[Guderian]

Sunday. The fluids day for many of us. So it was for Admiral.

The PS oil (power steering) level looked just fine.


The brake/clutch oil reservoir level looked mighty fine.


And the coolant level too...hey...wait a minute. That looked a wee bit (to my eye 2/3 mm height-wise) lowered. Though much above the 'F' mark. But a little below the factory fill point.


As a precaution also checked all aroud the engine and under for any pink/reddish spots for tell tale leakage evidence. Reported all clear.
Reason could be the slight contraction of the liquid due to the plunging temperature.
Decided to top up anyway.


As mentioned earlier (many moons ago here) I really like the coolant reservoir cap. Chunky, precisely engineered and can be torqued only up to a specific pre-set point thanks to the reservoir bottle lip projection seen below.




And time to hit the bottle.


And the level up to the marked factory level.


Normal cleaning otherwise. But realise much to my annoyance that Admiral is a magnet for all kind of road debris especially on the highway. Which chips the paint and which I keep touching up.
Some spots...war scars...earned over the months of campaign.
On the bonnet lip:


On the bonnet:




On the left front door:

But then eternal vigilance is the price of liber...err...spotless vehicle.
I guess nothing much can be done about the collateral damage of running on our debris filled roads.

And all done & secured. Looking forward to the drives ahead.



A long drive to SoBo was as usual rather cheering of course. And on return a stop midway for an errand.


A small grotto nearby. Originally made in 1881. Rebuilt in '77. Will Admiral too grow this old ? Touchwood !


Big sip. With the temperatures having lowered further in Mumbai/Thane the FE figures have gone up.



Aloha !

[Guderian]

Saturday saw me paying a quick visit to the abode of Gods.




The reason ? To get this piece of equipment - off the counter:


The jack rod/tool. This has been discussed earlier here. The OE three piece tool though very convenient was proving to be a little less robust than one would have wanted - with hooked end getting stuck in the stepney mechanism. In comes this single piece rod - solid and heavy and can also substitute as a PDW (Personal Defence Weapon !).
While the OE tool will still come in handy when working in confined spaces (like parking lots short on space) to lower the stepney, the new rod will be a boon when deploying the jack or working in places where there is a little more space without worrying about the hooked end getting stuck in the stepney gear mechanism.
Costs Rs 239/- and worth the expense.

Meanwhile, on Saturday, on a drive to the southern end of the city - Admiral reported his best ever FE figure for city running. Thank you Mother Winter.

Of course a little later, Admiral had to be bunkered and the meter reset.

Tally ho !

[alfredenuemann]

Originally Posted by Guderian

Hi F150...Long time !

1. That's the Leatherman Wave. Some details & more snaps here:
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/diy-do...-diyer-35.html
Though I got this piece in the US - you can now order it in India.

2. Brake pads seem to be doing good as per the check during the last service at 45K KMs. They still have some life left. No, they've not been changed till date.

3. No plans on the tyres yet. The Dunlops still have life left in them as of today. Some of the Fortuner owners seem to have ridden the Dunlop OE for 75K KMs before the first change. Let's see how long they last on Admiral.
Nothing finalised on the next brand.

Just jumping in seeing a query about the brake pads and tyres. I had my brake pads changed at the 55k service. When I had the brake booster kit changed at 50k the brake pads had about 6mm left( new ones are 11mm thickness), but at the 55k service I was told that the pads had worn down to 1 mm thickness and needed replacement. I wonder if that had do with the change of the booster kit. My Fortuner has done 60k and the tyres look good for another 10k, so I guess 70-75k should be the life of the Dunlops, pretty good if you ask me.

[Guderian]

Originally Posted by alfredenuemann

1. I wonder if that had do with the change of the booster kit.

2. My Fortuner has done 60k and the tyres look good for another 10k, so I guess 70-75k should be the life of the Dunlops, pretty good if you ask me.

2. Nice to hear that about the tyres. Yeah that amount of usage is very good indeed.


1. It is possible that on the change of the brake booster it took you some time to get used to the increase in the booster force. The old brake booster had a force of 650 NM and the new one 850 NM. However you may have possibly continued exerting the same old pressure with your foot on the brake pedals till you got used to the new bite - so possible that the pads would have worn out faster than before.

[Guderian]

Drive safe !

[nilanjanray]

Originally Posted by Guderian

2. Nice to hear that about the tyres. Yeah that amount of usage is very good indeed.


1. It is possible that on the change of the brake booster it took you some time to get used to the increase in the booster force. The old brake booster had a force of 650 NM and the new one 850 NM. However you may have possibly continued exerting the same old pressure with your foot on the brake pedals till you got used to the new bite - so possible that the pads would have worn out faster than before.

Visiting this thread after a long time. HNY Guderian and others!

I am touching 65K, tyres are doing ok though recently I had a puncture. That makes 2 slow air loss punctures and one (the recent one) complete flat puncture. Decent for 65K km. Back after a 700 km trip to the Nilgiris, where the tyres held up fine over gentle trails. I have narrowed down to Pirelli Scorpion A/Ts for eventual replacement (at 70K km, hopefully). Or the Continental A/Ts. After doing some research it seems that the on-road performance will not suffer much, if at all (my typical use case is a x00 or x000 kms fast highway trip followed by bad roads, offroading).

Changed my brake pads once after the Himalayas trip.

Good to see that you (and others) are opting for the one piece rod. Cheap and convenient. Start practicing parries, thrusts and footwork if you are planning to use it as a SDW :-)

Will eventually go for the booster upgrade, perhaps at 70K.

Thinking of buying a torque wrench. Where can I find one?

Btw, my vehicle badly needs a trip to the spa. Lots of small scratches etc. to take care of. Bangalore roads, scrapes against bushes and trees (on narrow trails) have been taking their toll. Might opt for the full 3M treatment.

[Guderian]

Originally Posted by nilanjanray

Visiting this thread after a long time. HNY Guderian and others... !

HNY nilanjan and great to see you back here !
3 holes in 65K KMs is a good record. For all the annoyance shown by us - the OE Dunlops appear to be fairly decent.
How much were they asking for the Continentals and the Pirells when you checked ?

You can get the torque wrench (get a good brand - Stanley or some such brand) from any of the shops on JC Road in Bangalore. Also check with the ASC store - they may have it but is likely to be expensive there. Also when you are buying it check the min-max range of the wrench and of course we should also know the max torque of some of the important nuts of the vehicle like the lug nut. I am not sure where we'll be able to get that info - other than checking with the ASC.

[Guderian]

Folks would remember that Admiral had gone in for the brake booster upgrade/retrofit in May 2013 - page 125 of the thread. All is well with the brakes by and large (touchwood !).

Here's a link of a report from karan561's thread (a fellow Fortuner owner) which describes what could go wrong during such retrofits. Placing it here for the benefit of all Fortuner owners.
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-t...000-kms-5.html

Thank you karan561.

[Guderian]

XI Service.

A few KMs short of the 50K KMs mark I took Admiral for his XI service, yesterday, the hump day.
Must say I had the best ever service experience with the ASC till date. Greatly due to the fact that the Mechanic assigned to Admiral was a cheery, knowledgable and helpful chap who was previously working in the major accidents section and knew the Fortuner like the back of his hand - and parted with quite a few tips. And to some extent due to the fact that it was the hump day (Wednesday) and so things were relatively relaxed on the shop floor.

First in at 8.45 am. The Innova was from previous day, I swear.


Tasks done:
- Brakes cleaned. Pads, liners & discs measured with scale and micrometer screw gauge. All found OK. Pads and liners could last for another 10K KMs as per estimation. 4MM left. Even wear out. Discs - 27.27 MM. Will need to carry out pad/liner change and disc skimming in the next visit possibly.


- Tyres have worn out evenly, though there are a few cuts (thanks to the repeated Rajmachi & other OTR assaults) and can last for sometime more. Another 10-15K KMs (touchwood !).

- The famous prop shaft greasing.



See the new (whitish) grease peeking out ? It's to be pumped till that happens and the old dark grease is ejected.

- Oil & oil filter change.

- There was a bit of squeaking from the windows on rough roads. Sorted out by spraying the window and door beading with an anti dust/rust spray.


- Battery checked.

- Air filter & AC filter checked and cleaned.

- Underbody & everything else inspected thoroughly.

- Tyres rotated.

- Test driven to check for pick up, brakes, rattles etc. All OK. Total silence in the cabin.

- And washed well:



Many hands make light work !


My kind of Bay Area !


And Admiral was taken across to the accessories section for touch up service of the Wurths underbody coating after drying and cleaning the spots which needed the touch up - like some of the underbody guards. Visiting the place after almost 3 years. Nothing's changed really. They've got a new hoist. Last time Admiral was left dangling mid air when something went wrong with the then hoist. Memories and how time flies.







Came back to the main ASC and all was kept ready - the invoice and what not. The SA was also a pleasant cheery bloke.


Invoice details (in Rs. inclusive of taxes):

- Front brake cleaning - Rs. 269.99
- Rear drum cleaning - Rs. 449.44
- Inspection charges - Rs. 1471.92
- Oil pan gasket - Rs. 41.34
- Oil filter - Rs. 416.98
- Toyota Engine Oil (6.9 Lts) - Rs. 2208.00

Total - Rs. 4857.34

After bidding all the goodbyes left at 12.30 pm.

Admiral - all set.



Aloha !

[Guderian]

Extract from Ship's Log Book:

Date: Feb 1, 2014.
Time: 1000 Hrs/10.00 am (approx)
Location: Old Agra Road, Thane. Marker buoy - Near Holy Cross School.
Event: Fleet Admiral Togo Heihachiro recorded 50,000KMs/26997.84 Nautical Miles.

Days to 50K Clicks: 1009: Date of Commissioning - Feb 27, 2011.
Average Run/sailing Per Day: 49.55 KMs/26.75 NMs.

Total Fuel Consumed: 4232.10 Lts.
Overall FE: 11.81 KMPL.
Best Recorded FE Figure till date: 16.2 KMPL (By MID).
Total cost of fuel: Rs. 205536.6


No of Services/Inspections : 11.
Total Service Expenses: Rs. 31,884. Includes washing and alignment work done outside ASC.
Cost per Service: Rs. 2898.54
Brakes Upgradation Charges - Rs. 6541.00

Niggles: Nil.

Watchkeeper's Report: Ship running on an even keel.

End of Extract.

Admiral at 50K KMs.




Tally ho !

[Guderian]

In the end...
...these snaps would be more than enough to state what a great day it was and what a fabulous drive Admiral and his friends had today !







Report coming up...duly.

[Guderian]

And here is the Kashid Drive write up and snaps:
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/4x4-ex...ers-again.html

It was great, as usual, putting Admiral through his paces. Or was he putting me through my paces ?

And here are some snaps which have not been put up on the drive thread.

Started at:



Admiral's menacing glow. Waiting for the troop to form up.


At the beach:






Admiral ended the day at:



Was particularly pleased with the FE figure as the drive involved some very bad roads, some very high speed sections and the fog episode which saw the vehicles crawl at 20KMPH for almost 15-20 KMs. Besides of course the beach run.

So that's that.

Admiral's Y-IV Insurance.

Last Saturday saw me concluding the discussions and renewing Admiral's Y-IV insurance policy. Decided to stick with Tata AIG and the same plan as before. Basic comprehensive + Zero Dep + add ons of the Pearl Plan. Was also in talks with ICICI Pru & Toyota Insurance which were proving to be quite expensive. Toyota negotiated downwards to some extent but couldn't match Tata AIG. Yes, there were a few variations in the policy though. Like Toyota had zero payment for consumables etc. But anyway decided to stick with Tata AIG though I enhanced the IDV from their market level.
Paid by credit card a premium amount of Rs 28,659.
Details here:
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...ml#post3366109

Aloha.

[Guderian]

And it was indeed a most interesting weekend. The one that went by. And in a blur.

On Saturday finally decided to take Admiral for a session of wheel alignment. Reason being while I found nothing wrong at all - at the back of my mind was the fact that at the previous OTR in Sept 2013 the old boy had hammered a rock into submission with his front right metal parts with a scrape of the lower arm point. I had put up the snaps here earlier. Was a wee bit worried about the camber angle.
After procastinating for quite a while, as the tyre wear was normal and the steering etc was rock steady, went across to Premji's in Thane. He was recommended by a few TBPHians. Met Mark at the workshop and chatted up.

But I wouldn't go anywhere without my trusted camera. No I wouldn't. So here goes...

All set for the corrective surgery.



Shhh. A red light came on over the sign 'Operation Theatre' - remember Hindi movies of the yore ? I was ready to head to the nearby temple along with Nirupa Roy for a bhajan session.



The doctor was looking pensive. Got me worried.


He shouted out - "Nurse jaldi..." and his chokra got him a scalpel...OK... spanner. I was ready to faint.


And finally the red light was switched off and the green light came on.


The final touch up and the doctor came out wiping his hands on a towel, smiling and said - "Ghabrane ki koi baat nahin hai - inki tabiyat bahut hi achhi hai..."
I let out a sigh of relief and thanked all the powers above. What if he had come out of the OT and said - "Inko dawa nahin dua ki zaroorat hai... " ? Phew !

Final sew up.


Thank you Mr Bean.


All was well. The camber was within range and thank God for that...the caster was a little off - was adjusted and so was the toe.
This was the final report - put up for Fortuner owners who would like to know the ranges:


Went out for a trial. Everything certified fine.

Paid Rs.600 for the attention and efforts bestowed. Final goodbyes to Mark. And all ready to depart. Was a very pleasant experience.


The drive back felt good.

Sunday saw me labour over the old boy with a purpose.
Admiral received the full treatment after months.


I mean the real full treatment. Down to vacuuming.



Engine bay cleaned out and what not...

Some days ago had spotted this scuffed paint portion on the driver's side thanks to all these days of opening and closing and rubbing of the beading. Decided to touch it up because this is where the rusting starts eventually.




The Cavalry to the rescue:


Even the leather & plastic was spiffed up:


All nice and fresh now:


And finally all done. And with a purpose.





Purpose ? What was the purpose you ask ? But my lips are sealed for now.
All I'll share is the snap below for now and request your patience. A report will certainly follow. But in due course of time.
Watch this space for more goes the cliche, doesn't it ?


Aloha !

[getsurya]

I was ready to head to the nearby temple along with Nirupa Roy for a bhajan session

This had me in splits!!

Thanks for our dope on the wheel alignment, will serve as a reference point and a guide. So, it is advisable to get this done every 10000 km to keep the system smiling.

The joy of just riding over rough roads while the other crowd waits is something I am proud of this SUV, that too without bothering to run to a wheel alignment often

The car looks awesome in and out with due justice done to your nifty pictures.

[kaizanfan]

Thoroughly enjoyed reading the analogy part with Nirupa Roy and Nurse all in the scene, more than the technical stuff. Thanks a lot Guderian for sharing every bit with a good punch of humor.