[mayankjha1806]

Finally after major repairs on the driveshaft and suspension we are planning to take her on a long drive (about 500 Kms) to Kodaikanal. This will be her first longish outing after repairs to check her manners on highway.

Which route will be better

1. Take NH7 till Kodai Road and then take the right to Kodaikanal
2. Take NH7 till Dhindukkal and then take NH45 and then the Ghat road

Considering time it will take, road quality, distance and Scenic.

[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by mayankjha1806

took it to carnation next day and we found one of the door switches on the left rear door had lost its rubber covering. This led to the light inside the cabin always on (as it sensed that the door was not closed) and somehow lead to battery discharge.

If the door was sensed as not closed, apart from cabin-light, your boot-light would also have been on, leading to battery depleting faster.

I had a similar battery drain issue. Just that I have set cabin-light to always OFF, so it was the boot light that was the culprit, which stayed on due to a door being unlocked. It is stupid though that the design is such that the boot light comes on when the doors are opened - I would want the boot light to turn on, only when boot is opened. Anyway, after 2 such instances of battery drain, I just removed the bulb from the boot-light.

BTW, 5 years with stock battery is amazing. Mine lasted barely 3 years - now running on Amaron.

[sats]

Originally Posted by mayankjha1806

Finally after major repairs on the driveshaft and suspension we are planning to take her on a long drive (about 500 Kms) to Kodaikanal. This will be her first longish outing after repairs to check her manners on highway.

Which route will be better

1. Take NH7 till Kodai Road and then take the right to Kodaikanal
2. Take NH7 till Dhindukkal and then take NH45 and then the Ghat road

Considering time it will take, road quality, distance and Scenic.

Hi,

I just came back from a trip to Kodaikanal on saturday. My Baleno Lxi 2006, completed 50K kms. We were completely packed to the gills with 5 adults, 2 children, luggage and a full tank of petrol and the car was still belting out 120 - 130 kms easily. Only on the ghat section and the road conditions in Kodai town, had to face a few bottom scrapes.

Take NH7 from Bangalore to Dindigul, smooth highway and from Dindigul take the state highway going towards Bathalagundu and onwards to Kodai.

Cheers,
Sats

[mayankjha1806]

Originally Posted by sats

Hi,
Take NH7 from Bangalore to Dindigul, smooth highway and from Dindigul take the state highway going towards Bathalagundu and onwards to Kodai.

How much time it took you to reach Kodai. I am thinking of starting @ 4 in the morning so as in about 8-9 hours (around 12ish Lunch time) i am there at the hotel. Do you think this is a fair plan?

[Fordmanchau]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

. It is stupid though that the design is such that the boot light comes on when the doors are opened - I would want the boot light to turn on, only when boot is opened.

It's the same with the Ikon too. The boot light comes up when you open the door.

Originally Posted by mayankjha1806

Finally after major repairs on the driveshaft and suspension we are planning to take her on a long drive.

Mayank, do report the performance after your Kodai trip, but didn't you got the driveshaft and suspension checked at the time of evaluating the car.
How much was the total expenditure on this repair?

[mayankjha1806]

Originally Posted by Fordmanchau

Mayank, do report the performance after your Kodai trip, but didn't you got the driveshaft and suspension checked at the time of evaluating the car.
How much was the total expenditure on this repair?

Didn't get the question around evaluating the car? What did you mean, just so to let you know this is not a second hand car i am the first owner. Suspension and drive shaft in total cost about 40K.

[dhanushs]

Originally Posted by Fordmanchau

It's the same with the Ikon too. The boot light comes up when you open the door.

Hey, Manish. Atleast in my car its not like that. My boot light and door lights are independent. Could you please confirm?

[Fordmanchau]

Originally Posted by mayankjha1806

Didn't get the question around evaluating the car? What did you mean, just so to let you know this is not a second hand car i am the first owner. Suspension and drive shaft in total cost about 40K.

sorry Mayank!! Got you confused with a recent thread of a guy buying a pre-owned Baleno in black.
I should have been careful, that guy is in New Delhi, while you are in Bangalore. My mistake!! All the best for the trip to Kodai, when are you leaving?

Originally Posted by dhanushs

Hey, Manish. Atleast in my car its not like that. My boot light and door lights are independent. Could you please confirm?

Dhanush, I'll check and re-confirm but 99% I am sure about it.
I am surprised ,rather that yours is different. Will get back to you.

[mayankjha1806]

Decided to do a Bangalore-Kodaikanal trip starting 02 June - 05 June 2011. Usually i never get the car checked before a long drive but this time on one of my very good friends advise (a fellow t-bhp reader, but not yet a member) decided to get it checked.

Went to the nearby repair shop, he checked oil levels etc and said things were fine until he decided to drive the car. Thats when he figured out the clutch was very tight and guessed the clutch plate needs replacement.

That evening i decided to visit Carnation on Marathalli and showed it to them. They also recommended clutch plate replacement as this one had already done 52k and usually they last anywhere between 40k-50k.

Decided to move the trip to a day later and gave the car to service and clutch plate replacement. After the replacement the clutch felt really soft and easy. The pickup has gone up marginally. I will check the fuel efficiency figures and revert if there is any improvement in that area.

While driving on the highway the car feels more planted on the road (probably due to suspension work done earlier) and much more stable at hard breaking (disc brakes changed). Although i had noticed one problem.

Up-to speeds of 80 the car is absolutely silent, but when pushed beyond 80, when i touch speeds of 90/100 and above there is a rhythmic humming sound coming from the engine bay. Its so silent that my wife sitting next to me could not make out but i could. Also i could feel the humming vibrations on the dead pedal.

Called up the SA and he informed that its normal for a car this old to make some noise from the gear box. Is he right?

Because it happens only on speeds above 80, i was not able to catch it in city. So it may very well be something other than the engine/gear box, because this is the first time i have driven at such speeds after suspension and driveshaft replacement. So it may be because of them as well. Not so sure.

[mayankjha1806]

Details of repairs done, following things were changed

1. OM_DISC Clutch (Baleno) - INR 1442/-
2. OM_COVER Clutch (Baleno) - INR 1085/-
3. OM_B Bearing - INR 1558/-
4. OM_CABLE ASSY Clutch - INR 208/-
5. MOBIL GEAR Oil 80W90 - INR 214/-

Total Loss - INR 6894/-

[Mr_Bean]

Originally Posted by mayankjha1806

Details of repairs done, following things were changed

1. OM_DISC Clutch (Baleno) - INR 1442/-
2. OM_COVER Clutch (Baleno) - INR 1085/-
3. OM_B Bearing - INR 1558/-
4. OM_CABLE ASSY Clutch - INR 208/-
5. MOBIL GEAR Oil 80W90 - INR 214/-

Total Loss - INR 6894/-

I checked your calculation, you seem to have missed the labour?

Out of 52k your car has run, what is the city:highway ratio.

[mayankjha1806]

Originally Posted by Mr_Bean

I checked your calculation, you seem to have missed the labour?

Out of 52k your car has run, what is the city:highway ratio.

Yes labour and taxes are extra, didn't felt the need to put them in. Hummm City:Highway let me see, cant be sure but i guess it would be somewhere around 3:1.

[mayankjha1806]

There is one more problem that i noticed this morning, while engaging fifth gear it gives a sound like "Tick" this happens only on engaging fifth gear irrespective of the car moving or stationary. Will take it to Carnation this Saturday and update.

[mayankjha1806]

This Saturday when i went to the SA and showed him the "Tick" sound on engaging fifth gear. We found one of the screws missing from the central console which is right behind the gear knob. Tightened the screw and the "Tick" sound is now gone.

[mayankjha1806]

Last week i had to go to Narayana Hrudayalaya for 2 days and also needed to make multiple trips back home in Outer Ring Road. Decided to use the Elevated expressway as it was fast.

While driving on the expressway i felt a floating feeling while driving car at 80 (or above 80). The road grip seemed less and the steering was weighing vague. I am not sure if it was because of heavy breeze flowing across the expressway which made the car slight unstable at higher speed or was it something to do with Wheels/Steering.

Has anyone else felt something similar? and if yes what was the cause?