[San Phrangmung]

Background: First time car owner.
Car details: Wagon R
old 2009 July model
20,000 km run.

Issue: During the 30th month scheduled and first paid service i was advised to do steering and brake overhauling.
Now i have no idea about whats wrong and what they intend to do and billing as i have been driving for last two and a half years only and have no technical knowledge.

Personally i dont find any problem driving apart from a sort of radio type beeping noise at high speed from time to time and snoozy sound at low spped at times.

Please explain to me the process of the said overhauling and was it too early for that for a vehicle that has only done 20,000 km.
Thanks.

[San Phrangmung]

Things done during last service:

Strut bush kit check and replace
Stabiliser bar bush check and replace.

Changed Item name:

Mount strut
Stopper front strut rebound
Bushing, stabiliser bar
Seal bush

Other than that regular gear oil, filter, coolant, brake fluid change.

Job card remark: Steering, brake need overhaul.

[MileCruncher]

I wonder why would steering and brake need overhauling at 2.5Years mark on a 20k run vehicle unless they are talking about changing oil in both power steering circuit and brake circuit.

Also why have the bushes been replaced so early, unless off course you are driving your car on very rough terrain very regularly.

Something smells definitely fishy here!

[San Phrangmung]

Originally Posted by MileCruncher

I wonder why would steering and brake need overhauling at 2.5Years mark on a 20k run vehicle.

Something smells definitely fishy here!

Thanks MC, since i am not aware of the technicalities involved i have kept the adviced overhauling on hold. They said it will cost around Rs 4,000.

The car does have to move on mostly uneven potholed rough roads from time to time. The service guy told me that he had heard some noise so changed the strut and other rubber parts. Now i am wondering if they have done some damage during the change process as there was no noise when i took the car for servicing but now i hear two kind. Wish i knew the machinery well to know what really is going on.

[speedsatya]

Originally Posted by San Phrangmung

Thanks MC, since i am not aware of the technicalities involved i have kept the adviced overhauling on hold. They said it will cost around Rs 4,000.

The car does have to move on mostly uneven potholed rough roads from time to time. The service guy told me that he had heard some noise so changed the strut and other rubber parts. Now i am wondering if they have done some damage during the change process as there was no noise when i took the car for servicing but now i hear two kind. Wish i knew the machinery well to know what really is going on.

dunno about costs ,but yes ,it is advisable to check strut kit rubber bushes and replace them if they have become hard or are at the end of their life .Strut kit rubber bush is the ring like rubber part you see on your front struts ( front suspension) when you open the bonnet

Stabiliser bar bush is also something i replace every 20 k kms . I dunno how to explain this part ,but when these bushes wear out ,the tire can touch the body when turning and you can hear the screeching sounds .

Go ahead with these changes !

[San Phrangmung]

Originally Posted by speedsatya

dunno about costs ,but yes ,it is advisable to check strut kit rubber bushes and replace them if they have become hard or are at the end of their life .Strut kit rubber bush is the ring like rubber part you see on your front struts ( front suspension) when you open the bonnet
Stabiliser bar bush is also something i replace every 20 k kms . I dunno how to explain this part ,but when these bushes wear out ,the tire can touch the body when turning and you can hear the screeching sounds
Go ahead with these changes !

Thanks SS for explaining me in detail the strut kit and stabiliser bar rubber parts change in detail. Infact this two works has already been done. But the screeching sound has infact surfaced after the changes. So i am confused if the change infact created another problem.

What is on hold is the steering and brake overhaul as i want to know what exectly is done in the process before i give the car in service station.

[vigsom]

^^

what you can definitely do is

• replacement of brake fluid(the entire fluid would need to be removed by continuously topping up with fresh fluid ) ; recommended every 18 months)
• get the caliper pins greased

Steering overhaul is not required unless your alignment cannot be done(indicates worn tie rod ends,ball joints or lower arm joints)

If your driving has been on reasonably smooth roads , none of these things will fail/deteriorate so fast

[libranof1987]

2 of my cars are driven in Gurgaon (possibly the worst roads any "civilized" city can get) and yea 20k can be a good time to change the bushes.

Brake overhauling is when they open up the brake assembly and check the brake pads for any significant wear and tear. Generally, it is just a check. Also, they conduct brake overhaul so early only if you complain about it, not otherwise. So, I doubt this job is justified.

Steering overhaul is generally change of the steering column; but that is not listed in the parts changed. It entails a change in the steering coloumn mount. This would cost around 6k and is not really done so early at 20k.

The parts you have listed are for suspension overhaul; that seems justified if there's a significant wear and tear.

[sgiitk]

I would say a Brake & Steering Overhaul at 2 years / 10,000km is very fishy. Smells of a sandbagging job by the dealership. Not as bad as Hyundai wanting to do a radiator flush and decoke at one year!

[SS-Traveller]

San, I think I'll also echo sgiitk's advice - too early for a suspension & steering overhaul for a WagonR, unless you've been rallying with it. Get a second opinion about the sounds from an independent garage, then ask the MASS to only do specific things that may be covered under warranty / extended warranty.

[paragsachania]

My 2006 WagonR that went for a service at 1,47,000Kms underwent a steering overhaul apart from replacement of Steering Ball Joints as well.
I was charged Rs. 800 for steering overhaul in which they open the steering rack system and grease it. That's all.

My steering had become a bit hard and I was complaining about it to them and suggested them to check the steering system for Ball joints and indeed they found it to have gone Kaput.

The steering is now back to normal and I have already clocked 1,55,000 kms today including a 5000kms trip from Bangalore to Gujarat as well.

On Brake Overhaul : Normally, it is advisable to go for Brake Bleeding every 20,000kms. My car's front Pads last more than 50k (have replaced pads only thrice till now) and as part of the preparation of my trip, though the pads had more life, I insisted on a replacement as I was driving 5000kms on highways. Changing the brake pads made a commendable difference and I got that bite back since I always felt that pads (Asbestos) tend to become harder overtime reducing the braking efficiency often resulting in that grinding noise.