Quote:
Originally Posted by sureshshanmugam Hi Mates,
My M800 5S has clocked 71,500 Kms and is due for Service.
All these years I was in Chennai and the car maintained by Electra..and now I moved to Cbe and i couldn't find a good Car care centre, so planning to service at a garage near my home.. a small one but could see imported cars coming there for work.
1. I am currently running on Castrol Magnatec.... shall I go with the same or is there any other good VFM oil tha tI can opt to?
2. I change Engine oil every 10K and my daily ride is 35Km in mild traffic with a normal 50-70KMPH speed. I dont Rev the engine at all :-) Is the frequency of oil change okay or should I do it even frequently?
3. This time I am planning to Change Transmission Oil, Brake Fluid and Coolant. How frequently should I change these?
4. Please recommend me a good Brand and Grade of Transmission Oil, Brake Fluid and Coolant for my M800 5Speed
5. I would like to Flush the engine / Transmission before refilling new oil.. Please recommend a good Brand.
4. How Could I know if the Brake shoes are due to change?
5. I have never changed the Timings Belt since I bought the car in 2002. Shall I cahnge it now?
6. Planning to Change the Water pump Belt also as it ws changed 20K Kms back
7. I rember once changing the tie-rod end and Ball joints
8. Apart from the above will be doing Front wheel Balancing and Alignment- mine are Aura Alloys on 145/80 R12 BridgeStone Turanza
Experts considering the above scenario please let me know if I am missing something as part of my maintenance.
Its my long-time wish to fix a tacho, rear-wiper and washer, Strut Braces and remote Lid opener.... but not finding someone mechanic who has the passion to do it for me.....
If anybody has done these.. please share... |
The answer to your questions are :
1. More than the oil its the grade of oil that matters. The maruti genuine oil is api sf rated which is obsolete. look here for current grades.
Motor Oil Grades and Service Ratings
the api sm grade is the current one and the latest grade always protects your engine better, although do be warned that there is an exception to this rule, for older pushrod engines like that of the premier padmini, the lower ZDDP levels in sm grade oil can result in cam wear, but for the 800 api sm is best.
So do read what the api rating of the oil you are buying is. the higher the better.
2: Well you can never change the engine oil too soon. the more often you change it the more your engine will last, neverthe less 10,000 kms or one year (which ever is earlier) is the recomended oil change interval for the 800 and is sufficient you dont need to change oil any sooner but dont change it any later either.(here too the oil ratings matter. Back in the 90's when oil grades inferior to api sf were available, the company's recomendations were:- 5000 kms for api sc
10000 kms for api sf
3: transmission oil should be changed every 20,000 kms or every 2 years, which ever is earlier. for brake oil its 40,000kms or 4 years (whichever is earlier)but about coolant i am not sure but 40,000kms is a safe range.
4:About brands i would say its a competitive market so amoungst the major brands there is not much difference in quality and the difference really wont matter to you since you arent into motorsports, that slight difference that exist matters there. But the cheaper brands
usually have a lower api rating and thats the reason why they are cheaper.I used delphi's ready to use (already mixed with water in the right proportion) coolant, 2 litres set me back by 180 bucks. For break fluid you can use kbx. i used hp's gear oil on the last change.
NOTE: Do monitor dipsticks every week for engine and transmission oil and the levels of coolant and break fluid reservoirs every week. If something does go wrong with your car and it starts to leak any of these fluids, in most cases people find out only when their engine seizes , transmission is ruined or the breaks fail even though the warning lights for engine oil, brakes and waer temp do exist. transmission has no warning light that i know of
Also do maintain the fluid levels close t maximum but no more than the max level. more the oil in the engine, cleaner oil is available to the engine for longer since it takes longer to dirty more oil. BMW used this trick on their diesel engines to increase the service interval from 5000 to 10000 kms , they just increased the sump size and therefore the amount of oil you put in.
5: i have opened a 4 stroke engine and transmission myself and let me tell you that in a petrol engine there is absolutely no need to use engine flush as long as you are changeing oil on time. the oils contain detergents and agents that keep the dirt in suspension in the fluid , these agents break down over time. So as long as you change the oil on time there wont be a hint of carbon on most parts inside the engine. Engine flush is useful only when you have been negligent previously even then just changing the oil at a lot shorter time intervals once or twice say at 3000-5000 will give better results than using engine flush.
Also dont forget to drive the car a little, right before the change so that the dirt that has settled down gets suspended in the oil and isnt left behind in the engine and transmission.
6: well , you can only tell if the brake pads are worn by taking off the wheel and checking how much of of the pad is still left for disk brakes and for drums you have to open them and see, but as long as you change the shoes in the drums along with the disks, you shouldnt have a problem since the ones in the drums usually wear out slower than the disks. Its best not to wait for the metal grinding with metal stage and judge by the sound and reduced braking. inspection should be done around 40,000 kms.
7: Timing belt you should change every 1 lakh kms or every 10 years.
8: visual inspection of the waterpump belt is sufficient, if there are cracks on it or the v grooves are excessively worn change it and tension is also something that shouldnt be ignored.
9: tie rods and ball joint repacement differs from person to person and depends on the road conditions. Though its not hard to tell when they need a change. If your steering develops even the slightest of play or the tak-tak sound on moving it left to right and back left ,get it checked.
10:wheel alignment and balancing should be done evry time you get it serviced or every alternate time if the road conditions in which you drive are exceptionally good and there are no vibrations or pulling toward any side.
Also rotate the tyre ever 5000 kms to prolong their life.
Well you didnt mention tuning of the car, valve gaps(tappet adjustment), timing , other electrical setting of the distributor(that is if your car has one, i really dont remember if the 5 speed 800 does) for carb cars also the air fuel mixture
Also get the injectors cleaned when you notice asignificant drop in milage and performance. i used to get it done at every 40,000 but refer to your manual for the exact interval since i am not sure about this.
Besides the tacho and strut braces, id suggest you stay away from other mods as i have never come accross any mechanic in india who can do these mods the correct way. it will most certainly look like a jugaad. places like autopsyche autopsyche or pandit and company do have the know how to carry out these mods the right way but they wouldnt do it mostly because there isnt much scope for profit compared to the effort these mods will take, so drop the idea.