Team-BHP > Technical Stuff


Closed Thread
  Search this Thread
3,882 views
Old 9th September 2010, 15:53   #1
BHPian
 
ghatotkatch's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 64
Thanked: 145 Times
Palio Stile 1.6 Sport - strange chuk-chuk sound from front

Hi all,

I own a 2008 model of Palio Stile 1.6 sport. 40k on the odo, which has btw stopped working recently(!).

Recently I have been experiencing a strange problem while driving the car.

There is a distinct chuk-chuk-chuk-chuk sound coming from the front part of the car. This is not noticeable on a slow ride or somewhat rough road. But on a smooth road, the sound is distinctly audible. I have noticed following things with respect to this sound -

1. as the speed increases/decreases, the frequency of the sound increases/decreases.
2. opening on closing windows dont affect the audibility of the sound much.
3. it sounds like, some bulged-out part of the tire hitting the ground. but there there are neither any bulges not any flat spots on the tires.
4. couple of days ago, the car was serviced at BUB, Pune. before dropping the car for servicing, the steering was oscillating in left-to-right-to-left fashion, indicating a play of around 5degress on either side. these oscillations of the steering were exactly in tune with the chuck-chuck sound.

there was quite a bit of noise and vibrations in the cabin after going through a pothole. the service guy told me he had tightened something related to suspension, and had added camber-bolts. After that, the noise did reduce by some margin. but it also reduced the steering oscillations significantly.

Now the sound remains, but the steering vibrations have been nullified almost 99%. But if you keep ur hands on the steering, and look for it specifically, u can still get a feel of it.

I am not sure if/how these things are related mechanically. More importantly, I want to get rid of this irritating sound that mars the pleasure of driving this beauty.

I had tried suggesting him following things (after reading about similar problems in TBHP and PUG) -
1. wheel-bearings
2. wheel balancing weights touching something
3. brake pad touching sims

But, I am not sure if he was interested in solving a problem. In the after servicing test drive, he even refused to acknowledge the sound. When, to test his honesty, I tried to put the blame on the tires being old, he immediately agreed, and even imitated the sound couple of times. So I realized he just wants to do the regular oil change stuff. Not interested in solving issues. More about this servicing experience later in a separate ownership thread.

Can anybody suggest me what else can be wrong with my car? Also, does anybody knows of at least a semi-reliable fiat/palio mechanic in pune, who is interested in solving problems, rather than replacing parts??

Thanks in advance.
ghatotkatch is offline  
Old 9th September 2010, 17:39   #2
BHPian
 
kaustubh_vaze's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Pune
Posts: 224
Thanked: 53 Times
Uneven tyre wear probably!

Hi,
Just a thought - I own the same car and BUB did the same thing for a similar problem - Palio Stile had a camber bolts issue due to which the tyres get uneven wear. They replaced the camber bolts (at cost instead of free) but the sound persisted. I checked with a tyre wala (N. Mehta at Swargate) and he did wheel alignment/balancing and the noise reduced. The Good Years which come with the car are pathetic. Even my Indica had uneven tyre wear. Check with a tyre expert and he should be able to give you a workaround if there is uneven tyre wear!
And change tyres if possible since u have already run 40K on them. This is assuming that you have stock tyres on!

Regards,
Kaustubh

Last edited by kaustubh_vaze : 9th September 2010 at 17:40.
kaustubh_vaze is offline  
Old 9th September 2010, 17:59   #3
Senior - BHPian
 
coolclouds's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Garden City
Posts: 1,798
Thanked: 519 Times

Check wheel alignment and balancing though its not sure.
We changed all four tires my sisters WagonR, that too clocked 45000kms last month. She didn't care similar 'tak tak" sound and just after 1000 kms, both the front tires worn out completely.

We put new tires and as per the tire dealer, the culprit was wheel balancing though they did it at the time of changing.
coolclouds is offline  
Old 9th September 2010, 18:27   #4
BHPian
 
anurag_p80's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Hyderabad
Posts: 314
Thanked: 7 Times

Is the noise coming from one side, or from the middle? If it is coming from the side, it might be a drive shaft "slapping" sound. You will need to change the shaft in question. I have had this issue for sometime now (mine has clocked just northwards of 40k). Am just living with it for the moment, but changing the dang thing is on my to-do list.

As regards to the odo, has everything stopped working or only the speedo/ odo? I mean, the tacho etc. still working? Check the speed sensor, but I doubt it is because of that. I had the Odo die on me about an year back, and the *** wanted the change the whole assembly (charged of course). It came back to life a few days later and hasn't given the problem ever again. Go figure
anurag_p80 is offline  
Old 9th September 2010, 22:03   #5
BHPian
 
ghatotkatch's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 64
Thanked: 145 Times

Quote:
Originally Posted by kaustubh_vaze View Post
Hi,
I checked with a tyre wala (N. Mehta at Swargate) and he did wheel alignment/balancing and the noise reduced. The Good Years which come with the car are pathetic. Even my Indica had uneven tyre wear. Check with a tyre expert and he should be able to give you a workaround if there is uneven tyre wear!
And change tyres if possible since u have already run 40K on them. This is assuming that you have stock tyres on!
During servicing at BUB, WA/WB was done. Initially during test drive, I did feel like the noise level has reduced to some extent, but then I took the car on bypass, and there the sound was audible once again! It really ruins the pleasant highway driving experience, and all the time you keep worrying about the sound. :(
Anyways thanks for the suggestion Kaustubh. I am thinking of taking the car to Darshan Tyres in Kothrud, to get his opinion as per your suggestion.
And yes, changing the tires is definitely on my list. Just trying to make do with the current set till I can comfortably budget for a quality set of tires. Maybe in next 3-4 months.

Quote:
Originally Posted by coolclouds View Post
Check wheel alignment and balancing though its not sure.
Thanks for the suggestion. Will get the WA/WB checked once again.

Quote:
Originally Posted by anurag_p80 View Post
Is the noise coming from one side, or from the middle? If it is coming from the side, it might be a drive shaft "slapping" sound. You will need to change the shaft in question. I have had this issue for sometime now (mine has clocked just northwards of 40k).
How much does a drive shaft costs? If it's upwards of 5k, is there any way (like play in the joint somewhere etc) by which, I, with the help of a mechanic, can ensure that it's drive shaft that's the culprit? This is so that I don't end up replacing the costly shaft without much of an improvement.
Thanks for your suggestion btw.

Quote:
Originally Posted by anurag_p80 View Post
As regards to the odo, has everything stopped working or only the speedo/ odo? I mean, the tacho etc. still working? Check the speed sensor, but I doubt it is because of that. I had the Odo die on me about an year back, and the *** wanted the change the whole assembly (charged of course). It came back to life a few days later and hasn't given the problem ever again.
It's only the speedo/odo. Other indicators (temp, rpm, fuel) are working perfectly fine. And it works intermittently. Most of the time it's down, but comes alive once in a while, and works perfectly fine for a short duration, before going down again.

So far, the examiner didnt show any error wrt sensor. So sensor is fine. On a suggestion, I had asked the service guy to check one plastic gear that 'feeds' the sensor. But am not sure if he did that. Replacing the odo with orig/used odo seems very risky to me, as it requires opening the dashboard. And, from what I have read and heard, opening a palio dashboard means inviting trouble. So it's a big no-no. Think I am going to live with it for the time-being at least.
ghatotkatch is offline  
Old 13th September 2010, 14:21   #6
BHPian
 
kaustubh_vaze's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Pune
Posts: 224
Thanked: 53 Times

Ghatotkach,
One more suggestion - Take your car to the Amrapali garage (Opposite Mahesh Soc., Bibwewadi Petrol Pump). Contact Mr. Sharad Wagh OR Ravi. I found them to be very knowledgable as far as Fiats go since they are ex-Ashwamegh guys. They will spend time with you and give you the exact root cause. After that, its your choice to go to BUB or get things rectified from them. I found their service to be decent and they are close to my place as well.

Regards,
Kaustubh
kaustubh_vaze is offline  
Old 13th September 2010, 16:46   #7
BHPian
 
tamojoym's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 69
Thanked: 27 Times

I used to get a grinding noise when I used to turn my wheel to the left and went over a rough patch of road .Went to the service station today -they diagonised it as a lower arm ball joint problem and had it changed .Driven around 10km so far and seems they fixed it .
Have your lower arm checked particularly the ball joint .
tamojoym is offline  
Old 19th September 2010, 15:16   #8
BHPian
 
ghatotkatch's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 64
Thanked: 145 Times
UPDATE: problem solved.

kaustubh, thanks to your suggestion, the problem is rectfied.

I found time today to take my car to darshan tyres on f c road. from what i described to him, he felt the problem would be solved by tyre change. after dismantling 3 tyres, one of the service guys there pointed out a patch of uneven wear on the left rear tyre. i felt it was minor, and besides i was feeling the sound on the front right side. (in a hindsight, i remember i have never sat in the rear of my car yet! so i wouldnt know the intensity back there.) i also felt, he wasnt too much into my problem, but into selling me at least 2 tyres. i gave in though. the urge to get rid of a niggling problem is sometimes overpowering.

so what i did was, put 2 brand new bridgestone turanza er60 tyres in the front. threw away the left rear and stepney tyre; and cycled the old front tyres there. after fitting tyres, took the car out for test drive. lo and behold! the sound had vanished! we drove for around 6-7kms and i tried hard to feel it, but the sound/feeling was just not there.

i also did WA and WB again just to be sure. i had noted that darshan tyres guy charging rs.200/- for WA to somebody else. i was charged rs.300/-. i didnt waste my time asking why. all in all, mixed feelings about the shop.

anyway, the problem, which i had suspected to be suspension, something touching something else etc etc, finally turned out to be that of a worn out tyres. the ride feels very nice now.

Quote:
Originally Posted by kaustubh_vaze View Post
Ghatotkach,
One more suggestion - Take your car to the Amrapali garage (Opposite Mahesh Soc., Bibwewadi Petrol Pump). Contact Mr. Sharad Wagh OR Ravi. I found them to be very knowledgable as far as Fiats go since they are ex-Ashwamegh guys. They will spend time with you and give you the exact root cause. After that, its your choice to go to BUB or get things rectified from them. I found their service to be decent and they are close to my place as well.
thanks, i will keep this info in mind.

Quote:
Originally Posted by tamojoym View Post
I used to get a grinding noise when I used to turn my wheel to the left and went over a rough patch of road .Went to the service station today -they diagonised it as a lower arm ball joint problem and had it changed .Driven around 10km so far and seems they fixed it .
Have your lower arm checked particularly the ball joint .
thankfully, it didnt turn out to be something related to the suspension.

Note from Team-BHP Support: Closing thread as the issue is resolved. Thanks

Last edited by .anshuman : 19th September 2010 at 15:57. Reason: Closing thread as the issue is resolved. Thanks
ghatotkatch is offline  
Closed Thread

Most Viewed
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

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