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top tip

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Everything posted by top tip

  1. check the AC compressor clutch, may be it does not engage. along with that the electricals related to the clutch, such as fuses and relays. Is it the AC fan that is working or is it the AC blower, electricals such as fuses and clutch relating to it. Also check the AC gas levels to identify any leakages. maybe it was persistently leaking little by little but all of the sudden you realized that the cooling is not enough since you suddenly started driving.
  2. better to use the same speaker which is currently present. why I say this is because when you upgrade to a louder speaker it will cause an imbalance in volumes emitted from each speaker and as a result it would cause some imbalance which would virtually eliminate the stereo capability of the sound system. this can however be balanced to a certain amount by fading and balancing but better stick to the original setup or upgrade in pairs. toyota oem mostly uses pioneer fujitsu even JBL and non branded ones as well. even after market pioneers from thailand aint that bad of a choice though, but do check other posibilities. But after all the fault may not really lie on the speaker itself. check the wiring and the headunit jacks as well.
  3. Hello members, This is to inform that I have started rebuilding a crash damaged Nissan Patrol Y61. I am right now finding it very difficult to source certain mechanical parts situated at the front end such as viscous fan Radiator fan guard coolant reserve tank Turbo hoses Air filter housing Steering stabilizer link If there is any Patrol experts out there please help me by providing details of sources since I am quite new to this vehicle type. Local sources are preferable since it saves time and is hassle free given the current situation.
  4. top tip

    Replace Car Battery

    Just buy Exide, they by offer the best after sales services. Yes I know they are of low quality when compared to other brands, But given there discount scheme: replacing a battery even every two years is still viable because you get a broad discount when you produce the old battery with warranty card.
  5. Well there is some use for me, don't really know how this works so someone please explain. Two of my tyres right now are in bad shape, Needs to replaced very soon . There is a patch that is leaking air and when I inflate that tyre with nitrogen, the tyre seems to hold the air a bit longer. Once That tyre went flat and I had a hard time replacing the tyre given the small parking space I have. So nitrogen works handy for me, Plus given the small price difference between normal air nowadays, i think it is a viable solution until replacement. Btw My jeep is not a daily runner so I inflate the tyres this way. I know it is pointless if the tyres are new and in good condition.
  6. I inflate all the 4 tires of mine for 35 psi, Nitrogen by the way. Even the JDM 150 prado that I drive has got some comfy suspension setup as well. But no damper control as compared to the UK spec which I suppose is equipped with KDSS But My guess is anything in the range of 32-35 is Ok. Btw most roads in SL nowadays are well paved. Only bumps that I go over in colombo are botched road repairs made after drainage/water/ or electrical supply works, pity really. but SUV suspension setups need a good work out as well so don't bother running over them. Is this tire from a 150 prado. It seems to be a bit larger than usual, according to company specification it is 265/65/R17. alignments must be interesting in that one. Or maybe simply the latest facelift has bigger tyres.
  7. Well i don't agree with the fact that old cars are not safe or not in compliance to modern motoring standards. I own a Mercedes Benz that is almost 30 years old and yet it has ABS brakes. I know certain japanese so called "premium"cars that didn't have these features until recently where the japanese regulations enforced certain active safety features be mandatory. Ive been using my car for the past 15 years or so and yet even though being a diesel it never failed an emission test yet. It all comes down to how well you maintain your car and that will intern reflect whether itis road legal or not. proper care and timely maintenance will ensure an extended car life. In western countries such as UK, each year the car has to undergo a rigorous MOT test. This ensures whether or not a car is road legal regardless of its age. SL should implement a similar practice without complaining about the road legality. It is also quite expensive for an SL citizen to replace his old car for a new one. This is a country where a new passenger car is charged with 400% tax so already when these cars hit the SL shores they are inflated and prices are sky rocketed. I can remember back in 1985 a hiace van (LH-71) was bought by my dad for staff transportation which was later used for school services as well cost only 3.60 lakhs. today the equivalent KDH 223 costs 110 lakhs. So how can someone like a school van driver carry out his profession if he has to replace his non road legal vehicle with a new one because I know for a fact that if you inspect school vans the majority of them will have worn tires, brake pads and Imbalanced or malfunctioning brakes and botched reapairs as well. Also there are certain people who repair cars that have been met with accidents that are almost considered condemned. Yet the talented SL bass repairs it to a level that the previous damages are almost invisible. In western countries these vehicles will be simply written off since a knowledgeable person knows that once a cars crumple zone had undergone a certain deformation, it will no longer be able to absorb the same impact. But these cars are extensively repaired here because for a fact that new cars are exuberantly high priced to purchase. So unless there is proper automotive practices and a revival of the economy where cars simply become more affordable, my guess is that things will never change.
  8. So ultimately you are trying to do all this just for the purpose of using it as a city car. Nissan Patrol Y60 - An SUV that weighs 2.5 tonnes, That 4.2L TD-42 is no where near fuel efficient, back in the day i could remember it only did 4-5 KM/L so now with aged fuel pump and injectors with the worn engine is gonna have surprising low fuel figures. My old land cruiser sahara J100 with the 1HD-FTE had better fuel figures than that. And the shear dimensions of it is gonna make driving around and even parking at a modern supermarket really tough since the margins are set for small kei cars- so good luck with that. Please think twice as using it as a city car because it is going to be an utter waste after everything. specially with the evolution taking place in the SL city car segment, this will merely be an elephant in the room.
  9. For that you can straight away swap it with Toyota's 1KZ-TE. it is a complete package when compared to modifying a 5L. 3.0L, Fuel Injected, Turbo-Intercooler. currently in SL market these power some late J70 series box prado, J90 Prado TZ grade, The hiace "Dolphin" Grand cabin - original diesel.
  10. Prefer the old Dodge RAM. It really looked like an aggressive raging Bull. The new Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Yukon look very imposing as well. But then at a time when the car market in SL is importing small Japanese Kei cars due to taxes imposed based on the cc of engines, i would consider this a very bold call. Then again this would be a bank busting purchase. Do keep motivated and bring it along, i would like to see the beast next to kei cars and small sedans. As for LHD, i think you can get it converted to RHD even in SL correct me if i am wrong. I have seen plenty of Hummers in SL together with Cadillac escalades so there must be a way, Perhaps i have seen a video of a Hummer H2 being converted from a LHD to RHD. this though was done in US.
  11. I saw a new Cadillac escalade yesterday, also the older model hybrid and non-hybrid version in there in SL.
  12. Well if you wanna go off brand; 1HZ, 1HD-FTE, 1KD-FTV, 12H from toyota 4M40/4M41- Mitsubishi But i recommend the TD42 at any cost because it wil keep the originality of the vehicle. even the RD28T would be a good option, It looks more powerful than the TD42 on paper. But at the end of the day for a big SUV what matters is the low-end torque which the TD42 has plenty for a simple straight forward engine. I believe the new Y61 has ZD30 as well, It is the nissan's equvalent to the 1KD-FTV from toyota so do check that option as well. Having previously owned a Y60 long time ago, my personal opinion is that the TD42 is a beast of engine, Just loved the bass exhaust note it had. May be under-powered in todays context but mine which was YOM 1993 and me owning it in 1997 felt very lively and powerful. Maybe now these units are old and it has lost horses, thereby making it feel underpowered. These engines were even fitted to the nissan civilian so leave alone the patrol it could power a minibus! So i do recommend a complete and comprehensive overhaul to bring it back to its old glory. Even then if swapping is the only option then check the 1HZ from toyota which i have seen plenty in SL, because it powers the J100/J71 land cruiser and the toyota coaster.
  13. can someone clarify me on the fact that the Peugeot 3008 is assembled in china and imported to SL. in that case the french authenticity would be in jeopardy. And secondly i think that a 5 year old montero is still better than a brand new 5008. Montero is the last series of hardcore off-roaders currently in production, much like the land cruiser J71 (box prado) and J150(prado) and Y61 Nissan patrol. the model has only had cosmetic changes since 1999. It is a sort of pump fuel and drive to the sunset type of vehicle, which is a rare breed these days. you are only bound to regular service replacement parts and some slight niggles but overall a fully mechanical sort of vehicle with least possible electronics. On the other hand when did Peugeot perform well in this country after the famous 504 summit car, and the reputable 406. the 407 was shoddy and the design was ostentatious, if that was not enough the its depreciation will definitely cause depression to the owners. However Peugeot of late has addressed the design issues starting with 508 and the new cars look fascinating inside out, specially the 3008 looking aggressive compared to the muddalali's hideous CH-R. On top of that even once reliable cars like mercedes benz is struggling to cope to this country demographics and climates so what can be expected off from a peugeot is no question. But a brand new model will hold up well atleast for two years but then resale is going to be an issue. And lastly why aren't the agents committed towards the new peugeot suv range.
  14. It is quite ironic that people in SL pay huge taxes for there vehicles (close to 400%) in certain cases and not get to enjoy driving their vehicle. I personally feel uncomfortable with these bullying thug of bus drivers and annoying crazy three wheelers. the discipline of these parties has to be addressed first of all as these are the people who are actively engaged in public transport and public means lives. they have to be utmost careful at the road but it is right opposite here in Sri Lanka. forget about travelling, getting on and off buses are basically a leap of life that one has to venture in their daily commute. and look at the amount of fatal accidents of recent times that was caused by these sadistic bus drivers. innocent lives were lost. they are actively engaged in bus races in order for them to see the fruits and leave other buses with nothing. the relevant authorities should implement systems where the earning are shared among buses if this menace continues as there is lack of respect for human lives coming from the bus drivers. Also what is comical is the fact that the person who drives a car and travels in a bus takes the same travel time if you neglect walking and transit times. now the car owners paid taxes when they bought there cars so if they can charge taxes they should equally know how to facilitate cars and should make necessary infrastructure developments to ensure a smooth flow of traffic but sadly this does not happen in this god forsaken country. instead this money is utilized for unproductive projects or to pay this countries never ending debt. Another under rated factor which i think is causing traffic in this country is that people with lack of necessary skills present, physically incapable and no common sense or knowledge are authorized driver's license. If a personal is not capable of formally obtaining a driver's license they would then resort to bribing the authorities who are greedily waiting. this is such a under rated fact that no one bothered to focus on. couch potatoes who remain stationary when the light turns green, posh ladies with lavish shades stalling the engine in there prestigious kei cars and senior citizens who cannot see beyond the bonnet are allowed to drive in this country. if someone travels to the a gulf country and apply for driver's license there it would be clear of what an ardent task the trials to obtain license there are. The local authorities should implement a higher standard in the issuing process of a drivers license but then no point of setting higher standards if the bribery is not eliminated. these along with other things are what should be focused if this country has to ensure a better flow of traffic.
  15. Well finding a decent F10 that has been well cared of is a difficult find. few months ago even i was after one but got tired with the way how our locals have treated them. If you want a good specimen then despite the age you will have to be willing to pay a premium for a well maintained one with low miles, mind you these are hard finds, also these cars are close to eight years old. then comes the matter of resale value because even if you buy a proper car with a service history, selling it is going to be a burden as you would have paid a higher than market price in the first place so with the age and mileage you will have to sell it at a considerable loss when compared to a market price car that was available during the time of purchase but then these specimens will be thoroughly abused though. Another thing that i found was either these cars are driven by drivers working for their bosses or buy the owners son. both these parties abuse the car ones the owner is not there, i inspected quite a few and they had strange rattling noises which is not common to a common rail engine. Built quality wise i found the W212 E-class to be more solid, F10 when parked in the sri lankan hot sun will have sticky door handle plastics and the window tints peeling off and problems with the rubber beading being out of shape. one thing we have to understand in the first place is these cars are much suited to the european conditions than srilankan. in fact i have inspected close to ten cars and found the sad state they were in. they were owned by people who should not have even touched euro vehicles. I think it is advisable to look for a euro that is less than five years old, or buy a mid-size Japanese sedan and drive to the sunset. because ive heard that maintaining a BMW is much costlier than a Merc.
  16. yes there are quite a lot of bmw 520d (F10)'s out there but then finding one which has been used with proper care and maintenance is quite difficult. i myself has been head-hunting for one for the past four months and it turned out to be quite a difficult task. First the pricing of these doesn't make much sense as I've seen ones that where made in 2012 with around 60k mileage asking as low as 7.2 mln where as a 2013 which has three additional options such as power curtain, retractable mirror and so on, with similar mileage ask for more than 9.0 mln. ( just for 1 year difference in YoM and 3 options the difference is more that 2 Mln which is ridiculous actually) So yes the cars that are more than 5 years old would probably be sold on and would be with the third or fourth owner. So the company maintenance claim is in jeopardy. Also there are ones which are up for sale in car sales which i recommend is best avoided as these car sale scoundrels buy them from auctions in which the previous owner couldn't pay his lease so you can imagine the state of the car and do a detailing job to get the car to a gleaming condition while hiding all the underlying problems and ask for a slightly lower market price. I have my own personal experience in which 2015 bmw 520d i inspected at one of the auctions which was badly maintained with ribs appearing from the tyres which was subsequently bought and later found it on sale with tyres changed and detailing done. this was also sold close to near market value, so i feel sorry for the poor soul who bought this. Car sales are such a mafia, so try to buy one which is single owner and maintained by agents. Also keep in mind that these are cars that you cannot expect a return of investment like the srilankan people's cars such as axio, allion, premios and so on. Also i would need some expert clarification here, could the mileage be adjusted? as ive seen some cars with low miles but worn interiors and owners saying that they do not service the vehicle through the agents due to exuberant prices and popular myths plus they say that previous emission reports are missing as well so it is a blunder to buy a car like that because keep in mind that this is not a toyota which could be transformed with some basic TLC, repairing these kinds of abused bmws are going to be wallet busting. another matter is that since these are bmws the owner or specially their sons seem to give the car a run for the money so some cars that we are looking at may be given some harsh abuse. so overall yes there are quite a few cars out there currently but finding a proper one is a headache and mind you this is not a walk in the park decision.
  17. Dear members, I've been looking to upgrade my car and I have been head hunting through sites such as ######.lk, Autolanka, riyasewana, ###. But apart from these I have also found that certain chaps buy cars at a bargain price from auctions and tender notices, although they come setbacks. But I am not talking about the UN, police or army auctions where vehicles are driven there living lights out, but auctions where leasing firms advertise there ceased vehicles. Now is there a particular newspaper brand apart from hitad where these advertisements are published, also are there any specific websites? Please educate me as I have learned that you can save quite some money off your purchase but I am aware that bidding against the car sale mafia ain't gonna be easy and also cars can be a mine-field if you don't know what to look for as they could have underlying problems due to the fact that an owner who couldn't pay the lease properly would not have treated the car well. But please do educate me on this. BTW how about the harbour auction, you can get a vehicle with a very low mileage. Thank you.
  18. 1) the newly renovated and widened road to gampola from mavanella via hemmathagama is very convenient, if you push hard you can reach gampola from mavanella town within 30 mins. It saves close to 1:30 to 2:00 hour journey time when compared to the jam packed peradeniya route where traffic is snail paced from pilamatalawa onwards. Should not forget the rugged kadugannawa incline as well where struck behind a big lorry or a bus could mean a burden specially while playing cat and mouse with the cops on that sector. 2)Avissawella-ginigaththena-hatton-talawakele-Radella-nanu oya-nuwara Eliya is the drivers paradise, you could basically enjoy driving and unleash your cars for a run for the money in the twisty hill climb, why I like this road soo much is that it does not have single or double lines much so the cops have there work cut out and also the road is visible for a far distance so you could watch out for traffic before hand. Only drawback is that the road condition from karawanella to ginigaththena isn't the smoothest and requires some repairs but omg thinking of this road makes me overjoyed about driving. 3)yes there is route nawalapitiya-hapugastalawa (bad section)- kumbalalowa-thawalanthenna-ramboda-nuwaraeliya. A route to take if you are the kind of person who wants to escape into a calm environment where normal paved road isn't a bother and you want to enjoy a picturesque passing by scenery, specially with the kotmale reservoir in the vicinity where all the buzz and cops are non existent then this isn't a bad road, for a change I would actually recommend this. Specially given the season careful planning is crucial because where there is traffic there will be cops as well .
  19. top tip

    Engine Braking

    Engine braking is mainly used when travelling downhill, in sri lanka the ideal situation would be driving down from nuwara eliya or places like haputale-beragala. The main purpose of engine braking is to prevent your brakes from overheating because after a certain temperature brake pads starts to slip from the disc as well as the brake fluids start to overheat and components like washers get damaged. Also you can reduce excessive wear and tear of brake discs. With engine braking you could perform a much controlled drive downhill because together with some slight braking (blend braking) it does least harm to the vehicle but remember to keep the revs under around 3000. You could take advantage of the build of speed rather than letting the vehicle coast in neutral in order to do a controlled decent. This time would be ideal to make your A/C work at the maximum level because the engine is being mechanically revved without any throttle inputs. According to my experiences engine braking is most effective in a manual gear vehicle compared to automatic due to the clutch. The speed is directly fed to the engine without any losses in speed. Whereas automatic felt a bit light revving and had a coasting feel, this may be due to high gear ratios found in a four speed automatic. But on a traffic scenario I don't understand because anyway you have to exceed a certain speed on a given gear to induce a braking effect once you let go of the accelerator. Plus engine braking ain't effective for sudden braking, in simple it is something used to maintain speed.
  20. Maintaining black colour vehicles is like bathing in mud, it is very hard to keep the dust away and the dust here is very contrasting to the black paint as well. The moment you wash and start wiping the body you realise that your circular motion in wiping has left minor swirl marks. Best option is to get it covered after a wash and wax, but then again it collects dust from roads as well because you are driving at a snail pace in Colombo. Black is a best avoided color although it looks gleaming in a vehicle that has a lot of chrome.
  21. Can someone help me out with identifying these strange number plates and how have they have been issued. FW-XXXX FP-XXXX FZ-XXXX EA-XXXX/EC-XXXX Also some rare old numbers like 28- 40- 69- 98/99-
  22. I've been planning to buy a German saloon car. I have narrowed down the spectrum to the BMW F10 (520D as it is commonly called) and the rival Mercedes Benz W212 E-class from the same time. I want to know the running costs of each model, and in case of failure a good place to repair a BMW as I already own a Mercedes I basically can get it done from the places I know. Also need to know the good and bad from each model and also fuel efficiency. As I know even the petrol version of the Mercedes W212 has a decent mileage but need expert knowledge on BMW 520Diesel.
  23. This is a partial statement first of all. What's your preferred type of fuel. If you are opting for petrol versions and concerned about fuel economy then stay away from both patrol and pajero as they are pretty thirsty. The Prado with either 3RZ or 2TR returns a decent mileage. Also the brand new imported versions of the pajero had the 6G72(3.0L) would be more economical by some distance compared to the JDM version which had 6G75 (3.8L) both V6. Not sure what engine you would get on the petrol Patrol version. If you are looking for a hardcore offroader and car like road handling then do go for the Patrol. Remember owing a Y60 with TD-42, It was a brute to say the least. I think the low body height reduced it's body roll. The pajero has quite some short comings as mentioned above but the diesel version with the 4M41 wouldn't be a bad option. On my personal opinion the Prado 120 styling gives the impression of a MPV. the version with the spare wheel placed under neath the vehicle really looks like one. It really does not tempt you to be driven hard and it feels like a vehicle for the morning school run. My choice would be to by a diesel Patrol with ZD30 although I am not sure how well it will hold up. If your looking for a reliable engine the do buy a patrol that has TD42 as it is a proven engine.but you will have to dig deep to find a sought after one.
  24. I think as far as the smart key goes, it could be reprogrammed and sold for a hefty price, that could be a reason why you didn't get it. But the car having so called being called "brand new" by the car sale, you should have demanded for both the keys as a new programmed smart key could set back around 25k AFAIK. And how about the audio system, did it come with one or does it have a 2 din hole. Such a pity really.
  25. Dear members please hold on before making this post an all out dispute. I owe a 1993 Mercedes Benz w124 which has got a 2.5L straight 5 engine mated to a 5 speed manual transmission which is rear wheel drive and has got hydraulic power steering, a 5-link rear suspension and strut type Front suspension with anti roll bar. So I know first hand what driving pleasure is as I've been owning it for the past ten years. It's just an over engineered car when compared to Japanese econobox that has some immature lighting on it. But sadly gone are the days where car manufacturers built cars that are really a pleasure to own. That goes to Mercedes benz as well. They were first in the industry to make many features a standard across the line. Of course having a reverse camera only spoils a good driver but they should have had it standard or some other kind of assistance like distronic or parktronic because what I feel is ironically the owner had to pay a high price tag for basic features.
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