[chiranjitp]

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

• The following services have to be done within the next 2 weeks:
  1. Oil change service
  2. Timing belt kit + water pump replacement service
  3. Clutch pack replacement service
  This time I opted for a 5L can of Liqui Moly TopTec 5W40 and a 300 mL bottle of Liqui Moly Ceratec. Upon inquiry, the Liqui Moly engineer says 4 L of oil + 300 mL of Ceratec may be poured into the engine:

Thanks Gannu_1 for the wonderful update. Now that you get your servicing done at a FNG, why not change the engine oil at 10k kilometers? Is there any noticeable improvement after using Liqui Moly engine oil? I am looking forward to use Liqui Moly fully synthetic engine oil on our Ecosport TDCi.

• The current set of Michelin Primacy 3ST tires have now clocked over 80,000 km.
  
  Judging by the tread depth, I am pretty sure these would last for another 5k km but I may end up replacing them with another set next month. I am truly amazed by the quality of these tires.

Michelin tires seems to have a really long life. Michelin XM2s on our erstwhile Punto were replaced at around 80000 km & they were pretty tough too, we used to frequently travel in bad roads. The only problem we faced was frequent punctures.

Ended up paying Rs. 1465 as customs duties.

Pardon my ignorance. How does one actually pay the custom duties? Is it something which we can pay by cash on delivery?

[msiva75]

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

[list][*]She crossed 1.2L km few days back.

Spoke with Mr. Jai Prakash (from our directory entry) and have told him my concerns. Will be dropping my car at his garage in Perambur during January first week.

Hi Gannu, Jai Prakash did a good work when I visited him for my Polo rat byte issue. I am planning my next service in his Garage only.

[Gannu_1]

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

I'll only get to know the severity of the outcome on Tuesday morn.

With a lot of anxiety, I fired her up on the Tuesday morn and there were no complaints! I was worried if the rodent ended up chewing some cables/fuel pipes/firewall insulation etc. over the weekend but it looks like spraying the repellent worked or I was just plain lucky! I wouldn't want to take a chance henceforth and will be installing few bucket rat traps at the basement where I park the car.

Originally Posted by Leoshashi

Yes I have been purchasing stuff from him since October, and since I purchase in bulk(3-4 friends together), he always gave us a very nice deal.

Please share the contact details of such vendors here - it would help a lot of them to source the consumables at a cheaper rate. If you've already shared the details before, many thanks!

Originally Posted by Leoshashi

I was wondering if the same magnetic process can be followed for glass lens HL too??

I don’t see a reason why this method wouldn’t work on glass based lens. These neodymium magnets are powerful enough so they can hold on to each other through a thicker lens.

Originally Posted by torque18

Just wondering why did you decide to replace the water pump. The service schedule doesn't recommend it i suppose. Any particular reason?

Preventive maintenance. I am told this is one part which is prone to failure without any telltale signs. I’d rather not get stranded in the middle of a trip if the water pump suddenly decides to fail on me.

Originally Posted by torque18

Also, what about the fuel pump?

Nope, not replacing it for the time being. Cross checked with the FNG - he confirms that replacing the fuel pump isn't mandated.

Originally Posted by chiranjitp

Now that you get your servicing done at a FNG, why not change the engine oil at 10k kilometers?

TBH, I am not quite convinced that a 10k service interval works better for the engine than a 15k service interval. Why not at 7500 km then? Some folks actually do an oil change at every 7500 km interval. At the risk of inciting brickbats from the members, do we have qualitative metrics to prove that an engine (or the associated components) has actually lasted more because it was serviced at shorter intervals over the longer ones?

Originally Posted by chiranjitp

Is there any noticeable improvement after using Liqui Moly engine oil?

Yeah, there is. I have explained it further below.

Originally Posted by chiranjitp

Pardon my ignorance. How does one actually pay the custom duties? Is it something which we can pay by cash on delivery?

That’s correct. India Post does not intimate the receiver about the duties in advance but DHL, Aramex, FedEx (and other private courier companies) do so you know you can be prepared with the cash when the delivery guy comes with the consignment.

Originally Posted by msiva75

Hi Gannu, Jai Prakash did a good work when I visited him for my Polo rat byte issue. I am planning my next service in his Garage only.

I visited Jai last week and we took a long’ish test drive near Perambur. He did concur that the clutch has become hard and a replacement would reduce the hardness. He did however say that clutch packs were replaced as early as 45,000 km and as delayed as 180,000 km and this depends on a lot of factors. At the moment, he has a very small makeshift garage (which honestly, can be a turn off for a lot of prospective customers if they were to see it in person) but I was fairly convinced that this gentleman knew the tools of his trade. But unfortunately for both of us, due to our current schedules, I’ll be dropping the car only during the third week of January.

Over the New Year's weekend, I undertook two major activities - the MAF sensor cleaning and the 120k km service. Technically, this is the 8th scheduled oil change service. They've been explained in detail below. The pics are not the best!

MAF sensor cleaning:

After delaying this activity forever and ever, I finally got to clean the MAF sensor, a day before the air filter was changed. The MAF sensor was never cleaned to this day in the last 4 years and 3 months of ownership. The process was very simple and straightforward.

Unplugged the connector to the sensor, removed the air filter box’s top cover out of the assembly, twisted and removed the air filter and, using a pair of hose clip pliers, the plastic hose was disconnected from the sensor outlet:



This is the hose clip pliers - an incredibly helpful tool for loosening spring clips and holding it under tension, unlike the combination pliers which can slip:



2 Torx screws hold the sensor to the filter box cover. Unscrewed them to get the sensor off the box:



Used a bottle of IPA (iso-propyl alcohol) and a CRC spray can to clean the sensor and the innards:



The 2 ends of the sensor assy. were closed using lids of Johnson's buds plastic jar after IPA was poured and shaken thoroughly to dislodge any dirt stuck to the sensor element (which BTW, wasn't visible to the naked eye!). A discarded toothbrush was used to clean the innards and other hard-to-reach areas.



The filter box was also cleaned:



The sensor was screwed back to the filter box cover. The assembly was left overnight for any alcohol to dry off before it was screwed to the air filter box.

120k km oil change servicing:

Sourcing the parts for the 105k km service was a breeze. Unfortunately, not so this time! I had to torture a friend who in turn had to contact some of his friends and garage owners to get the parts, some of them turned down the requests, some of them were gladly over-charging for the parts, calling up DTDC/Tirupati couriers/Professional couriers for a priority next day shipment and so forth.

Sheethal and Nikhil, if you guys are reading this, please accept my apologies for the relentless torment you guys had to endure over WhatsApp and calls! I am glad that all the parts did reach me before the New Year's eve and it was one fine weekend. The service was done at the apartment's basement and I had sought the help of 2 friends to lug the parts and tools, hold something etc. Gagan and Midhun - thank you so much guys! Appreciate all the help!

So here're the parts:


(The drain plug missed the photoshoot.)

The old air filter after enduring 15,000 km of sucking all sorts of air in the last 4 months:


(Despite making it a point to clean the air filter at 7500 km, I conveniently miss the target and push it to the next service interval where it is ultimately replaced!)

Innards of the air filter box after cleaning it using a handheld blower:



The new filter is in:



Draining the old engine oil (wore a pair of gloves this time as the oil was warm after the car being driven around for 20 minutes):



The oil with a lot of residue being drained into the tray:



Almost there:



Removed the old oil filter:


There must be a knack to get the oil filter off the assembly. It is just too hard to get it off especially when the oil is warm (or hot rather)!

"Yikes, this is hot! How am I supposed to remove the stock filter from the assembly?!"



The new oil filter is in place with the replacement O-rings:



And screwing the assembly back:



Emptied a bottle of Liqui Moly Ceratec 300 mL...:



...to the last drop:



And 4 litres of the TopTec 5W40 engine oil:



Measured the oil level as well and it was perfect:



The service interval in the MID was reset:



And we had to drain the old oil from the plastic tray into two 2L empty bottles:



Since the location of the ball valve was a little higher from the base of the tray, we had to raise the tray a bit as the oil was being drained:



The 2 bottles filled to the brim, were handed over to the neighbourhood garage for recycling:



So, I drove down to Palakkad from Chennai 2 days back and I must admit, the engine noise has gone down and there's a perceived overall smoothness to the drive. I am just not sure which component helped the most - the new oil or the Ceratec additive! I usually cruise at 110 kmph in the 5th gear at 2200 RPM on the highways and when the audio was muted, the only sound evident inside the car was a gentle hum unlike the 1.6L engine's audible thrum at those speeds. When the car is idling, there is a noticeable reduction in the engine clatter. As far as FE goes, I'll be able to comment once I do the next fill-up.

The engine cover was in a sorry state after the rat attack in the engine bay - rat poop and piss all over. I decided to take it to the apartment and thoroughly clean it using an APC (all-purpose cleaner), a scrubbing pad and a discarded toothbrush for those unreachable nooks and crannies. Result:



Timing belt kit + water pump:

Here are the parts for the timing belt kit and the water pump:







I shall share the detailed part numbers of the components and the price breakup later after I get the car serviced from the FNG.

A closing shot of the headlight scattering (after the basement parking was sprayed with the mosquito repellent):

[Jeroen]

Good job, thanks for sharing!
Replacing the tensioner on these engines is an interesting job. Lots of spanner work. Lots of YouTube video’s out there that give good insights and some helpful pointers.

On your air filter; I have said it before. On all car forums we seem to spend a lot of time discussing various oil and oil change internal, what is the best oil etc. The air filter hardly gets mentioned. Truth be told, these days the oil and the oil filter will last much longer than your air filter. Always, always change the air filter at the recommended intervals or earlier if driving in very dusty conditions. It is much more likely to damage your engine innards than oil (whatever brand/type) which is overdue!

Good luck and keep sharing these DIY jobs, love them.

Jeroen

[Thad E Ginathom]

Gannu, the usual fantastic attention to detail. Love your inventiveness, eg the drain cock for the engine-oil pan! Simple, brilliant, and many of us would never have thought of it.

[Leoshashi]

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

Please share the contact details of such vendors here - it would help a lot of them to source the consumables at a cheaper rate. If you've already shared the details before, many thanks!

No I didn't share, fearing moderator action if it came under commercial angle. Better be safe than sorry.

So, I drove down to Palakkad from Chennai 2 days back and I must admit, the engine noise has gone down and there's a perceived overall smoothness to the drive. I am just not sure which component helped the most - the new oil or the Ceratec additive! I usually cruise at 110 kmph in the 5th gear at 2200 RPM on the highways and when the audio was muted, the only sound evident inside the car was a gentle hum unlike the 1.6L engine's audible thrum at those speeds. When the car is idling, there is a noticeable reduction in the engine clatter. As far as FE goes, I'll be able to comment once I do the next fill-up.

Yes Ceratec does work. I used it first in my M800, and was mighty impressed.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-t...ml#post4107602

Benefits I could notice:

• Refinement went up several notches in my case.
• 2kmpl increase in mileage
• After running some 3k kms, the engine had become too smooth for my liking.

One aspect where the claims of Liqui Moly fail is that it's effect doesn't last till 50k kms as advertised. It gets drained when you change the oil. Hence it isn't extremely cost effective.

I have tried to record the improvement in refinement: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-t...ml#post4148849

Regards,
Shashi

[Ramsagar]

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

Preventive maintenance. I am told this is one part which is prone to failure without any telltale signs. I’d rather not get stranded in the middle of a trip if the water pump suddenly decides to fail on me.

Nope, not replacing it for the time being. Cross checked with the FNG - he confirms that replacing the fuel pump isn't mandated.

Gannu, That was me, who replaced the "Fuel Pump" on my 1.6TDI Vento during 120K service. It is not mandatory as part of 120K service. God knows when the "Fuel pump" gives-up, specially with TDI's. Its high time to change the Fuel pump, as part of "Preventive maintenance". With the kind of resources you've, it shouldn't costs more than 8K. I dont want to get stranded with my family no-where and go through the agony of towing, cabs etc.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by Leoshashi

No I didn't share, fearing moderator action if it came under commercial angle. Better be safe than sorry.

Our forum shares and discusses information about commercial products and services. There is no problem in providing such details as long as you are only a customer with no part in the business.

NB: just a personal post. IANAM[oderator]

[no_boundaries]

Great job and impeccable attention to detail.

While the satisfaction of carrying the job oneself is immense, how does VW look at it if there is a warranty claim. Usually their systems are updated with authentication of routine service. Do you inform them of this and they update ?
Also, how much is the service cost saved with self service including spares.

Miss my GT a lot more every time I see your car.

[Intelsingh]

The fuel pump is a tricky bit in these vehicles. Mine went kaput at 35000 kms. Thankfully, I was at a friends place when the vehicle refused to start and the warranty took care of the rest.

My car is due for service in another 2k kilometers. Would decide on ceratec in the meanwhile- your posts would help me there.

[shibujp]

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

[list][*]

As far as the difference in the performance goes, there has been no perceptible difference in the brake pedal feel. It is as firm as it was before without any sponginess or added hardness. Just the same level of feedback. The hardness on the clutch pedal however, has eased up a bit and I can definitely feel a small difference here especially when driving through heavy traffic.

[*]I had also cleaned the headlights sometime back. The front glass had developed a lot of dust which had settled inside.

I used two strong neodymium magnets of 15 mm dia., two pieces of microfiber cloth, a thin metallic cable and some iso-propyl alcohol (IPA) spray. eBay retails strong magnets in various sizes and shapes; I got this. And these magnets are incredibly strong - not your average black piece which broke off that speaker driver!

Don't you have the bleed the brakes after putting in the new fluid? I thought you need to do this by pumping the brakes and ensuring that the new fluid bleeds out of each corner without any air bubbles.

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

Sourcing the parts for the 105k km service was a breeze. Unfortunately, not so this time! I had to torture a friend who in turn had to contact some of his friends and garage owners to get the parts, some of them turned down the requests, some of them were gladly over-charging for the parts, calling up DTDC/Tirupati couriers/Professional couriers for a priority next day shipment and so forth.

I see that the lack of an oil drain pan has been innovatively circumvented. I am looking forward to the details of the timing belt replacement. Though I have sold off my GT I am interested in understanding the process. One aspect that I miss nowadays is the research done for my Polo. The Baleno is still under free service and warranty so have to keep my itching hands off replacements and the like!!

Excellent updates.

Drive on,
Shibu.

[Ramsagar]

Originally Posted by Intelsingh

The fuel pump is a tricky bit in these vehicles. Mine went kaput at 35000 kms. Thankfully, I was at a friends place when the vehicle refused to start and the warranty took care of the rest.

My car is due for service in another 2k kilometers. Would decide on ceratec in the meanwhile- your posts would help me there.

Trying to ascertain "Early" failure of Fuel pump: Do you refill fuel from local pumps or only COCO filling stations? Is you vehicle 1.2/1.6/1.5 TDI?

[hserus]

Originally Posted by Ramsagar

Trying to ascertain "Early" failure of Fuel pump: Do you refill fuel from local pumps or only COCO filling stations? Is you vehicle 1.2/1.6/1.5 TDI?

My general reading is that engine tolerances in modern engines are already calculated in microns, so a 1 micron thick ceramic coating like Ceratec provides may not do as much good to the engine as you'd expect.

The Liqui Moly Top Tec 5W40 (or Shell Helix Ultra 5W40, Mobil 1 0W40) conform to the VW 502 00 spec. There's also a Mobil 1 5w30 that confirms to the updated 504 00 spec for VW petrol cars. Note - VW 505 - 507 spec for diesel cars.

This mobil 1 oil is approved for VW504 and 507 so decent for VW group newer petrol and diesel cars (as well as older - the specs appear to be backward compatible). See the back of the can picture on this Amazon link.

https://www.amazon.in/Mobil-ESP-5W-3...inhydr18418-21

[Intelsingh]

Originally Posted by Ramsagar

Trying to ascertain "Early" failure of Fuel pump: Do you refill fuel from local pumps or only COCO filling stations? Is you vehicle 1.2/1.6/1.5 TDI?

My vehicle is a 1.6 TDI. Initially never bothered about which pump. Now it's usually a COCO or the recommended, tried and tested pump with additive to go with it.

[Gannu_1]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

Replacing the tensioner on these engines is an interesting job. Lots of spanner work.

I'd love to see the job in person but I'll have to take a day off + not sure if the FNG owner would like an outsider standing in their premises all day long sort of supervising the work.

Originally Posted by Jeroen

Truth be told, these days the oil and the oil filter will last much longer than your air filter. Always, always change the air filter at the recommended intervals or earlier if driving in very dusty conditions.

The locally manufactured OEM air filter costs Rs. 360. That's definitely dirt cheap compared to the oil and other replacement parts. Will be picking up a few and stocking them. I think it's easy to replace the air filter every 7500 km instead of cleaning it.

Originally Posted by Jeroen

It is much more likely to damage your engine innards than oil (whatever brand/type) which is overdue!

How does that happen Jeroen? Would a severely clogged air filter still let in minute particles through the filtered air inlet or will it choke the amount of fresh air sucked in?

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

the drain cock for the engine-oil pan! Simple, brilliant, and many of us would never have thought of it.

Haha we had a hard time last time draining the oil from that plastic tray into the 4L can. I thought of fixing an isolation ball valve in a corner of the tray so it'd be easy to drain it.

The ball valve has 1/2" BSP male threads on either side. So I used a 1/2" brass fitting with a female thread on the other end and screwed the valve to the tray. Quite useful to drain the oil.

Originally Posted by Leoshashi

No I didn't share, fearing moderator action if it came under commercial angle. Better be safe than sorry.

Absolutely not Shashi, so long as you aren't promoting it everywhere. You're only helping our fraternity just like the Maruti parts thread.

Thad has nailed it:

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Our forum shares and discusses information about commercial products and services. There is no problem in providing such details as long as you are only a customer with no part in the business.

Originally Posted by no_boundaries

While the satisfaction of carrying the job oneself is immense, how does VW look at it if there is a warranty claim.

My car is out of the warranty period ever since she's crossed 1L km.

Originally Posted by no_boundaries

Also, how much is the service cost saved with self service including spares.

Approx. Rs. 2000 for the labour charges going by the previous invoices. But more than that, a 25 km one way drive through maddening traffic to the VW service center which takes 2 hours in the evening - this is more painful than anything else. I've had it!

Spare part prices are as per the MRP indicated in the stickers so no savings there. Approx. 200 Rs for shipping these parts.

Originally Posted by no_boundaries

Miss my GT a lot more every time I see your car.

I cannot relate to what you must be feeling now but I am sure you've left her in good, caring hands.

Originally Posted by shibujp

Don't you have the bleed the brakes after putting in the new fluid? I thought you need to do this by pumping the brakes and ensuring that the new fluid bleeds out of each corner without any air bubbles.

Shibu, the brakes were bled manually by pumping the brake pedal. We didn't bleed the brakes using a pressure bleeder. I am in the process of making one and is nearly complete. Our first gen. Dzire back at home would be the guinea pig for testing the bleeder.

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







She is currently with my sister since 2010 after our family switched to the first gen. Dzire. Registered in Pondicherry (to save on the road tax back then later re-registered in Madurai, TN), she was driven down to Palakkad with a brief stopover at Koyas, Coimbatore wherein we added a few accessories - seat covers, dual tone air horns, wheel covers etc. The car didn't come with a stereo when the VX and AX models were equipped with the 2-speaker Kenwood cassette stereo from the factory. For almost 3 years we drove the car without a stereo enjoying the sound of the free revving NA carburetted petrol engine with the windows down. This was one car which came with that boost switch - the AC button! Turn it off and she'd get a sub-second boost to do that overtaking manoeuvre. The bumpers were originally unpainted and we had it painted from one of the authorised service centers along with the internally adjustable gloss black ORVMs of the VX later on. I learnt my driving in this very car and took my license from the Ayyanthole ground in Thrissur in this car - I have a lot of fond memories associated with her. And the beauty of this model - no electronics! No ECU, no power steering, no power windows, no defogger, no central locking, nothing!

Over the years however, she has taken a beating and it saddens me to see her in this shape whenever she's home - the AC doesn't work (nor does my sister care to get it fixed), there are blisters in the paintwork at a lot of places, dents on the body panels, non-OEM replacements for the headlights and tail-lights, faded plastic trims, brittle weather beading on the doors, tires of 3 brands which were replaced at different intervals etc. Clearly, she wasn't being taken care of and were only doing the duties of transporting my sister's family from Madurai to Palakkad and back for vacations. Anyways, I've given time until 2020 for my sister (and my in-law) to find a suitable replacement after which I'd reclaim her back, do a complete restoration and drive her to work and the shipyard. I'd take the Polo for the long distance drives thereafter. Eagerly looking forward to it - the sooner she exchanges hands, the better. As far as the OEM MGP/SGP parts are concerned, as long as Shashi is around, I wouldn't worry!

Some more snaps showing her current state of dilapidation: