Team-BHP > Technical Stuff


Reply
  Search this Thread
21,919 views
Old 20th January 2006, 14:59   #1
BHPian
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Hyderabad
Posts: 42
Thanked: 0 Times
Suspension overhaul for Zen

Hi everybody,
I have a stock 2001 MPFi Zen (63k). Offlate it's suspension started making noise
and feels very weak compared to other zens and nowhere near a new Alto. So
I had been planning to overhaul it's suspension. Today I took it to a Bosch servicing
center (Fansa Motors) and asked for their opinion and estimate of expenses.

They simply sent a guy to take a test ride of my car. He took the car around a block where road
was not in good condition. He reported that almost entire front suspension
and major parts of rear suspension need to be changed. Then some elder person
showed me diagrams of those parts from Zen Workshop manual.

I asked him, if we could use any 'better than stock' spares
to improve the feel beyond a new Zen. He said that can't be done normally and
he will use 'AC Delco' shocks for front which are better than MGP.

When asked him about the estimate of expenses, he said it could be approximately 10k.
Upon asking for split
Front suspesion setup 'each' side = Rs 2400/-
That would be Rs 5000/-
Rear suspesion setup in total another Rs 2000/-
Labour charges Rs 1500/-
Wheel alignment and balancing - Rs 350/-
Washing and cleaning - Rs 250/-
More as they see any othre parts need to be replaced.

And it would take them 1- 1.5 days for them to finish the job.

Thinking of checking at other places before giving it there, I left from there.

What do you guys think? Are the charges Ok?
Shall I get this job done at my regular garage instead?
Could I do any more to improve it's suspension to be as good as that of a new Alto?

Your comments would be very helpful.

Thanks in advance
skidrock is offline  
Old 20th January 2006, 15:18   #2
Senior - BHPian
 
speedsatya's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: bangalore/manga
Posts: 3,169
Thanked: 738 Times

wat about teh tie rods ,the lower arms ...also change the stabiliser bar bushes in teh front ...they must have also worn out ...when they are worn you hear the tire rubbing against the body ..


and what about teh rear suspension ????what are you changing ?????
speedsatya is offline  
Old 22nd January 2006, 00:50   #3
BHPian
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Glasgow, UK
Posts: 30
Thanked: 0 Times

If you have the tools and time, do it yourself, as changing suspensions shouldn't be hard just need a bit of patient from my experience. However the tracking leave that to the garage as that needed their special equipment. That way you may save some expenses.
gary_yuen42 is offline  
Old 22nd January 2006, 01:44   #4
Senior - BHPian
 
nitrous's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: UAE/Lon/Madras
Posts: 6,965
Thanked: 322 Times

Dude, u cant just drive around and say what all has gone stale in the suspension.They have to remove the whole setup,then check and replace if necessary has to be done.
nitrous is offline  
Old 22nd January 2006, 08:46   #5
BHPian
 
angelfire's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Mangalore/Chicago
Posts: 251
Thanked: Once

hey... ask the garage people to first hoist the car on the lift and then check for any damage.....a suspension consists 0f a lot of things actly.....specially the front ones...nd they dont fail unless constantnly used on rough terrains...usually its the bushes that wear out....just get it checked properly...nd replace only if needed....
angelfire is offline  
Old 23rd January 2006, 10:14   #6
BHPian
 
killjoy's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 753
Thanked: 317 Times

for zen, if you dont mind a slightly harder ride at low speeds, then ideally, you can stiffen the front stock struts and use zen diesel springs and for the rear, use stiffened gypsy struts with the same springs. really good if you want to do autocross and stuff.
killjoy is offline  
Old 23rd January 2006, 11:34   #7
BHPian
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Hyderabad
Posts: 42
Thanked: 0 Times

Thanks for all the replies guys. Busy right now, will get suspension thoroughly checked by my mech.
Quote:
Originally Posted by killjoy
for zen, if you dont mind a slightly harder ride at low speeds, then ideally, you can stiffen the front stock struts and use zen diesel springs and for the rear, use stiffened gypsy struts with the same springs. really good if you want to do autocross and stuff.
I don't really want a stiff setup, but my zen's suspension feels too weak/loose.
I just want to bring to the level of new Zen, still better, to that of an Alto, if possible
skidrock is offline  
Old 23rd January 2006, 12:14   #8
Senior - BHPian
 
nitrous's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: UAE/Lon/Madras
Posts: 6,965
Thanked: 322 Times

When u rehaul the suspension, she'll be a little tight and will loosen up after a few hundred kms.Its normal. I've done umpteen suspension rehauls on my cars that i've lost count.
nitrous is offline  
Old 29th August 2006, 16:41   #9
Newbie
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Pune
Posts: 4
Thanked: 0 Times

ive done a lot of suspension work on my zen too. punes tough on any car, though i must say the zen starts rattles and squeaks in six months no matter how much hard earned moola or TLC you can sink into it.
vark2551 is offline  
Old 6th September 2006, 03:25   #10
 
hellspawn's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: noida
Posts: 1,686
Thanked: 7 Times
Infractions: 0/1 (10)

Quote:
Originally Posted by vark2551
ive done a lot of suspension work on my zen too. punes tough on any car, though i must say the zen starts rattles and squeaks in six months no matter how much hard earned moola or TLC you can sink into it.
my zen started rattling and squeaking just one week after i got the suspension work done.
@skidrock:also get your steering column checked.if the steering has developed a play in it,it needs to be changed too.it would cost approx. 3000 bucks.
hellspawn is offline  
Old 7th November 2013, 07:45   #11
BHPian
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Kolkata
Posts: 37
Thanked: 24 Times
Zen Revival , changing fuel injectors

Good day gentlemen,

I just got the fuel injectors renewed and changed the plugs to NGK iridium on our 70K run yr 2000 Zen. I had discussed this plan much earlier, but then there was no follow up neither in the forum nor in action from my side. Now that I have got this done , the car's engine really feels almost like new in every respect, only the exhaust sound has become slightly noisier. My cost came to approx. about 12K [ 4 x 1500= 6000 for injectors, about 2200 for the new plugs, rest in labour including throttle body cleaning]. As I could not attend the job, there were no photos taken-sorry about that.

This method has truly given new life to the engine. However, due to an old problem in the front suspension, I am not able to enjoy driving the car. Can any Zen owner suggest a good mechanic who can do a proper suspension job? I have tried at least 6 places, no one could fix it.

Best reagrds
Soumitra
sanyal779 is offline  
Old 7th November 2013, 10:37   #12
Distinguished - BHPian
 
saket77's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Ranchi
Posts: 4,343
Thanked: 11,745 Times
Re: Zen Revival , changing fuel injectors

Quote:
Originally Posted by sanyal779 View Post
However, due to an old problem in the front suspension, I am not able to enjoy driving the car. Can any Zen owner suggest a good mechanic who can do a proper suspension job? I have tried at least 6 places, no one could fix it.

Best reagrds
Soumitra
Hello,

What kind of problem are you having with the suspension set-up? Generally MASS are good and neither the Zen has a very complicated set-up. Should not be a problem to fix when done at a good MASS. My Zen's suspension job was done about 8K kms ago and it is perfect as of now. Got an alignment job done in between once.

Regards,
Saket
saket77 is offline  
Old 7th November 2013, 11:20   #13
BHPian
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Kolkata
Posts: 37
Thanked: 24 Times
Re: Zen Revival , changing fuel injectors

The car seems to tilt to one side and I can feel that the vehicle is somewhat unbalanced above 50 kmph. Have got wheel alignment done, that seems to help a little. If there is a heavy passenger about 70+ kg sitting at the front, the problem is minimized and the steering control improves. most of the temporary drivers we take, do not even fell the difference anyway. But to me it is very annoying, so I do not generally use this car.

Which MASS would you recommend and where are they located? I use one MASS at Kamalgazi [nearest to my house and owner is a friend] but the mechanics handling the suspension job has not been able to solve this problem satisfactorily.

I am looking for a MASS where any fellow forum member would assure a good experience on suspension work.
sanyal779 is offline  
Old 7th November 2013, 12:23   #14
Distinguished - BHPian
 
saket77's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Ranchi
Posts: 4,343
Thanked: 11,745 Times
Re: Zen Revival , changing fuel injectors

Quote:
Originally Posted by sanyal779 View Post
The car seems to tilt to one side and I can feel that the vehicle is somewhat unbalanced above 50 kmph. Have got wheel alignment done, that seems to help a little. If there is a heavy passenger about 70+ kg sitting at the front, the problem is minimized and the steering control improves. most of the temporary drivers we take, do not even fell the difference anyway. But to me it is very annoying, so I do not generally use this car.

Which MASS would you recommend and where are they located? I use one MASS at Kamalgazi [nearest to my house and owner is a friend] but the mechanics handling the suspension job has not been able to solve this problem satisfactorily.

I am looking for a MASS where any fellow forum member would assure a good experience on suspension work.
We are at different places and hence cannot recommend the better MASS'es at your place, but there is at least one very good MASS where I get my car pampered.
The kind of problem you have mentioned can be verified by parking your car on a levelled surface and measuring the height of the centre of the wheel arc from ground level (taking the axle or wheel hub as the reference centre point). Let me add that the measurement may not be exact; though the lesser the better.
In case there is a major difference, say of more than 1.5-2 cms, check the struts, anti-roll bars at front & sway bar or lateral rod for rear and look for bent arms. In case the car has been involved in an accident, wrong chassis/ body alignment cannot be ruled out.

The problem with making such diagnosis is that it takes some time as compared to problems with other cars which line up at service centres normally; hence regular service advisors & technicians may not be willing to give that amount of time due to obvious reasons.
saket77 is offline  
Old 7th November 2013, 12:26   #15
Senior - BHPian
 
speedsatya's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: bangalore/manga
Posts: 3,169
Thanked: 738 Times
Re: Zen Revival , changing fuel injectors

At 70 K kms , its better to replace your entire suspension system . Doesnt cost much for a zen ( front struts+ strut rubber bush + lower arm + stablizer bar + rear suspension) ...all this should cost you around 10 K

BTW why were your injectors replaced? My 2001 car having done 2.15L kms are still running on the original injectors
speedsatya is offline  
Reply

Most Viewed
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Team-BHP.com
Proudly powered by E2E Networks