[Guderian]

Originally Posted by Ahmed

Sunday Danday (Cane therapy for the stubborn dirt and grime over a week's time) on Megalodon...
Then thought of utilizing the time for installing the dual horn system.

Hi Ahmed,
Good show !
That, truly, was one productive Sunday morning. Good that you have a great Sunday schedule. Thanks for sharing the installation steps of the additional horns.
I frankly wouldn't have the gumption to be this adventurous with the electricals in a DiY mode. And secondly have felt that the stock horns are OK for my needs of a short toot once in a way.
So was good to read of your Sunday activities...may they always continue in this manner for the betterment of Megalodon and our knowledge.

[Ahmed]

Sunday Danday (Hereinafter referred to as SD - if the Mods may please allow it being specific to the Megaladon Channel!)

I had planned to get the ICE installed in M this Sunday however did not have the required time to finish the install so never bothered to open up anything. Few guests had come over so had to entertain them. This is also the reason why the Sunday Danday episode is being telecast on a Monday and not on a Sunday!

Here are the stuffs that were used this episode. Now that we are blessed with rains, it is evident that the vehicles will get dirty. However post the paint protection treatment from 3M, I have observed that water simply slips off from the paint surface. So less effort required!


Of all the surface, boot area was the most dirty


Intercooler before SD


Floor Mats. Once they had dried, cabin area had got a foul smell which was taken care of after SD


Windscreen. Wipers here really have been doing their duty quite well.


That's me cleaning the front wheel arc. I have a 3 piston waterjet installed at home so that I can deep clean my rides and drives myself to my satisfaction. It has an adjustable hose for stream and spray.


Engine bay. There is enough pressure in the hose (which can still be increased. I had peeled off paint from my Baleno front bumper when this was new and was being tested on peak capacity) to require an effort to hold it in your hands.


Finished intercooler. I hope I have matched Guderian's engine bay here. (My benchmark)


Dashboard cleaned and polished with Waxpol dashboard cleaner.


Front seats done. I guess they get dirty quite easily as they are new (or is it my two young brats!) Looked fresh after SD.


Partners in crime ! Looking smart now


And the gloss is retained ! Me happy happy !


Took a shower after SD, got ready for a quick stroll at nearby mall - came out and saw that M was all wet again as it had rained ! That's the fun of this season. I am told that SUVs look cool when they have mud splashed all over them - Naa - I will still clean my beast !

[Guderian]

Originally Posted by Ahmed

Sunday Danday (Hereinafter referred to as SD -

Hi Ahmed,
Now that's what I'd call a truly delightful Sunday !
Man, I really envy you for having all that space and the HP water hose. Wish I could have that for Admiral. I hope some day I'll get something like that for Admiral's sake.
What's that glass cleaner liquid ? Is it for the windshield and other glass surfaces ? Headlights ? Is it any good ? What about the leather cleaner ?
And you are wearing a T-shirt possibly extolling the virtues of your wife...I presume it's talking about Megalodon. Right ?
And there is a blood bank van right outside your house - on standby. Boy, you surely take great safety precautions before you begin your Sunday routine !

[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by Ahmed

Here are the stuffs that were used this episode

Hi Ahmed,
Thats a nice effort and result on a weekend. I had two small tips though.
1. Do NOT use hair shampoo on a car. Hair shampoo takes away the wax coating on the body since that is what it is meant to do on human hair (remove oil) and you ll lose your 3M coating sooner than you should. Use any reputed car body wash instead.
2. Do NOT clean the engine bay with excessive pressure. In fact, it is best cleaned with a bucket of lukewarm water, mixed with some car body shampoo and a piece of cloth and hosed down with minimal or light pressure for those hard to reach nooks and crannies.

Enjoy your truck.

[Ahmed]

Originally Posted by Guderian

Hi Ahmed,
Now that's what I'd call a truly delightful Sunday !
Man, I really envy you for having all that space and the HP water hose. Wish I could have that for Admiral. I hope some day I'll get something like that for Admiral's sake.
What's that glass cleaner liquid ? Is it for the windshield and other glass surfaces ? Headlights ? Is it any good ? What about the leather cleaner ?
And you are wearing a T-shirt possibly extolling the virtues of your wife...I presume it's talking about Megalodon. Right ?
And there is a blood bank van right outside your house - on standby. Boy, you surely take great safety precautions before you begin your Sunday routine !

1. Thanks HG ! Benifits of living in a small town I guess
2. I use the glass cleaner on the glass surfaces only. I observed using it was very beneficial on the windscreen as on rains the droplets just slip off... I did not use it on the headlights. It says it is good on chrome as well - I did not explore the option.
3. its not for M ! (Read between the lines ha ah aahah)
4. Mom is a Doc and she runs a Blood Bank. Its a TATA 407E Turbo Ambulance, biggest drive in my Garage

Originally Posted by n.devdath

Hi Ahmed,
Thats a nice effort and result on a weekend. I had two small tips though.
1. Do NOT use hair shampoo on a car. Hair shampoo takes away the wax coating on the body since that is what it is meant to do on human hair (remove oil) and you ll lose your 3M coating sooner than you should. Use any reputed car body wash instead.
2. Do NOT clean the engine bay with excessive pressure. In fact, it is best cleaned with a bucket of lukewarm water, mixed with some car body shampoo and a piece of cloth and hosed down with minimal or light pressure for those hard to reach nooks and crannies.

Enjoy your truck.

Thanks n.devdath !

1. That shampoo was only for the wheels. I dont use it for the paint surface. There is a Meguire shampoo for that. I always wax post a wash to retain the gloss.
2. Engine bay was cleaned with the spray mode and that too from a distance. Did not try cleaning the engine bay with lukewarm water - will surely try that now. Thanks for the advice - really appreciate it.

[Ahmed]

After 3 sleepless nights, I finally decided to go in for the towel type seat covers in Megaladon. Got these in beige color so that they will match the interiors of M.

My two brats love to jump around in M with the shoes on and will not stop even when told to do so. Younger one inserted a Rs.1 coin in the CD vent the day M was delivered ! I never wanted to - but the circumstances are forcing me to go in for the seat covers. No brand name as such - plain stitched beige towels, got them for 2.8K.

Installation pics to follow in the next episode of SD !

[Ahmed]

Alright folks - apologies as the Sunday Dunday episode was not telecast for the last two weeks I guess. Was busy with business and a lot of travelling. Now lets get down to business - I have two naughty brats, a 5 yr old and a 3 yr old. They just love jumping around in M with the shoes/sandals on. I was worried with the leather taking unnecessary beating and that it may wear out soon, decided to get the towel type seat covers as mentioned in the above post.

The guys there at the accessory shop were doing a shoddy job of just placing the seat covers over the controls and were cutting the area which covered the controls with a blade. Saw that on a Superb and was shocked that the owner was kind of satisfied with the job.

I made up my mind that I will not let that happen in M. I am very particular about finishing of the job. So here I am; This is me; and let the pictures do the talking:



Pull that front seat forward and there will be a plastic cover over the seat anchoring. Removed that with a line tester and it came off with ease. You will need a ratchet, 8 inch extension rod and a 14mm sprocket.



It needs a little effort to loose these nuts, once they are free you can take them off with your fingers. This may be true as they are new as of now, probably once they get old, they might accumulate mud/dust as they are exposed from beneath. These nuts are also very long - hence it will be wise to use a ratchet. Spare your fingers - - there are 4 of these on each seat. Do not pull off the seats when you have unbolted, remember there are electrical sockets that need to be removed as well.

In 2012 Fortuner, driver's seat has the electronic controls and the passenger seat has a weight sensor - which detects weight and only then the passenger seat belt warning flashes. NEAT !



Once both the seats are removed, I suggest this is the best way to place them on a Sofa - you can then remove the plastic seat surrounds and the controls. Passenger seat is basic, however the drivers seat needs the motor controls to be removed. Very simple, just pull off the buttons and unscrew the three screws of the controls and the screws that keep the cover in place. There is no need to remove the controller, you can cut the place over the control stalks. These will get covered anyways.



This is the drivers seat with the side cover removed. Notice the two motors which drive the seat fore, aft up and down. The third motor is for the seat recline is not visible in this photograph.



Why were these seats stamped on 23/03/2012? When I took delivery of my vehicle - it was only a few days out of the factory. 9 days to be precise. 5 days of travel from Bidadi to Aurangabad and 4 days it was at the dealers stockyard waiting for a politicians loan to be approved and was given to me instead. 'MY' so called vehicle was driven down from Pune and was eventually handed over to him. He never came for the delivery himself - just the driver took it off from the showroom. These guys at the showroom are pretty smart !



Once the covers are fixed with the elastic bands, the headrest mounts need to be taken out. Just poke the mounting hole with a screwdriver and gently pull the hole outwards and tuck it under the mount. Its a cotton towel cloth, it can be a little elastic in nature.



That's how it looks in the end.



Drivers seat finished and the side cover with the controls is back.



Both the front seats.



Finished passenger seat

Total time taken to finish the front seats - one hour. Vacuumed, Washed and waxed M. for the next 2 hours.

Elder son comes and kisses me - something unusual - he would usually do this when - wait - that's my wife screaming - and this time its talcum powder all over my bedroom. WAKU DOKI !

This is the joy of parenting - you are mad for a moment and love is back again in no time. LOVE YOU BOYS !

[eq24]

Yo Ahmed, I was going through your very well written initial review on the Fortuner and going through the pics saw your number plate and it has a CH in it, so being from the North and CH meaning Chandigarh I gave it a second look.

Now I was going through the Team BHP stickers thread and on Page number 1436, scrolling down came to a Silver Fortuner, with a CH number on the plate, this was still fresh in my head so came to your thread and re confirmed your plate, you have been spotted dude and that too by another Fortuner driver.

[Ahmed]

It has been quite a while that I have updated my thread, was tied up on business and there was a lot of travelling involved. However - lets go ahead:

Sunday Dunday:
I know it is coming late - better late than never. M was on full time duty with a lot of highway travel in retreating monsoon and early winters. Took her to neighborhood servicing center just for the under body cleaning on a lift.


There was a long time pending DIY of fixing the cladding. It was not added proplerly from day 1. Actually - through insiders @ the showroom it came out that it was not fitted properly and was taken out and re-fitted correctly 'without' replacing the double sided tape and the same tape was used. They were asked to rectify the issue on they first servicing - was good for some days and has been worse since the last 2 months or so. Everytime I used to go on a highway, this cladding thing used to bother me a lot.

Here is the evidence that it is coming out loose








Zero effort needed to pull them out. There was approximately 30% adhesive life left in them and they came out with bare hands to reveal this.




I am not fixing them back today, will take care of the same in the next episode of Sunday Dunday. Today the other thing in pipeline is deep cleaning of the air filter.

Here is the video of removing the air filter from a Toyota Fortuner / Innova / Hilux / Hilux SW4. (Thought of taking this video after the cleaning process hence it is looking so clean)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v92K_IknX3E

Actually - the high pressure water hose that I use is connected to the borewell and the water is slighthy hard in nature. Hence there is salt deposit in the grooves that are not looking good. This is what I mean.

Top Cover


Filter Tub


Space where the filter used to be in the engine bay


Filtered air intake


This was covered instantly so nothing can fall in by accident. VERY CRITICAL!


Inter-cooler Cover was removed for cleaning.This is how it looked after 13K kms abuse and no cleaning. Simple process to remove - just unbolt the 5 10mm nuts.


In my earlier post I had fixed Roots Vibrosonic Horns here.


Now I replaced the Vibrosonic with bigger Megasonic ones which I found in my garage - it had come out of my TATA 407E Turbo Ambulance which Mom uses in her blood bank. Driver had took it out as they were not sounding good. Took them to local horn wala - replaced the old with new original carbon points from Roots, cleaned, serviced with a new original Roots chrome cover - costed 600 odd bucks in total and the pair is as good as brand new. As the new ones were heavy they were placed on the front bumper support member which is directly bolted on to the chasis. the new location can be seen from here - as Guderian mentioned a decent BHK flat can fit in this area by Mumbai standards!

Red coded (Hi Tone)


Blue Coded (Lo Tone) code tones may be vice versa please bear with me.


Placed behind the number plate and sounds from the lower air dam. Chrome shines out from this area:


Cleaned air filter Top Cover


Cleaned air filter Tub


Cleaned air filter placed back in its position. Installed the air filter sensor. If the sensor connection is loose, you will get a check engine warning light. Be very sure of the crisp snap of the socket.


Cleaned inter-cooler cover.



This accident happened when the fuse box was sprayed by the HP water hose. Need to get this fixed... Low quality reflective material was used - nonsense ! - need a different radium wala now.


Time taken for all this Jazz - 45 Minutes.

[Guderian]

Originally Posted by Ahmed

It has been quite a while that I have updated my thread, was tied up on business and there was a lot of travelling involved.

Hi Ahmed,
Nice DiYs.
However when cleaning the air filter periodically I refrain from removing the filter housing and only clean the filter element with a HP air hose. Reason being repeated removal and fixing back can cause minor gaps to develop in the plastic hoses/connectors which don't seal well irrespective of how well/hard you tighten the clamps. This could lead to the MAF Sensor to malfunction in due course of time.
Faced this once in my Scorpio and after that have been careful with the plastic parts.
Great to see the neat engine bay of 'Meg--odon' !

Also the deposits you see on the ribbed air filter housing cover are not of salt/s (not that I have tasted it to confirm !) but dust and grime which is attracted because of a silly practice being followed by the ASCs. What happens is that everytime you give the vehicle for a service and they wash the engine bay, post the wash they use a 3M cleaning & polishing liquid (white in colour) on the plastics to give it a sheen. But there are pools of this liquid left in the ribbed pockets which are not dried out by the cleaners. This liquid by nature is sticky and over a period of time attracts grime and dust leading the cover to resemble a scrap yard and there are white streaks left by the liquid - resembling salt deposits. The solution (pun unintended !) to this is to either instruct the ASC not to use the 3M liquid and just water wash the engine bay or after the liquid is used to use a HP air hose and blow dry the ribbed and other areas which collects the liquid in pools. It remains neat and clean for a long time.

[Ahmed]

Originally Posted by Guderian

Hi Ahmed,
Nice DiYs.

Hail HG !

Sir this is the first time I have taken this out as it was really filthy. I will make sure that I abide by your suggestion of not disturbing the setup in future. Probably will clean the same while bolted on.

One more help please - there is a rattle kind of sound coming from the plastic cover (which covers the wiper arms - below 'Megaladon' pasted on the front windscreen) while in motion. On examining, it came out that the plastic clips holding that have gone loose. There is some time left like about a month or so for the next paid service. Do you advice me inserting a paper distance in it for the while or will it have an effect of some kind? There are many wire harnesses under that.

This is an amazing ride however it is not getting the proper attention it deserves out here. I really want to get the 15K servicing done in MUM. Which place do you suggest?

Appreciate your help as always !

[Guderian]

Originally Posted by Ahmed

One more help please - there is a rattle kind of sound coming from the plastic cover (which covers the wiper arms - below 'Megaladon' pasted on the front windscreen) while in motion. On examining, it came out that the plastic clips holding that have gone loose.

This is an amazing ride however it is not getting the proper attention it deserves out here. I really want to get the 15K servicing done in MUM. Which place do you suggest?

Hi Ahmed,
Checked Admiral yesterday at the same spot that you had mentioned - about the plastic cover. There is a little play there - but it shouldn't cause too much of a rattle. I haven't heard anything on my vehicle despite the play.
Don't insert any paper or anything as it would only increase the gap and and put pressure on the clips/fastners causing additional play. I checked the area and found only two fastners on either side and they have star type head. See if you can gently tighten them. I don't think it'll help as it could be a 'snap on' type of a fastner. But anyway since the star head is visible no harm in trying. What can be done is when you go to the ASC next ask them to put new clips/ or the old clips if they are OK with a rubber washer which would help greatly.

As far as the ASC in Mumbai is concerned - I go to Millenium Toyota, Thane which to me is fairly OK - as it close to my place and I know the blokes there. You could try them out. Shall PM their numbers to you for service appointment. Let me know when you are likely to be there and we'll try and meet up and check out our vehicles !

[Manuuj]

Hi Ahmed! Really adventurous DIY Sundays you seem to be having. I have never been that deep in my Fortuners Bowels. I too had changed the Horn early on to Roots as they are louder and have a deeper tone like those on BMW's Skodas etc.

It has been 3 years that i have the Fortuner and i think it deserves some beauty treatment too. I have located a good detailer and shall be sending "Yeti" (my Fortuner) to it soon.

Look forward to more updates from you soon.

[Ahmed]

Better late than never - here are the updates of 17th March Sunday Dunday !

This week - the agenda was to deep clean the alloys and also to clean the rear disc pads. They were not cleaned in the 10K service and I was told that they will do so at the 20K service.

Rear drum brakes were squealing a lot when the brakes were applied and that was annoying me. Hunted online and found out that the irritating noise stops if the rear brake pads were sanded by #80 sand paper. Pretty simple job. Takes around 10 minutes per wheel.

Jacked up 'M' and here is the list of tools required:

1. Wheel spanner
2. 2 Nos. 13mm bolts
3. 13mm sprocket
4. ratchet
5. #80 sand paper
6. WD 40 or the likes - very important

Attachment 1064407

There was a lot of effort required to remove BOTH the rear wheels. Thanks to Kedar, and his documented experience of the same sort, I was prepared for the same. Also they mentioned in other forums that rear wheels are prone to be jammed with the hubs thanks to rusting and salt deposits if hard water is used for cleaning.

Removed the center caps and spray the hub exposed area with WD 40 and wait for 2 two mins. Jerk the wheel from the either sides with a little force and the wheel comes out in a jiffy. This is what gets exposed:
Attachment 1064403

Use the 2 13mm bolts in the dedicated areas as they will help in releasing the drum. Remember to release the hand brake and then use the bolts - you might damage the drum otherwise.
Attachment 1064404

Slowly turn the bolts clockwise - half round at a time alternately and the drum comes off to reveal this:
Attachment 1064406

Use #80 sandpaper to clean the pads. They usually start squealing if they are dirty with brake soot. Its a black powder like thing that makes noise when there is friction between them, brake pads and the drum.
Attachment 1064408

Wheel nuts were also cleaned to reveal the chrome. Used plain diluted Vim liquid solution. You can see the before and after effects in this one:
Attachment 1064402

Vim liquid solution also used to deep clean the alloys. Used a nylon brush and a tooth brush. After washing - (now this may sound stupid to some) - Polished the tyres with cherry blossom wax shoe polish ! When I was working in Jaipur, My Landlord's Army Gypsy was polished everyday in this way and God the tyres used to look so shiny! always wanted to try this and this Sunday I was feeling a bit jobless too - so tried it! This effort was awesome indeed and the tyres are looking so shiny, Still looking shiny as I type this report, however I swear that I am not going to do this ever! 265/65/17 tyres are HUGE for that matter and it took a good 15 minutes of polishing and another 15 for buffing to reveal this:
Attachment 1064405

Pedals getting their own share of bubble bath
Attachment 1064409

Any inputs on the Front and Rear Hub Greasing? I guess they are running on axles and they should be right? We follow this as a routing at 20 K servicing for Sumo and Mahindra Maxx.

That's all for now - I know , but learning is anyways better than thinking and not trying !

[Ahmed]

Better late than never - here are the updates of 17th March Sunday Dunday !

This week - the agenda was to deep clean the alloys and also to clean the rear disc pads. They were not cleaned in the 10K service and I was told that they will do so at the 20K service.

Rear drum brakes were squealing a lot when the brakes were applied and that was annoying me. Hunted online and found out that the irritating noise stops if the rear brake pads were sanded by #80 sand paper. Pretty simple job. Takes around 10 minutes per wheel.

Jacked up 'M' and here is the list of tools required:

1. Wheel spanner
2. 2 Nos. 13mm bolts
3. 13mm sprocket
4. ratchet
5. #80 sand paper
6. WD 40 or the likes - very important

There was a lot of effort required to remove BOTH the rear wheels. Thanks to Kedar, and his documented experience of the same sort, I was prepared for the same. Also they mentioned in other forums that rear wheels are prone to be jammed with the hubs thanks to rusting and salt deposits if hard water is used for cleaning.

Remove the center caps and spray the hub exposed area with WD 40 and wait for 2 two mins. Jerk the wheel from the either sides with a little force and the wheel comes out in a jiffy. This is what gets exposed:


Use the 2 13mm bolts in the dedicated areas as they will help in releasing the drum. Remember to release the hand brake and then use the bolts - you might damage the drum otherwise.


Slowly turn the bolts clockwise - half round at a time alternately and the drum comes off to reveal this:


Use #80 sandpaper to clean the pads. They usually start squealing if they are dirty with brake soot. Its a black powder like thing that makes noise when there is friction between them, brake pads and the drum.


Wheel nuts were also cleaned to reveal the chrome. Used plain diluted Vim liquid solution. You can see the before and after effects in this one:


Vim liquid solution also used to deep clean the alloys. Used a nylon brush and a tooth brush. After washing - (now this may sound stupid to some) - Polished the tyres with cherry blossom wax shoe polish ! When I was working in Jaipur, My Landlord's Army Gypsy's tyres were polished everyday in this way and God the tyres used to look so shiny! always wanted to try this and this Sunday I was feeling a bit jobless too - so tried it! This effort was awesome indeed and the tyres are looking so shiny, Still looking shiny as I type this report, however I swear that I am not going to do this ever! 265/65/17 tyres are HUGE for that matter and it took a good 15 minutes of polishing and another 15 for buffing EACH tyre to reveal this:


Pedals getting their own share of bubble bath


Any inputs on the Front and Rear Hub Greasing? I guess they are running on axles and they should be right? We follow this as a routing at 20 K servicing for Sumo and Mahindra Maxx.

That's all for now - I know , but learning is anyways better than thinking and not trying !