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Hi all,

Just wanted to update you guys on the above issue that has been worrying me since October 2009 as the so called Maruti 'authorised' service center i.e. Vitesse Andheri West, could not figure out the issue till today and were guessing that the suspension needed lubrication and it is something minor. I was however finding the car not handling upto my satisfaction, which was strange as the Swift is known for its brilliant handling. And also the wheel bearings kept busting which was making me suspect my upsized wheels.

I had given the car to Vitesse last in October 2009 for servicing and changinh the wheel bearings. Now, the warranty of my car expired in December 2009. Since the guys at M.A.S.S. could'nt do anything about the 'scruffing' noise issue (and when I look back I guess they didn't want to do anything about it as the car was under warranty at that time), I decided to now give my car to my local garage. So i gave it to him yesterday to sort out the issue. Now, he is an ex-Maruti guy and can figure out the problem by just taking the car for a test drive. So during the test drive, he came to two conclusions, it is either a worn out brake disc/brake pads OR an issue with the hub assembly. So I left the car with him as he told me that he needed to open it up and check it out for sure and he would cal me and update me with the issue accordingly.

On removing the front wheels, he was shocked to see that the hub nuts on both sides were loose giving both the front wheels a good amount of play and which was also making the hub & brake discs wobble leading them to tounch the brake pads erratically creating the 'scruffing' sound. It made us wondered as to why these nuts were loose. We however thought our problem was solved and that the case was loose hub nuts. On tightening the nuts we realised that both brake discs were still wobbling and the scruffing sound was more audible like in the beginning and then came to a conclusion that the hub assembly was busted. I was shocked as to how come such an evident problem was not spotted by the guys at M.A.S.S? To which my mechanic told me that they may have spotted the problem but did not report it as it would have to be changed through warranty and they would'nt want to absorb that cost. So instead they gave the wheels play so that the noise is less audible. He also told me that a busted hub leads to a busted wheel bearing as they are connected in some way. This explains the handling issues due to play in the wheels and the regular wheel bearing changes due to busted hub assemblies. The M.A.S.S. guys however kept blaming the upsized wheels for the regular busted bearings.

Now I wanted to know the reason for the hub assembly being damaged as my mechanic also agreed that a hub assembly usually gets damaged during an accident involving a side impact. I had an accident involving a side impact in 2007. Which means that again, the guys at M.A.S.S didn't change the hub assembly as required at that time and which in time has led to regular busted wheel bearings and an even more damaged hub assembly in due time.

My mechanic had also mentioned that it is always recommended to visit your local mechanic a month before your warranty ends so that he can identify mechanical issues which can be recitified under warranty by the authorised service center.

Hope this has helped.

My Swift is just run 15k and there was this tuk tuk sound since last few days. I take it to the MASS and I am being told the Right Hand Drive Shaft Boot needs replacement.

The car is just about 2 years old. The cost of of it to be replaced Rs. 5000+.

Can somebody tell me if this is covered under extended warranty and how does this fail and if the price quoted is correct and do I have any other alternative for this?

Boot is just Rs. 100 stuff. I think they are replacing the whole shaft. please make it clear.

Its not covered under warranty IMHO

How would one know if the whole shaft needs replacement or just the Rs.100 Boot. :Frustrati

Does the drive shaft boot exist in a RWD vehicle like the Gypsy? Both on the rear and front?

--Ragul

If it makes noise while turning, the the shaft needs replacement. If you find that boot is damaged (most people doesn't) before the bearing makes noise, then you are lucky.

PS: please take time to read the first post.



No Gypsy doesn't uses Drive shaft, but it used solid live axles.

But most 4x4 does uses drive shafts. Like Tata safari and scorpio both 4x4 version uses drive-shaft up front and sold axle at the back.

Honda CRV uses drive shaft at front and back. MM550 uses both solid live axles but Thar Crde 4x4 uses shaft up front.

I guess you got the picture.

Yesterday I went for repairing a puncture on my front left tyre. I changed to new tyres about 8-9 months back. The alignment guy remarked that I have play in my hubs as the front tyres have lost more tread, though evenly, than rear ones. He advised to get it corrected before doing alignment.

I went to a mechanic and after hoisting the front wheels on jack with wheels turned towards one side he held the wheels with both hands at diagonal position and tried to move it by applying alternate pressure. Then he remarked it needs suspension work and estimated the cost to be around Rs 4-5000.

The car is Baleno and I don't have any problems like metallic sound when turning wheels fully towards left or right. I do not feel any problems as such when driving car over bad roads too. I want to confirm if the play can be adjusted by tightening some nuts too or the diagnosis of my mechanic, that it needs suspension work and replacement of some parts, is correct?

@rock75..

If the front end makes noise while going over rough roads (not bumpy), then the suspension bushes might need replacement. Also get the ball joints and tie rod ends (steering ends) checked and replace if necessary.

Take opinions from 2 other mechanics for confirmation.

How much the reading of the oddo. how old is the car. If there will be a play in the hub/bearing, there will be noise for sure.

WHile hard braking does it move sideways.?

Do check for the hub bearings, generally this problem surfaces due to wornout hub bearings.:)

the car has 75000 kms(though i bought it second hand, meter tempering ;though not apparent as the tyres were around 6-7 years old when i bought it, could be possible).It is around 10 year old, No abnormal sound over bad roads, car does not move sideways on hard breaking.

I have changed tyres around an year back and instead of 13',5 j( 180 70R 13 ) I shifted to 14' (185/65 R 14) tyres on swift 14' steel rims(5 j) as advised on many threads here, could it hav)e led to this problem?

If there is no sound and squeaks. you just have to do a proper balancing and alignment from a reputed and trusted shop.

The wheel change is fine, and not an issue. But, do get your ball joints checked.

You hit the nail on the head!

Update:

After consulting two mechanics I got the same feedback, your steering ball joints need replacement.The mechanic took a test drive and drove in circles too and said drive shaft is fine.

I got it done, two option were provided, one 'Lintern' make costing around Rs 750 for a set and another 'Euro mac' make costing around Rs 900 for a set, I got the latter on mechanics advice, looked quite solid.

While on the job the T rod or whatever is connected to the steering ball joint also looked weak and worn out, got it changed to some talbros make set costing Rs 470, it was the same one which fits Esteem and Maruti 1000.

Mechanic says problem is fixed now and i can relax. He did a temporary alignment by thread method and adviced a computerised alignment ASAP.

One more query; he said shockers need repair as they make sound when going over pot holes, I guess the baleno does not have shocker but struts, is it true and are they repairable? I don't have much problem otherwise that i can't live with. Need advice on this one.

With whatever has been done till now,see if you hear any abnormal noises.

Just for your info,strut kits are available ; the top rubber bush,a set of needle roller bearings and a nylon/PP washer