[sridhar-v]

Originally Posted by Samurai

My OME kit will be arriving next week. I had a question about the camber bolts. Did thewhiteknight replace the OE camber bolts in the front to accommodate the extra 20mm lift? I see Jaggu had to replace the front camber bolts to accommodate the 40mm lift.

For a 20mm lift there is no need to replace the camber bolts.
thewhiteknight's GV is running fine with stock camber bolts.
Check the suspension alignments before and after the change.

For a 40mm lift camber adjustment bolts are definitely recommended. A lot of australians have been going upto 75-100 mm lifts. I suspect they will face issues with their CV joints and drive shafts in the medium term.

Do post some photos of the suspension heights before & after lift.

Originally Posted by Tanmay K

Some photos of the Vitara from a recent off-roading drive to the Jaisalmer sand dunes. Also present on the trip were .anshuman, Ace F355 and mustysekhon among others.

Pls. post some more details of your sand excursion. Did you have any traction issues? And what tyres were you on?

[Tanmay K]

Originally Posted by sridhar-v

Pls. post some more details of your sand excursion. Did you have any traction issues? And what tyres were you on?

I'm on Yoko Geolandar A/T-S, 235-70-R16. Deflated to 14 PSI. Traction was just about okay. GV not being a very heavy vehicle helps too. I have a 2.0 MT and the power was more than sufficient for the vehicle's weight. I think Ace F355 is going to write up more about the trip in a different thread/post, will add my inputs there for a consolidated read and put a link here.

I have not had much experience driving in sand and in spite of its limitations due to clearance, an independent suspension and a somewhat low approach angle (low for high momentum sharp inclines), I felt that the vehicle is capable of doing much better than I was able to extract from it. I was happy to see that I was getting a hang of sand driving as I drove more. Looking forward to the next time.

[Styler]

Hi all

Finally after 6 months of owning my Manual Grand Vitara 2.0 I took it to the MASS (Motorcraft) for the first time.
I went there to get a Service with a complete check-up of the Grand Vitara, and also the new ownership details updated in their records.

Got the service done, and they put in 4.8 litres of Mobil 1 0W40 oil which was the main expense today (6K out of the total 10K).

After the thorough inspection by Rana there here are the recommendations of things to be done over the next few months.
1. Rear Shockers replacement (One has leaked) I think cost is around 7500 for a pair of Original Suzuki.
2. Both Engine Mountings Replaced Rs 4340 X 2
3. Front left Lower Arm replacement Rs 9481
4. Brake Calliper Kit (Rubber on one of the Callipers is worn out) Rs 430
5. Main Belt Rs 2681, Tensioner Assembly Rs 4295 Pulley Rs 1322
6. Oil Seals X 3 including Front Differential, 4X4 Rear Shaft, and one more Rs 1000 for all

The Grand Vitara is working fine and the Tak tak sound self healed somehow and now there is no sound at all. I am in no rush but will plan to get all the above things done over the next few months.

So what do you guys advice for the following :

1. Rear Shocks ? What would be good options apart from the OEM.
Jaggu can you give some idea of the cost of the Ironman kit upgrade kit.
Samurai you also ordered a OME kit or something. Can you share details, cost, any links for details ?

2. About the Front lower arms. Is it okay to replace one which is worn out ? They are expensive at around 9400 each. Can these be repaired ?

Any other advice for the above listed things.
For 3 days 24-26th Nov 2017 there is a AUVF (Adventure Utility Vehicle Fest) at the DLF Promanade Mall, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi which is walking distance from my house. Bimbra, AK Customs, XS Overland, Ironman etc are exhibiting there. I will be going there to check out options for Shocks later today.

Styler.

[Styler]

An update for my previous post.

1. Shockers are available cheaper in the after market at a much cheaper cost. I will have to see if they are original Suzuki or some other brand which is good enough.

3. I just came back from my FNG, and my mechanics have told me that they can take out the Lower Arm and get the bushes replaced.

5. They will try to get the bearing replaced in Tensioner Assembly & Pulley.

All this will save me a lot of money.

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by Styler

Samurai you also ordered a OME kit or something. Can you share details, cost, any links for details ?

Details already shared here. I am getting mine from Swastik Fabs.

Originally Posted by Styler

2. About the Front lower arms. Is it okay to replace one which is worn out ? They are expensive at around 9400 each. Can these be repaired ?

Yes, you can replace one at a time. Usually it is done when the bush gets cracked.

[sridhar-v]

I have a 2007 2L AT model.
I bought it in May 2015 with 73k+ kms on the clock.
It had 3 previous owners who had taken moderate care of the vehicle.

After using the vehicle for a couple of months I started noticing slight jerky shifts of the gearbox, particularly in slow moving city traffic.
In October 2015 I changed the AT gearbox oil at 74716 kms. A total of 3 liters was changed.
After the oil change the gear shift jerkiness vanished.

The GV has been used sparingly over the past 2 years. I use it the most during the rains. Otherwise it just sees about 150 kms of driving a month.
About 2 months ago I noticed that the AT gearbox had again started jerking. The main points I noticed were:-

1. The problem was only with the system that shifts from gear 1 to 2. The upshifts for all other gears were normal. All downshifts were normal.
2. I usually drive with a very light throttle. At 10-20% throttle position the change from 1st. to 2nd. was very jerky. The engine speeded up and then the clutch pack engaged the gear with a sharp action, somewhat like a racing start clutch dump. As a result the gear engaged with a jerk.
3. The jerkiness was most pronounced when the engine & gearbox were cold. After the gearbox heated up the jerkiness reduced by about 20%.
4. If I floored the throttle the gearbox held the gear to about 4000 rpm and the shift jerkiness was about 30% of the jerks at light throttle.

I called up my Service Advisor and he asked me to disconnect the negative terminal of the battery and keep the vehicle disconnected for at least 10 minutes. After doing that I reconnected the battery and took the vehicle for a short drive. And wonders of wonders the jerkiness had virtually disappeared.

I then decided to check the AT gearbox fluid. In cold condition the fluid level did not register on the dipstick. In engine warmed up condition the fluid was registering only at the minimum "warm" level on the dipstick. I also did a smear test of the oil on white tissue paper. The oil colour was reddish with a brown tinge. But on drying up it did not leave any contaminants residue. In contrast my Santro AT's gearbox oil did leave a lot of contaminant residue. My Santro is of 2008 vintage, has done 60k kms and has not had an AT box oil change till date. So I will now get its oil changed pronto.

I am attaching the photos for comparison.

The Grand Vitara AT oil smear


The Santro AT oil smear


For the Interim I am happy to report that the ECU reset seems to have substantially sorted out the jerkiness. It has reduced to 5-10% of the problem levels. When I accelerate with a light foot the upshift happens between 1600-1800 rpm. With a moderate acceleration it upshifts at 2600-2800 rpm. And flooring the accelerator ensures that the gearbox holds on upto 4500 rpm before shifting. Yesterday I did a 190 kms run with 4 people on board. It was a mix of mountain roads, bad roads, rocky trails and highway run. The vehicle performed flawlessly.

As it is obvious that my gearbox oil was not fully topped up, I ordered "Lucas 10009 Transmission Fix 24 oz." oil from Amazon India. It is supposed to clean up the valving innards and also solve clutch slip issues.
I expect to have this in hand my 10th. of december. I will then report on the results.

[Jaggu]

Originally Posted by Samurai

I see Jaggu had to replace the front camber bolts to accommodate the 40mm lift.

There are no camber bolts in OE EDIT Front, just normal bolts for wheel axle unit. When one lift the height of the strut, the wheel camber angle also changes, if it is within specs just let it be. If it is more than the range specified, then you need to add camber bolts, one each on either side. Basically replace the upper bolt of strut to axle assembly with these. They are bolts with a cam projection inside them, which allows the wheel camber to be adjusted.



http://www.ironman4x4.com/category-p...ber-correction

Originally Posted by Styler

Jaggu can you give some idea of the cost of the Ironman kit upgrade kit.

If you want to retain the ride height and plush ride I would suggest just replacing the rear two struts with OEM. Ironman would give lift and make the ride stiff at lower speeds, they are designed for additional load and offroad abuse. Cost wise it would set you back by about ~70k along with camber bolts, springs and struts all around. I also picked it from Swastik Fabs in BLR. But he should be able to courier it to you.

EDIT:

To give you and idea how much is the difference from the ironman lift kit Vs old saggy OE suspension, and i guess slightly larger wheels. Chanced upon this car parked next to mine.

[sridhar-v]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

If you want to retain the ride height and plush ride I would suggest just replacing the rear two struts with OEM. Ironman would give lift and make the ride stiff at lower speeds, they are designed for additional load and offroad abuse. Cost wise it would set you back by about ~70k along with camber bolts, springs and struts all around. I also picked it from Swastik Fabs in BLR. But he should be able to courier it to you.

After 7-8 years of use the springs of the Grand Vitara tend to go soft and the whole suspension droops.
So the best upgrade is to change the springs all around. it will also restore the ride height. One will not get too much of a change in the ride characteristics.

Replacing all shockers and springs with OEM parts will cost about 45-50K. So either of OME or Ironman are not too expensive.

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by Samurai

By the time photo session got over, the driver announces that all the near by temples are closed for the morning. He is kind of a temple expert, so he suggests an ancient temple 15Kms away which has some great reputation. I have never heard of this place, so he informs me that it is located in a very internal place. Considering I haven't bothered doing to puja to many of my previous cars including Baleno, this is the most boring part of the day. Therefore when he said very internal place, it got me interested.

Parked right at the side entrance of the temple

10 years ago, I had no ability to record the drive to this remote 300 years old temple.

However, since I had to visit the same temple on the 10th anniversary of my Grand Vitara, I could record the drive thanks to the dash cam. The following video shows the last 3 minutes of the trip. It is quite a drive through a tar/cement road as wide as the car.

https://youtu.be/BSLVzFz_tSE

[sridhar-v]

Originally Posted by sridhar-v

As it is obvious that my gearbox oil was not fully topped up, I ordered "Lucas 10009 Transmission Fix 24 oz." oil from Amazon India. It is supposed to clean up the valving innards and also solve clutch slip issues.
I expect to have this in hand my 10th. of december. I will then report on the results.

I got delivery of the Lucas transmission Fix Oil in the last week of November.


It is a total of about 720mm (24oz). I used up about 500ml to top up the AT gearbox. Since then the vehicle has done about 200 kms. Of this about 100 kms was highway driving and the rest was city drives.

The results are quite encouraging.
1. Overall smoothness of the gearbox has improved.
2. The jerkiness has almost completely disappeared. Only some random jerks are observed when the gearbox is cold and I am using a 10% throttle input.
3. I sense that there is more power being delivered to the wheels. But I do not have any measurements to back up this. Just a gut feel.

I plan to add the remaining 200 ml and observe the gearbox for a longer period.

Future plan of action is as follows:-
1. Run the vehicle for a couple of months. If the jerkiness does not vanish do a complete oil change of the gearbox (a proper flush - should be about 7 liters) and add Lucas transmission Fix Oil.
2. If this does not completely solve the problem then I will have to get the gearbox opened and have the solenoids cleaned. At that time I will also change the inbuilt oil filter.

Originally Posted by Samurai

10 years ago, I had no ability to record the drive to this remote 300 years old temple.

However, since I had to visit the same temple on the 10th anniversary of my Grand Vitara, I could record the drive thanks to the dash cam. The following video shows the last 3 minutes of the trip. It is quite a drive through a tar/cement road as wide as the car.

Could you share the details of the dash cam. Also please post a photo showing its installation.

[spgv]

There is a lot of buzz on Suzuki Vitara being launched in India next year. Hear's a link https://auto.ndtv.com/maruti-suzuki-cars/vitara.
Various other websites are also publishing such news.
So is it right to assume that once this Vitara is launched in 2018, it would help the cause of spare parts support for existing GV owners(assuming parts sharing between the old and new car). Getting spare parts is not difficult even today but this may ensure future availability as well?

[sridhar-v]

The Vitara is a totally different platform, with very little in common with the Grand Vitara.

As long as the Grand Vitara is in production in Japan we will be able to source parts through MASS.

[Samurai]

After a long wait I finally got the OME suspension kit. I got it just before I left for Manipal with family for the annual Christmas vacation. So I had to carry the OME suspension kit in the boot all the way from Bangalore to Manipal.

I took it to the Udupi MASS for the install, and decided to witness the entire replacement operation. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a tape measure before I took off to the workshop. So I decided to use an unconventional method to mark the before & after height.

Upon removing the wheels, I was shocked to find that the left front shock absorber had totally leaked out. It was surviving on the springs alone.



On installation, the OME looks like this.



Here are the before and after shots using a cane stick. The front went up by 50mm, and the rear went up by 25mm.




I am yet to drive much with this suspension. I'll post long drive review after I return to Bangalore.

[nilanjanray]

Originally Posted by Samurai

After a long wait I finally got the OME suspension kit. I got it just before I left for Manipal with family for the annual Christmas vacation. So I had to carry the OME suspension kit in the boot all the way from Bangalore to Manipal.

Looks nice. Have fun with OME. Will look forward to your feedback after a few months. I too have upgrade plans.

[Jaggu]

Not the smartest or strongest feature of a 2.4 liter auto box. Still 11.3 kilometers to a liter on the MID, which means atleast 10.75 in tank full calculations, is pretty decent. What say? From Bangalore to Kanakpura town.