[Guderian]

Hi gd1418,
That's a pretty terrible thing to have happened to TB II.
And no trace of the moron who did it I presume.
Incidentally what have you done about the scratches ? Has it been patched up ?
Good luck !

[gd1418]

Indeed very terrible and heart-breaking. And no trace of the moron/pervert. And God forbid if he/she is found. I haven't done anything about the scratches yet. Thinking of leaving it as it is - kinda evil eye..!

Originally Posted by Guderian

That's a pretty terrible thing to have happened to TB II.
And no trace of the moron who did it I presume.
Incidentally what have you done about the scratches ? Has it been patched up ?
Good luck !

[Dry Ice]

Damn, that's horrible! Must have spent some time doing that. What pleasure people derive out of vandalism is beyond me. The sad part is, once he gets away with it, the confidence grows and next time he won't think twice before making an even bigger master piece on some other car. I sincerely hope, you get a hold of him.

[gd1418]

A minor update:

Installed OSRAM 4200K HIDs today. Road bathes in bright light. On high beam at position #:3 (the lowest), two oncoming dumpers on the Gurgaon-Faridabad highway dip their lights in respect. Lovin' it.

Would like to see the throw of light in position Nos. 2, 1 & 0. Will test it on my next highway drive.

[gd1418]

Reference my previous post, went to Sariska on the 18th (Sunday). Here I found out that the most suitable position for the highways is position 0 on the HL beam levellor. At least in my truck. Dunno about others.

Thought I shall share this small information with you all. TB II, after the third service at 15K has been consistently giving me 12.8kmpl in the city, till about the last week with intermittent usage of the AC.

Last Sunday (18th) I went to Sariska after topping the tank and resetting the trip counters to zero. I came back from Sariska the same night and enough diesel was there in the tank to see me through till yesterday evening in the city.

The tank was topped up last evening and 48.54 ltrs were filled. The trip counter showed - 685.8 kms. And the calculator said - 14.12855377 kmpl. The AC was not used at all to & fro from Sariska except for a brief distance of 25 kms., and also in the city. Average speed maintained while driving to & from from Sariska was 95-100 kmph.

[akp]

Originally Posted by gd1418

The tank was topped up last evening and 48.54 ltrs were filled. The trip counter showed - 685.8 kms. And the calculator said - 14.12855377 kmpl. The AC was not used at all to & fro from Sariska except for a brief distance of 25 kms., and also in the city. Average speed maintained while driving to & from from Sariska was 95-100 kmph.

Those are very good FE figures.

I have a query: have you checked the odo with a gps? In my mhawk 4wd bought this month, the odo overestimates the actual distance by about 4.5%. I asked the same question to SS-Traveller, and in his case, the overestimate is only about 1%. It would be interesting to know what (if any) is the difference for your TBII.

[TaureanBull]

Originally Posted by gd1418

The tank was topped up last evening and 48.54 ltrs were filled. The trip counter showed - 685.8 kms. And the calculator said - 14.12855377 kmpl. The AC was not used at all to & fro from Sariska except for a brief distance of 25 kms., and also in the city. Average speed maintained while driving to & from from Sariska was 95-100 kmph.

Very good FE indeed!

How come 685 kms? I guess should not be more than 400kms. Was it just Sariska or something else? Did you cover in any travelogue?

[gd1418]

Thanks akp. I've checked the difference. I can't quantify in terms of percentage but If I'm doing 100 kmph, then my gps shows 95kmph.

Originally Posted by akp

Those are very good FE figures.

I have a query: have you checked the odo with a gps? In my mhawk 4wd bought this month, the odo overestimates the actual distance by about 4.5%. I asked the same question to SS-Traveller, and in his case, the overestimate is only about 1%. It would be interesting to know what (if any) is the difference for your TBII.

You missed out on one of lines in my post:

Originally Posted by gd1418

I came back from Sariska the same night and enough diesel was there in the tank to see me through till yesterday evening in the city.

Originally Posted by TaureanBull

Very good FE indeed!

How come 685 kms? I guess should not be more than 400kms. Was it just Sariska or something else? Did you cover in any travelogue?

[akp]

Originally Posted by gd1418

Thanks akp. I've checked the difference. I can't quantify in terms of percentage but If I'm doing 100 kmph, then my gps shows 95kmph.

No, gd, my concern is not the speedo reading - I was talking about the distance travelled.

[gd1418]

Aah, that way. No I did not and do not calculate distance on my GPS. Since the speed is shown on the main screen, I get to see the difference. To see the distance travelled in the GPS unit, I'll have to navigate through the menu and then reset all values everytime I undertake a journey.

If the push comes to shove, then in that case I would be happy if I get an accurate reading of 11kmpl till the last decimal...

Originally Posted by akp

No, gd, my concern is not the speedo reading - I was talking about the distance travelled.

[gd1418]

As they say - a picture is worth thousand words. This was taken yesterday evening:



TB II clocked 19999 kms on the odo yesterday and was due for its fourth and the first paid service. After the first two services at Koncept, NOIDA, I had got the third free service done at Sterling, Gurgaon as commuting to NOIDA was proving to be an effort. Sterling had smilingly hosted the eccentric & fussy owner of TB II and also did a decent job of servicing.

I called up SA Ravinder (he was the one who handled my truck during last service at Sterling) yesterday noon and booked the truck for today. I was asked to come in by 08:45 am. Inspite of trying my level best, I managed to reach the ASC at 09:30 fearing that there would be rush and it would take the whole day. Fortunately there were hardly any vehicles and immediately Ravinder came with the job card and noted down all my concerns. Though the 20k kms service was a routine job, I insisted on engine oil & oil filter replacement, Air filter replacement & PS oil replacement. I also had issues with the gear & the propellor shaft. There used to be a slight "dhak" sound when I changed gears and this could be felt. I suspected some problem with the cross in the prop shaft. Ravinder called a senior test driver Anil and we went for a TD. When we came back and the truck was taken to the bay, Anil told the assigned mechanic what all to do.

Satisfied, I went to the lounge and sat facing the workshop area watching TB II. The truck was raised on the lift and the mechanic immediately started checking the underbelly closely and periodically tightened some nut & bolts. This went on for almost 20 minutes and then the lift was lowered. The front brake pads were removed, cleaned & refitted. Routine service work started. By 11:30 TB II was sent for washing. In the meanwhile billing process had started. TB II came out and we again went for a TD. Everything was fine. Settled the bill and moved out by 12:30 pm.

Went straight to Deepak Kataria (Star Wheels) a few kilometers away and got the Wheel Balancing, Rotation & Alignment done. Was back home by 2:15 for lunch. A very satisfying experience.

The damages:

1. Foam Air Cleaner********* Rs. 489.67
2. Texamatic PS oil 1 ltr** Rs. 337.58
3. Oil Filter************************ Rs. 145.93
4. Maximile Engine Oil** Rs. 1651.46 (6.5 ltrs)
5. Paid Service****************** Rs. 2000.00
6. Various taxes**************** Rs. 591.65
------------------------------------------------
Total*********************************** Rs. 5216.29

Wheel Alignment etc.***** Rs. 500.00
------------------------------------------------
Grand Total********************** Rs. 5716.29
------------------------------------------------

Happy Bull, Happy Owner.

[comfortablynumb]

Originally Posted by gd1418

TB II clocked 19999 kms on the odo yesterday and was due for its fourth and the first paid service. ...Happy Bull, Happy Owner.

BCG, IIRC, the 20k service involves changing the fuel filter too, which costs approx 1700-1800 INR. Wasn't that done, or is it part of the paid service component?

Cheers,
Vikram

[gd1418]

Suggest read my earlier post #: 121. I don't follow what the maintenance schedule in the manual says. I've changed engine oil, oil filter & air filter at every service, i.e. every 5k kms though the manual says otherwise.

This time I also changed the PS oil although it has not been mentioned in the manual. Since the fuel filter was changed during the 3rd service, I did not feel it necessary to change this time.

Waiting to get washed

Originally Posted by comfortablynumb

BCG, IIRC, the 20k service involves changing the fuel filter too, which costs approx 1700-1800 INR. Wasn't that done, or is it part of the paid service component?

Cheers,
Vikram

[gd1418]

23rd February, 2013 - 25000 Kms service

TB II had clocked 24842 kms on the odo and since my schedule was going to be very hectic & tight for the next three weeks, I decided to get the 25k Kms service done though still 158 kms short of the mark.

Called up Ravinder (my SA at Sterling, Gurgaon) and fixed the appointment for today at 9 am. The day was cloudy, raining & generally damp. Made to the ASC by 9:17 and found Ravinder waiting at the entrance gate itself. Immediately the job card was created and the car was booked under some mega-camp that M&M was having for vehicle owners. That would entitle me to some discounts on the labour & parts.

This was the fifth & the second paid service. According to the service manual nothing was to be changed or replaced at 25k Kms. Only all systems were to be inspected or cleaned as required.

But I insisted on an engine oil change, oil filter change, air filter change and brake/clutch fluid replace. I also specifically told them not to wash the car. Ravinder wrote - "customer demands this service" on the job card and the vehicle was wheeled into the bay. It was the same bay as in the last 4th service and the mechanic too the same - Rakesh. I seem to have an affinity for this name.. My long-standing FNG also is Rakesh.

The work started almost immediately; truck was ramped up, oil drained, filter removed and new one installed, air filter replaced, brake/clutch oil replaced and front brake pads removed, cleaned with emery paper and refitted. Underbelly inspected and some nuts & bolts tightened. The truck was lowered, engine started, brake bleeding done & brake-oil topped up.

The clock read 11:40 am. All the required job had been completed and a post service TD was to be done. I insisted on senior test driver Anil and we went on a drive. Came back and Anil said all systems were on the go. Time for billing. Settled the bill in cash and was out by 12 noon.

Overall a very satisfying experience. Am I getting swayed or my opinion about the ASC is changing? Not yet..not yet. Waiting for the warranty to get over.

The damages:

1. Foam Air Cleaner********* Rs. 489.67
2. Oil Filter************************ Rs. 145.93
4. Maximile Engine Oil** Rs. 1651.46 (6.5 ltrs)
5. Paid Service (without washing)*********** Rs. 1800.00
6. Consumables*******Rs. 200.00
7. TVS DOT4 brake fluid (2 ltr)******Rs. 193.40
8. Various taxes**************** Rs. 668.04
9. Labour for Brake/Clutch fluid replace***Rs. 700.00
------------------------------------------------
Total*********************************** Rs. 5848.50

Discount**********Rs. 409.02
------------------------------------------------
Grand Total********************** Rs. 5439.48
------------------------------------------------

The negatives:

Koncept NOIDA charges Rs. 1600 for paid service without washing. The variance in rates is something that I can't understand.

Rs. 700 as labour for changing the brake/clutch fluid is atrocious to say the least.

The way the brake & clutch fluids were drained was absolutely shocking; I had expected that the brake fluid shall be drained totally by loosening the bleeding nut at the wheels and pumping the pedal. Instead the brake fluid reservoir was drained by the siphon method and fresh oil poured in. Not done..

The correct method, according to me, should have been as under:

Loosen the bleeding nut at any of the front wheel and vigorously pump the brake pedal to let the old brake oil out. Repeat on all wheels. Then pour some fresh brake fluid and repeat the above process to completely remove any residual old fluid and also clean the brake lines.

Pour fresh oil in the reservoir and bleed the system to remove any air bubbles trapped inside.

Similarly the same should have been done for the clutch system, but due to a design change it is not possible in the new generation Scorpios. So, the siphoning method is sort of acceptable.

Overall Happy Bull, Happy Owner.

p.s. tried ringing the Happy Bell, but it wasn't working. Probably Sterling is not bothered.

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by gd1418

Overall Happy Bull, Happy Owner.
p.s. tried ringing the Happy Bell, but it wasn't working. Probably Sterling is not bothered.

LOL... what was M&M thinking when they asked their ASCs to install those contraptions? The "Happy/Unhappy" bell at my ASC (Koncept Okhla) doesn't work either. Maybe too many people rang the "Unhappy" bell!