[AutoIndian]

Originally Posted by condor

@AutoIndian, glad to see your Indica crossing the 1.4L mark. Wishing you a happy ownership. Hope no niggles, though routine maintenance may be there.

Thank you for your wishes condor. Apart from the minor niggles (which is expected in a 10 year old car), my Indica has been almost flawless. That is the primary reason I still don't have a heart to sell it. Every time I think of upgrading to a new car, she gives me a wicked look, as if she's screaming, "what's wrong with me?"

Our own Indica DLE from August 2000, though sold @ 84k, was last serviced at a TASS @2.1L mark. So we know that it ran quite a long time after we sold it. (We had moved from the Indica to a Marina).

Marina was a great car, launched well ahead of its time. It had the potential of becoming a 7 seater (3 row of seats), it could have been a tough competitor to Ertiga, upcoming Mobilio & the likes, if only TML had that vision.

[condor]

Yes - the Marina was ahead of it's time. Just like the Sierra, the Estate, & the 207. I just wish Tata had not given up on the head-start they had got with these beauties.

[AutoIndian]

Friends,

Over tomorrow's week end I am contemplating on Fuel Pump & Brakes Overhaul: The reasons for the overhaul mentioned below:

Brakes:
1. The brakes have no bite at all. Two weeks back after driving my BIL's Vista D90, when I drove my DLX, stepping on the brake pedal gave me a felling that I have wooden brakes in my car. Minimum braking happens, when I press the brake pedal with full force.
2. It has been 31K kms I have been running on the current set of brake pads. They can withstand couple of more thousand kms, buts it high time I got them changed
3. Brakes discs, I have not changed them even once in the last 141K kms & 10 years. These are factory fitted discs in my car.
4. Brake shoes, same as the discs, I have not changed them even once in the last 141K kms & 10 years. These are factory fitted brake shoes in my car. When I apply the parking brake, I have to really pull up the lever.

Fuel Pump:
This one is long overdue. Can you imagine, I have not touched the FIP even once in the last 141K kms & 10 years. Obviously that is not the sole reason to overhaul it. The major reason is the response to throttle is almost dead, when the engine is smoking hot. I have to literally slip the clutch to get the car going, even in first gear. In second gear car is dead. It becomes a nightmare to drive in choc-a-bloc traffic, when the throttle response is very poor.

Besides the above I am thinking of replacing the wiper stalk & the rear suspension (if they are not going to burn a big hole in my pocket). I want to know from you what we the price of the following genuine spares for Indica:
Brake disc
Brake shoe
Wiper stalk
Rear suspension

[deep_bang]

Originally Posted by AutoIndian

Friends,


3. Brakes discs, I have not changed them even once in the last 141K kms & 10 years. These are factory fitted discs in my car.
4. Brake shoes, same as the discs, I have not changed them even once in the last 141K kms & 10 years. These are factory fitted brake shoes in my car. When I apply the parking brake, I have to really pull up the lever.

I too have a 80k Indica with its original set of disks and shoes! I always wondered how it lasts so long, but your reply make me feel that the Tata brake parts are indeed quite good!

[AutoIndian]

Originally Posted by deep_bang

I too have a 80k Indica with its original set of disks and shoes! I always wondered how it lasts so long, but your reply make me feel that the Tata brake parts are indeed quite good!

Not only the brake pads and discs are quite good, but they are quite cheap as well. Just now I am back from my garage. I purchased all the spares myself, all Tata genuine spares from Pandit Auto, Pimrpi. The price details are mentioned below:

Front brake pads (Apache make) 845.00
Front brake discs 2 nos (17 think, ventilated) @ Rs 877 each 1,754.00
Rear brake liners (LH & RH) 2 nos @ Rs 365 each (TVS Gerling make) 730.00
Front wiper blades 286.00

Total 3615.00

Will post the pictures in a separate post. I believe only Maruti-800 & Alto spares would be a bit cheaper, else the Indica spares beats the price of spares of all other cars (not considering the Nano here)

[shashi63]

Originally Posted by AutoIndian

Front brake pads (Apache make) 845.00
Front brake discs 2 nos (17 think, ventilated) @ Rs 877 each 1,754.00
Rear brake liners (LH & RH) 2 nos @ Rs 365 each (TVS Gerling make) 730.00
Front wiper blades 286.00

Total 3615.00

When I sold my Indica it had done nearly 110K and still had the original pads and discs so I guess it is standard for a Tata car to have stuff which really lasts long. Also i have always maintained that Tata Cars provide VFM and truly do from a long term perspective as well.

Good to know your Indica is still going strong.

[AutoIndian]

Originally Posted by shashi63

When I sold my Indica it had done nearly 110K and still had the original pads and discs so I guess it is standard for a Tata car to have stuff which really lasts long. Also i have always maintained that Tata Cars provide VFM and truly do from a long term perspective as well.

Absolutely . The Indica is one of the most VFM car, that is the sole reason why fleet owners flock to Indica. Unfortunately this "cabbie" image drives the personal owners away from the Indica and Tata brand per se.

To top it TASCs put the final nail in the coffin and then all Tata cars languish way behind the competetion on the monthly sales charts.

Here are some of the pictures.

The FIP (Fuel Injection Pump) being removed form the engine:


The FIP: Front View


The FIP: Top View


LHS rear wheel brake drum: Brake caliper removed


The old worn out brake liners:


Mechanics doing the rear wheel hub greasing:


Synthetic grease (blue colour) being applied to one of the rear wheel bearings:


Fuel Injectors removed:


Fuel injector sockets seen in the engine block:


New rear brake liners: TVS Gerling make


Front brake pads (set of 4): Apache make


Brake liners and brake pads together:


Front brake disc: Outer surface


Front brake disc: Inner surface


Front brake disc: Side view


Timing belt removed form the pulley:

[AutoIndian]

One bad news. I got a call from the TVS Lucas workshop (where I had put the FIP for servicing and injectors for cleaning), that the pulley of their calibration machine has broken. Result my FIP cannot be serviced today. He has ordered a new pulley for the machine, which will come from Chennai and may take at least couple of days. He is trying to get the pulley welded from local shop, but not sure whether that will work out.

He has given me the option of fitting a spare (service) FIP in my car and I can use it as long as the calibration machine gets repaired and my FIP gets serviced. Now the only issue here is that once my FIP gets serviced, I will have to again remove the service FIP & fit my FIP and pay for the FIP removal/fitment labour charges, which are to the tune of Rs 750/-

The second option is I pick up my FIP from the Chinchwad Lucas TVS & give it to Dapodi Lucas TVS on Monday, but then I will have to waste my Monday for this (take a leave form office). Also there is a risk that if the FIP is not serviced in a day, my car will remain in garage for one more day.

The decision will be made tomorrow afternoon. If the calibration machine is up and running (which I sincerely pray for), the Lucas guy said he will finish the servicing and calibration the same day (even if it means stretching in the night/over time etc). If not then he will provide me the spare service pump. Fingers tightly crossed now . Hope I am not getting into a big mess by this untimely service

[AutoIndian]

Originally Posted by AutoIndian

One bad news. If the calibration machine is up and running (which I sincerely pray for), the Lucas guy said he will finish the servicing and calibration the same day (even if it means stretching in the night/over time etc). If not then he will provide me the spare service pump. Fingers tightly crossed now . Hope I am not getting into a big mess by this untimely service

Friends, I started the day on a positive note and indeed it turned out to be very good at the end of the day. Got my car back @ 08:30pm with all the work done as expected.

Firstly today afternoon, I called up Sandip, the guy at TVS Lucas to ask if the calibration machine has been repaired. As a pleasant surprise I got a positive reply and he said that he will make the FIP ready by 05:00pm. I first went to my garage, Venus Auto at 04:30pm and made sure the rest of the work (fitting new brake discs and brake pads) was done. Below are some of the pictures of the worn out brake discs and brake pads

The outer surface of the disc with scoring marks:


The inner surface of the disc with scoring marks:


A closer look at the groove which is almost 1.5 to 2mm deep:


The worn out brake pads:


Another picture of worn out brake pads:


Then I went to Lucas. Sandip has just finished fitting the new rotor to my pump.

Below you can see the existing rotor assembly, which was replaced.



The assembled pump was then put up on the testing rig/calibration machine.



The fully overhauled and calibrated pump nicely packed along with the injectors.


The various invoices









After the garage handed over the car back to me, I took it for a spin. There seems to be good improvement in the car pick-up. However the actual litmus test can be done only when the engine is smoking hot. In this condition if the car responds to the accelerator inputs and there is no drop in pick-up only then I will consider all the money is well spent. Results will be out tomorrow when I drive it from home to office in the afternoon.

The braking has also improved, but not as much as I had expected. Harish said that the brakes will required some running to bed in properly, only then they will be more effective, fingers crossed.

The complete part and labor charges are mentioned below:
Attachment 1227432

[AutoIndian]

Originally Posted by AutoIndian

The complete part and labor charges are mentioned below:
Attachment 1227432

I guess the complete part and labor charges attachment is not visible, hence re posting (Note: The FIP overhaul and Rotor replacement job at Lucas TVS itself costed me 15K)

[rkw]

@Autoindian
FIP overhaul seems to be an expensive job.
By the way, you didn't change the rear suspension?
It will cost you about Rs.1700-2000 per set.

[AutoIndian]

Originally Posted by rkw

@Autoindian
FIP overhaul seems to be an expensive job.
By the way, you didn't change the rear suspension?
It will cost you about Rs.1700-2000 per set.

No doubt about that, FIP overhaul is quite an expensive job. I thought lets give it a try. Yes you are right about the rear suspension. It was costing me Rs 2061 for one set. The FIP and the brakes overhaul itself costed me 20K combined, hence I postponed the suspension overhaul for next time. May be I will club it with the tyre change schedule.

Originally Posted by AutoIndian

However the actual litmus test can be done only when the engine is smoking hot. In this condition if the car responds to the accelerator inputs and there is no drop in pick-up only then I will consider all the money is well spent. Results will be out tomorrow when I drive it from home to office in the afternoon.

Friends very happy to share with you, every rupee from the 15K spent on the FIP overhaul has been worth it. The car has passed with flying colours the litmus test, which I had mentioned earlier. During today's drive from home to office, the engine became boiling hot midway, temperature gauge needle at the centre, radiator fan running and the response to the throttle was fantastic. This is beyond my expectation. In this condition the car used to struggle from standstill even in first gear, if in second gear it used to stall. I had to slip the clutch generously to keep the engine away from dying. Driving in choc-a-bloc traffic in sweltering heat was a nightmare. The FIP overhaul & rotor replacement has ended that nightmare. I am falling in love with my car all over again. The pick-up is superb, also there is a different engine note when I am accelerating, as if my car is now fitted with a turbocharger. The low end torque has improved drastically. If I had the slightest inkling that FIP overhaul would make such a drastic difference to the driveability of the car, I would have got this done at least two years back. . Anyways better late than never.

The braking has also improved, but not as much as I had expected. Harish said that the brakes will required some running to bed in properly, only then they will be more effective, fingers crossed.

The brakes definitely have got their missing bite back now. No more "wooden brakes" feeling

Minor correction in the above charges, the modvat of 1.5K got missed out from the total and the total charges are above 20K. Here are the correct details.

[rkw]

Nice to hear that about the overhauled FIP! You must have got a good TVS-Lucas service centre too. Wanted to go for FIP overhaul for my Indica but refrained due to cost estimates & apprehensions that performance may not enhance much. But as I hear your feedback, it seems worth the money & efforts.

[AutoIndian]

Originally Posted by rkw

Nice to hear that about the overhauled FIP! You must have got a good TVS-Lucas service centre too. Wanted to go for FIP overhaul for my Indica but refrained due to cost estimates & apprehensions that performance may not enhance much. But as I hear your feedback, it seems worth the money & efforts.

Hello rkw (sorry don't know your real name). You are spot on. The TVS-Lucas service centre from which I have not just serviced my FIP recently, but my alternator two times and the starter motor once, really gives very good service. I try to build personal rapport with the mechanics. I trust them for the job they are doing and they give me very good service. I have even got the oil change service done from them once. Not to mention for minor electrical issues I completely rely on them.

FIP overhaul is indeed a very costly affair. At 15K it is not at all cheap and putting that money on a 10 year old Indica was a big gamble, but it has paid off really well. I can experience that sprint in my Indica now. Earlier it was very very lethargic, now it is eager to go. I don't know, how old is your Indica. Regardless if you plan to retain her for one or more years and you too are experiencing symptoms like me, then you can bet your money on FIP overhaul. I hope your TVS-Lucas is as reliable as mine (if not more). Get the feedback from others, who might have got their FIPs overhauled/serviced from there and proceed only then.

[condor]

@AutoIndian, good to hear that ! FIP overhaul may be expensive, but it gives you almost new FIP at about half the cost of a new FIP. When done at TVS-Lucas or Bosch, you should get the right service.