[getsurya]

Here are the measurements:

Hi Guderian,

Many thanks for your replies. I truly appreciate your response!

On TPMS, My 2nd Scorpio had this system and was very useful on couple of occasions to pre-warn us about the air loss(albiet, you are right on the quality. Changed two sensors within a year!). I thought the same would be useful for TFort, let me see and take a call.

On wipers, I sincerely have changed my earlier cars' wipers every two years(even if they were ok) due to dust and weather making the rubber hard. The aerotwin's I have put on my last car(mHawk) lasted me for a good 2+ years without any trouble.

Tow bar and folding luggage rack would be a need for my car, as I plan to travel long trips with family & parents. Also, I will change the middle row to captain seats for better comfort(couple of my friends have this and it is very comfortable) and also for easier ingress into the 3rd row seats.

Once again, thank you so very much for all the information.

[Guderian]

A new gizmo.

And so last week received a nifty gift from the US. Did I say the gift was for me ? No, it's for Admiral or rather his boots.

But as always the snaps would do a much better job than a billion words of description.


Oh yeah...another tyre gauge. But this time a digital one that...errr...talks ! Last time I had anything talking me was my old Scorpio CRDe - which spoke to me for 5.5 long years.
And am I always talked down to by the LoH. But that's another story.

The type:


Works like:


A product from:


A downside. It's made in:


But what the heck ! It has:

So it should work for sometime ! (Touch wood)

And now the 'merawala' piece:



Came with a tag that had to be pulled out before the first use. To save battery life till purchase & first use.


The recall button is the one that on being pressed recalls the last tyre reading on the gauge and orally too.


The English - Spanish button. Yeah, yeah the little fella is multi-lingual:

And it's a 'he' in English and 'She' in Spanish.

Last Sunday I had tried it out. Worked bang on with accurate reading.
As recalled in PSI the tyre pressure stood at:


After 5 seconds it goes to '0':


And after 10 seconds it switches off to save battery:


Very easy to grip and use on the tyres:


The voice is very clear and loud - the perforated area (seen in the snaps above) has the speaker from where emenates the sepulchral intonations - the first time I heard it, I jumped out of my skin. And the visual and voice readings are in PSI - no other system. So less of a bother !
The readings appear to be dead accurate. As viewers of the channel would recall I had set the digital inflator at 34PSI suspecting that the inflator is undereading the pressure. Therefore by filling up the tyre at 34PSI it was actually at 32 PSI was the thought - and proved right by this device and the dial gauge.
Happy with the device as of now. A big thank you to the chappie who got me this !
It costs $ 12.00.

'Speaking' tyre gauge. What will they come up with next ? A gauge which pokes you in the ribs (or any part of your anatomy you select) in the eventuality of the tyre pressure falling very low ? Fancy that !

[alfredenuemann]

Originally Posted by manmohanmaan

Hey Alfred,

I did get the upgrade at Ravindu Opp ISKCON. No there was no dilly-dallying involved. You just have to tell them that you feel the braking is not up to the mark. Better get this in a day before so that they can have the replacement parts in stock the next day when you leave your vehicle for servicing.

Manmohan.

Got the brakes upgraded. They changed the booster, master cylinder and a few other parts as well. The braking has improved dramatically, in fact it's taking me some time to get used to the immediate response. It cost me Rs 7900 odd though. Thanks once again for the tip MMMaan. Really appreciate it. On another note has anyone changed the headlight bulbs of the earlier ( 2009-10 versions) models?

[dkaile]

Originally Posted by alfredenuemann

Got the brakes upgraded. They changed the booster, master cylinder and a few other parts as well. The braking has improved dramatically, in fact it's taking me some time to get used to the immediate response. It cost me Rs 7900 odd though.

Which model is yours exactly? I spoke to the GM at my ASC and he informed me that post 2011 vehicles don't need a brake upgrade. The booster and master cylinder are of which model? Kindly post a copy of your bill and part nos. replaced, if possible, so we can take this matter further with Toyota.

[alfredenuemann]

Originally Posted by dkaile

Which model is yours exactly? I spoke to the GM at my ASC and he informed me that post 2011 vehicles don't need a brake upgrade. The booster and master cylinder are of which model? Kindly post a copy of your bill and part nos. replaced, if possible, so we can take this matter further with Toyota.

DKaile.mine is one of the earliest models,a Feb 2010 model Fortuner. I had got the earlier brake upgrade( larger rotors) done as well before. This time they have replaced the booster along with a few other accessories. Have attached the invoice with details. Will post some snaps of the older booster and the new one shortly.

[alfredenuemann]

That would be great AEN !
Would like to know all the parts changed - I know of the brake booster and the lines - but other bits as well, details of which you can get from the SA, and the kind of work they do. I hope you'll be standing around when they are carrying out the upgrade.
In my mind I am still debating the need for the upgrade. But then let's see !

Aloha !
Attachment 1082829[/quote]

Hi Guderian, have posted the details of the invoice. Shall take a few snaps of the part replaced and post as well. It took them half a day to do the work, bleed the brakes, road test etc. The brakes have a lot more bite and feel now and are far more confidence inspiring. All in all I am happy I did the upgrade. However,I am not sure if this is a free or subsidised upgrade as the cost of the parts are actuals and the invoice does not indicate any discount. Unlike the earlier upgrade where they retained the parts replaced, here the original parts were returned to me. My vehicle is out of warranty too.

[Guderian]

Admiral gets a Booster or Brake Booster is the secret of my energy - I.

And so finally after almost 18 months after I first heard about it I got it done. The famous brakes upgrade on the Admiral. After dilly dallying, hemming and hawing, having all kinds of nightmares. Took the plunge today.
And thereby hangs a tale. As usual.

The time goes back to July 2011, before the launch of the 2012 Fortuner, when an Executive from Toyota (TKML) Bangalore had come home to conduct a Customer Experience Survey. The fine young gentleman had informed me that by end of that year TKML would be offering all existing customers an option of brake upgrade on demand. And that the chief component being replaced was the brake booster. Also informed me that the new booster had a force of 850 NM compared to 650 NM on the existing brake booster.

I didn't think much about it though I asked the Tech Head 2/3 times at the dealership about the brakes upgrade - he was clueless. And so life continued at it merry pace and Admiral chugged along as usual which has all been documented here.

In between a friend and fellow owner from Bangalore (RV) mentioned that he had got the upgrade done and was rather happy with the results. I was still not convinced that Admiral needed and was quite worried about the local ASC poking around with a critical system like brakes.
And so it continued till I read about Manmohan and AEN here also having got it done. Since then I felt guilty about being lazy and indifferent to Admiral's needs. When an upgrade was available why not get it done and done fast ?

So couple of weeks ago I called up the ASC and stated the requirement.The PYT on the other side knew nothing about it and actually she knew nothing at all including what exactly was the function of the brakes or where it was located. Don't blame her really.

And then I upped the ante and located the number of the dealer's VP Service who had no clue about the upgrade either but the good lady promised to check and help. And one of the Service Manager's got into the act. Checked with some other Mumbai dealers who apparently claimed to have no clue either. And then finally the case landed up with TKML West. A Customer Relations AM got into the act and gave me a ring and we got into a discussion about the brakes and all I told him was that nevermind what the current condition of the brakes was and that I would like an upgrade. The gentleman swung into action and in a week's time organised everthing and confirmed to me yesterday (Friday) that I could visit the ASC today and it would be all taken care of and he allayed any fear I had about the ASC grease monkeys pawing the system stating that the Technical Lead would be personally supervising the installation and testing it as well.

And so I landed up early this morning at the ASC. Snaps shall take over the narration now.

Landing up early has its own advantages:


This fellow is still around glaring at all vehicles passing by:


Admiral is wheeled in:


To be wheeled across to another section:


Meanwhile the Service AM briefed the Head Techie and gave him the print outs of the service manual for the installation !


Brake booster glares at me knowing what awaits him:



As the preparations were going on I saw the innards of a Fortuner upclose. An 'accidentified' new (2012) was getting a new chasis and I spent quite an amount of time around it checking out the parts and layout etc. Was almost like a cut out kept for demo purposes for trainees and I enjoyed the walk around and dekko immensely. Incidentally the chasis of the Fortuner costs Rs. 2,16,117.00 !




Meanwhile Admiral was made ready for the surgery:


And the surgery began - handled by a bright youngster. Thankfully he was good as promised.



Vacuum tube removed:


Hooray all the parts arrive:



With the bill of materials:


Meanwhile work progress slowly but surely !


And the new kid on the block:



Help ! There's a stiff in my vehicle:

Relax - that's just the good fella uncoupling the brake booster from the pedal.

The new kid all settled in:




And the old soldier is retired !


The new booster is a little more stocky (thicker midriff) and is not as large as the old one which was much thinner as I could make out.

Details on the box:


Hey the stiff again ! This time the re-coupling activity...


Two new short metal tubes were replaced and the rubber vacuum tube:


Some serious rerouting to the ABS is what I could see:


Rubber tubes finding their way back:


(To be continued...)

[Guderian]

Admiral gets a Booster or Brake Booster is the secret of my energy - II


The new vacuum rubber tube gets fitted:


A new bolt with a thick bush is a modification - to increase the distance between the metal tubes and the booster and aid in the new routing:



After everything as far as the booster was concerned was fitted in - which included the brake booster, two metal tubes, a rubber tube and the bolt and washer began the activity with the shouts of " Ab daba" "Ab pakkad" - brake oil bleeding ( and I not going to again state what it reminded one of !):






The "Pakkadoing" & "Dabaoing" man high in the air:


Clutch bleeding - as a common reservoir serves the brake & clutch lines:


A clean up spray:


And it was all ready. I appreciated the fact that the guys didn't go for lunch till it was all done. Nice guys and technically the best guys of the entire lot I guess !

Soon the Tech Lead came across and minutely examined everything for leaks and what not and we went out for a long highway trials. I resisted the temptation to drive. Multiple trials of the brake deployment. And I kept getting thrown to the dash and could feel that the new booster had given birth to a set of sharp brakes ! ABS tested on concrete roads - found tickety boo !

Finally went back and everything was set. Nothing more to be done


Billing. Paid a total of Rs 6541.00
The parts changed were - Brake booster, two short metal tubes (front & rear brake tubes as it called in the bill), rubber vaccum tube (called hose check valve), bolt with washer and bush. The base rates of all items were exactly same as indicated in the bill attached earlier by AEN.
I was charged Rs 629.22 for labour and wasn't charged for almost 1 litre of brake oil topping.

I didn't bother taking back the old parts. Now what in the world am I going to do with an old brake booster eh ? And couple of old metal tubes and a hose ? Couldn't think of anything and so left it at the ASC.

Was out by 1415 hrs. On the way back tested the brakes. Certainly has turned sharp ! On a rough approximation would say 30-40% improvement over the previous brake experience. I for one was fairly satisfied even with the earlier level of braking.
With this I should be very happy indeed.

So that was that finally !

Originally Posted by alfredenuemann

Have attached the invoice with details.

AEN - Thank you very much for the details. Had taken a printout of your bill to check the part numbers replaced and the rates etc. Was very, very helpful

Originally Posted by manmohanmaan

hey, I thought along the same lines as you did and struggled over it for over a month, but then went ahead and changed the system. So far so good I would say.
Manmohan.

Thanks are due to Manmohan as well for helping me take the decision with his inputs over a call and the details shared here. Gracias !

And my sincere gratitude to the TKML (West) AM of Customer Relations (let's just call him PS !) who organised everthing.

I get this feeling that the Admiral shall be sailing a little faster in the coming days.

Aloha !

[dkaile]

Great right up for the brake upgrade Herr' Generale'! Now I will have to check the Flacon to see what's under the hood there...

[alfredenuemann]

AEN - Thank you very much for the details. Had taken a printout of your bill to check the part numbers replaced and the rates etc. Was very, very helpful


Thanks are due to Manmohan as well for helping me take the decision with his inputs over a call and the details shared here. Gracias !

And my sincere gratitude to the TKML (West) AM of Customer Relations (let's just call him PS !) who organised everthing.

I get this feeling that the Admiral shall be sailing a little faster in the coming days.

Aloha ![/quote]

Glad to have been of help Guderian. I got the tip off myself only from the Togo channel from MMaann. As you said a definite noticeable improvement in the braking with this upgrade. Happy and safe driving.

[Monaro CV8]

Hi HG,

Nice move with the booster upgrade! What is the marked difference you see? Lesser stopping distance? Responsive ?

Have you gotton used to the new brake bite ?

[dkaile]

Well I checked mine Herr' Generale', and I found that mine are already upgraded to the new part no. 13101-18990. Snapshot attached -



So that saves the hassle and the 7K bucks. That is why I always wondered when people commented about the braking of the Fortuner as I had no issues with it at all from day 1. I guess it was not luck that I presumed but an actual upgrade done to my/future Fortuners from Toyota's side.

More detailed photos on Falcon's thread - http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-t...ml#post3131881

Cheers...

[Guderian]

Originally Posted by alfredenuemann

Glad to have been of help Guderian. I got the tip off myself only from the Togo channel from MMaann. As you said a definite noticeable improvement in the braking with this upgrade. Happy and safe driving.

AEN - Yours must be one of the few Classic Fortuners (of 2009/10 vintage) to have received two brake upgrades ! The first being the brake kits - done of course free of cost and the on demand booster uograde. So every year an improvement eh ? And that's what I like about the Toyota approach - the newer parts can be fitted on to the older machines with ease. I was, on a much earlier occasion, noticing on an old Prado the commanilty of some parts between the real old engine and Admiral's engine - though the platforms are entirely different. So I guess we can keep adding newer and newer parts as we go along, if required !

Originally Posted by Monaro CV8

Hi HG,

Nice move with the booster upgrade! What is the marked difference you see? Lesser stopping distance? Responsive ?

Have you gotton used to the new brake bite ?

Hey Monaro, The braking, on a rough approximation is better by about 30/40%. I was terrible in Math though !
But yes the bite is better and the braking distance could be much better. Could be I state because, one hasn't tested it on speeds above 120 KMPH. And that's where the real impact is felt. For city driving and speeds upto 120KMPH the old booster worked well and that's why I never felt the need. But yeah the new one has an instant response during slow drives too.
And the new bite I am slowly getting used to. Tommorow's office drive,on the highway, should help gauge it better I suppose.

Originally Posted by dkaile

Well I checked mine Herr' Generale', and I found that mine are already upgraded to the new...

That's nice dkaile. Yours must be the first of the last Classic Fortuners to come with the new boosters. And it was around the time you bought Raptor that the TKML Exec told me about the 'on demand' upgrade of brakes. So the story fits.
Anyway as mentioned elsewhere would be good if you could have it checked, regardless, by the ASC blokes and visually compare with a post 2012 booster.

As I was noticing the older boosters were made by TVS Girling and the new ones by Toyota themselves out of Thailand. I guess they couldn't get TVS to make better boosters. It could have kept the costs lower if manufactured here or is it the otherway round ?!!

[nilanjanray]

Hmm, now I am tempted to do it too. Since you talk about a 30-40% improvement!

[alfredenuemann]

Billing. Paid a total of Rs 6541.00
The parts changed were - Brake booster, two short metal tubes (front & rear brake tubes as it called in the bill), rubber vaccum tube (called hose check valve), bolt with washer and bush. The base rates of all items were exactly same as indicated in the bill attached earlier by AEN.
I was charged Rs 629.22 for labour and wasn't charged for almost 1 litre of brake oil topping.


Hi Guderian, I notice that they have charged you about Rs 1000 less for labour than what I paid. Wonder if thats due to the fact that your vehicle is still under warranty or if its due to a " labour of love" since you are always so involved with the service of your vehicle and the service folks!