Toyota Landcruiser–10K Kms Update Odometer (155000 Kms)
Its that time of the year now when the summer vacations of the children start and we are planning another holiday or a Driving Vacation as I like to call it. I would be writing another blog post soon on where we will be visiting this time of the year but for now I will post the mechanical maintenance that I’ve performed on the vehicle in the last 10K Kms. The Odometer now reads 155000 Kms and there a lot that I’ve done on the vehicle in this time.
NEW ALLOY WHEEL
I bought another Alloy Rim and now after the disastrous experience of me bursting 2 tyres within 24 hours I always carry 2 spare tyres with myself.
To read about the tyre burst incident click here
The new alloy wheel and testing that on the vehicle. Now this new bling alloy is doing a duty as a spare tyre in the boot.
AT THE TOYOTA FORTUNER BOOT CAMP
I’d visited the Toyota Fortuner Boot Camp organised in Delhi last year and though it was quite easy, there was one obstacle (don’t remember the name now) which was quite a steep slide and then a steep climb. At this obstacle I saw a couple of Fortuners struggling with the accent. Hense being a little over confident, I came down the decent with quite a bit of speed and though I was able to manage the incline with ease, I misjudged the Approach angle and hit my front guard on the ground. With a result that I’d dislodged the front guard, broke the headlamp and the center grille. These were changed later.
At the Toyota Fortuner Boot Camp, Gurgaon
GENERAL CHECKUP AND BRAKE LEATHER CHANGE
In Feb’13 before heading for the Desert Storm ‘13 as a Rally Marshall, I had a small feeling that the brakes of the vehicle weren’t as effective as before and as I’d just changed the front brake pads a couple of thousand kilometers before, I took the vehicle for a complete checkup before I headed out for the rally. Here we discovered that the leather in the rear brake drums had lived their life and it was time to change them. So this was done.
The vehicle for checkup before the Desert Storm Rally
Rear Drums being Changed & the old and new ones side by side
GETTING THE REAR WIPER WORKING
Since the time I’d bought the vehicle, the rear wiper didn’t work. So This time around I got the complete wiring checkup. What was observed was that the wiper levers besides the steering wheel must have been changed the the levers which were henseforth installed didn’t carry have the functions for the rear wiper. I didn’t want to place another switch in the already cluttered dashboard. As a result there were a pair of unused buttons on the dashboard which were for the power antenna. These were the ‘UP’ & DOWN’ button. So I got the power antenna disconnected and the ‘UP’ button now does it duty as the Rear Wiper switch and the ‘DOWN’ as the water washer.
Here we are trying to figure out which wire goes where
NEW AIR-CONDITIONING SYSTEM
The major expense that was done during this 10K Kms was that I changed/ overhauled the complete Air-Conditioning System in my vehicle. The parts that were changed were 1. The Compressor, 2. The Expansion Valve & 3. The Aircon Bottle. While we were at it we also completely cleaned up the Radiator, The Cooling Coil & the Condensor. The coolant was also replaced. While removing the aircon pipes two of the piped broke as they’d been welded before and we cutout the broken portion from the place where it was good and changed that too.
This was the condition the radiator was in. The condensor was even in a worse condition.
The condenser after washing
The Cooling Coil and the old AirCon Compressor
The Radiator being installed back after being washed and cleaned
The new aircon compressor mounted
DRIVER’s SIDE MASTER SWITCH AND STEERING WHEEL COVER
The Drivers side Master Control Switch was also acting up lately, some of the windows would roll down and not up and I was able to unlock the door sitting at he drivers seat but not lock it back up. So while I was searching for parts for the aircon I found this at a shop and bought it instantly.
The Art-Leather on the steering wheel had completely worn off. So I got that replaced with a genuine leather cover.
NORMAL SERVICING
Along with all this the vehicle visited the workshop twice for Normal Servicing at 148020 Kms and then at 154745 Kms
All in all I think that the vehicle is fit for me to take it for another 3-4K Kms journey through the Highways, Lanes and Backlanes of our beautiful country.
Cheers for now.
