My pre-owned 2005 Hyundai Sonata V6: Restoration update

The tranmission mount I mentioned earlier was hell to procure. Locally it's impossible to get it, and even in Korea I could only find 1 source willing to sell me just the mount (with a hefty "handling charge" of $20; the part itself is $15!)

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Hello all

Time for another update. Progress has been slow so I thought I'd let some content accrue before penning it down.

• All but 2 suspension bushes have arrived.

The last 2 bushes were supposed to be supplied by Mobis India but they're nowhere to be seen. I'm really frustrated with Mobis' response. Every time I send an e-mail they put pressure on the local rep to solve the issue. Such poor management. What will the poor guy in Rajkot do when the goods are sitting in Chennai/Kolkata/Indore?

• The mechanic asks for more parts:

This is quite frustrating, too. The transmission mount I mentioned earlier was hell to procure. Locally it's impossible to get it, and even in Korea I could only find 1 source willing to sell me just the mount (with a hefty "handling charge" of $20; the part itself is $15!) The engine work has been delayed by an entire month because of this one mount (my mechanic thinks like a German and said he would do the engine and trans oil + filter change, the last engine mount, throttle body cleaning, replacement of the cracked intake hose and air filter, etc only after the trans mount arrives so that it can all be done in 1 shot). It got dispatched from Korea just yesterday and will be here in 2 weeks.

• The wheels are polished at the outer rim and painted.

I got the outer ring polished to a mirror-like finish. The rest of the wheel is painted and the whole thing is covered with a thick clear coat protection. Pics for reference (although the real look will emerge once they're on the completed car and the wheel lug cover is installed):

• I ordered backup spares from the scrap trader in Kerala.

I promise this is the last backup order because I'm just collecting parts without any malfunction on the car currently! Below are the spares I got for ₹20k including shipping:

• AC compressor
• Steering rack
• Power steering pump
• Ignition coil
• Headlights x2
• Taillights x2
• AC condenser
• Radiator

I tried to push down the price but they just wouldn't budge, saying the car has done only 60k km and the spares are in very good condition.

Mysteriously I found 2pcs of the original hood ornament on Boodmo for a paltry ₹1,500 (I paid ₹1,000 to the scrap dealer for a used one) but the Boodmo page says it isn't compatible with my Sonata! Upon checking part numbers with Mobis, I found that the V6 model has a different hood emblem part number which costs ₹4,500+! It's really odd why the I4 versions have a different/cheaper hood ornament. So I ordered 1 of the 2pcs in stock from Boodmo, and the mechanic says it will fit perfectly on the car. Obviously, I ordered the other one as well for backup (these aren't available even in Korea).

Suspension saga

The suspension was opened up on approx the 10th of June and more parts had to be ordered; the suspension travel bushes (called a "bumper" in Hyundai parlance) are worn, all the ball joints need replacing, and what's more, the rear struts/shock absorbers ("jumpers" LoL) are completely shot! I was prepared for this but I was quite irritated at being told this 6 months after getting the car! I found the rear 2 ball joints on Boodmo (Mobis brand) and bought them right away.

There was no way I could wait for Mobis to supply me with the rest of the ball joints, so my mechanic enquired with a few local dealers and procured Korean-made ball joints of "Semyung" brand, specific to the Sonata. Apparently, they're quite good and don't carry the hefty OE markup that comes with Mobis. I asked my Korean sources if they would recommend the brand, and - surprise, surprise - one didn't respond while the other said they'd "never heard of the brand". Of course, they haven't, seeing as they're looking to sell their own wares. I checked high and low for reviews of this brand (their website was last updated in 2014) but couldn't find anything.

The story behind the strut/shock absorber purchase:

This was another adventure in itself. Owing to the rarity of the Sonata, mass-market OEs like Gabriel never made an attempt to cater to these cars. Mobis were again out of the question owing to their impossible timelines (also, the shocks cost ₹5,500 apiece if purchased from them!). Importing from Korea was the last option owing to high costs and import duties (in fact it is because I didn't order the shocks that one of my sources refused to supply me the trans mount above).

So, Monroe, a sub-brand of Tenneco Automotive India, has supplied shock absorbers for the Sonata. The problem is (obviously) the parts have been out of production for a while.

My mechanic enquired with local dealers and, impossibly, found a set each for the front and rear (Monroe part numbers matched with the ones on the website!) I asked him to buy those ASAP and handed him the money that same evening. (Cost was ₹2,650 for the front ones and ₹3,200 for the rear shocks, apiece). He went to actually buy them and found that they were used, reworked struts that had been cut open, gas-filled, and put back together! That's when the actual search began.

I dropped a mail to Monroe India (their website is barely functional and none of the phone numbers worked). Meanwhile, I enquired with 3-4 local dealers for these - no dice. One dealer informed me that he couldn't find them even from Mumbai but he said that he would place an order with the company if I paid full advance, and procure them in 15 days. The wait notwithstanding, I run a factory myself and was wondering how such a behemoth would take fresh production of these struts based on my one order. I just couldn't wrap my head around it and told him I'd call him back...

3-4 days later I got a call from someone at Monroe who informed me (yet again) that the company has no stock of these struts. He simply laughed when I mentioned the dealer who said the company would manufacture these if I paid 100% advance. He said these were imported from the US and never manufactured here in the first place! (I doubt that)

He gave me another number, whom I followed up with to get 3 more numbers of dealers. I followed up with them to get yet another number of a guy who had a full set in stock in Baroda. Eureka! I asked for pictures of the same just to confirm the condition. It took another 2 days to get the pictures. He informed me that one of the front struts was ever so slightly lower on gas compared to the others. He also said that I would get no warranty on them since they were manufactured in 2012!! I decided to take them anyway because I had zero options. These cost me ₹8,700 in total for all 4 at company MRP! The sly fellow charged me ₹150 for delivery to Rajkot and ₹1,300 for gas filling charges.

Ladies and gentlemen feast your eyes on the only shock absorbers for the Sonata in all of Gujarat and one of the last OE Monroe sets in the country:

Worth noting that Monroe has the numbers mixed up for the front and the rear, in the catalogue as well as the label.

Now, actually, there's no indication that any gas has been filled at all! One of the front struts is still ever so slightly weaker than the other while the rear ones are OK. I've raised a dispute with the seller and will push for a refund of the gas filling cost. My mechanic has cleared these for installation on the car saying it's a negligible difference.

Now the suspension build can continue! Barring the last 2 bushes and the spring stoppers/bumpers from Korea, everything else can be put together

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