[robbie_KL]

Originally Posted by Rahul Bhalgat

I am surprised to hear that the timing belt slipped! It can break but not slip. If you have observed that the belt teeth were intact, then I see two possibilities:

1. The belt did not slip but the pulley slipped on crankshaft or camshaft through a small angle because of crushed key.

2. The belt tooth skipped the pulley teeth because of loose belt jumping over the pulley. This can happen if the tensioner moves from it's position.

3. The pulley teeth were worn off.

You can ask the service station if any of these have happened.

Views from experts are welcome.

Yes, the fact that the belt slipped has surprised everyone including the mechanics. The workshop is 80km from where I am based right now and I will only know the details when I go there on the weekend. They sent me a few low res pics but from it the belt teeth looked fine. Will post more details when I find out.

Originally Posted by Prowler

Replacement of the timing belt is not exactly a rocket science but many mechanics do not do it the right way. Other things being equal, a specialist workshop/Authorized workshops might do a better job here. Usually they change the pulley, bracket, water pump along with the belt every time. That way you can be sure that there won't be any issue for the next 5 years.

Safari DiCor Engine is a proven workhorse and I have seen safaris running past 300,000 km without any engine work.

+1, I recall we had this discussion a few months back about the Dicor engine and its solid built. That's when I decided to plonk some money and get it in tip top condition. Everything was looking and feeling good when it returned from the workshop but just a few days later it broke down.

Originally Posted by jeeva

Did you ever push start it? Cars equipped with timing belt should never be push started. Due to the sudden impact when you release the clutch when you push start, things (timing side) will slip/bend/break and the timing will be altered. To an extent, these things happen when you try to push start cars equipped with timing chain as well. The only difference is that since its a timing chain, parts tend to move around rather than break. Either ways, its not good.

Nope, the car died on me while negotiating a turn in busy traffic and thus the speed was hardly 10-20km/h. I managed to coast the car to the side of the road and tried to find out the issue. When nothing worked, I called in a flat bed truck and the car was taken to the workshop where it is till now. I was with the car the whole time and no one tried to push start it.

[Prowler]

Originally Posted by Prowler

The issue was finally sorted out. The front suspension was over hauled for 25k. Last week I went for the routine annual service to Lakshmi Motors in ECR.

One of the plastic bushes got cut and fell off. Now it is making a horrible sound everytime I turn the wheels right. This is the first time I am seeing plastic bushes instead of the usual rubber bushes in the suspension. Looks like another trip to Laskhmi Tata.
Has anyone seen a plastic bush before in suspension ?

[kochup]

Getting a lot of creaking noises on 2013 Safari Storme (~85K KMs) from front and back suspension (i guess) specifically when negotiating speed breakers. During the last service i had asked the ASC to grease the suspension and they mentioned that there is no such thing as greasing the suspension



Any options to get around this issue. Thanks

[Prowler]

Originally Posted by kochup

Getting a lot of creaking noises on 2013 Safari Storme (~85K KMs) from front and back suspension (i guess) specifically when negotiating speed breakers.
Any options to get around this issue. Thanks

The rubber components would have worn out. They need to be replaced or the noise will become severe affecting its stability. Read my experience here about the suspension work.

Originally Posted by Prowler

One of the plastic bushes got cut and fell off. Now it is making a horrible sound everytime I turn the wheels right. This is the first time I am seeing plastic bushes instead of the usual rubber bushes in the suspension. Looks like another trip to Laskhmi Tata.
Has anyone seen a plastic bush before in suspension ?

I had to involve Tata Motors before they attended to my issues. One thing I noticed - Tata motors are very good in resolving service issues when it is escalated.

[darklord]

I have a strange problem in my 2008 Safari 2.2.

The symptom is excessive coolant consumption in short distances. For example, yesterday, I topped up the coolant till the upper marker, went for a ~70 KM drive and came back to find the coolant level at the middle mark. But on the other hand, I drove BLR-TVM of ~670 km a couple of weeks ago, and the drop is negligible.

This began 2 months ago, and I thought the coolant (green) might have gotten too much diluted, and got the radiator flushed and filled fresh from TASS (blue). Went on to drive TVM-BLR and the coolant drop was minimal. But with local running in BLR, the drop in level was significant.

There is no overheating (the needle stays in the middle or sometimes a tad less). There is no visible dripping. I checked the underside of oil cap and tailpipe, no deposits there of note. Coolant has not changed in color on visual inspection. The radiator cap is fresh, replaced at TASS about a year ago.

I tried Liqui Molly Radiator Stop-Leak, and it ended up giving a leaking rubber hose. Replaced it, thought that might have been the issue. Did another BLR-TVM drive, found minimal coolant drop. Then, with local running, I am again finding significant coolant drop as described above.

Any insights or experiences to share?

[Prowler]

Originally Posted by darklord

I have a strange problem in my 2008 Safari 2.2.

The symptom is excessive coolant consumption in short distances.

There is no overheating (the needle stays in the middle or sometimes a tad less). There is no visible dripping.
I tried Liqui Molly Radiator Stop-Leak, and it ended up giving a leaking rubber hose. Replaced it, thought that might have been the issue. Did another BLR-TVM drive, found minimal coolant drop. Then, with local running, I am again finding significant coolant drop as described above.

Any insights or experiences to share?

I had similar problem in a Ford Ikon. Minute leak which doesn't show up in visual inspection. The engine heat dries up traces of the leak. At that time a good FNG suggested that the radiator is pulled out and sent for repair. I bought a pack of JB weld Permoseal and added it to the coolant. I never had to refill the radiator until we sold the car 2 years later.

[robbie_KL]

Originally Posted by robbie_KL

Yes, the fact that the belt slipped has surprised everyone including the mechanics. The workshop is 80km from where I am based right now and I will only know the details when I go there on the weekend. They sent me a few low res pics but from it the belt teeth looked fine. Will post more details when I find out.



+1, I recall we had this discussion a few months back about the Dicor engine and its solid built. That's when I decided to plonk some money and get it in tip top condition. Everything was looking and feeling good when it returned from the workshop but just a few days later it broke down.



Nope, the car died on me while negotiating a turn in busy traffic and thus the speed was hardly 10-20km/h. I managed to coast the car to the side of the road and tried to find out the issue. When nothing worked, I called in a flat bed truck and the car was taken to the workshop where it is till now. I was with the car the whole time and no one tried to push start it.

So finally I got back my Safari last week. I moved the car in late January from the first workshop to another due to the constant delays and the doubts that I had regarding their competency on diagnosing and working on the Safari. The parts and repairs done as below:

1. Complete timing gear changed. The workshop recommended getting Contitech timing belt instead of Gates. Apparently Gates timing belt has some issue wherein the belt starts to wear from one side. This is what happened to my car.

2. The head had to be repaired. Unfortunately 3 out of the 4 injectors were jammed in the head and had to be cut to open the head. Replaced with 3 brand new Delphi injectors.

3. Miscellaneous rubber items and hoses.

My wallet took a substantial hit due to something unexpected. This is despite me following maintenance schedules like a bible. Cant say I am not disappointed but the car is running as good as new. If anyone has a Gates timing belt running in their Safari Dicors, please please check its condition regularly. Tata used to provide Gates manufactured timing belt in their branded packaging but now have changed it to Contitech. Have compared both belts and can say that for sure the Contitech one feels more rigid and sturdier. I also found a video on youtube regarding this, its in Tamil unfortunately but the mechanic states that the Gates timing belt has a tendency to fail early.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsGQjmV_F8k

[darklord]

Originally Posted by darklord

I have a strange problem in my 2008 Safari 2.2.

I tried Liqui Molly Radiator Stop-Leak, and it ended up giving a leaking rubber hose. Replaced it, thought that might have been the issue. Did another BLR-TVM drive, found minimal coolant drop. Then, with local running, I am again finding significant coolant drop as described above.

Any insights or experiences to share?

It turned out to be another rubber hose failure. This time, the outlet from oil cooler. Anyway, decided to get both inlet and outlet hoses changed. Waiting for part to arrive. Hopefully, that solves the problem.

[HappyWheels]

Originally Posted by darklord

It turned out to be another rubber hose failure. This time, the outlet from oil cooler. Anyway, decided to get both inlet and outlet hoses changed. Waiting for part to arrive. Hopefully, that solves the problem.

My vehicle is in for some maintenance work and the service guys went ahead and replaced the radiator hose, though there were no leaks.

Was wondering why they did it, but reckon it was the right call, after reading this.

[darklord]

The culprit:



New part:

[harimakesh]

2009 Safari Dicor VX Clutch pedal going deeper and stuck. Unable to shift gears

Friends,

My 2009 Safari Dicor clutch pedal has gone deeper and is not returning back and unable to shift forward and reverse gears.

I didnot take the Safari for some months due to Corona and as I use my BS6 Tiago XZA+ .

Today I changed New Amaron 85Amp battery with 44 months warranty, in one crank Safari Dicor engine came live, but clutch is giving problem.

As the rear tyres gone old and one tyre was flat, I changed rear two tyres with new JK Elanzo Supra 245/75/R16.

Towed my Safari Dicor VX to Go- Mechanic workshop in Ambattur Chennai for fixing Clutch gear shift problem. Is it the problem with hydraulic leaking of clutch fluid or
Master/slave cylinder defect or simple clutch pedal spring issue?

Horn is not making sound. AC cooling effect is not effective. Need to check them tomorrow.

Please advise for clutch pedal problem.

Thanks.

[WhiteSierra]

Originally Posted by harimakesh

Is it the problem with hydraulic leaking of clutch fluid or
Master/slave cylinder defect or simple clutch pedal spring issue?



Please advise for clutch pedal problem.

Open the hood and check the fluid level of clutch master cylinder reservoir, check for any leakages, if any, better get both master and slave cylinder assemblies replaced. Since the vehicle is stationary for a considerable amount of time, the rubber bushings in master / slave cylinder might have given away, causing vacuum leak there by causing hydraulic system failure. You can also get the cylinder rebuild kits (spring, rubber bushes, etc) by TVS brand, but it is better to replace the whole assembly as they are pretty cheap on TATA cars.

Horn is not making sound. AC cooling effect is not effective. Need to check them tomorrow.

Again, since the car was parked for a considerable amount of time, rats might have chewed up the Horn wires, take the continuity tester and check if the wires are intact, also check for any lose connections and horn fuse.

Regarding the AC issue, since you are anyway getting cool air which means the AC compressor is working and gas is intact, use good amount of pressure water on AC condenser unit (which seats just behind front grill and before the radiator), all the dust and debris will come out and you will feel the difference, also get the AC filter replaced. Also check if there are any cuts on the wires of the cooling sensor unit / Ambient temperature sensor assembly (which is usually near the AC condenser and horns behind the front grill), I strongly suspect the rodents might have chewed up / messed up the horn wires and the AC temperature sensor wires while the car is sitting when not in use. Please inspect for these damages before replacing any expensive parts.

[harimakesh]

Originally Posted by WhiteSierra

Open the hood and check the fluid level of clutch master cylinder reservoir, check for any leakages, if any, better get both master and slave cylinder assemblies replaced. Since the vehicle is stationary for a considerable amount of time, the rubber bushings in master / slave cylinder might have given away, causing vacuum leak there by causing hydraulic system failure. You can also get the cylinder rebuild kits (spring, rubber bushes, etc) by TVS brand, but it is better to replace the whole assembly as they are pretty cheap on TATA cars.




Again, since the car was parked for a considerable amount of time, rats might have chewed up the Horn wires, take the continuity tester and check if the wires are intact, also check for any lose connections and horn fuse.

Regarding the AC issue, since you are anyway getting cool air which means the AC compressor is working and gas is intact, use good amount of pressure water on AC condenser unit (which seats just behind front grill and before the radiator), all the dust and debris will come out and you will feel the difference, also get the AC filter replaced. Also check if there are any cuts on the wires of the cooling sensor unit / Ambient temperature sensor assembly (which is usually near the AC condenser and horns behind the front grill), I strongly suspect the rodents might have chewed up / messed up the horn wires and the AC temperature sensor wires while the car is sitting when not in use. Please inspect for these damages before replacing any expensive parts.

Thanks for your valuable suggestions.

[Prowler]

Originally Posted by harimakesh

My 2009 Safari Dicor clutch pedal has gone deeper and is not returning back and unable to shift forward and reverse gears.

Is it the problem with hydraulic leaking of clutch fluid or
Master/slave cylinder defect or simple clutch pedal spring issue?


Please advise for clutch pedal problem.

It can be the slave or the master clutch cylinders as WhiteSierra says. Same thing happened to me and they changed the slave cylinder in Concorde last year for about 6k. In an emergency, you can fill oil in the clutch reservoir and drive for a few kms.

[Prowler]

My Safari Dicor has started leaking oil and the authorized service center in ECR, Chennai diagnosed the problem with a seal in the power steering. They asked me to replace the power steering pump assembly at a cost of Rs.22000/ + labour. The pump is not faulty and it can be serviced with a repair kit. But they won't do in authorized service center. Any Chennai user who knows a good, reliable garage in Adyar area ? I would be grateful for any ideas.

Thanks in advance.