[tacho9000]

Hello predatorwheelz it is long time later that you're updating the thread but nevertheless a comprehensive one. Finally the year ending blues have cleared and you're back to your rightful place. And the list is pretty comprehensive one. Lot many things changed. The way your cooling coil looks is what my cooling coil used to look in 2012 before the AC servicing. It was thoroughly cleaned and now even in the maruti 800 which is known for weak AC is cooling more than sufficiently. Good that you did it comprehensively. Did you do anything for the cowl cover of the mirror. Also please do take care of battery replacement as I had once neglected the replacement and the end resultant wasn't exactly pleasing with a dead battery in the middle of the road on a trip. And yes these HASS have some really atrocious labour pricing once out of warranty. The calliper guide rod is a small piece of rod which keeps the callipers in position and from jumping into the brake disc on bumps. It's absence can be detrimental if the brake pad isn't properly placed and aligned. I nearly suffered the same fate but thankfully warning and alertness at right time prevented it from happening. That pipe looked like it could be used for another 3-4years or so why did you replace it? As a precaution? The tie rods don't wear out that fast as the ball joints do,even in my 800 which has been subjected to rough roading at speeds of 40-50KMPH the tie rods didn't get damaged only a nut fell down from the suspension hold mount which is perfectly acceptable. Do you feel any additional slack in the steering? If yes then only can the tie rods be culprit otherwise not. EGR cleaning was a good move in eradicating the black smoke. Good you did it on time otherwise a choked EGR valve could've resulted in CEL malfunction as well as EGR valve failure which could've been expensive. And congratulations for finally being bitten by the ICE bug and we do expect some good quality ICE setup from you. And a nice long drive for predator to stretch her legs. You've been long overdue on it. Come on bring on some more.

Cheers,
Subhra.

Note from the Team-BHP Support Team: Please avoid quoting an entire large post. It inconveniences our small screen & mobile readers.

[predatorwheelz]

Originally Posted by predatorwheelz

So Predator roars into its mid-life, approaching 70K. Some gifts planned in the coming year:

Battery

Tyres

Tyres

A very long road trip beckons. Took stock of the Yokos (which were on 39.5kms) yesterday. Have used the car key to highlight the depth of tread left.

The rear-right tyre was the best of the lot. Sufficient tread, and no major punctures.



The front-left tyre was the worst. Practically no tread left. The key seems to be sitting on level ground.



The front-right and rear-left were in the middle in terms of tread. But both had sidewall damage (one was in fact running on a tube).





It was clear the Yokos needed to go. As planned, bought new MRF ZLOs to fit. More details on the buying experience here.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/delhi-...ml#post3144128

And some pics.







Initial impressions of the ZLO are good. Ride as soft as the Yokos, a little higher noise at high speeds. Love the asymmetrical tread pattern!

Battery

Gleaning info off Veyron W-16's useful earlier post, went looking for a 68amp battery. Didn't find anyone stocking the SF battery, so stuck to the Exide Matrix. The Amaron used in the Innova would have been a cheaper alternative, but would have required some modifications to fit into the Verna engine bay.



Other updates

• Took the car to Imtiaz (http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/delhi-...new-delhi.html) for a general brake and suspension check-up. Tie rod was fine. He cleaned up the rear brake pads and changed the front brake pads. 1200 for the pads, just 300 for labour.
  
• The car has recently developed a slight groaning noise at speed, which I suspected came from a worn wheel bearing. Imtiaz said the wheel bearings were all right. One of the front axle bearings had started to wear off. However it was still good to do the complete road trip as long as I ignore the noise.
  
• Got a guy to touch up the various scratches the warrior has incurred over the last 5 years. Very basic job, but better than nothing. Also got him to fix the left ORVM cowl.

Before:







After:





Thats it for now. Just hoping to complete the remaining promised updates before Predator's 5th Birthday in September. Keep watching this space.

[predatorwheelz]

Originally Posted by predatorwheelz

Mid-Life Crisis

So Predator roars into its mid-life, approaching 70K. Some gifts planned in the coming year:

1. Battery

2. A detailing job.

3. Tyres

4. ICE - I've been guilty, very guilty. 2 years ago I planned a super-SQ install, even bought used coaxials as a start. Then I sat on the plan and did nothing. Fikar not! The passion has been reignited, and acquiring is on at full-steam. The install will happen soon and you will read about it.

Thus, all the promised gifts are complete. You have read about battery and tyres in the previous post. Detailing happened in Joseph's hands when I took Predator to Kolkata this June.

And the ICE install happened this weekend. Read all about it here.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/sound-...me-sq-ice.html

[barcode]

Originally Posted by predatorwheelz

Thus, all the promised gifts are complete. You have read about battery and tyres in the previous post. Detailing happened in Joseph's hands when I took Predator to Kolkata this June.

And the ICE install happened this weekend. Read all about it here.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/sound-...me-sq-ice.html

Any after pictures from the spa treatment the predator received ?

[predatorwheelz]

Originally Posted by barcode

Any after pictures from the spa treatment the predator received?

Sadly no. I was on a tight schedule this Kolkata visit. Dropped Predator at Joseph's place, stole his car and drove off to keep the day's other commitments. Just this one pic as the car was getting washed.



The noise headache

In June, a slight groaning noise from the front was detected to be a defective axle bearing. My mechanic insisted that I could still do a return trip to Kolkata, which the car managed without a hitch. On return to Delhi, the portion of the axle containing the bearing was replaced.

Shortly after, the groaning noise came back. This time it included an irritating whirring - very subdued, undetectable with the stereo on - but present nevertheless.

Added to this was the noise from the new brake pads. In an un-asked effort to save my costs, Imtiaz had fitted a set of aftermarket (non-HGP) brake pads. They ran fine on the Kolkata trip, but soon after coming back they started to squeal on every application. Whats worse - once the pads heated up, whenever I braked hard, they made a grinding noise - very much like metal rubbing metal - and the car would shudder and stop. No reduction in braking performance, just a double announcement (squeal and grind) to the world that Mr Sengupta has come to a stop!

Now I'm a stickler for no noise in my car. The combined orchestra of bearing and brakes was driving me crazy. My job involves driving all around NCR meeting clients. The longer I spent behind the wheel, the worse it got.

The solution

So after 3 months of driving myself crazy, I took the entire Sunday to get the noise out of my life. First took the car to the mech and (at gunpoint, figuratively speaking) asked him to detect and remove the bearing noise. Poor guy spent a considerable amount of time checking the axle again (it was working fine) then each wheel, until he detected the new source of noise to be the front RHS wheel bearing.

Went spare-shopping to Metro Spares, Savitri Nagar. Picked up a FAG bearing. They had Hyundai OEM bearings too, but the mech insisted FAG is the best brand for the application. More expensive than the HGP too.





The brake problem was easy to solve. Just got a set of Hyundai original brake pads to replace the pathetic aftermarket pads.







Some days back my front bumper tried to get cozy with a (suddenly braked) autorickshaw at the Delhi GPO roundabout. The result - a broken RHS front foglight assembly.

Now the Verna foglights are a purely ornamental part, no additional illumination. I wasn't keen to pay the price for an original foglight assembly. Luckily Metro Spares had a local made assembly for almost a third of the factory part's price.





The old (pre-fluidic) Verna came with rear drum brakes as standard, and a rear disk+ABS setup as a Rs 25K option. Very few owners (including yours truly) took the option. As a result the old Verna's rear disk/pads have become a scarce commodity even at Hyundai Service centers.

Metro had in stock an aftermarket set of pads. My rear pads are on 40K kms, and should need changing in another 10-15K. Picked up a set just in case. But now I'm praying they don't go the (noisy) way of my aftermarket front pads.







Anyway, for now the noise gremlins have been eradicated and owner & car are at peace. Predator's 5th birthday and the 80K mark are sniffing distance away. Stay tuned.

[AutoIndian]

Originally Posted by predatorwheelz

Anyway, for now the noise gremlins have been eradicated and owner & car are at peace. Predator's 5th birthday and the 80K mark are sniffing distance away. Stay tuned.

Hey bro, thanks for sharing your experience. Incidentally I had a similar issue. At speeds of 40 kmph or above, I could distinctly hear the humming noise in my car & the noise would increase proportionately as the speed would increase. During my 130K oil change service it was diagnosed that the source of noise was the front RHS bearing & lower ball joint. Got both these replaced 10 days back & noise has vanished in this air. For further details you can refer my ownership thread (message #231) ----> http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-t...ml#post3209243

[tacho9000]

Aniket da that was a comprehensive small repair you did to your predator. Hope predator is happy with the upgrade you gave him. Even my beloved Goldie has that grumbling bearing noise on RHS wheel. Going to check it today. Anyways will be sniffing around to know updates about predator for his 5th birthday and 80000KMS.

[predatorwheelz]

Originally Posted by tacho9000

The way your cooling coil looks is what my cooling coil used to look in 2012 before the AC servicing. It was thoroughly cleaned and now even in the maruti 800 which is known for weak AC is cooling more than sufficiently.

Originally Posted by tacho9000

Even my beloved Goldie has that grumbling bearing noise on RHS wheel. Going to check it today.

Dude, at the onset I appreciate your following my ownership thread. Please continue to do so.

That said, I must point out something I've been watching for a long time. Every post of yours, whether its my thread or the "Blue Boomerang - Ritz VDI" thread, contains a few lines on what Goldie is doing. Why not start a whole new thread yourself instead of resorting to Surrogate Advertising? Its easier to know about your car in a dedicated thread, than having to gather snippets of information from other peoples' threads!

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by predatorwheelz

whether its my thread or the "Blue Boomerang - Ritz VDI" thread, contains a few lines on what Goldie is doing. Why not start a whole new thread yourself instead of resorting to Surrogate Advertising? Its easier to know about your car in a dedicated thread, than having to gather snippets of information from other peoples' threads!

Predator Bro, I am just

Tacho9000 comes alive on my tread suddenly and vanishes away. I don't know why but he hardly is seen posting and as you said rightly even I advise him to start a dedicated thread on his Goldie and the Golden moments.

Anurag.

[predatorwheelz]

The car had its 12th service at 88,000 kms today. Had stretched to 9000 kms (and 6 months) since the last oil change. At last my beloved Mobil Delvac MX went in, as did all the 3 filters.

Just one replacement. The left fog lamp bulb conked off. Little thingy, costs Rs 80 to replace. Here's what the original (and the replacement) looks like.

[manish.thomas]

Hi Predator,

We have siblings in our stable. Mine is a Oct 09 Verna crdi Sx silver. Done 73K with nothing much to complain. I just moved away from Hyundai service to mobile workshop. He drives a TATA Ace with complete kit. He was the works manager in Skoda and now has started his own workshop. My neighbour recommended him to me. I think a he did a good job. He picked the filters from Hyundai and the total cost worked out much cheaper.

[manish.thomas]

Sorry- duplicate post, Entered twice by mistake.

[predatorwheelz]

Originally Posted by manish.thomas

Hi Predator,

We have siblings in our stable. Mine is a Oct 09 Verna crdi Sx silver. Done 73K with nothing much to complain.

Congratulations to you. A friend owns a June 09 CRDI SX model (bought after TDing Predator ). His too has done around 75K and he's been happy about the whole experience. Going by our collective experiences, the Verna has been a hassle free car to own which brings a smile everytime you floor the throttle!. But speaking of hassle-free, my 6th year of ownership seems to be the year of little electrical niggles:

The case of the headlamp stalk

The Verna's headlamp stalk (like most cars) has 3 positions. Off, Driving lamps and Headlamps. Plus the foglamps are integrated with the headlamp switch - which is to say you can leave the foglamp switch on permanently, but they'll always come on when the headlamp switch is in the 2nd or 3rd position.

This is what the stalk looks like, in isolation.



Last month, the stalk started to behave erratic. In the "Headlamps" position, everything would be on (which is normal). In the "Driving lamps" position, the headlamps would swtich off (as they should) but so would the foglamps. In the "Off" position, the headlamps would switch on again!

So a visit was paid to the mechanic. The problem was traced to the circuitry, and all attempts to repair it failed.



Not that I was interested in repair (in my experience, its always better to replace auto-electrical components than repair) but the mech had insisted. So after he gave up, I went ahead and sourced this. Only 1250 bucks at Metro Spares.



Oh! Sometimes last month the car crossed the 90K mark.

[yotesh]

Hi Predator,
I too, own a 2008 Verna SX. A month ago, the car completed 100k. The ownership has been an absolute delight, but not niggle free, to say the least.
For example, the clutch plates were replaced at 70k, the TURBO went kaput at 75k. It started giving a whistling sound which varied as per the acceleration. I continued driving the car for 5000 kms+ until one day it totally died. The Hyundai people estimated a nice 80,000+ for repair, but my very trusted and skilled mechanic sourced a second-hand (Grey Market) Turbo for 25,000.
Then one fine day, while servicing the car, we found Engine Oil in the radiator and had to replace the Oil cooler and did extensive Cleaning amongst replacing few other parts. The Steering started making rattling noises sometimes, replacement of which costs around 25k, but my mechanic "adjusted it" and suggested me to live with the little noise.
Changed Link rods and Steering Ends 2 and 3 times respectively during the life of the car. Recently had a suspension overhaul done which consisted of Ball joints and New Front Shockers as the previous ones were totally dead. Also the Clutch Master and Slave Cylinder were changed 20 days ago.
About the groaning noise you mentioned, I had the RHS wheel bearing replied somewhere near 80k, and now i feel the same noise coming from the LHS.
The injectors feel a little blocked, and sometimes the car just halts when kept idle for some time. This issue resolves for 2000 ams when I put in the injector cleaner in the diesel tank.
Some 15 days ago, in the Hills of Kasauli, the car would suddenly stop sometimes, and the Check Engine Light came on after a few times. I used the OBDII sensor with my phone to check the error code, to find it was "Low Fuel Pressure".
I added the Injector Cleaner, and voila.
We have Four other cars in our household, but this has been my go-to car.
Probably because I share a great deal of memories with it.
It might sound irresponsible, but I got this car when I passed Xth Standard, and needless to say, it went through some abuse.
Now, I just completed my Bachelors of Technology, and I can't care more about it. Probably will never sell it, regardless of the niggles.

[predatorwheelz]

Hi Yotesh

Sorry for the late reply, as I was away on a Mukteshwar trip and came back yesterday night. Congrats to a fellow owner for completing the 100K mark.

Originally Posted by yotesh

For example, the clutch plates were replaced at 70k

My clutch has run 91k without any problems. Even on my recent 800 km round trip the old maid did a great job, overtaking vehicles on the highway at will. However, on the hills I could feel the car struggling to pull up on steep inclines (with 3 people and luggage on board). The clutch surely needs a check up.

Originally Posted by yotesh

the TURBO went kaput at 75k. It started giving a whistling sound which varied as per the acceleration. I continued driving the car for 5000 kms+ until one day it totally died. The Hyundai people estimated a nice 80,000+ for repair, but my very trusted and skilled mechanic sourced a second-hand (Grey Market) Turbo for 25,000.

The cost of the turbo has been my nightmare ever since I bought Predator. Which is why I always follow the 1 min idle (on cold starts and before turning off the engine) routine. This has kept my turbo and injectors relatively healthy I guess (fingers firmly crossed).

Originally Posted by yotesh

Then one fine day, while servicing the car, we found Engine Oil in the radiator and had to replace the Oil cooler and did extensive Cleaning amongst replacing few other parts. The Steering started making rattling noises sometimes, replacement of which costs around 25k, but my mechanic "adjusted it" and suggested me to live with the little noise.
Changed Link rods and Steering Ends 2 and 3 times respectively during the life of the car. Recently had a suspension overhaul done which consisted of Ball joints and New Front Shockers as the previous ones were totally dead. Also the Clutch Master and Slave Cylinder were changed 20 days ago.
About the groaning noise you mentioned, I had the RHS wheel bearing replied somewhere near 80k, and now i feel the same noise coming from the LHS.
The injectors feel a little blocked, and sometimes the car just halts when kept idle for some time. This issue resolves for 2000 ams when I put in the injector cleaner in the diesel tank.
Some 15 days ago, in the Hills of Kasauli, the car would suddenly stop sometimes, and the Check Engine Light came on after a few times. I used the OBDII sensor with my phone to check the error code, to find it was "Low Fuel Pressure".
I added the Injector Cleaner, and voila.

Oh dear, you seem to have your share of niggles all right. In my case the only suspension jobs needed have been the RHS bearing change and replacing the ball joints. Even on my recent trip the suspension took a pounding on bad Uttarakhand roads. All other mechanical items have been running like clockwork. Do you have multiple people driving your car?

BTW, where in Ludhiana do you live? I go down there about once in 1-2 months on work. Maybe we could meet up.