Q.ZigDrive 4: What really happens when you service your car?

ZigDrive4 turned out to be a very educational event for me. It was a different experience compared to when my dad and I used to drop off our Fiat Punto or Ford EcoSport at their respective service centres in Trivandrum where they make us sit in a nice, cozy AC room waiting for the car to get serviced. This time, it was all about getting down and dirty. Thanks to [USER="82"]konarktyagi[/USER], I got to see how diesel cars are serviced. I remember [USER="2114"]anupam00[/USER] telling us that all cars should ideally get all its fluids replaced at the 40k kilometre mark. I am not entirely sure if my dad and I got this done on the Fiat Punto when it crossed 40k kilometres. I'll have to wait till I go home (Trivandrum) to check the old service records and see if all the fluids were changed or not. Seeing all the Fiats at [USER="2114"]anupam00[/USER]'s garage sort of broke my heart, but I felt much better when I realised how much love and effort Fiat owners and Anupam puts into servicing these cars and to keep them alive and running. If ever I bring my Punto here, I now know where to get it serviced from. I also got to see [USER="88"]Stig-Wannabe[/USER]'s Palio undergoing repairs at World Of Service. The Palio 1.6 Stile had recently met with a minor accident which caused a dent on the bonnet and cracked the bumper. The repairs are underway and I'm eagerly waiting to see the final result. @Stig-Wannabe's Fiat Palio 1.6 Stile getting repaired. The original grille was hard to source, so now it wears the MultiJet version's grille. [ATTACH=CONFIG]n8775[/ATTACH]The restoration job done on the Beetle looks good. The paint quality was top notch [ATTACH=CONFIG]n8776[/ATTACH]I just love the backend of the Fiat Palio 1.6 S10. [ATTACH=CONFIG]n8777[/ATTACH]I found something rarer than rare metals at World OF Service. But jokes aside, Anupam and World Of Service uses only genuine parts for Fiats. [ATTACH=CONFIG]n8778[/ATTACH]

Very informative post, Thanks for the update, Look forward to see you all on the next drive/event..... Thanks,

ZigDrive 4 - What Really Happens when you Service your Car! That's what we set out to discover at World Of Service, Noida. Anupam Shukla, the man behind World of Service, Noida and a veteran in fixing a range of cars had a nice day planned for all of us. The day started out with Anupam presenting what a routine service covers, listing out the capabilities of World of Service from denting and painting, to full engine work, upholstery and detailing. The service centre, with its first outlet at Noida, now also has one more in Chennai and will soon have two more in the Delhi NCR region - on the Greater Noida Expressway and one in Gurugram. Anupam ran us through the various services that the shop provides and how each car is painstakingly attended to - it's not a volumes game here, it's all about attention to detail. He also pointed out some basic DIYs that car owners should carry out - basic checks for the car's health, the type of tools and spares to carry and also how to use a jack and such. He also specializes in sourcing parts for Fiats and Skodas - parts that are otherwise difficult to come by. Anupam, proudly showing off his work on a 1961 Volkswagen Beetle that he restored for a client. [ATTACH=CONFIG]n8745[/ATTACH] World of Service works on all kinds of cars, but its speciality is Fiats - a personal pain point of the founder that got him to start this garage in the first place. [ATTACH=CONFIG]n8746[/ATTACH] After a tour of the shop that included a few Fiats (Palios, Adventures), a Volkswagen Touareg V10 TDI, an Audi A4 1.8T and a few more, we headed to the basement classroom and training centre to get a run through of what happens during service. [ATTACH=CONFIG]n8747[/ATTACH] The presentation and interactive session covered a lot of ground in about 90 minutes, after which it was time for lunch (Pizzas on the house folks!) and then to get down and dirty with a full LIVE demonstration of a car's service. [USER="82"]konarktyagi[/USER] 's Laura was due for service at ~ 37,000 km and this was a great time to get it done, in front of a live audience! Step 1, the car was hoisted on to a two-post lift for a full inspection. [ATTACH=CONFIG]n8748[/ATTACH] Step 2, a full underbody inspection of the Laura. This 2-litre diesel is about 3 years old now. A quick inspection of the suspension. [ATTACH=CONFIG]n8749[/ATTACH] The brake pads are wearing out in this Laura. Another 2,000 odd km of life left. [USER="82"]konarktyagi[/USER] was advised to change them. [ATTACH=CONFIG]n8750[/ATTACH] The wheels were checked, wheel bearings checked. A couple of tyres had cracks in them - replacement advised. [ATTACH=CONFIG]n8755[/ATTACH] Then it was time to drain the oil. Skodas have a brilliant underbody protection system - with a full fibre glass plate under the engine that has close to 16 fasteners holding it in place. Amazing attention to detail, but a nightmare if you lose a nut! [ATTACH=CONFIG]n8751[/ATTACH] The old oil, 15,000 km old, semi-synthetic stuff, was drained from the engine and collected to be disposed off. Draining the oil requires removing the engine shield, locating the oil drain bolt just behind the engine sump and undoing that. [ATTACH=CONFIG]n8752[/ATTACH] Guess where the EGR valve of the Skoda Laura is located? Way down there, at the back of the engine - so it's quite a pain to get an EGR cleaning done. EGR = Exhaust Gas Recirculation valve. This one is responsible for siphoning some of the exhaust gas back into the intake of the engine to reduce combustion temperatures and consequently NOx (nitrous oxides) emissions. [ATTACH=CONFIG]n8753[/ATTACH] Talking about attention to detail, check out this VW logo embedded into the gearbox of the Skoda Laura. The car primarily had VW branded parts in it - so no prizes for guessing the parentage. [ATTACH=CONFIG]n8769[/ATTACH] Then it was time to pull out the air filter and see how dirty that got! With our dusty conditions, an air-filter cleaning should be done every 5,000 km (for any car) and replacement every 10,000km. [ATTACH=CONFIG]n8754[/ATTACH] Just look at the difference in colour between a filter that's 15,000 km old and a new air filter! [ATTACH=CONFIG]n8756[/ATTACH] Other fluids, such as coolant and brake fluid were topped off according to the recommended specifications. Here's a look at coolant being topped up. [ATTACH=CONFIG]n8757[/ATTACH] The oil filter in the Skoda Laura has to be accessed from above. It's a paper element type filter. Here's a look at the old filter that was pulled out. [ATTACH=CONFIG]n8758[/ATTACH] And here's a new replacement filter for the Skoda Laura going in. This filter is common to the VW group - Audi, Skoda, VW, Seat and Porsche. [ATTACH=CONFIG]n8759[/ATTACH] And the filter goes back in. Screwed into place. [ATTACH=CONFIG]n8760[/ATTACH] The diesel filter was also removed and inspected. It is also a paper element type filter, but was found to be fine in this Laura. [ATTACH=CONFIG]n8761[/ATTACH] Then it was time to refill the car with oil. The Laura takes in 5.5 litres of oil. [USER="82"]konarktyagi[/USER] was moving from semi-synthetic oil to fully synthetic AGIP - ENI iSint, 5W-40 oil. This is slightly more expensive (cost Rs. 4,900), but is said to have plenty of benefits in terms of fuel efficiency, noise refinement and engine longevity. Well, this is a live guinea pig out there - let's see how this car fares on this oil. It's like moving from a cheap whisky to a fine single malt. [ATTACH=CONFIG]n8762[/ATTACH] The colour and texture of the oil itself feels different. It's a golden yellow in hue and feels a lot thinner than normal mineral or semi-synthetic oils. It's really smooth to the touch. [ATTACH=CONFIG]n8763[/ATTACH] With an electrical check and scan done and everything tidied up, it was time for a wash. [ATTACH=CONFIG]n8764[/ATTACH] And here's a picture of the happy owner, after ZigDrive 4 and his Laura. [ATTACH=CONFIG]n8765[/ATTACH] Many others also got some minor things attended to, like this dirty air filter being cleaned for the Scorpio. [ATTACH=CONFIG]n8766[/ATTACH] Or this AC gas recharging for a Safari. [ATTACH=CONFIG]n8767[/ATTACH] While World of Service continued its work with other customer cars as well, like this tinkering for a Toyota Corolla. [ATTACH=CONFIG]n8768[/ATTACH] All in all, it was an informative and educative day. Now to go out and have some fun on ZigDrive 5, coming soon. Watch this space. Looking forward to others experiences as well from this ZigDrive.