Crosswind

Read this funny old thread. It has some tips on cleaning windshields http://forum.autolanka.com/topic/7729-windscreen-repairs/

0. Lower odometer reading doesn't mean the mileage is low. It may be tampered with. Especially recondition cars imported from Singapore were mostly used as Rent-a-cars in that country. So it's not unusual for a car to do about 100k in one or two years. 1&2. My guess is you got rust or moisture in a fuel rail or in the petrol tank or somewhere due to bad fuel. When your car is parked, little bit of rust or moisture forms overnight and when you start the car, all of it goes with the petrol to the engine. That makes the engine act weird and stall. Once clean petrol starts coming in, the engine works fine All this is with the assumption that your mechanics have done the standard things like cleaning injectors, checking for compression etc. 3&4. Nothing to worry about. Either one of your spark plugs/plug wire or the ignition coil is bust. Could be unrelated to issue 1 and 2, because it just happened yesterday.This will make the check engine light come up. This is my diagnosis based on very limited knowledge. Do wait for others to respond.

I can tell u outright, that spare parts are not a problem for unos. milano and nelum motors stock those. nelum fella has some body parts too.

Probably a donation from some foreign government or organization. As iRage said, Colombo Fire Brigade had some Land Cruiser Ambulances in the past (in the 80s) SO there's no need to attribute this to the so-called economic development of the country

Trajet never came with original diesel right? So it has to be one with a plugged in diesel engine (most likely a 3C-T). Does it have enough power to carry 7 people?

No

Dear C-Class Garandiya, words like 'economics' may be quite alien to you, because u didn't step in to a school even during rain. Just because u don't know these words, doesn't mean they don't exist in the planet. Unfortunately only a people with at least an ounce of brain can understand the obvious

Robin Hood robbed from the rich and gave to the poor. The permit scheme is just the Sri Lankan government's way of robbing from the poor and giving to the rich. In other words, govt employees can get a permit to import a vehicle at a subsidized tax. They are also allowed to sell these permits. So these tax-subsidy permits end up in the hand of the ones who can afford Bimmers, Mercs et. al.. This cross-subsidy is done by increasing the import taxes on three wheelers, motor cycles, 800CC cars etc.

Oldest model (1994-95) Sportage will be close to about 1.6 or so. Santafe on the other hand, will be north of 2 million. This one http://www.autolanka.com/ad.asp?ID=96758 for example, looks to be in good nick. If you can nab it for a good price and plug in a Mazda R2 engine, it might be worth it.

Oh wow... wow double wow... I want one of these! BTW @Supra, do u know any details about this one? Is it the V8 version? Being an American, my guess is its got an auto tranny too. Any idea?

sounds like a space issue rather than a ground clearance issue. he says he finds it difficult to get in and out. if you can get a diesel converted old sportage or a santafe, u might solve many of your problems. however, at that budget, u will never be able to get a vehicle to solve all your problems.

yes. its available on permit. now we are going to see a series of threads about the fuel economy and resale value of the evoque.

Don't you feel that you were just very lucky here? That surely doesn't mean ALL old Toyotas in the country are like yours... Do read the old thread about how Harshan ran his 504 for a whole damn year without even servicing it It's just luck. You can't generalize it. For example I was personally aware of a 1984 Corona, which was used for just one or two months a year since the day it was bought, because the owners were overseas. Last year it was sold and it was looking brand new even to that date. IF you can nab one like that, its just your good luck.

Don't buy a Mini. It's not the car for you, if your budget is 400k. And definitely don't buy them from roadside car sales in Kandy road. I would actually suggest a Ford Laser. They are proven to be good machines. Daewoo Racer is also a car worth considering. My other choices are: Daihatsu Charmant (it's basically a Toyota Corolla with a different body) Peugeot 504 Hyundai Stellar (basically a Mitsubishi Galant underneath) Hyundai Pony/Excel (Lancer inside) If you look hard, you might be able to find a B11 Nissan Sunny (12-Sri) one within 4 lakhs. That would a really good deal for you.

Seriously dude... an engine tune up doesn't involve listening to the engine beats and adjusting its musical notes. So I kind of fail to understand how a 'Car Audio' shop can handle engine tune ups (unless they did the way they would normally tune a guitar). So my friend, you should be shot... and if you survive, you should be shot again... Start the car, shift to D and keep pressing the brake pedal. Now shift to neutral. if you notice a big vibration when your car when its on D and if the vibration stopped when you shifted to N, then your mounts are shot. Plugs/plug wires have nothing to do in that case, so leave them as they are. Changing mounts is not a very difficult job for a Swift. Take it to the garage in Nedimala junction, close to the Bodhi tree. Ask for Pushpakumara. He should be able to handle this.

Thanks for the correction Supra/Saturn/Rumesh.. Need to look for the VET then!

1. VIC is no longer issued 2. License and Insurance only. (this is one question that always comes up in the D/L exam) 3. Not necessary 4. No need to keep them in the car. Only necessary for transfers.

Step 5 – Running Scanmaster-ELM Click on Connect at the bottom left corner Once it connects, you should see the following window. If all goes well, you should see ECU CONNECTED message on the window. Step 6 – Browsing Through Available Tests As usual, I will only demonstrate the available tests in this post and will not provide any interpretations or details on how to run these tests. Screenshots below show the SOME of the available tests: Compared to Scanator, Scanmaster-ELM is more comprehensive in terms of features. Simply because it runs on a computer which has a higher processing power and data storage ability compared to a mobile phone. So, for more advanced features, it will be more useful to the Auto enthusiast. The Usual Disclaimer: The content herein should be followed at user’s discretion and should not be regarded as expert advice. Subsequently if there is any harm caused to any of your possessions, including but not limited to your car, pet dog or girlfriend, neither Autolanka.com nor the author can be held responsible. Web reproductions are allowed (provided Autolanka.com has no objections), but the source “Crosswind @ Autolanka.com” needs to be acknowledged.

Right click on the (now green) question mark icon and click on Status. You should see the COM PORT here: As you can see, my computer has identified it as COM23 Now open the Scanmaster-ELM software. This is what you should see. Click on options On the Options window, do the following: For Interface type, select RS-232 or Virtual COM Port Driver On the port setting, click on Manually Set On the port setting, select the COM Port which you identified from Bluesoleil earlier. Like I said, it’s COM23 for me. Select Check 9600bps on connect (It should be ticked because this device works on 9600bps) This is what I got: Important Note: Scanmaster ELM also has the option of configuring these automatically. For that, you need to select Bluetooth as the Interface Type and just click OK, leaving everything as it is. But in my case this didn’t work, due to reasons beyond my comprehension. Instead I have followed these longer but foolproof steps to make it work. Configuration of Bluetooth is now complete. To be continued...

Step 4 – Installing and Configuring Bluetooth Note: If your laptop/desktop already has inbuilt Bluetooth in it, please pair the device the way you would usually do. Just install Bluesoleil the way you would normally install any software. Double-click on the setup and keep clicking Next until your computer catches fire. You will need to restart the machine. Make sure your dongle is plugged in to the USB port, the scanner is plugged in to the car and the engine is running. Run the software and click on the orange globe at its center to start searching for devices. This is not a very talkative software, so you will need to keep an eye on the messages at the bottom of its window. If the search is successful, you should see something like this on the window. A big question mark with OBDII at its bottom (BlueSoleil can’t figure out what it is), and a ‘Device Name Search Finished” message. You may see other devices like phones, headsets depending on what’s around you. Right Click on the question mark icon and click on Pair (Because I have already paired the device, what I see now is Unpair. You should see Pair on it) It should ask for a password – the usual one – 1234 Right Click on the question mark icon again and click on Connect> Serial Port Service Then the question mark icon should turn green What this device does is to create a virtual communication path between the Bluetooth dongle and the scanner. At this point, windows will assign an identifier for this path (known as a COM PORT). This is to avoid interfering with other data that is being communicated. We need to manually find out what this communications port is, and then configure it in Scanmaster ELM. To be continued...

Episode 2 – Scanning a car using a Bluetooth scanner and a PC (using Scanmaster ELM Software) For the ones who do not possess an Android Device, one way of scanning a vehicle with the Bluetooth scanner, is to use a PC/laptop based software. There are many such tools available on the Internet, both paid and free. Scanmaster ELM is a tool developed by a German software company, which is comprehensive in providing real-time data. The only disadvantage I see is the cost of the software (which is about $75). Intended Audience for this DIY: Noobs What you need: A Bluetooth-supported OBD scanner (read the earlier post on how to get one) OR an OBD scanner with a USB port A laptop computer (preferably) running Windows XP (preferably). You can also use a desktop computer placed in close proximity to the car (within Bluetooth range). I use a laptop with Windows 7 in it. A car that supports your device (that means it should support OBD-II and ELM both) Scanmaster ELM Software (download instructions given below) IVT Bluesoleil Software (download instructions given on Step 2 below) – not required if your laptop/desktop has Bluetooth already Note: At the moment I do not possess a USB OBD Scanner. Some steps (steps 1, 2 and 4) below will not be required, if you are possessing a USB OBD scanner. Total Damage: If you already have a laptop or a desktop computer, all you need is the device (Rs. 2500-3500) and the software, which *usually* costs $75 Please read steps 1-4 of post #1 (here) DIY above to get the scanner. This post assumes you already own a scanner. Step 1 – Getting a Bluetooth Device Note: If your laptop/desktop already has Bluetooth in it, please ignore this step First step is to get a tiny little USB Bluetooth device (if your computer already doesn’t have Bluetooth). You can get one off eBay, unity plaza or anyone who sells them locally. It shouldn’t cost you more than 200 rupees. Step 2 – Getting the Bluetooth Software Note: If your laptop/desktop already has Bluetooth in it, please ignore this step The software that I will be using is IVT Bluesoleil More often than not, your USB Bluetooth Dongle will not come with the software necessary for Bluetooth. If you already have it, then you just need to install the software in your computer. If you haven’t taken my advice earlier and thrown away the CD that came with your scanner, you can find the Bluetooth software in it. In any case, you can download the latest update of IVT Bluesoleil from here: http://www.bluesoleil.com/index.aspx Trial version is sufficient Step 3 – Downloading and Installing Scanmaster-ELM You can download the software from any of the links below. Remember that this is a paid software so you will need to find a way to make it work (preferably by purchasing it ) http://www.wgsoft.de/en/shop/obd-2-software/scanmaster-elm-for-elm327.html http://www.wgsoft.de/en/download/cat_view/42-obd-iieobd-software.html http://skodafabiaclub.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=26203&sid=1aba3fb0ec66810b2a421a9b1c385dd8 http://www.google.lk/search?q=download+scanmaster-elm Multiple links are posted because they are external links which may change any time. Installing the software is as simple as clicking Next till it completes. To be continued...

What do u mean by mileage limit? The mileage at which the car disintegrates in to dust? There's nothing like that. The car is capable of handling large mileages. It's got a timing chain so u don't even have to worry about changing T-belts. If it has done 200k, just check if there are any oil leaks or compression issues. Peek under the rear. If you see a big ball between the two rear wheels (differential), its 4WD. If not, it's not. That's the best way to identify a 4WD Swift/Cruze.