1 lakh km run Baleno RS service for Rs 9000: A few part replacements

Been poking about Spinnys for a decent BMW and need to test drive the new Verna and the turbo Alcazar.

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So the Baleno touched 1,00,000 kms a while back. Being a Maruti, it generally is not much cause for any heavy-duty maintenance as long as regular maintenance is taken care of. However, there are chances that some odd component may decide that it's had enough and just fail. For me, this component was the AC compressor.

Started the car as usual one day, and the engine just had a hiccup before it started up. I immediately knew that something was wrong. True to form a squealing noise started and I knew it was one of the belts. Open the bonnet and the AC compressor belt was shedding some rubber indicating some friction. Took it to the Kalyani Nexa at Bangalore and the diagnosis was grim - a jammed compressor. And I was to drive to Kerala, that night. Thankfully the Japanese engineers had designed the engine so that the compressor gets a belt separate from the alternator, water pump etc. They removed the belt for me and I made a slightly uncomfortable trip to Trivandrum.

Took the car to an A/C specialist in my hometown who I had used for my other cars and he took apart the compressor. I had hoped that it was just an issue with the electromagnetic clutch but that was not to be. A couple of cylinders of the compressor were well and truly jammed necessitating a replacement.

Here is where a bit of fun started. He said he will get a replacement the next day. I reminded him that my car is a Baleno RS. No problem. However, I felt the message was just not getting across. Just sent the parts number from Oriparts the next day just to be sure. Monday evening he finally understood that the car was different when the replacement part did not fit. The replacement took a week to arrive which was not surprising seeing that Nexa Bangalore told me it would have to come all the way from Gujarat.

The compressor was oiled and the gas recharged. The HVAC was back to its old health. However this episode has made me switch off the AC before I turn off the car, something I have never done in the last 20-odd years of driving.

Top Mount Bush Replacement

Four months in Bangalore had meted out a punishment to the car that the relatively smooth roads in Kerala had not. I never knew of authorities with such a passion for sleeping policemen. However, a lot of them gave me a rude awakening for disturbing their eternal sleep with the result. The front suspension started to feel jarring and lose its usual rounded edge to the shocks. Order two top-mount bushes for starters and replaced them DIY. As the photo below shows there was a difference of almost 0.5 mm in height between the new and old bushes. However, I had a brain fart and forgot to order the strut bearing along with them. Have ordered them but this will mean another session of taking apart the front suspension to fix those.

Rear Brake Pad Replacement

The service notes at the 100k service indicated that the right rear pads were worn out. This called for a replacement. Ordered the pad via Boodmo and replaced them as well. Calling out a few interesting aspects of this DIY.

Pushing the piston back may cause an overflow of brake oil. Open the cap on the brake fluid reservoir and place a rag around it so that brake oil does not spill onto the surrounding parts. Yeah and don't ask me how I know!

The 100K service

Got the 100K service done. Cost me around 9000 rupees. The main replacements were the brake oil and coolant fluid. The main impact on the cost was from the injector cleaner which costs around 2500 rupees. I use this every 20k km.

What remains

The front brake discs are done. Has developed an edge as the thickness of the disc has fallen below the edge of the disc and there is a bit of a drone when running. However, there is always an issue I have faced from day one. To get the service folks to understand the fact that parts of RS are different. Most often the parts of the standard Baleno are hauled out just to take them back in again. Had this experience this week with the discs. Might be a Boodmo order again.

The car is such a freaking all-rounder that I am finding it very hard to let go of it. But the itch for a new one is also there. And I do not like keeping cars without having enough running time on them. Been poking about Spinnys for a decent BMW and need to test drive the new Verna and the turbo Alcazar.

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