[venkikewl]

Question to Wagon R owners:

I have a 11-year-old Wagon R Lxi. With the current tech offering on cars & mandate airbag, ABS, ESP & all other gadgetry, is it safe to still keep the Wagon R up & running or will this be the best time to exchange & opt for some new car.

I enjoy driving this car as much as every one of you all do, but this question is in my mind for quite some time now & wanted to clear before taking a final call.

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by vigsom

This is a clear indication that the clutch was stuck with the flywheel - most likely due to driving through, say 1 foot water and leaving the car overnight OR leaving the car idle for many days in severely wet weather.

Your shock treatment of starting the car and moving forward/backward and braking, freed the clucth.



I don't suspect the noise to be due to tyres; it could be one or more wheel bearings that have reached end of life.

At least 5000km is too early for tyre noise to creep in unless the wheel alignment is way off and that had caused tyres to wear unevenly.

Correct, i remember the car was used on a rainy Friday, and was left idle in the cellar till Monday morning. Looks like the flywheel got stuck to the clutch due to that.

I also thought of the bearings, but I distinctly remember that sound on my Figo, and it was different. This sounds like tyre noise as it appears to be coming from all 4 wheels.

Originally Posted by paragsachania

Try to change the direction of your car's motion while in neutral by twisting the steering wheel left to right to left few times (like the warm-up lap in F1) and see if this changes the noise intensity. Needless to say, you do this under safe conditions.

For now, get the bearings checked.

Thanks, but are you suggesting I try that change of direction in neutral while the car is coasting in neutral, or when at standstill? I guess it is the former.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

I guess it is the former.

Yes. Neutral, in motion and do this. A bearing noise will change its intensity when direction of wheels change.

[ashis89]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

I also thought of the bearings, but I distinctly remember that sound on my Figo, and it was different. This sounds like tyre noise as it appears to be coming from all 4 wheels.

Just to double check, do you get this noise at all times? I know there are small stretches in Hyderabad roads which are damaged and produce this humming noise. Several times I was forced to check my tyres for a flat. I hope you have ruled that out.

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by ashis89

Just to double check, do you get this noise at all times? I know there are small stretches in Hyderabad roads which are damaged and produce this humming noise. Several times I was forced to check my tyres for a flat. I hope you have ruled that out.

It was on the road in front of Raj Bhavan that I use daily. My other cars do not have this noise, nor did the Waggie when I drove it a couple of months ago.

[ashis89]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

It was on the road in front of Raj Bhavan that I use daily. My other cars do not have this noise, nor did the Waggie when I drove it a couple of months ago.

Since you are talking about only a specific section of the road, bearing fault can be ruled out. It narrows down to the bad road condition and the tyres not behaving well on them. Like others suggested, try getting another set of tyres and run on the same section.

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by ashis89

Since you are talking about only a specific section of the road, bearing fault can be ruled out. It narrows down to the bad road condition and the tyres not behaving well on them. Like others suggested, try getting another set of tyres and run on the same section.

Bad road conditions? In front of Raj Bhavan?
It has the smoothest tarmac, and one can drive in top gear for nearly a km.

I'll first try the neutral coasting suggestion of Parag, and then think of tyre swap. But tough to swap all four tyres in one go.

I think I'll use the Waggie to work tomorrow, so that I can spend time carrying out the above.

[vnabhi]

Here's an update on the unusual noise from the rear wheels. I took the Waggie to work on Thursday,and had several runs around 40 to 70 kmph, when traffic permitted. The humming sound would increase with speed, and sometimes sounded like the drone a truck's tyre's sound on the highway. The sound persisted even while coasting in neutral, and decreased with a drop in speed. I knew for sure it was the rear bearings, but it sounded more like the left rear.

Took the car to Saboo Motors nearby, and took a test drive with the mechanic. He too said it sounded like a bearing issue.They gave an estimate of Rs 1700 for 2 bearings with labor, and said it could be lower if only one was replaced. They needed around 90 minutes, so I left the car and walked home. When I went again after that time gap, the car was ready, and only one bearing--the left rear was replaced. Total cost was Rs 1032, including Rs 410 labor charges.

Car runs pretty smoothly now, except the telltale Maruti rattles from the dashboard.
Below is the bearing that was replaced at odometer reading of 95147 kms, and this is the first one that failed in 17.5 years.

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by venkikewl

Question to Wagon R owners:

I have a 11-year-old Wagon R Lxi. With the current tech offering on cars & mandate airbag, ABS, ESP & all other gadgetry, is it safe to still keep the Wagon R up & running or will this be the best time to exchange & opt for some new car.

I enjoy driving this car as much as every one of you all do, but this question is in my mind for quite some time now & wanted to clear before taking a final call.

11 years is too early to sell a car. Sell it only if it is troublesome, or if you feel like upgrading to a newer car that has all the safety features you have mentioned.

In my opinion, there is never a 'best time' to exchange one's car. It is driven more by the reasons I have mentioned. But do keep in mind that for cars in that segment nowadays, the low end grunt is disappointing.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

But do keep in mind that for cars in that segment nowadays, the low end grunt is disappointing.

This is the biggest USP of the F10D. It easily climbs ramps in 2nd with 4 on board and you can release the pedal and press it while you are doing it too and it takes it with stride.

Not to forget taking on the speedbreakers on 2nd or for that matter, taking turns or U-Turns in 3rd. It just doesn't show any signs of lugging. The driveability is fantastic if one simply refers to city driving and compare that with today's cars that are tuned for more FE and hence have a bad low end grunt.

Regarding selling the car, you are right - I haven't sold as It is regularly used by wife for her office commute and by myself for weekend chores. It has been trouble-free and very practical in every sense. If I sell this even in present condition, I won't get more than a Lac no matter what. Beyond all this, the emotional connect I have for the places it has taken us in the last 13 years!!

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

This is the biggest USP of the F10D. It easily climbs ramps in 2nd with 4 on board and you can release the pedal and press it while you are doing it too and it takes it with stride.!

So true, I've never tried that with 4 people.but with two people, it easily takes the sharp perpendicular bend to climb up the ramp on 2nd gear. On my Fiesta, the same thing will almost stall the engine when the rpm falls below 1000, and that has a larger 1.6 liter engine!

Originally Posted by paragsachania

Not to forget taking on the speedbreakers on 2nd or for that matter, taking turns or U-Turns in 3rd. It just doesn't show any signs of lugging. The driveability is fantastic if one simply refers to city driving and compare that with today's cars that are tuned for more FE and hence have a bad low end grunt.!

Add driving in 4th gear at 30 kmpl in city traffic to the list above.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

Add driving in 4th gear at 30 kmpl in city traffic to the list above.

Absolutely! 'Flat Torque Curve' is synonymous to the F10D engine and MS heavily advertised this in their brochures.

[vnabhi]

I got a chance to drive around 50 kms yesterday on the Waggie. I drove on the PVNR Expressway at a speed of 80 to 90 kmpl, and was astonished to see how silent the car had become after the wheel bearing change! The new Nexens were quite good, though they've crossed 5 k on the odo.

It reminded me of driving at those speeds when the car was new. Except an occasional rattle from the dash and from the cracked rear bumper, the car felt as good as new. Of course it had its weakness of body roll over corners, but that is expected from a tall boy.

I'm already feeling sad that when my daughter's 6-year-old Figo comes back from Bangalore by March end, we'll have to take a call and dispose of it, as I cannot park 3 cars for a long time in my apartment complex. My son says we can get around 70 to 80 k for it, but even then, I'm not happy with the prospect of letting go of the 17.5 year old Ol' Faithful!

[vnabhi]

Folks

With a heavy heart, I've listed Ol' Faithful for sale on carwale.com. I was traveling for the past few days, but have got notified about 4 or 5 people who appear to be interested.

I'll be driving it more often in the days to come, till I part with it. Can someone please guide me on what precautions I need to take while selling it? I know some forms have to be signed, but is it not advisable to part with the car only after it has been registered with the new owner?

And what happens to the comprehensive insurance that is valid till July end? There's been NOT a single claim from the time the car was bought, and I have been enjoying 50% NCB for the past decade or more.

[vnabhi]

Haven't yet finalized the sale of Red Injun, but I managed to get a few photos of the date it was delivered (July 31st, 2001), and could take another picture last week to show how well it aged, with concrete evidence!