Ask Xulfiqar - An Automotive Encyclopedia

[Xulfiqar]

i once read a post where you wrote "the mixture seat might be broached" but i didn't understand it, can you explain that

also how to test the powervalve, i have the carb disassembled but i don't have a vacuum tester

broach means hogged out or widened, e.g. when a mechanic screws the mixture screw so tight it deforms the seat and the screw I have seen quite a few of such cases in Pakistan, with that then you need a different screw or a complete throttle.

to test powervalve, apply vaccum to the line, it should be sealed, then test for leakage at the seat - its pretty self explanatory once you see it.

[Xulfiqar]

I have a Suzuki baleno 2005 recently bought and it has issue with its brakes, sometimes it seems that there is no pressure in the brake pedal and it goes right to the floor with minimal braking and sometimes it acts normally and seems that nothing is wrong.
I got the brakes serviced, changed the pads, bled the brakes twice and have gotten the disks tooled as well but no change. Is it brake cylinder or something else and one more thing the brake oil is not leaking, has been checking it for the last week no droplets and no drop in the level of reservoir.
Ur expert opinion is required as the brakes are acting very strangely, get very spongy sometimes and is very difficult to drive in heavy traffic.

If you still have spongy pedal, make sure you bleed the entire brake circuit and make sure you bleed with a bottle and pipe setup that is above the level of the bleed nipple. If your mechanic simply opened it and let it dribble - it wont work.

Another highly possible chance, if your mechanic or you pushed the pedal to the floor while bleeding and the system was very old and had bad and old brake fluid - your piston seals may rip from the rust in the master cylinder edge (rust forms from the water in the brake fluid) - that is why a yearly change is recommended.

[Xulfiqar]

sir just checked-the sound was coming from the strut bar bushings.asked the spare part shop,2000rs for the oem and 650rs for the pakistani bushings.are these pakistani bushings any good??

I would purchase the OEM item, these parts support the load of the car.

[faiz.aslam.121]

Dear Sir/Gurus;

Q- In Manual cars, gear oil is where the gears are right? So, if I use a thinner gear oil, will that cause less power loss and better fuel efficiency? So, what gear oil should I use then, in my Suzuki Swift.

[Xulfiqar]

Dear Sir/Gurus;

Q- In Manual cars, gear oil is where the gears are right? So, if I use a thinner gear oil, will that cause less power loss and better fuel efficiency? So, what gear oil should I use then, in my Suzuki Swift.

your car is already filled with the lightest lube possible in your case as suggested by the manufacturer, 75W90 viscosity, some cars come with ATF filled in their manual gearboxes. But their internals are different.

[faiz.aslam.121]

your car is already filled with the lightest lube possible in your case as suggested by the manufacturer, 75W90 viscosity, some cars come with ATF filled in their manual gearboxes. But their internals are different.

This might sound stupid- Possible to replace the 5th gear with another set of teeth or grooves, to achieve a longer gear ratio?
This just for educational purpose, would never do it

[Xulfiqar]

This might sound stupid- Possible to replace the 5th gear with another set of teeth or grooves, to achieve a longer gear ratio?
This just for educational purpose, would never do it

If your manufacturer provides different ratio in the similar models gearboxes then its possible but then before such you need to take into consideration the harmonics that can be setup if you have a similar sort of reduction ratio along the line and then comes the powerband of the engine, you dont want to own a car that cannot accelerate in top gear - e.g. the chrysler PT cruiser is hopeless in final gear, the spread is completely nutso. first two gears are too short, third is a bit tall and then the final gear drops the rpm down to idle level and the engine does not have enough oomph to apply.

[doubletrouble]

hey guys..
Xulfiqar...brother im in a fix with nissan bluebird sylphy g11 ...its my daily driver car
i use Mobil 1, and change all filter on every oil change ....when i bought this car i took it to INH (Merchanics) in lahore and they sorta tuned it, cleaned plugs, throttle body and some sensor i suppose...and i hoped that it was all perfect ...

Q1 ..These days on A/C at all times, it gives me 8.8, 9km/l though i drive with heavy foot and start/stop situations...when i try to be very carefull..i go upto 10.5 km/L ....any resolution for better mileage?
Q2 ..Got A/C serviced, cooling is all good....but when i drive around 20-30 and the car is supposidely in 2nd gear, now the moment i will accelerate, the car sorta boggles ..and i need to depress accelerator to 70-75% to get it going ..without a/c its seems fine ...any resolution ?
Q3 .. Does the above 2 have anything to do with Cat Converter, if so then how should i go about it
Q4 .. When i took the car for tuning, they only adjusted Idle from computer and that too took them half day to figure out how to do it in sylphy, as whenever they tried to adjust, the machine would revert back to same Idle position. Is there any proper tuning that i should get done? ...If so then what should be included in that?
Q5 .. When the car is loaded, there is some sound from rear left side ..seems like as if silencer is touching somewhere and im not able to go on bumps even at 60 ....or maybe the rear shocks are weak...mechanics say its all fine..but i doubt, there is some problem, since even in Japan people do use them with 4 people onboard, and even the minutest bump would disturb ...something is wrong

Your help would be highly appreciated
Thanks and Regards

[Xulfiqar]

you need to find a better workshop and tackle one job at a time, You as a customer have the right to demand that the car be absolutely perfect when you hand over the monies, e.g. your car is not running good on A/C - get back to the A/C tech and demand a good and repeatable explanation of this problem. (sounds like overcharging)

Your engine cannot be tuned, its ecu is self adjusting and pretty smart too. The throttle body "wazu" is a gimmick to make money only. Not once in my life have I needed to clean any EFI engine throttle plate.

[Gringo1]

Thanks for your input on the matter of brakes but it turned out that brake master cylinder is dead due to corrosion and needs replacement and u were also right regarding ripped piston seals tried replacing it but of no use.
I have another matter on hand, car gives blue smoke in the morning startup for 5 seconds or so and on high revs ur help is required in diagnosing whether it is due to valve seals leakage or rings are also worn out coz mechanics just love to replace all the parts, face heads etc without diagnosing the actual issue causing different kind of problems in it altogether and regarding decrease in oil level just bought the car a week ago and symptoms appeared after a couple of days of purchase probably due to engine oil replacement and haven't noticed any reduction in oil level as only drove 250kms or so.

Car in question is baleno 1.3 model 05, don't know the exact mileage ODO however mentions 95k kms and PCV valve is clean and working good.
update: got a compression test results are 180, 175, 155 and 175 and also tried wet test which came out 200 for all the cylinders now please suggest would valves need to be replaced also or only valve seals and change of rings would do the job.

[syncview]

I have a question regarding head gasket replacement

why do the mechanics here apply a thin layer of engine oil on both sides of the new head gasket?

[Fahad.Ayub]

if I start my car after a day or two some smoke comes out of the exhaust after the start up for about 10 sec. or so
that would a sign of bad valve seals right ? is the head supposed to come off for the replacement ? if the mechanic removes the head should i get a new gasket and head bolts ? the engine is question is a 4AFE with 211k km's
another things i wanted to ask is that my dad accidentally bought a 4SFE gasket set it has valve seals and oil seals can they be used on my cars engine or should i get a different set ?

[vicious77]

Zulfiqar bhai I have recently installed ac in my car.but the problem is that car temperature remains normal on long drive but it heats up in local or car parked with ac on.no mechanic can point out the problem.please guide me if you have any idea regarding this problem

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk

[omarabdullah022]

Zulfiqar bhai I have recently installed ac in my car.but the problem is that car temperature remains normal on long drive but it heats up in local or car parked with ac on.no mechanic can point out the problem.please guide me if you have any idea regarding this problem

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk

What's the highest the temperature needle is reaching?
Thermostat valve installed?
Cooling system condition (rust, leaks, water reducing, etc)

Sent from my GT-I9500 using PW Forums mobile app

[vicious77]

What's the highest the temperature needle is reaching?
Thermostat valve installed?
Cooling system condition (rust, leaks, water reducing, etc)

Sent from my GT-I9500 using PW Forums mobile app

Thermostate valve installed and working.no rust no water reduction no leak.
Needle stays lower than middle all the way in long routes.but in local it keeps going up and once water started boiling in radiator

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk

[doubletrouble]

thanks a lot...il look for a new workshop
though i thought INH would be the best after shahnawaz etc ..on expertise level

[madhouse12]

The SRS light on dashboard is on. how to confirm if the airbag was deployed/missing completely or has an error of some other sort. car is mitsubishi lancer station wagon 2007. it comes with driver and passenger airbags

[Xulfiqar]

The SRS light on dashboard is on. how to confirm if the airbag was deployed/missing completely or has an error of some other sort. car is mitsubishi lancer station wagon 2007. it comes with driver and passenger airbags

scan for the error. You would need a scan tool that can actually interrogate it. Not a generic OBD reader.

[margallar]

would permatex #2 sealant be suitable for applying on an a18a's tappet cover gasket?

[Xulfiqar]

would permatex #2 sealant be suitable for applying on an a18a's tappet cover gasket?

the tappet cover gasket on that engine is rubber which sits in a groove which is in the valve cover, only 4 spots take a sealant, yes you can use the permatex 2 sealant on those 4 spots.