the whole lug bolt using the oxy-acetylene machine. I knew the alloy would bear the brunt of this activity. They tried pouring water like some cooling fluid but the area around the hole was darkened.
  
  
  
  
  
  After close to an hour, the whole head of the lug bolt was melted and the wheel came off.
  
  
  
  They charged just Rs. 500 for a 3-hour work!
  
  Lucky for me, the spare wheel is an alloy! We drove to a tire outlet to swap the alloy and tire with the spare one.
  
  How did this happen? When I had given the car for the steering rack replacement, the workshop had sent the car to the nearby wheel balancing and alignment shop for the reworking on the alignment. This was their handiwork.
  
  Lesson learnt #1. Many of you already know this and follow this too - please do not let these wheel balancing shops use the pneumatic wrench for tightening the lug bolts/nuts on the wheels. Slackening is fine but not for tightening them. In their hurry to wrap up the job and attend to the next car, they use the pneumatic wrench for tightening the bolts. When you want to remove the wheel in the event of a puncture, you’re done for! I’ve learnt well from this incident.
  
  Lesson learnt #2. It also struck me much later, we could have tried a bolt extractor kit!
  
  
  
  We did not have one readily with us but we could have sourced one from the local hardware market. I am inclined to think a well centered hole to the lug bolt and the right size of the extractor would have done the trick. Oh well!
  
  
• Front brakes - Servicing
  
  When I had changed the front brake pads during May this year link, the guide pins, rubber caps and hex bolts for the calipers were reused from the stock setup. And the discs were untouched and had scoring marks all over. I wanted to get the discs resurfaced for some time now and when we drove home, I decided to take this activity up and complete it for good.
  
  
  
  
  
  Condition of the stock rotors (thickness measured with a vernier was 21.xx mm before resurfacing):
  
  
  
  
  
  VW permits a max wear limit of 19 mm for the 256 mm discs. At the lathe workshop:
  
  
  
  The thickness of the rotors after resurfacing was 20 mm when measured at the workshop. After the machining job:
  
  
  
  
  
  The replacement parts for servicing the front brakes:
  
  
  
  After the job was completed:
  
  
  
  I’ll put up a detailed thread to our DIY repository shortly which will cover EVERYTHING for servicing the front brakes on the Polo for the FN3 brake system.

[Gannu_1]

• Fuel lid lock actuator replacement
  
  The fuel lid actuator on my car failed a couple of months back and it refuses to lock the lid. I opened up the assembly and tried spraying some WD40 but nope, it didn’t work. The actuator refused to lock.
  
  
  
  I ordered a replacement actuator from Boodmo for Rs. 2593.
  
  
  
  
  
  When I received the unit, upon closer inspection I found something strange. Decided to play around with the unit and that revealed something! A dedicated DIY thread coming up so stay tuned! This one’s going to be super useful for the entire VW/Skoda users not just limited to Polo, Vento and Rapid.
  
  
• Insurance renewal
  
  The insurance policy was renewed with United Insurance Company for Rs. 12,644 with an IDV of Rs. 324,769. Never had a claim so far thankfully; I just hope it continues that way.
  
  
• PUC renewal
  
  The PUC was renewed for a period of 6 months. This was done from the neighbourhood weigh bridge and PUC centre which has now become an online unit and the details are fed into the system when the testing is done.
  
  
  
  
• 1.5 million views for the ownership thread!
  
  Guys, I am happy to say, the ownership thread on the forum has crossed 1.5 million views!
  
  
  
  I owe this to the readers on and off the forum and to Team BHP. Thank you so much! I’ll do my best to keep this thread updated from time to time.

Until next time guys. Thanks for reading! Do let me know if you’ve any queries.

[el lobo 6061]

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

The PUC was renewed for a period of 6 months.

Next time ask them to issue a 1 year PUC. There is an option to either get 6 months or 12 months PUC.

I too get 1 year Online PUC for my Vento 1.6 TDi.

Always a delight reading your thread.

[jeeva]

Those are some sweet pics. Like father, like son!
Regarding the stuck wheel bolt, I faced something similar on the Punto. The wheel alignment guys over torqued the bolts with their pneumatic guns and the bolt just got stuck. Broke multiple wrenches attempting to get if off. Finally had to heat up the bolt and some heart-wrenching blows by the lathe shop guy made it come off.

[PapaBravo]

Superb Trip log Gannu. Your son is too sweet. My son is also of the same age (21 months now) and their characteristics match to the T.

Also, your Polo looks as fresh as t was when we had met in Kolkata.

Cheers,
Pawan

[AKSarkar1]

Great to see a GT car being used in the true sense! It is a joy reading updates on this car from time to time. The Polo never fails to surprise me, 170,000 kms on Indian roads is no small feat.

From the photos, I think it is evident that we have a Jr. BHPian around!