Monkey King Stu

Thanks for the free lesson 😅 The confusion was largely because of the incorrect understanding that the strut was partly held in place by the support piece, which is why I expected it to be flush with the body of the vehicle... The other reason is that nobody actually seem to know the correct terminology for all these parts; not the mechanics, sellers, google... And I seriously think that using the correct official Toyota designated terminology rather than what the locals are used to, will probably do more harm than good... like "socket sober" 😅

Did you ever figure this out? I don't see a reply here... I'm facing the same issue, replaced original with KYB, don't remember how it used to be, but now there a gap; mechanic says it's normal and only meant to touch when the shocks are in use and moving up/down 🤷‍♂️ *Update: some quick googling (tried before but didn't get the part names right so no luck) seems to indicate the gap is normal (even on a new top/strut mount) and gets bigger as the rubber wears out. One user mentioned an acceptable gap of 1/4" or 3/8" gap. **Update: further reading seems to indicate that it's purpose is to prevent the strut from falling out when you jack up the car; makes sense... Any feedback is appreciated.

I can confirm that it's totally legit for anybody who believes in wanda pethi! Have a blast! 👍

You can find more details in my other thread: Engine head service + Gasket Overhaul kit + labor was over 50k. I'm not sure if that constitutes a full engine overhaul...

To the best of my knowledge, a bad CV joint doesn't necessarily have to be changed urgently, depending on the condition. I first noticed the 'kata kata' sounds ? as well when taking a right u-turn (I turn steering all the way to make the turn in one go), maybe about 5 'katas' in a turn. Upon inspection we found a ruptured CV boot on left side, I was adviced that replacing the boot would help prevent it getting worse, so i went with that for now since i could manage my aggressive turns. Later, during a more thorough service we noticed damage on the steering rack and had that repaired. Since then I've hardly noticed the sound anymore. You can find videos on Google so you can ID the sound of really bad CV Joints, it's a LOT of 'katas' ?, and even on small turns. If the sound is from CV joint then don't worry about it, you will definitely KNOW when to change it as the noise starts to get annoying, check out Google for reference.

Agree ? Standard just less than 50k, entire set for cash is 41k

Just called KYB and this is NOT true! I have no idea where you got your information from, but it's wrong... A single front shock (strut) for my car is around 16k and single rear is around 9k, so total 50k, while i paid 53k at the garage. I don't mind the small difference because if there are any issues, then the garage will have to take responsibility, whereas if i bought it then I'd have to handle it myself. At the same time i'd like to mention that Taas offered me a cash price of 41k for the set... now that's huge... but it was my fault for not checking up on the prices when i was given the estimate... But i still did call up the owner about it because i proceeded with good faith and felt it was unfair. I wasn't being aggressive, just wanted to give him a chance to explain. And he did; he said that they don't buy directly from Taas, but go through a dealer and was not privy to any offers from Taas. He said that interacting with most agents such as Taas, in the instance of warranty claim and such is marred by long waiting times and lots of red tape, so it's more convenient to go through dealer, plus their profit margin. I actually agree with what he's saying, it was really my fault for not calling up Taas earlier anyway. In hindsight i find it difficult to imagine what decision i would have made at that time had i know about the Taas offer... So overall, it doesn't appear that i got fleeced... but i guess that's subjective... I tend to be on the optimistic side so I'm gonna go with paying premium for the service! No regrets! specially now that's it's all paid for... ?

?

Well it was driven in Japan for 42k for at most 3 years (It's a Nov/2007 model) before i got it, so maybe the damage was already done there? ? But i doubt it cause when i got the car, it was perfectly fine until vibration started 6mnths later. Didn't bother to check fuel efficiency at that time either, but i fell the car was initially in good condition. I'm not really a harsh driver... but I suspect one of more of the following: Shocks worn early because of not slowing down enough on bumps, potholes, etc. Mounts either normal wear/tear or worn early because of local road conditions coupled with above... Engine troubles because of late oil and filter change intervals Engine troubles because of vibration + all of the above... Bad lemon luck? ? Maybe i really didn't need any engine work done, but it was really frustrating that i'm getting such bad fuel efficiency when that was really the whole point of getting a 3cylinder 1000cc car! and i just had to get to the bottom of it... It's gonna suck if it turns out to be the same after the engine work... i don't want to get ahead of myself with the readings until after i've done like 200kms. Well we selected the car online while on auction in Japan, so we already knew all the details.

I'm the first owner locally, so i don't believe it's been tampered with.

I did try to shop around, my FIL has a spare parts shop over in Polonnaruwa, but when he called around people in Colombo nobody had stocks. So i figured might as well let the garage source the oem parts from TL. Only the KYB shocks happen to be aftermarket.

Main reason i went for the engine overhaul was because the car was under-performing and i was getting only 7+km/ltr, which gradually declined from 8+, and i'd already done a fuel filter replacement earlier as well. I didn't want it getting worse and figured might as well try it as i was already committed to fixing up the car. Also the initial estimate was for gasket overhaul which was estimated at 52k with labour, it burgeoned to 140k because of parts and labour on engine body work later on. I couldn't tell them NOT to replace piston rings which were worn (they appeared to be worn into the grooves) and bearings which had visible markings, i had to take their word for it since i had no clue about these things. Sludge cleaning cost 14k which seemed rather excessive but again i had no clue as to what kind of effort really went into it. I did try to bargain with no luck... ? I figured i'm probably never gonna open up the engine again, so might as well get whatever needs done. How did TL comment on condition of your engine without opening it up?

?This! This is the assurance i was looking for! Thank you! ? Good to confirm about their high agent level prices! And yes Sajaad is definitely a knowledgeable guy, being a racer and all, I really appreciate his hands on approach, never shy's away from a question, takes the time to listen and answer, very rare in SL, can't say the same for some of his underlings which he himself acknowledged... ? I actually thought he wouldn't pay much attention to me or my car, since i wasn't a racer but i really surprised by the treatment i got! ? I also do believe that his techs probably know more than agent techs because of their workload and cars that come through, and also from personal experience with TL ? So far the prices i've checked up on match up with the agent so i guess like you say, i shouldn't worry about it. As soon as the KYB shock prices come in, i should be able to find the closure i want. ?

Maybe my lack of knowledge and the delayed oil change with ignored vibration did the damage, either way I guess i'm making lemonade then... ? Car was selected at Japanese auction so mileage genuine i guess. I'll reply about KYB as soon i get the prices from them. Mount prices have been confirmed from TL to be around the same, so we are clear on that i believe.

Merge away if you are a moderator, i have no problem ?. I put that in Toyota thread because it was more car specific, and this is about the garage prices, but if you feel they should be together i have no problem. Thanks for the advice, i agree completely about finding a reputed (reliable) garage, that's the whole point of this thread. I feel this is a good place, owner is a nice guy. I've realized they are expensive and i'm gonna have to make a choice, i just want the assurance that they aren't overcharging me for parts i could easily source cheaper outside (including transport costs), or overcharging me for labour just because i don't know any better... I just don't want to be taken advantaged of... I don't mind paying a little extra to the garage for parts because they would have to bear complete responsibility for any consequences.

?This makes a whole lot of sense!

I don't know how i would use this to calculate labour if the garage uses fixed rates or unless they supply me with detailed records...

They charged me: 34k KYB front shock pair +6k labour 20k KYB rear shock pair +4k labour 58.5k mounts (L/H+R/H) & engine moving control +5.5k labour 28.5k EPS rack repair + 5.5k labour (repairs are subjective so i don't see how we could judge on this...) I checked mount prices at TL who quoted 56k; cost 58.5k at garage. I even checked the gasket overhaul kit which cost 24k at garage while TL quoted 25k, so minor differences both ways; i don't see any evidence of any rip-off so far... But i don't how much TL would have charged for labour so i have no idea in that department... The only major expenses i can't compare is the labour, and i have yet to confirm the KYB shock prices, otherwise it looks okay to me, though i had hoped they would pass on any dealer discounts to me on the parts... I think there is some misunderstanding about the cost... 350k was for all the work, not just engine and shocks, although they made up the bulk of it...

89k total, did 47k in 9 years after i bought it. 350k was not just for the engine work, engine work cost around 140k. It included: *I believe the engine body repair was probably installing the piston rings, bearings, maybe honing cylinders... They offered me an alternative used engine option for 110k (including labour) but only if the condition of my engine was bad or the sludge situation was unmanageable. After opening up we decided to go ahead with overhaul and i consented because i have no idea what condition the used engine would be in and i'd have to open it up as well to verify and my base cost itself would start at 90k! so i figured the overhaul was the better option. I have no idea what a new engine would have cost, if that's what you are getting at.

I think maybe that's what i did wrong, late on the engine mount change, who knows what kinda damage the vibration had done over the years... same with the shocks i guess because i could clearly tell when i started noticing the shocks were gone... Well i guess there's no better way to learn... ?

err... topping up water what now? where am i supposed to do that? Are you talking about coolant? Anyway i think the problem is mainly that these 3 cylinder 1000cc cars are way underpowered for the workload, because i notice such a huge difference in performance/pulling power when a/c is off. Heck i even tried running around Colombo with a/c off and shutters down, but it just took a few days for the upholstery in the car to start turning black from the fumes! The other mistake i seem to have done is that i drive immediately on a cold start in the mornings... never had the patience to wait even 30s... ? But probably worst of all i took too long to change the oil... Been using Toyota 10w30 synthetic, but i drive on average less than 5000kms a year, which is around when i change the oil... from what i've been told, i should have changed every 6mnths regardless of how much i had driven... I didn't think i needed engine work either, but it was definitely underperforming and i was only getting 7+km/ltr (already tried changing fuel filter) which i is why i decided to go ahead with just a service on the head. But after opening up, the piston rings were worn (maybe reasons for performance drop?) and bearings seemed to be worn/scratched at some places and some sludge buildup so ended up with some work on engine body as well. As for the suspension, i'm pretty sure they were shot, cause i know how smooth the ride was before, now i can feel the stiffness when going over bumps. I think maybe i took the shocks for granted before and didn't slow down much on bumps since they were working so well... ? So maybe i abused them too much? I don't know how bad they were, i was told they needed to be replaced, but i felt that when i accidentally went over those narrow low triple bumps as if it was damaging the car because i could feel and hear the clanks. Being a layman i'm at the absolute mercy of the garage recommendations...

It was a 28k repair on the steering rack, there was some play and they initially thought maybe just the rack end. But i see what you're getting at... I've edited my post and removed any subjective repairs and adjusted the price accordingly, thanks for the heads up!

I recently did some work on my Toyota Vitz 2007 KSP90 3 cyl. 1000cc. My only experience so far has been with the local makabaas... so i'm new to these type of garages and their prices... I went in with a budget of 150k and came out spending over 350k... The owner Sajaad Zuhair (a racer) is a great guy and i trust him but I just ended up spending so much more than i had hoped that i'm reaching out for some assurance that these prices are justified and that i didn't get fleeced... (i don't believe i did). I checked prices with Toyota Lanka and it seems some are more and some are less, although i had hoped that prices at the garage would be less because i expected them to pass on the discounts to me since they were earning from the hefty labour charges... Could some please let me know if this is like the market rate for these type of places? I'll post just the totals for parts and labour below: 170k for listed parts (all original Toyota except for the shocks) 58k for listed labour, cleaning, and servicing There's more but i just mentioned the main ones. I didn't feel it appropriate to mention prices individually... I just want to know if these numbers look about right. I was told that i was actually charged much less for the engine overhaul than normal. Chould/Should i have bargained? I did try... ? I'm happy i got it done, it's just that i'm not used to spending that much money... i just feel guilty not knowing and it would be so assuring to know it was money well spent, if not then at least i'll know better to have asked here first next time... ? Hope i haven't violated any forum rules! *UPDATE* From research and responses so far it appears to me that this garage charges a premium (profits) for parts sourced from agents or dealers which on average come out to be slightly higher than getting it ourselves. But i believe that we are paying a premium for services rendered which include timeliness, reliability, and responsibility. So as long as one goes in knowing the facts beforehand then it's just a matter of making the choice. I hope this thread has been of use to others as much as it has for me. Thanks to this forum and all users. ? *I haven't been able to get any comparative data for labour so I'll have to settle for what I've got so far

Just wanted to share my experience with vibration on my Vitz 2007, which seems to be very common with most 1000cc models. Got the car in 2010 directly from Japan with 42k odo reading. It's pretty much the only car i've driven except a Honda Fit, and BMW hatchback, and it's hands down the most easiest one to drive! Was really happy with it until the vibration started around 6 months on and i was only getting around 8kms/ltr. At first most people i talked to said that it was normal for a 3 cylinder and common in Vitz so just ignore it and not worry about it. But i knew it wasn't normal because i didn't experience it for 6 months! I just wanted to fix any problem before it got worse. But i was a first time car owner and driver so nobody really took me seriously and since I wasn't the owner (gift from dad) i really didn't have much say about it, so i just ignored it for a few years. Then it got worse... mostly when A/C on, on hot days, on idle at stops (it kinda goes crazy!...) But by this time i had money on my hands so i decided to take it to the most reliable place possible, Toyota Lanka... Oh boy was I wrong!!! ?Those idiots looked at it and said that a full tune up and new spark plugs should solve the problem. Having no idea about any of that stuff i just went ahead with it but the vibration was still there! Fought with those idiots and returned the spark plugs for full refund! But i was no back to square one...? So over the years i tried several different places but nobody could solve the problem permanently... at best i could get rid of the vibration for about 3 months but even then i couldn't isolate what the problem was. After trial and error it seemed to come down to either all or one of the following: proper tune ups, engine mounts, injector cleaning, maf sensor cleaning, throttle body cleaning. Never really was able to isolate to any one these issues because i never made the time to do only one of them at a time... Fast forward to 2019, 88k on the odo (42k over 9yrs), getting closer to 7+kms/ltr, vibration at it's worst, shocks dead (can feel metal clanking noises on bumps), less pulling power. Yes I know i should have sold the damn thing by now ? but for the cash... Heard about A**o F***e which is close to where i live, and i knew it was gonna be expensive but after seeing all the racing cars they were working on figured they might know what they were doing so i decided to give it a go. I went in and have been never so freaking happy that they actually figured out what was wrong with the vibration! The tech did a simple test by hoisting the engine on a jack so the weight was off the mounts and it was running smooth! So long story short we changed shocks and mounts, then decided to do an engine gasket overhaul and service the head because the car was woefully under-performing by now as well, and i was also wary of what kind of damage the vibration might have done. Also ended up replacing piston rings, main+thrust+bigend bearings, and cleaned out sludge buildup, among other repairs. The owner (and racer!), Sajaad Zuhair, is a great guy and a good businessman, just talking to him made me want get all this work done... ? I've only driven very conservatively within Colombo for 3 days for 75km so far and i have to say that so far, God bless, the vibration is gone. There were even a few moments when i didn't even realize the engine was on! ? Don't get me wrong, there is still some vibration in the engine but i believe that's whats normal for a 3 cylinder, not when it used to shake the entire freaking car! As for performance, well i don't really expect much with this engine but to gauge effectively i'll have to wait for a hot day. Here's a few things i learnt from the whole experience: Don't drive right away on a cold start! Always give it about a minute. Don't wait for a year to change engine oil... even if you don't drive much (4700km avg a yr in my case) change in 6 months or less (this may vary with type of oil, climate, etc) Don't go fast on bumps and potholes just because your shocks are doing an awesome job and you don't feel it! You are just wearing out your shocks faster... Don't let an idiot makabaas poke your gel mount with an effing screwdriver!!! ? Don't take the risk with a makabaas if you plan to use the car for a long time! Heck even if you are gonna sell it, don't be a cheapskate and earn the buyer's curse! If you can't afford to get your work done at any reputable and responsible garage, then sell the car use public transport until you save up some money... ? *Update after 200+ kms: Vibration at minimal levels ? KYB shocks softened up (was stiff after initial install), much smoother ride now! ? Noticeably improved acceleration and pulling power, overhaul seems to have paid off! ? Unfortunately fuel efficiency shows no indication of improvement so far, will update with proper number after a few more refuels.