[sudev]

Yes many smaller components share legacy across Maruti Suzuki

The failure is due to rusting of spindle spring. Question why did it rust if you were using proper coolant mix.

[vigsom]

^^ I drained the entire coolant volume(very dilute coolant when I got the car in 2014) and filled in OE Toyota Genuine Long Life Coolant at 70k kms. The coolant I filled has a drain interval of 80k kms.

The cap was in perfect shape till I last inspected the radiator some 3 months back. I think this failure can be attributed to very very low usage of the car between 2016 and 2017 which might have "eaten away" into the cap components. Usage of the car has suddenly risen in the last 6 months and maybe the constant move from operating temperature to ambient must have finished off whatever little life was left in the cap.

The spring is perfect. In this ND make cap design, the spring is already 80% compressed and just lifts that little extra to relieve pressure at 1.1 bar. The part that has failed/sheared off is the portion that holds the spring tension.

The bottom most part viz. the vacuum relief valve seat also had hairline cracks and just broke like a cork when I bent the material.

[vigsom]

On a side note, I pampered my Grand Vitara on the eve of her 11th birthday which was last month.

1. Lower Arm bushes replacement - used RBI part number 51391-S5A-024/ 51391-S7A-005 - the same part that Bhpian @sridhar-v had installed in his Grand Vitara
2. Rear brakes - new cylinders and new shoes (all SGP procured from overseas)
3. Transfer case front output shaft seal replacement - used SGP part number 09283-40037. Replacement was just a 20 minute job since we had a vehicle lift and pneumatic tools
4. Door stoppers - used locally available DZire stoppers which are not great but are able to hold the doors in place
5. Steering shake at 80kmph - checked the suspension and found all tie rod ends, ball joints perfect. The steering rack play had marginally increased. Tightening the rack end nut did the trick
6. Tappet cover gasket and spark plug tube O-rings - SGP procured from overseas

A few pictures here:

Lower Arm with new bush for reference



Tappet Cover Before and After





Old and New Brake Shoes(new cylinder was installed later)





Transfer Case Before and After

[Samurai]

This a very nerdy review of my Grand Vitara, perception wise. Unless you have some understanding of statistics, it will be difficult to understand.

Today I was driving back from a function with 5 colleagues, and I casually asked a question.

Question: How old do you think is this car?
Answers: 6, 7, 10, 5, 10

Since they are all learning statistics at work, my mind immediately started whirring at the statistical inference of this answer. I asked them to calculate mean (7.6), but standard deviation (sigma) had to wait until we reached office. I knew the real age (11) was way outside of the first standard deviation. What if it was outside of second SD too. That would be amazing. So I input the data into google sheets and plotted the graph. Anyway, the 2-sigma was 12.2 years. Still, the p-value fell below 6% in a two-tailed graph. That is quite phenomenal though.



TL;DR: That means my Grand Vitara gives the perception of a much younger car to 94% people.

[sudev]

Originally Posted by Samurai

This a very nerdy review of my Grand Vitara, perception wise. Unless you have some understanding of statistics, it will be difficult to understand......TL;DR: That means my Grand Vitara gives the perception of a much younger car to 94% people.

Yes that went over the head...but for last line.

[R_R]

Yup, the GV has such clean purposeful lines. Really doesn't look its age. I still catch myself staring at my own car!

Still, as it gets older, with no GV available any more, what do GV owners think is a good replacement? I am still going to keep mine for at least another 2 years, but wondering what can replace this beauty. I like the Compass Trailhawk (if they ever launch it ); good to look at, loaded to the gills and pretty decent of-road/bad capability, but at close to 30 L OTR, probably beyond my purse. Thoughts??

[sridhar-v]

Originally Posted by R_R

Yup, the GV has such clean purposeful lines. Really doesn't look its age. I still catch myself staring at my own car!

Still, as it gets older, with no GV available any more, what do GV owners think is a good replacement? I am still going to keep mine for at least another 2 years, but wondering what can replace this beauty. I like the Compass Trailhawk (if they ever launch it ); good to look at, loaded to the gills and pretty decent of-road/bad capability, but at close to 30 L OTR, probably beyond my purse. Thoughts??

The classical dilemna! I too will face it in 2021.
I anticipate that by then it will become too cumbersome to renew the registration for a 15 year old car in Pune.
And slowly but surely supply of parts has started drying out.

In 2021 I plan to shift to a 1 car garage from the 2 cars that we currently have. Typical driving in the city will be extremely short trips everyday. And about 4 3000 kms road trips a year. 4WD or AWD is a must. As is an AT gearbox.

If Ford brings in an AWD version of the Ecosport I will buy that with my eyes closed. Otherwise it will possibly be a used Tuscon or Compass for 5 years. And something else used every 5 years.

And I manage to rake in some moolah I would go for a Lexus Hybrid SUV.

For all my skepticism I am keeping a close watch on the Tata harrier.

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by sridhar-v

The classical dilemna! I too will face it in 2021.

My FC will run out only in 2022. Hopefully I can stretch until then if parts are still available. May be my next car is an EV SUV...

[GRV]

Hi
I have 2007 MT GV. Done some 78,000 Kms. in last 11 years. Gone through regular servicing plus change in Right arm 4 years back. Changed tyres at 55,000 Kms.

There are some issue at preset like bush change in left arm, Sticky gear (when from neutral to first), a bit harsh drive, Tight steering etc.

I plan to use GV as a comfortable drive and ride and hence, would really appreciate if you can guide me on which parts to refresh and where to look for improvement

My aim is to make the car reliable (no break down if I go for long drive), ease of driving and comfortable to be driven in.

Thanks in Advance
Rajul

[Jaggu]

Originally Posted by GRV

Hi
My aim is to make the car reliable (no break down if I go for long drive), ease of driving and comfortable to be driven in.

Thanks in Advance
Rajul

Get details of a dealer workshop or independent garage that has good experience working on GV from the forum users, take it for a service and give it a once over. 75k kms is hardly any mileage for modern cars, GV or not. Do a complete check and service done and you are good to go. Replace all fluids and check rubber hoses and belts and replace if needed.

Fortunately this car is not a complicate machine, apart from the 4 wheel drive, which requires a change of fluid at the best for regular upkeep.

[sridhar-v]

Originally Posted by GRV

Hi
I have 2007 MT GV. Done some 78,000 Kms. in last 11 years. Gone through regular servicing plus change in Right arm 4 years back. Changed tyres at 55,000 Kms.

There are some issue at preset like bush change in left arm, Sticky gear (when from neutral to first), a bit harsh drive, Tight steering etc.

I plan to use GV as a comfortable drive and ride and hence, would really appreciate if you can guide me on which parts to refresh and where to look for improvement

My aim is to make the car reliable (no break down if I go for long drive), ease of driving and comfortable to be driven in.

Thanks in Advance
Rajul

I presume Engine Oils have been changed regularly.
At around 80K running the known pain points are as follows:
1. Front lower arm bushes
2. Anti Roll Bar bushes
3. Stabilizer bar Joint (also called vertical Link bar)
4. Steering Tie Rod End (ball joints).
5. Front Struts and Rear Shock Absorbers.
6. The front and rear springs would have lost their strength and started sagging. If you are changing the front struts please also consider changing the springs. And also change the Coil Seat Spring (rubber seat for the spring) and the Strut Bearings. They cost around Rs. 450 each.
7. Front Transfer Case oil seals.
8. The Engine Belt -to be changed as a preventive maintenance. And also do change the Idler Pulley & Tensioner Pulley bearings.
9. All Differential and transfer case Oils. Check that they change the front diff oil. The access is very difficult and most of the times they skip it.
And many MASS are not even aware that the GV has a rear Diff.
10. Steering Pump oil to be changed. That wil take care of your stiff steering.
11. The Tappet Cover gasket starts developing leaks at this age. It takes quite some time to get this part.
12. Also check whether Spark Plug Tube O-rings are in place. If not get them ordered. And ask your mass to place 4 orders for 1 no each. the system does not execute a single order for 4 pieces.
13. Throttle body cleaning.
14. Air Filter replacement/cleaning.
15. Cabin Air Filter cleaning/replacement.
16. Spark Plugs check/replace. Also some vehicles develop Ignition Coil problems.

Regarding the gear shift there are some posts, in this thread, detailing changing of shifter rod bushes.

This list should cover almost everything. After that promptly take the GV off-road. Any good GV worth its salt should look like this:

[GRV]

Originally Posted by sridhar-v

I presume Engine Oils have been changed regularly.

Thanks Sridhar for taking time and sharing detailed response.

But it seems that all these changes will hit my pocket big time.

Will start this new project : Renew my GV and start off roading again.
(I used to do off roading organised by Sudev ji some 6 or 7 years back, will restart )

Originally Posted by Jaggu

Fortunately this car is not a complicate machine, apart from the 4 wheel drive, which requires a change of fluid at the best for regular upkeep.

Thanks for your suggestions. Now I feel more confident on what to focus on

[sridhar-v]

Originally Posted by GRV

Thanks Sridhar for taking time and sharing detailed response.

But it seems that all these changes will hit my pocket big time.

Will start this new project : Renew my GV and start off roading again.
(I used to do off roading organised by Sudev ji some 6 or 7 years back, will restart )

Thanks for your suggestions. Now I feel more confident on what to focus on

The advantage with the GV is that you can do all the changes in batches.
Eg. You can first tackle the engine items. Then look after the steering items and antiroll bar bushes. And finally the lower arm and suspension.

One point of caution though: Parts are getting scarce in the MASS system. I had ordered front and rear springs 2 months ago. I got 1 front and 1 rear promptly. But for the balance quantities I am waiting patiently.
So you will need to order and accumulate parts before starting out the actual work.

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by sridhar-v

One point of caution though: Parts are getting scarce in the MASS system. I had ordered front and rear springs 2 months ago. I got 1 front and 1 rear promptly. But for the balance quantities I am waiting patiently.

Hmm, good thing I replaced the whole setup with OME. I don't need to wait for SGP for springs/struts/shocks.

[GRV]

Thanks Sridhar,

Next question : should I buy all the parts from Maruti (except K&N filter) or cheaper brands also available.

I was checking front Struts and they were very expensive on boodmo.com

Regards