[drsingh]

^^^^What about an engine flush?
Injector cleaning?
How's the pick up?

Originally Posted by gauravdgr8

Whoa! That's a comprehensive list. It's easier to get all of the mentioned done than penning it down.

I am sure you have taken excellent care of your car. Congratulations on more smiles per miles.

Any idea how much would you be spending on all the tasks. Why I say this is, is it still cheaper to maintain at 120000 kms rather than buying a new car or you keeping the car for emotional reasons?

It is dirt cheap to maintain! And is now a part of a vanishing tribe of simple diesel engines in small cars.common rail and direct injection has taken over! Everybody is excited about Chevrolet's 1.5 lakh kms warranty on the sail.not many people know Tata gave a 1.5 lakh km warranty on this engine as back as 2005!

[AutoIndian]

Mod Note : Please use the EDIT or MULTI-QUOTE buttons instead of typing one post after another on the SAME THREAD! To know how to multi-quote, click here.

Originally Posted by gauravdgr8

Whoa! That's a comprehensive list. It's easier to get all of the mentioned done than penning it down.

Hi Gaurav, most of the items listed above are a straight pick from the car's manual, hence quite comprehensive. Don't know if the mechanic would be able to cover all those. Anyways what's the harm in penning it down.

Originally Posted by gauravdgr8

I am sure you have taken excellent care of your car. Congratulations on more smiles per miles.

Yes & thanks for your wishes. I take care of her & she reciprocates. Has never let me down till date (touchwood)

Originally Posted by gauravdgr8

Any idea how much would you be spending on all the tasks. Why I say this is, is it still cheaper to maintain at 120000 kms rather than buying a new car or you keeping the car for emotional reasons?

All the stuff (excluding Fuel Injection Pump - FIP, overhaul) could cost in the range of 10K (I get it done from a private garage, buying all the spares myself from TASC). The FIP part I am planning to get it done from Lucas-TVS. Earlier I had checked with them. If its just the overhaul, it would cost in the range of 5-6K, but if the pump rotor needs to be replaced, it could shoot to 15K. So in a nut shell, this servicing could make me poorer anyway between 15K to 25K. If that is going to make my car more reliable for the next 30K kms, then I consider it worth doing.

Yes emotional value is one of the reasons for keeping the car this long, but apart from it plonking 900K to 100K rupees in a new but fast depriciating asset doesn't make much economic sense. I am even thinking of going for a pre-worshipped car, when I finally decide to bid adieu to my trustworthy workhorse.

Originally Posted by drsingh

^^^^What about an engine flush?
Injector cleaning?
How's the pick up?

Engine Flush--> I had done the first (& only) engine flush @ 70K kms. If required I may do a second one after another 20-30K kms.

Injector cleaning ---> Good point, I have noted it down. Will check it with Lucas & may get it done parallely when the FIP is being overhauled.

Pick-up ---> It is decent when engine is cold (or normal operating temperatures). However when the temperature needle reaches the half way mark, the pick-up becomes extremely poor. Car struggles even in first gear. This indicates increased clearances in the FIP rotor, which accentuates when the engine/FIP gets very hot.

[drsingh]

^^^^^^ THE halfway mark is the optimal engine temp. It's not overheating. The needle goes past that?

Is there uneven tread wear on your tires?

[AutoIndian]

Originally Posted by drsingh

^^^^^^ THE halfway mark is the optimal engine temp. It's not overheating. The needle goes past that?

Is there uneven tread wear on your tires?

Yes DrSingh, you are right the needle is at halfway mark & the engine is not overheating. What I am saying is that at these high temperatures, the FIP clearances are probably increasing beyond the limits & FIP is not able to deliver the required quantity of fuel. This is more prominent during idling speeds. When the engine is cold & I have engaged first gear, car moves ahead, if I lift my foot off the clutch pedal, no need of pressing the accelerator. When the engine is hot (temperature needle centre mark), if I lift my foot off the clutch pedal, the RPM falls below that of idling (@ 600-700) & the engine stalls. Also while releasing clucth pedal if I press the accelerator, the car is very slow to respond & requires some skill to keep the car moving & not stall it. I hope I made it clear now.

I didn't get your query on tire tread wear. Was this in relation to the first question or was this an independant one? If it is the latter case, then I would like to mention that there is no uneven wear on my tires

[drsingh]

^^^^MY tyre query was in relation to your rotation policy....normally rear tires come forward and forward tyres go across to the rear.

I have noticed outer edges of my front tires wearing out faster..so want to know about problems that may arise to the camber setting ..

I ve driven about 4k kms on 110 -120 speeds with fast cornering. So maybe, just maybe its because of that. But I doubt it.have you ever had to adjust the camber setting on your car?

[AutoIndian]

Originally Posted by drsingh

^^^^MY tyre query was in relation to your rotation policy....normally rear tires come forward and forward tyres go across to the rear.

My tyre rotation policy is exactly as per the car manual. Since I make sure that the spare tyre is also rotated at every 10K rotation interval, it looks a bit complex. But this policy has given me good tyre life. My original tyres (Bridgestone S322, tubed tyres) lasted for 62K kms & the current ones (Michelin XM1+, tubeless) have completed 58K kms & can last for 20-25K kms more as they have sufficient tread depth on them.

Originally Posted by drsingh

I have noticed outer edges of my front tires wearing out faster..so want to know about problems that may arise to the camber setting ..

I ve driven about 4k kms on 110 -120 speeds with fast cornering. So maybe, just maybe its because of that. But I doubt it.have you ever had to adjust the camber setting on your car?

I don't think fast cornering might have resulted in that uneven wear. It is more to do with your wheel alignment settings. When did you do your last wheel alignment? I normally do it every 10K kms & all the values (including camber) are brought within limits. This has resulted in even tread wear so far on all the tyres.

[srinath1965]

Originally Posted by sindabad

That's some excel power there. Very detailed log of everything one needs - convinces me again, - from a VFM perspective, one cannot go wrong with a TATA.
Thanks for sharing AutoIndian

Hey, its great to see some details on the Indica range. Thought I would share a small experience too.

I have a Tata Indigo Marina VS 2008 model. The car had seen some very rough use for 3 years when I bought it second hand (INR 2,75,000/-) to allow my wife to free her hand in driving. Well, she never got around to doing it hence the car was lovingly "restored" with a brand new set of Apollo tyres and Wheel covers to start with. Retrofitted the car with the new double barrel headlamps and put in xenon lites in the outer barrels and 100wt in the inner barrels. 2 sets of horns.

Refurbished the interiors with a new carper, new floor mats and transparent covers on top. A new set of light blue and dark blue satin velvet seat covers, a sony explod system with 4 speakers, xenos power windos and central locking and a electronic air cleaning system brought this up to my Skoda Vrs and Safari VX standard.

Then went to Paramount Garage run by Vidhya Nambirajan in Sainikpuri, Secunderabad (This is may be the most genuine garage in along long time - multi car and run by a lady who like me loves cars and after a long long time I met someone who love the sound of car engines idilling in a perfect murmer). Had the car serviced, engine flush and radiator flush done. Hoses changed, timing belt changed, upgraded the suspension, changed the wiper blades.

Next day tanked up, loaded the sleepy 6 year old missy into the rear seat and the not too happy to travel Indigo marina VS class wife (She prefers the other 2 cars for long runs) and hit the highway. As I took the car up beyond the 2000rpm the turbo came awake and the sluggish Marina became a createure on its own.

It took 20kms of smoke belching before I noted a change in the engine sound setting down to a even beat and the carbon burnt out and I noted with satisfaction that there was not even a iota of smoke any longer. hence at Kurnool stopped and had the car pollution checked and got a very good report for a ex taxi with 68K on the odo.

The temp never went over the half way mark and the drive from Hyderabad to Bangalore to Mysore to Madurai via Ooty. Onward to Salem to Nellore to Srisailam to Hyderabad was accomplished without a squeak nor murmer from either the nor the occupants. Best part never felt tired not exhausted even on the run from Hyderabad to Mysore in a day.

The car returned an average of 18.4kmpl with speeds between 110 - 120 kmph in aircon mode. Well no prizes for guessing whats the latest in our house - the cars getting repainted a mica skyblue shortly, love by the 6 year old who happily claims its her car, the wife wants to free her hand on a driving school Indica and take over, my driver and Paramount swear by the car, the ex owner wants to buy her back, I see my Pearl white 2009 Safari 2.2 Dicor VX going green and the Skoda slumped in the corner.

Guys tata has really made one wonderful car - Indigo Marina.

[AutoIndian]

Originally Posted by srinath1965

Hey, its great to see some details on the Indica range. Thought I would share a small experience too.

I have a Tata Indigo Marina VS 2008 model. The car had seen some very rough use for 3 years when I bought it second hand (INR 2,75,000/-)

Thanks Srinath for sharing your experience. I must say you've got a very good deal on the Marina.

Originally Posted by srinath1965

lovingly "restored" with a brand new set of Apollo tyres and Wheel covers to start with. Retrofitted the car with the new double barrel headlamps and put in xenon lites in the outer barrels and 100wt in the inner barrels. 2 sets of horns. Refurbished the interiors with a new carper, new floor mats and transparent covers on top. A new set of light blue and dark blue satin velvet seat covers, a sony explod system with 4 speakers, xenos power windos and central locking and a electronic air cleaning system brought this up to my Skoda Vrs and Safari VX standard.

You have really pampered your Marina. When you say "xenon lites", do you mean you have fitted HID/Projector set-up? Do you have the price break-up handy for all the above items? If yes would greatly appreciate if you can share it over here. If you have already done so in some other thread, then please provide the link over here.

Originally Posted by srinath1965

the ex owner wants to buy her back, I see my Pearl white 2009 Safari 2.2 Dicor VX going green and the Skoda slumped in the corner.

That is bound to happen when you have pampered your Marina so much. Can you share some pictures of her?

Originally Posted by srinath1965

Guys tata has really made one wonderful car - Indigo Marina.

True, but very few realize that. If it had some good ground clearance, flared arches, a little bit of SUV looks, it had the potential of becoming the Duster of that period. But TML stretched too far on the India platform.

[srinath1965]

Originally Posted by AutoIndian

Thanks Srinath for sharing your experience. I must say you've got a very good deal on the Marina.
==============
True, but very few realize that. If it had some good ground clearance, flared arches, a little bit of SUV looks, it had the potential of becoming the Duster of that period. But TML stretched too far on the India platform.

Dear AutoIndian, thank you for the response. Yes, I love this car very much and now so do my wife, daughter and my Cocker. I do have all costs and service history in a file. I will upload when I log in from home by this week end. I will also take some pics and upload, atleast will try have never done so earlier on this website.

[condor]

Originally Posted by srinath1965

I have a Tata Indigo Marina VS 2008 model.

Sold ours in 2008. That was a pretty good car, with loads of space. A friend used to fold down the rear seat (in his car), set up a mattress & sleep while his driver did BLR-Hubli in 6 hours .

Originally Posted by srinath1965

Retrofitted the car with the new double barrel headlamps and put in xenon lites in the outer barrels and 100wt in the inner barrels.

Could you please share details & photos of this ?

Originally Posted by srinath1965

the car was lovingly "restored" ...

... getting repainted a mica skyblue shortly, love by the 6 year old who happily claims its her car, the wife wants to free her hand on a driving school Indica and take over, my driver and Paramount swear by the car, the ex owner wants to buy her back,

That's a long list of testimonials !

I see my Pearl white 2009 Safari 2.2 Dicor VX going green

I'll happily have this baby :P

[srinath1965]

Originally Posted by condor

Sold ours in 2008. That was a pretty good car, with loads of space. A friend used to fold down the rear seat (in his car), set up a mattress & sleep while his driver did BLR-Hubli in 6 hours .

Could you please share details & photos of this ?

That's a long list of testimonials !

I'll happily have this baby :P

Dear Condor,

I will publish the pics and details shortly Bro.

[AutoIndian]

Originally Posted by AutoIndian

Today while coming to office my odo crossed the 1,20,000 kms mark. Though there is nothing significant in this milestone, it has reminded me that the car now needs to be serviced. Actually the 120K kms service is likely to get delayed till March 2013 as I would be traveling out of country for 3 months (starting Dec 1st week) & my car would be lying unused in my garage for that period. Hence will get the service done only when I return back.

Friends change in plan here. My abroad trip has been postponed by at least 2 more weeks & odo already reads 1,20,600 kms. With an average daily run of 64kms, in the next 2 weeks it may well cross beyond 1,21,200 kms. Hence thought of getting the car serviced today itself & not stretching the service interval. Yesterday had called my garage owner & fixed today's appointment. I had even taken the car to him & he took a test drive. He said once the car in on ram, we will check what all needs to be replaced. In the next one hour I am heading to the garage. Will update over here tonight once the service is completed (hopefully).

[AutoIndian]

Originally Posted by AutoIndian

He said once the car in on ram, we will check what all needs to be replaced. In the next one hour I am heading to the garage. Will update over here tonight once the service is completed (hopefully).

I am back to give you the service update as promised. Fortunately the full service was completed by 06:00pm (except car washing). Went to my trusted friendly garage, Venus today early in the morning @ 09:30am. Luckily there were very few cars & my car was the first one to be taken up for servicing, it was immediately raised on the ram. The underbody was inspected, everything was OK. All four wheels were rotated to check their free rotation, found OK. The ball joints, tie rods checked for any kind of play, found none. There was some play in the gear shifter though. The shifter bushes were replaced & can be seen in the pictures below.

Gear shifter yoke-bush removed


The white colour stuff is the bush


Next the mechanic removed the old oil filter & drained the engine oil. It was very thick & dark. He then drained the gear box oil. It was as pristine as new. Some pictures below.

Mechanic Ashok pouring gear box oil


Makeshift funnel & other end being held by his assistant


The new oil filter, air filter & fuel filters were fitted. Then 4 litres of engine oil, Petronas Urania CI-4 grade oil 15W40 was poured in the engine. Am trying this oil for the first time. Harish said that it is CI-4 grade, which is superior to the CF-4 grade. Will have to closely watch if the engine feels more refined now.

Petronas Urania CI-4 grade oil 15W40


He had also checked the suspension & found that the left side of the bonnet when pressed & released was bouncing up & down several times, indicating that the damping of the shocker has gone (probably due to oil leakage. He suggested to get it replaced. On asking whether I should replace both, he said not required, the right one is OK & bounces back only once when pressed, indicating that the damping is still working fine. Since he doesn't store such type of spares I had to go to Pandit Auto, Bhosari to get the strut. Some pictures.

LH Strut packing dated 26-Nov-12


Old LH strut removed


New LH strut fitted in position


Meanwhile the rear hub greasing was done meticulously, bearings were found to be good, only the O rings were replaced. To my surprise the rear brake shoes were still in good shape & could sustain another 10-15K kms. So didn't go for their replacement. When I checked at Pandit Auto @ brakes shoes, I came to know that there were two OEMs, KBX (Kalyani Brakes) & TVS Gerling & both of them came in different sizes, very strange.

The "chiiirrrr" noise was coming from the alternator belt & on tightening the belt the noise was eliminated. In new genre of engines (multijet types), this adjustment/tightening for belt elongation happens automatically. The idling rpm had increased a bit, which was later adjusted. When the car was lifted on ram, there was some oil leakage found from the alternator. Now I could recollect the oil drops on my parking floor were due to this leakage from alternator. Initially I had thought it to be the engine oil or PS oil. However carrying alternator work was not his cup of tea & this would be handled by Lucas TVS.

After all the above jobs, the car was handed back to me at 02:00pm. Just four and a half hours was taken to complete all the above tasks, this is really commendable. Below is the Car service Part & Labor invoice


LH Strut Invoice


After this I went to the tyre shop for getting the Wheel Alignment checked. As expected the values were way out of permissible range, especially the front Toe. Adjustments were done & the Report handed over to me, with all the values brought in the specified range. Costed me Rs 200/-. I also took two tubeless tyre valves to be kept as spare for emergencies (Rs 50/- each).


Had my lunch & after that straightaway headed to Lucas TVS. There I showed the alternator leakage & I was told that the damage can be judged only after removing the alternator. I agreed. It was removed in 20-25 minutes. Then the assembly opened. The brushes were worn out, there were grooves on the stator rings. Besides this I was advised to replace the bearings, oil seals etc. Total quote 3.2K. Initially I was reluctant, but then I thought prevention is better than cure. The last time the alternator was overhauled at the same place way back in Dec 2007 @ 40K kms. SInce then it has been five years & car has run 80K kms, so I thought better to get it done now. So gave a go ahead. Within one hour the new parts were assembled & overhauling done & alternator fitted back to the car. I also purchased two Halonix lamps 90/100W.

Lucas TVS Alternator overhaul part invoice


Lucas TVS Alternator overhaul labor invoice


Came back home by 06:00pm. Now plan to get up early tomorrow & do the washing from the nearest washing centre. Below are the potential benefits from this service:

• Early morning shrilling belt noise should have gone now
• Smoother engine, good pick up (new filters)
• No bumpiness, hard thuds from left side as the strut has been replaced.
• No failures of alternator or alternator overcharging.
• Overall a smooth & pleasant ride.

Detailed part & labor costs break-up:

Assly Oil Filter -1 nos (Elofic make) 110.00
15W40 Diesel Engine Oil - 4 ltr (Petronas Urania CI-4 grade) 1,168.00
Fuel Filter Primary - 2 nos (Elofic make) 250.00
Distilled water (for battery top-up) 15.00
Brake Oil Castrol Dot-3 - top up 30.00
Gear box oil change - 3 litres (Petronas make) 660.00
Air filter (Elofic make) 220.00
Gear lever bush - 4 nos 60.00
Rear hub oil seal - 2 nos 80.00
Grease 100.00
286832100103 - Assy. Front Strut complete LH (Dom)Gil 2,765.00
26215686 - Regulator -1 nos 698.00
26211664 - SRE Bearing -1 nos 462.00
6303-2RS Bearing - 1 nos 222.00
26211637 - Oil Seal -1 nos 299.00
26211688 - O ring Small -1 nos 193.00
26214783 - Slip Ring Set - 1 nos 188.00
Oil Pipe - 1 nos 133.00
P43T-100/90 W - Halogen Bulb Halonix make - 2 nos 276.00
Distilled water (for battery top-up) 13.00
Add M-VAT - 12.50% 310.00
Total - Part Charges 8,252.00

Labour
Slip ring replacement charges 150.00
Alternator Removing & Refitting charges 150.00
Alternator Servicing charges 350.00
Add Service Tax @ 12.36% 80.34
Engine Oil, oil filter, air filter, fuel filter change 200.00
Gear box oil change
Rear hub greasing 250.00
Gear lever bush change 75.00
Front brake pad check 100.00
LH shock absorder change 150.00
Tyre Rotation
Adjust Alternator belt tension & remove clirring noise
Brake pads & brake shoes cleaning
Brake bleeding & brake oil replacement
Washing
Wheel Alignment check 200.00
Two spare valves

Total - Labour Charges 1,705.34

Grand total just under 10K

[AutoIndian]

Originally Posted by AutoIndian

All the stuff (excluding Fuel Injection Pump - FIP, overhaul) could cost in the range of 10K (I get it done from a private garage, buying all the spares myself from TASC). The FIP part I am planning to get it done from Lucas-TVS. Earlier I had checked with them. If its just the overhaul, it would cost in the range of 5-6K, but if the pump rotor needs to be replaced, it could shoot to 15K. So in a nut shell, this servicing could make me poorer anyway between 15K to 25K. If that is going to make my car more reliable for the next 30K kms, then I consider it worth doing.

I am glad that my initial estimate of around 10K was bang on target. Though replacing the front LH strut & the alternator overhaul (totalling around 6K) were those items that I could have done away with, I think the money was well spent. Rather than waiting for something to fail, it is always better to do some preventive maintenance.

Next on the cards would be the FIP overhaul & injector cleaning. Also would like to get the AC system checked & overhauled before the summer sets in. This would probably be after I add another 5K kms to the odo.

Below is the snapshot of some stats after 120K kms. Any comments/suggestions are most welcome.

[AutoIndian]

Yesterday my to & fro drive to office of about 64kms revealed some interesting facts about the car. I could notice the below changes in the car after the 120K km service:

1. Engine feels more responsive to the throttle inputs & has become smooth (can be attributed to the newer oils & filters)
2. Despite the AC ON, the engine does not struggle much & it does not break any sweat if I am in the correct gear.
3. Most significant improvement has come in the ride & handling department. Earlier going over a bumpy road or on small speed breakers I could hear a loud thud (especially from the left side) & get a feeling that I am loosing the steering control. Felt very scary at times. Hence never dared to go beyond 80 kmph. I always thought that this was due to a worn out ball joint & never suspected the strut (suspension). Now that I have replaced the left strut, the ride has become very smooth & I feel in complete control of the car. If I had the slightest inkling that the strut was the culprit all this while, I would have got it replaced at the one lakh km service itself. Nevertheless better late than never.
4. Another improvement that I observed was in the braking ability. Now I am getting good response from the brakes. Both the front brake pads & the rear brake shoes were roughened by sand paper. Also the alternator was overhauled, hence in turn the vacuum pump. Could there be an increase in vacuum as the vacuum pump is working more effectively now after the alternator overhaul?
5. At idling the car feels a bit rough. I guess the idling rpm has reduced, It now idles at 700-750 rpm or lesser than that when cold. I think I will have to increase it.

Overall a great feeling to drive the old lady, old wine in a new bottle (if I may say so)