PMS not in casa?

Hello loopers,

Has anyone tried having their GL maintained outside of casa? Any recommended shops? My GL is at 50k km, and ended the 3 year warranty last August 2012.

I live in Better Living Subd., Paranaque, any recommended you might be aware within the vicinity? Appreciate your feedback. Thank you!

By the way, just a bad timing for parts to get worn and torn now that my warranty expired. The upper engine mount arm (pendulum type, you can see this near the shock mount on the left) on the left side is already torn, been noticing engine vibrations during cold starts. I wonder if it is normal to be torn in just 3 years.

Just to add, it is the bushings that is torn, not the engine support assembly.

yoogix wrote:Just to add, it is the bushings that is torn, not the engine support assembly.

maybe you can bring your GL to Cruven, you'll see their shop sa sucat road. maybe they can replace the bushing on your engine support.

@yoogix, malapit na din akong ma out of warranty. ganito na din malamang ang gagawin ko.

as for the bushing, i think sir bobot63t already replaced his bushings na din. sa cruven nga ata siya nagpagawa. ok lang siguro pag bushings sa cruven or replacement. pero kung sa support mismo mas maganda OEM, kung maka-hanap sa labas.

Kung mga regular na tune up lang naman pede na sa mga suking shell service station yan. Although parang ok pa rin sa casa basta ikaw na lang magdadala ng sarili mong parts. Konti lang kasi ang GL e kaya baka di kabisado ng mga nagawa sa labas.

Hi sir!
would suggest sa JIGA (dna. soledad extension). wala pa complains ako narinig dun sa shop and warranty and (re-check) is standard.

ang PMS naman ng GL is change oil lang, tune-up matagal if you use the recommended spark plugs na platinum (tama ba?). mag 3 years na GL ko and never pa napalitan ng spark plugs.

yoogix wrote:Hello loopers,

Has anyone tried having their GL maintained outside of casa? Any recommended shops? My GL is at 50k km, and ended the 3 year warranty last August 2012.

I live in Better Living Subd., Paranaque, any recommended you might be aware within the vicinity? Appreciate your feedback. Thank you!

By the way, just a bad timing for parts to get worn and torn now that my warranty expired. The upper engine mount arm (pendulum type, you can see this near the shock mount on the left) on the left side is already torn, been noticing engine vibrations during cold starts. I wonder if it is normal to be torn in just 3 years.

This is the upper shock mount support that you are talking about. Casa would treat this as normal wear and tear and is subject to further investigation before it can be assessed as replaceable if warranty claim route is to be followed. However since your GL is already out of warranty, this will be out of the pocket type of repair work and I would suggest that you have it repaired by CASA as they cover 6 months warranty for any work done on your car as well the part is OEM. This is the peace of mind you are paying for and since engine mounts are critical components, you can never go wrong buying OEM and have the repair done by certified technicians.

Kamusta sir yoogix? San na kayo nagpa tuneup? Serolf ako nagpapatuneup sa other car ko pag sa better living.

Hi everyone! Thank you all for the inputs. I have bought it to a shop near our place in better living, paranaque. I went to JIGA, as recommended by one of the member here. By the way, OT lang sa topic, the reason i went there is to buy new tires.

The old tires were really old, 3years (actually 2008 ang manufacture date) at marupok na, kahit halos kasing laki ng pardible eh na flat ako palagi hahahaha, I bought 4 new tires na din, Yokohama Aspec A300 195/65 r15 91S. Happy with it so far. Wheel balancing and alignment are free, chamber alignment was given 200 pesos discount.

Going back sa topic, I also had the bushings checked, and they found three support:

1. Upper right engine support/stabilizer - bushings already torn.
2. lower right engine mount support - As per their assessment, this is a fluid type bushing, no way to tell if it is broken or not by simple visual inspection, they need a thorough check.
3. Bottom transmission support - bushings already torn and has play.

As for now, they were not able to provide me with an exact quotation, they are still coordinating with their suppliers regarding the assembly/parts, they say that these parts are original from nissan, no after market are available for GL. A rough estimate though, they say it would be within the vicinity of 6 to 10k including labor na.

Almost same sa casa, Nissan UN gave me a cost estimate of 9k including labor. Forgot the exact breakdown, but i remember that all three parts would cost 6k and labor is 3k.

My wife and I decided to have this replace/repair by CASA. Ipon lang ng konti muna at medyo mabigat, priority muna namin pagbili ng gulong. Its not just we do not trust other mechanics shop, but from my initial assessment from the mechanics, magagaling sila at experienced naman, its just that, i can see from their faces and reaction and inquiries that I was the first customer to bring a Nissan Grand Livina hehehehe.

Overall, I got good service from JIGA and I can say that their mechanics are honest and skilled.

Good to know that sir yoogix. Pagdating sa pang ilalim, sa jiga rin ako (pero di pa sa GL huh, kse kakakuha lang ngunit). If change oil or tuneup, sa serolf naman ako.

Voltz wrote:Good to know that sir yoogix. Pagdating sa pang ilalim, sa jiga rin ako (pero di pa sa GL huh, kse kakakuha lang ngunit). If change oil or tuneup, sa serolf naman ako.

OT congrats nakakuha ka na Voltz ng unit. brand new ba or pre owned? post naman ng pics dyan.

OT nakita ko na GL ni Sir Volts sa pics nga lang, kamuka nun GL ko. EB na!

OT:

sir bloopero, pre-owned lang sir yun akin.. will do post pics.

una sa maintenance na pinalitan ko is yun Bendix brakepads. P1800 (for front pair).
I know that OEM are still best, pero been using bendix naman and had no problems.
Mileage is at 19T km.

OT: congrats sir Voltz

BTT: i think ang major concern lang kung sa labas tayo papagawa is kung knowledgeable ba yung mechanics to assess and fix our GL since bago lang sa market. kung simpleng change oil/tuneup at pang-ilalim i think kaya na nilang tirahin ito. pero kung electricals na at major engine parts, mukhang CASA pa din tayo babagsak.

aln wrote:OT: congrats sir Voltz

BTT: i think ang major concern lang kung sa labas tayo papagawa is kung knowledgeable ba yung mechanics to assess and fix our GL since bago lang sa market. kung simpleng change oil/tuneup at pang-ilalim i think kaya na nilang tirahin ito. pero kung electricals na at major engine parts, mukhang CASA pa din tayo babagsak.

Fully agree too sir aln

Hi LOOPers, I just had my first PMS outside casa for 60k PMS. First let me give the breakdown of cost of labor and parts before i go to a few details.

Synthetic Engine Oil (Binili ko sa Shell - Helix Ultra e5w-30) - 2,600

Parts and labor from shop (JIGA Tires and Mags at Better Living Pque):
VIC Oil filter - 300
Labor - Oil Change - 380
Labor - Brake Cleaning and Adjustment - 580
Includes basic inspection for free upon request hehehe.

TOTAL = 3,860

Way much cheaper than Casa, the last time I was in Nissan UN, they charged me 3k for labor alone - change filter and top-up oil and cleaning of brakes which included inspection of engine support. Ang layo ng diperensya ng charges. Casa quoted me 15k for this 60k PMS. Ang sarap ng pakiramdam nakikita ko mismo kung ano ginagawa kay LIVI, pati ako nakiki dut-dot dun sa makina at sa ilalalim hahaha.

I opted not to avail of this shop packages for change oil/tune-up and selected the individual services and parts I want to avail since I checked the service handbook and used it as a guide.. Also, I am suppose to have the spark plugs replaced, so I had it inspected, at makalawang na sobra. We ran to a few challenges sa spark plugs. I already removed the engine cover at home and showed them how the spark plugs can be accessed.

1. They usually charge 680 pesos for the tune up labor but for my case, they need to charge me 1,200 pesos. Which is ok for me because I understand the work they need to go through to access the plugs.

2. Intake runners, including the throttle body and the connectors to the intake snorkel and some other tubes connected to it was removed. The mechanics were very careful and professional by the way. No plastic clips were broken, no screws were bent. Though, it took him about 30 minutes dismantling the above mentioned.The one assisting me is their supervisor by the way.

3. After removing the plug wires, an attempt to remove the spark plugs was made. Unfortunately, the tool sockets available to them does not fit the hole after the entrance hole where the plug is seated. They have the right socket size for the spark plug's gasket 14mm, but the tools outer diameter cannot fit inside the hole. It looks like a nissan proprietary design. I had to run home, check my stuffs, and thank goodness for my being tool-a-holic, found just the right socket 14mm with an outer diameter that almost perfectly fits the hole. I had my tool grinned a bit so as not to have any metal parts touching the engine.

4. Removing the spark plugs from my GL is one story, now, finding the replacement is another one. I am unable to find an exact match spark plug (make and model), but there are tons of other options. One candidate was a BOSCH platinum tip spark plug at 3,200 pesos set of 4. Everything else on the Specs fit, except for the gasket size is at 16mm, I pushed my luck too much, i don't have that size of socket. By the way, the shop have all sizes of sockets, but our GL engine have a very small spark plug hole after the entrance hole.

5. For the meantime, we ended up cleaning my old and literally rusty spark plugs and put everything back together (which took another 30 minutes or so). They were kind not to bill me with the Tune Up labor.

One thing I appreciate with this shop is that their mechanics were very honest and does not treat me as a car ignorant customer which I sometimes get from CASA.

The shop volunteered to hunt the part for me and will give me a call once they have the plugs. Late this afternoon, I received a text message from the shop admin that they were unable to find one today. They will keep me posted until wednesday as some of their suppliers are yet to reply.

By they way here is the type of the OEM spark plug installed on our GL: NGK LZKAR6AP-11

http://www.ngk.com/product.aspx?zpid=9956

http://ngk-sparkplugs.com/lzkar6ap11-p-2867.html

I wish to upload some pictures, pero nakalimutan ko na ata paano mag post ng pics dito hehehe

Wish me luck hunting for at least a cross reference plug. Worst case scenario, I might end up buying this part from Casa.

One more thing, the mechanics told me that they do not see any Fuel filter after tracing the fuel lines, and suspected that our GLs are in-tank fuel filter.

^^ nice one sir... mukhang ganito na din ang magiging setup ko, PMS sa labas na ng CASA. very informative... pa post ng pics if you have time para at least me idea na ako sa pagpalit ng plugs

Will do post the pics sir ALN as soon as I get to transfer them on my pc.

Just an update po, the shop JIGA texted me and advised they were unable to find a spark plug. I called a few shops but unfortunately unable to find it myself as well. So I did a few research and came across a few sites suggesting cross-referenced brands.

General/common specifications that fits our GL's spark plug requirements VS OEM specifications :

General/common Specs:
Electrode Gap [mm]1 to 1.1
Tightening Torque [Nm]: 23
Outer Thread [mm]: 12
Thread Pitch [mm]1.25
Thread Length [mm]: 26.5
Spanner Size: 14
Spark Position [mm]: 5
Number of Poles: 1

OEM Specs:
Brand: NGK
NGK Part #: LZKAR6AP11
Thread Size: 12mm
Hex Size (Spanner): 14mm
Reach: 26.5mm (1.04")
Seat Type: Gasket
Gap: .044" (1.1mm)
Heat Range: 6
Terminal Type: Solid
Resistor: Yes
Thread Pitch: 1.25mm

Cross Reference Brands and their Part # that meets the common specs:
BOSCH VR7SPP33
NGK 6643
NGK LZKAR6AP11
NGK PLZKAR6A11
NISSAN 22401CK81B
NISSAN 22401ED815

I called the nearest BOSCH Service Center in our place (Better Living Subdv., Bicutan) and inquired about it. They do not have the specific part # I am inquiring about. But instead told me that they have other options that meets the requirements except for one part, the Spanner Size or the Wedge. They say almost all available or most common Spark Plugs here have 16mm to 20mm wedge sizes. But, they are very confident that they can fit the 16mm wedge on my Grand Livina without any issues. According to the person I spoke with at Bosch, they have the special tools for fitting. He specified that they were able to handle similar cases like the Mitsu Montero Sports and Some BMW SUVs and cars and Toyota Vios have similar small hole entrance for the spark plugs as well. Also this branch is familiar already with NGL, as he explained to me over the phone how they will access and replace the plugs.

The recommended plugs for me was the Bosch Single side electrode platinum or Bosch Super 4 Platinum which price range from 1,700 to 2,800 set of 4. I wasn't able to take note of the part # but will check it this coming Saturday when I go there.

@yoogix, thanks again sir for the info. balitaan mo kami ulit kung nag ok yung bosch na plugs. mukhang mahirap nga maghanap ng plugs natin unless sa CASA ka kukuha

sir yoogix thanks likewise for the valuable info!
may reference na kami when the time comes.

i agree on the out-of-casa maintenance, once out of warranty ok na basta
sa reputable & professional shops. parang kasing naka-50% off sa labas.

I had GL checked at Bosch, they are out of stock with a compatible sparky for my Livi. They called their head office and sure enough, they do not have in stock.

Anyway, one last try before going back to casa, my wife will try tomorrow with their sales department at their office if they have a cross referenced spark plugs. Will give her the specs tomorrow.

hirap pala magpa tune-up sa labas, dapat me baon ng plugs.

@yoogix, thanks sir!