[tsk1979]

25K for tie rods and bushes.
With my kind of driving, the safari bushes last around 30-35K atleast, and tie rods are good for around 40K kms till they start seeing play.
your replacements seem early, esp when I compare it with Sudev's GV
He does duty in the Raid and Storm as official, and his GV does take quite a bit of pounding.
any chance of you getting warranty on these?

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

25K for tie rods and bushes.

How did you come up with 25k? The SA was overreacting on the lower arm bushes, it is a minor crack apparently. So it is only tie rods (2.2K) and stabilizer link (1.9K), about 6.3K only. (got the correct price now)

Originally Posted by tsk1979

With my kind of driving, the safari bushes last around 30-35K atleast, and tie rods are good for around 40K kms till they start seeing play.

You don't have my kind of roads on an everyday basis. Don't forget the OE tyres got worn out at 17K, that should give you some idea about the terrain.

Originally Posted by tsk1979

your replacements seem early, esp when I compare it with Sudev's GV
He does duty in the Raid and Storm as official, and his GV does take quite a bit of pounding.
any chance of you getting warranty on these?

Do realise that my GV has done very little real highway driving. Most driving is done on bad roads only. Comparison with sudev's GV is not fair because he has lots of miles on fantastic highways too. Less than 20 percent of the my miles are on good highways. I have only done 25K in almost 3 years, most of it rural roads. And I drive fast (40-50kmph) even on bad roads. Ask Deralte since he has seen how I drive GV on bad roads.

Warranty is only 2 years, no extended warranty offer available.

Update: Parts will take 10 days to come, so I'll be getting the vehicle back after routine service tomorrow. Considering the situation is not critical, he said I can drive for few more thousands until I start hearing louder noise or see excess play in the steering. Right now the sound is very rare and the steering play is not noticeable. Will give it back for part replacement next month.

[sudev]

Most likely the dull sound that you heard is from front arms bushes. Unfortunately the bush is moulded in and if that goes the arm needs to be replaced. I had similar issue at 70K. http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-t...ml#post1061528

[Samurai]

Yeah, I too explored changing only the bush, but it can't be done. However, lower arm need not be replaced now, it is a minor crack. Even the sound is very mild, only audible sometimes on bad roads. I should be OK for 10,000kms more easily.

[sudev]

I did the entire route Raid-de-Himalaya in 2007 with worn / cracked bushes on suspension arms. So driving 5~10k more should not be an issue. Interestingly the second set got replaced in 50K kms but I replaced them early since I was going for the Mughal Road Rally.

[4x4addict]

@samurai: Will this open up the benefits of IFS can of worms :-).

[acidkill]

Nice to hear that you are enjoying your GV. One of the few people i know who has a petrol SUV and is actually using it in poor road conditions. Also like the tan seat covers! Very classy!

Just one question: Even though this is a Maruti, Are parts for this car cheap and easily available? Just curious cause Im sure that the parts for this car are imported first and then airlifted from some central warehouse to your local service station to meet any requirements.

[cool_dube]

Samurai - I did Madikeri - Siddapura - Ammathi - Pollibetta - Titimati - Hunsur last weekend. As you said, the GPS was clueless most of the way after Ammathi. I believe the culprit to be SatNav maps!!

BTW, I guess we chose the exact same location to click This is the Pollibetta - Titimati stretch.

Originally Posted by Samurai

Attachment 367515

[Samurai]

Ever since the last service, I have been getting a burnt smell around the front of the GV whenever I stop after a long drive. But I couldn't figure out any obvious reason. Since it is not a Jeep, I didn't open the hood to check.

Today morning when I started the GV, got a big shock. The dash lights started flicking, and engine refused to start. This has never happened to me before. First I wondered about the battery, but all the battery operated functions were working, even the stereo. Then I opened the hood and saw oil stains all over the engine bay. I quickly checked the engine oil and it was below the minimum mark. This was the first ever break down of my GV. And it thankfully chose to breakdown at my house. My mind was full of wild theories now.

I quickly called the DGM of Abharan Motors (Udupi) and explained the problem. He said he will send somebody right away. I took an auto to work while waiting for them. An hour later the service WagonR showed up with all the tools for an emergency repair. Now I had to drive the Jeep to take them home, the very Jeep which is still having the FIP problem.

They too had suspected the battery and brought along a battery for jump start. They had also brought engine oil. The mechanic quickly established that the oil had leaked through a dip stick hole. All the leak was from the top and not from the bottom. Then I recalled that the dip stick was not fully in when I first removed it. I never knew oil can leak from the dip stick hole. The oil was filled until the max level of dip stick was reached and the dip stick was properly put back.

Then he checked the battery using the specific gravity testing meter.



One cell was very weak and another cell was halfway there, rest were fine. That explained the weak battery. We jump started it using another battery and the car started smoothly. Then we kept the car on for 20 minutes to charge it.

The burning smell was finally explained. It was leaking oil on the hot engine body that was giving out the smell.

While I was wondering how the GV battery could die in just short of 3 years, the mechanic quietly tells me that their CEO's GV too underwent battery change 2 months back. That GV is the twin of my GV, they both came off the same ship. Their CEO doesn't use the GV all the time, it has long periods of non-use. Then it struck me that my GV too is undergoing the same treatment. Every time I drive to Bangalore, I leave it untouched for 7-10 days at a stretch, this has been going on since April now. No wonder the battery is kaput.

So, I need a new battery for the GV. I will get Amaron, but what model? What capacity?

Originally Posted by acidkill

Just one question: Even though this is a Maruti, Are parts for this car cheap and easily available? Just curious cause Im sure that the parts for this car are imported first and then airlifted from some central warehouse to your local service station to meet any requirements.

It is available, but takes time. I am still waiting for the parts to arrive and meanwhile I completed one more trip to Bangalore and back.

Originally Posted by cool_dube

Samurai - I did Madikeri - Siddapura - Ammathi - Pollibetta - Titimati - Hunsur last weekend. As you said, the GPS was clueless most of the way after Ammathi. I believe the culprit to be SatNav maps!!

BTW, I guess we chose the exact same location to click This is the Pollibetta - Titimati stretch.

Yeah, looks like the same place. That road is really heavenly.

[tsk1979]

Go for a battery with slightly higher Ah rating of your original battery. Better to get the one with 2+2 year warranty.
The +2 is pro-rata. basis.

I guess its always best to totally disconnect battery terminals and coat them with grease when parking for 10 days or more.

[condor]

@Samurai, doesnt the GV have a maintenance free battery ?

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Go for a battery with slightly higher Ah rating of your original battery. Better to get the one with 2+2 year warranty.
The +2 is pro-rata. basis.

Well, the Amaron pro and flo come with 5 and 4 years warranty respectively. Is that the way to go, or should I consider Amaron Harvest, which is the tractor battery (2 year warranty) and can handle the abuse of bad roads?

Originally Posted by condor

@Samurai, doesnt the GV have a maintenance free battery ?

No, I guess the Japanese don't believe in them.

[tsk1979]

I do not think bad roads will cause much problem to a sealed battery. A tractor battery is attractive as its cheaper(I dunno why though).
Just make sure it fits the battery bay, and meets the required Ah rating.

[Samurai]

Got Amaron Go 65AH for Rs.5573/- The Go series comes with 3 year warranty.

There was no space for a bigger battery anyway.

BTW, I think my ECU got reset although the battery was missing only for 5 minutes. I need to follow the steps to reset it correctly using sudev's thread.

[Samurai]

I have driven 2000Kms more since the diagnosis of suspension issues, hasn't affected the driving though. Yesterday got a call that the parts finally come. It took little over one month for the parts to arrive. That is a little strange.

Ever since I changed battery it started switching off whenever I shifted to neutral and brought the revvs down. I had to do a throttle body adjustment procedure in the middle of Agumbe ghat as a temporarily fix. Still it does switch off once in while in neutral.

Today I gave it to the service station. This time I had long list of issues to be fixed, that is a rare thing.

1) Replace front tie rods and stabilizer link rod.
2) AC performance had come down a lot, check the dust filter (sudev had similar problem).
3) Do a proper ECM reset that needs to be done after battery change.
4) Check brakes since they are squealing during hard brakes.

Got an update about the AC just now. The dust filter was choked with dust from 3 years. Funny, I thought they were supposed to clean it in every service. But they didn't even know the existence of that filter since it doesn't exist in SX4 or Swift. They went searching for it since I told them it exists. This is the trouble with having a very low volume vehicle. After cleaning it, the performance is supposedly back to normal.