[amitk26]

Hi ,

Sorry for a long post but I am seeking advice of experts here on my Maruti 800.

Suspension of my old Maruti 800 was making a lot of noise particularly on bad / broken roads near to my home so I went for a suspension overall to green Cars Koramangala some time back. I mostly drive my Safari and this car is driven for small errands by my wife mostly and average KM per month are very less ( may be around 200 - 500 KM a month)

History
-------
Car was making quite a bit of agricultural noise and was sounding more like a Bolero DI rather then petrol Maruti 800.
I wanted the car to be in perfect condition mechanically and estimation given was 11000+ for the following work

1. Suspension overhaul
2. Steering column replacement
3. Front brake disk replacement
4. New Break pads
5. Exhaust pipe replacement
6. Engine mounts replacement
7. Interior cleaning
8. General Service
9. Oil replacement.

I asked Service advisor to reevaluate the expense and he reassured that everything is absolutely required, but Gear box oil is OK and can be avoided till next service and also Exhaust pipe has a small hole but will work with slight noise.


I agreed and did not go for second opinion as I always get my car serviced from green cars and trust them.
After the service and overhauling all the noise is gone an car is smooth.

Issues
======

1. I feel steering is quite hard ,During test drive at the time of delivery Service advisor told me look your steering is soft like power steering but I was finding it harder then ever before and could not digest his observation. It was at least 4 times harder then PS of my Tata Safari, In fact before the replacement the steering was quite good and I always wondered why a Power Steering is required in small cars such as Alto and Santro.
After my complaint Service advisor told me that the Steering will set in after some time and become softer.

There are three possibilities here

(a) Earlier steering had gone bad and became super soft thus spoilt my habit and expectations.
(b) Safari Steering is super soft and is not like how a new steering should be

(c) There is a genuine problem with new steering column.

I am still of the view that it is the case 3 because steering is now good enough to build triceps.

2. After the Disc and break pad replacement there is almost no play in the break pedal,
this means the pedal depresses less then just half an inch and braking is not too good either.
I feel that brakes were much better before the brake overhaul and braking distance has increased.

I am habitual of pressing the pedal bit further and stop with in short distance with a
screeching sound. In fact there was not much difference between my maruti brakes and safari before overhaul and now I feel Maruti breaks are no good.

3. There is still some vibration during idling and starting car, I highly suspect that green cars never replaced engine mountings and just added to the bill after vibrations were minimized by tightening nuts and bolts. How can I check this?

The vibrations were minimal at the time of delivery and SA assured that this is due to leaky exhaust pipe which I retained and can be rectified any time.
As it is more then a month there is no point in going back and fighting but just to find it out for myself.

Problem is that I did not get time to drive the car extensively after delivery. After a few days I went back to service station on a Saturday they charged me 90 Rs for brake cleaning and returned the car with exact same results. About steering he again assured that it is fine and will set soon.

After a month or so I drove the car once more and the steering was still horrific.

Any advice on the situation above is it really normal and I should not expect a soft steering. Can some one suggest a good Maruti Workshop around Koramangla to get a second opinion? What may be wrong with a new steering column and breaks?

I do not want to spend a lot of money on my humble Maruti now and also want to keep this car.

Regards
Amit

[techn0l0gist]

About your steering being hard - check by driving another maruti 800, there's a steering damper adjustment somewhere on the steering rack, try losening it a bit and see if your satisfied (if you loosen it too much, you might end up with a rattling noise from the steering rack!)

The vibrations during starting and idling could be just a low idle setting(i have never figured out why most mechanics tune 800s with a very low idle rpm that makes the car vibrate!)

About the engine mounts - if you were returned your old ones, then probably they are changed, if you dont have the old ones, then take a look at the engine mounts and check if they look cleaner than the rest of the parts - not a perfect method, but you might be able to guess!

[Jaguar]

Originally Posted by amitk26

Can some one suggest a good Maruti Workshop around Koramangla to get a second opinion?

I do not want to spend a lot of money on my humble Maruti now and also want to keep this car.

Regards
Amit

You can go to Ali and Sons Garage Near Sony World (and Maharaja Restaurant). They used to do a good job in maintaining my old 800 and are cheaper than MASS as well.

[humyum]

The old steering bush might have been completely worn off along with the rest of the parts and hence the totally loose steering where as in this the steering bush is yet new and tight..Hence the tighter steering.I am damn sure there must be no nick nack noises comming from the steering even if it goes in a pothole.Am I right ?
And after u drive a PS car a non PS car steering does seem tight.Happened to me after driving my zen I used to feel the 800 is a truck but everything used to be normal.

2)If he has Bled the brakes and there is no air in the brakes and with the new disk and pad replacment the pedal does come up.Use it for sometime.Everything will be fine.

3)I guess this is because the idling is at an ideally set rpm hence the vibration.800 does feel a little vibration even after warming up but just to make sure ask them to check it again and the idling at startup is normal.Its a carburated car so there is no ECU to increasin the idling during cold starts.

Well I guess all of this seems normal to me.

[amitk26]

Thanks every one

Originally Posted by humyum

The old steering bush might have been completely worn off along with the rest of the parts and hence the totally loose steering where as in this the steering bush is yet new and tight..Hence the tighter steering.I am damn sure there must be no nick nack noises comming from the steering even if it goes in a pothole.Am I right ?

Yes you are right

Originally Posted by humyum

2)If he has Bled the brakes and there is no air in the brakes and with the new disk and pad replacment the pedal does come up.Use it for sometime.Everything will be fine.

OK

Originally Posted by humyum

3)I guess this is because the idling is at an ideally set rpm hence the vibration.800 does feel a little vibration even after warming up but just to make sure ask them to check it again and the idling at startup is normal.Its a carburated car so there is no ECU to increasin the idling during cold starts.

Thanks

Originally Posted by Jaguar

You can go to Ali and Sons Garage Near Sony World (and Maharaja Restaurant). They used to do a good job in maintaining my old 800 and are cheaper than MASS as well.

Thanks for Info I have seen the place and will try out.

Originally Posted by techn0l0gist

there's a steering damper adjustment somewhere on the steering rack, try losening it a bit and see if your satisfied (if you loosen it too much, you might end up with a rattling noise from the steering rack!)

Will ask for it steering damper adjustment at garage