Azri Abdul Majid

September 1st, 2009. Finally there is Ron95 at the petrol station. My oren saga still half tank with Ron97. However, I pumped in another half of Ron95 from petronas. So far, the engine running well with no problem at all. Eventhough my oren saga is carburettor type engine, it still doing well as a 1300cc engine.

By the way, I am having problem with my gear shift. Its quite uncomfortable with a rough feeling when shifting from

1. neutral to first
2. first to second (most difficult)
3. second to first

I still investigate the problem. Some said it because of the gear oil. Others said, the front axle or the clutch is not good. And several said it because of the gearbox itself. The mileage now is almost 30,000KM. Last time I change the gear oil was at 20,000KM service.

My oren saga has already reach 25,000KM. Means it has to undergo a routine service. So, today I went to a spare parts shop to buy :

1. Syntium 800 15W-50 (RM83)
2. Oil Filter (RM8)
3. Air Filter (RM7)

All of the items costs me RM98.

Last time engine oil drain plug got leaking. It was because of the old crush washer that I neglected. So I just change to a new one. No more leaking.

A year old with a 25,000KM is quite mild in usage. However I believe that engine operation is more than that. Since my revving is at 3000 RPM average, mileage is not an indicator of the engine condition.

However, I started feeling that my saga was underpowered. Have to rev high (3000 RPM) to achieve its ideal torque. I am still finding out why this happened. By the way, I am not anticipate that my saga as powerful as waja. But, at least it not so sluggish enough to overtake.

So far the fuel consumption is still acceptable at 14KM/Litre. The power window switch is always malfunction due to the electric spark residue. Need to clean it regularly.

If you are a fan of Top Gear or a Fifth Gear, you'll notice that they always talking about the fuel consumption of the car in miles per gallon (mpg). In our country, we are not familiar with this kind of term. However, with a little math... this is how it goes.

First of all, in my standard saga, the average fuel consumption is 14 km per liter. Usually, I will fill up 35 Litre for each session of re-fueling. Which I can go up to (35 Litre) x (14 km) = 490 KM.

Now, 1 gallon is equivalent to 3.78 litre. And 1 miles is equivalent to 1.6 KM. With my average fuel consumption, we can get these information.

a. 490 KM equivalent to 306.25 miles.
b. 35 Litre equivalent to 9.26 gallons.

Finally I will get by (306.25 / 9.26) which is 33 mpg. So, this is the fuel consumption they will talked about if they review the proton saga/iswara in the Top Gear or Fifth Gear... Hahahahha.....

On 1st May 2009, I have decided to service my lmst for the 20,000KM mileage. As usual, engine oil and oil filter is a must. And this time I changed my gear oil as well. Everything I did it by myself (DIY).



For the gear oil, I used two bottle of the above gear oil. Because LMST manual transmission need 1.8 litre of the gear oil. Actually I only found castrol manual transmission oil. But so far I think this oil is quite ok lah.

Because of my digital camera out of battery, I didn't snap the photo while I am changing the gear oil. So, I found that the gear oil coming out from the gearbox is quite dark brownish in color. Which is quite not good for my gearbox. But I haven't confirm it yet. Anybody who ever changed their LMST gear oil, I need your feedback regarding your old gear oil color.

Fuel consumption log book is a way of keeping your fuel compsumption record for your car. It's very important to monitor how your car burn the fuel. From this, you can know whether your car is normal or not. Is it something wrong with the engine or not. And it also can be your health record for your car.

For this purpse, I am using OpenOffice spreadsheet to record the data for my fuel consumption. I start record my fuel consumption since I bought my car in Feb 2008. The most important thing here is the mileage streched (in kilometer) for a liter of petrol. Since our fuel price is subjected to change. So kilometer per litre is the most effective measurement for us can monitor.

The attributes I recommend to monitor are as follows :

1) Date of start filling the fuel until date of re-fuel.
2) Brand of petrol station.
3) Litre of the fuel.
4) Price of the fuel (RM).
5) Distance in kilometre.
6) Sum of kilometre per litre.
7) The current price
8) Notes.

The method I used to calculate my fuel consumption is when my fuel indicator bar show only one bar left, I will reset the trip meter and start to re-fuel. Then I will record the start date and litre of the re-fueling. For the end date, I will state XX first. And I will write down the date when I re-fuel my car. Then I drove the car until the indicator car is one bar left again. So soon before I start to re-fuel, I will record the mileage of the trip meter.

The kilometre per litre then was calculated as follows :

fuel consumption = (kilometre of the trip meter) / litre of the fuel

Then I will get how far my car can go per litre of petrol.



For the first example, you can see that there is a red indicator means that my fuel consumption is quite poor. My car only can manage to go for a 13 kilometre with a litre of petrol. Then you can see that after the red indicator, we can see in the NOTES section written that after the car has undergo a service for a 5000KM, the fuel consumption is good again.



In the second example, we can see that in the long distance journey using highway, the fuel consumption can stretched up to 19 kilometre per litre. And as it approaching the service period, the fuel consumption is decreasing again. Means that the viscosity of the engine oil is affecting the car mileage.

As I am using Semi-Syn Petronas Syntium 800 15W-50. So I have to flush the engine oil every 5000KM interval. As you can see in the notes section, for the service at 15,800 KM, I also record the items that has been replaced. The engine oil, oil filter and etc.




Before this I always shift my gear at 2500RPM or below. So I start experimenting what happen to the fuel consumption when I practicing shifting gears above or at 3000 RPM? As you can see, the fuel consumption is quite bad isn't it?

So this is the example how a fuel consumption log book can help you monitoring your car condition.

Transmission fluid or gear oil is very important for our cars. Without it, its almost impossible for car to move. Maintenance for the manual transmission is much easier when compared to automatic tranmission.

The purpose of the transmission fluid (gear oil) is to make sure the gears are not overheated, less friction and running smoothly.

As stated in the Owner's Manual for saga (lmst), printed on 2006 by Proton; this model required 1.8 litre of manual transmission fluid (oil). The recommended grade of manual transmission oil are as follows:

• Petronas GL-4 SAE 80W or
  
• Hypoid gear oil or
  
• API GL-4 SAE 75W-85W / 75W-90W

Some saga/iswara lmst owner claimed the that transmission fluid should be flushed out every 20,000KM. Some of them, 40,000KM and few people flushed their transmission fluid until they are having trouble while shifting their gears.

One of the main indicator shows that you should change your transmission fluid is when your gears are difficult to shift even your clutch has been fully depressed. However, its better for us not to wait until this thing happened. Regular maintenance/service can prolong the transmission lifespan.

Once again my lmst power window switch is not functional properly. But this time the driver side is affected. So this is my step-by-step of how I did it.



1. The right switch still attached to the main panel. Unscrew both of the screw.



2. Carefully open the switch cover. This is how the switch looks like from inside when we dismantle it. As you can see, the red color shows that the contact point has an unwanted residue caused by the electric spark when you press the switch to make the window up/down. When these residue is too thick, it will blocked the contact point. No electric current to operate the power window motor. Make your window stucked. Remove the residue. I am using small head screw driver to scrape the residue.



3. Before and after the scrape was done.




4. Assemble the switch, put the cover back to its position and your power window switch is ready to go.


Caution !! Be carefull while removing the main cover. The plastic can easily broke.

The sounds "tok..tok..." appear as I turned my steering wheel (left/right). I realized that this problem occured since I installed my strut bar onto my iswara. I have been doing a research from the internet regarding these matter.

Several iswara user having the same problem as mine. Here are the candidates of solution.

1. tie-rod which connect to the drive shaft is rusty
2. steering rack teeth is broken
   
3. strut bar bearing not properly installed
   
4. b-pillar (at door) is loose
   
5. steering got something connection loose
6. cv joint problem (read the details..)
   

And some of the jargon is quite alien to me. However I will try each of the candidates to
determine what is wrong with my iswara. I hope I can provide some picture for our reference in the future.

Its been a week I drove waja. Yesterday I start my iswara. Everything is going well. The engine is in good condition. The sound is good. By the way, I am thinking to relocate the carb air intake to another place. It just to make sure it can sucks more cold air than before.

There were several project pending for my iswara.

1) cold air intake
2) air vents (front bonnet)
3) sport rims

Well, all of it required some amount of money. So I need to hold the project until the right time.

Today I am going to renew my road tax & insurance. It will costs me about RM800. And after I get the rebate (around Rm600), my road tax & insurance nett cost is about Rm200.

Its been a week my car is idling. No engine operation at all. The road tax and insurance will expire on 5th February 2009. And I haven't renew it yet. Maybe next week. Insya Allah. Actually I forgot where did I put my car's document. Never mind. This weekend, I will set up a team to find it... hahahah...

My car agent just called me regarding the road tax & insurance. Tomorrow, I am going to pay him RM710 for my new road tax & insurance. For saga lmst 1300 cc, it quite ok la with that amount of money.

But what if I renew it by myself, is it going to be much cheaper or what? This one I need to find out the answer first.

Last Saturday, I make a decision to DIY my power window switch. Hmm... but I forgot to take a photo step by step while I am doing it. However, everything is going great. Nothing is broken. Warranty is still intact (carefully remove the warranty sticker).

Actually there is a black residue from a electrical spark in the switch (contact point). Just remove the residue and everyhing is come back to normal again. But this time I don't know how long it can last. Maybe after this I want to buy an old iswara switch as proposed by the forumner. As they claimed that the previous model is more robust than the lmst model.

Yesterday read an article from one of the forum (www.sagaiswaraclub.com) regarding the LMST power window switch. Many of them having the same problem as mine. Its because of the switch. Well, i have tried take a look at the switch. But it was sealed with a warranty sticker. Means If I tear it up, it will void my warranty. So I am in dilemma right now. To do or not to do it. Actually it was only a simple procedure. Well, I am thinking about it.

Option(s)

1. DIY, clean the switch / void the warranty / if got problem with window after this, have to pay.

2. Send it to Proton COE Shah Alam / They will change the switch / Warranty intact.

So, maybe the switch is not so expensive.... I am gonna do it DIY style.... hohoho.....

Well.. I have an old pc (personal computer). It was P-III (266MHz) Desktop Tower. Hahahaha..... Given by Fara's uncle last year (2008). Running windows 98. Working very well so far. Currently stranded at my house. I am plannnig to make it as a download PC. So, my next move is to buy a PCI (wireless) network card... Hmm.. if it still exist (i hope so.... ).

1. Weird sound coming from my bonnet. I think it is because of the strut bar that I installed two month ago. However it didn't bother me much since no other mechanical item affected.
   
   
2. As I remember, 4 month ago, my left side power window switch already 'kong'. Went to Proton COE Shah Alam. Replaced with new one. Three weeks ago, the problem occured again. Planning to go there again. May be have to wait until the next service (20,000KM).
   
   
3. So, need to close all the window and switch on the air-cond.
   
   
4. End of this month, my roadtax will expire. Need to inject some money to renew road tax and insurance. Ahh.... koyak again....
   
   
5. I am still figure out what is the ideal RPM for my car for me to shift gear. Before this I always shift at 2500 RPM. But my car feel so sluggish. Especially when at up hill. So now I am trying to shift at 3000 RPM. Feel more better. Even with the air-cond is on.
   
   
6. And I can see that with the ideal RPM, we can optimize the fuel consumption.
   

My blog doesn't have the title. I don't know how to turn on that thing again. However, I can live without it. Manual car is more fun to drive compared to automatic. I don't care whether I was cought in the traffic jam or not. But for me, manual car is the best. That's why I prefer to drive my iswara 1.3 (MT) rather than my Waja 1.6 (AT). Its fun to drive manual transmission car.



Ok now the story is about my car. It was a Iswara 1.3 (MT) , 2007. Some will called it as Saga LMST. And some called it "Kereta Kebal". Whatever it is, it was an old tech car. Carburettor, rounded air filter, no ECU, etc, you named it. I bought it on Feb 2008. So far the fuel consumption for my car is 6L/100KM. Not bad huh! Its easy to maintain and when I have a minor problem, its not so technical to repair it by myself.

Until now, it still in its standard condition. But the steering wheel is so big. So I changed it to a sport one. Much smaller diameter and more easy to drive.



I keep on reading articel from the net regarding how can I improve my driving skill. Finding ways how to make my drive much more fun. In terms of handling, shifting technique (single cluthing & double clutching), heel & toe and etc.

All these skills are very important. Eventhough that technique is for racing car, but it really makes my driving more fun. I am not using it for street racing. And I found that those technique can make me drive smoothly and save fuel.



Once a month, I need to wax my car. The pic shown a residue from the wax that are difficult to wipe off. Actually red/orange color is the most difficult to take care. If you take for granted, you will lose your car color.

Before this the wheel was covered with wheel cover. But I took it off because of the wind resistance to the wheel. Some will say for the sake of sporty look. For me, 1) reduce wind resistance, 2) reduce the car weight. All these can lead to fuel saving. Even clean car can contribute to fuel saving. Because the air flow can be very smooth compared to dirty surface car. So I wash my car once a week. And wax once a month.

For the car maintenance, every weekend, I will do a total check up to my car (engine, tyre, etc). Check everything to make sure the condition is fine.

I haven't re-fuel my car last night. Fed up with the long queue at the petrol kiosk. It was a chaos everywhere in Malaysia because of the new fuel price. And now new price for petrol will be RM2.70/litre. Before this it just RM1.92/litre.

I am using iswara 1.3 (M). Before this I just filled in RM60 for my car. It was about 31.25 litre. And now with the same litre, it wil cost me RM85. This new petrol price really change my daily spending. I can't imagine how the person with low income will survive in this new situation.

For me, its true that I am really mad with the government. But what else can I do to change the fuel price. Life must go on. I need to change my daily life to suit with this environment. Need to re-structure my monthly account. And find new way on how to save money.


The are few rumours that fuel price will be increase again. Just wait and see. For Pak Lah, the only thing I can say is "You are SUCKS!!!! You and your cabinet of Dumb and Dumber...SUCKS!!!"

Crazy.... last update for this blog was on 2006. Now it was already 2008. Nowadays, everybody want to become a blogger. Tun Mahathir, Khir Toyo, Lim Kit Siang... Our 12th General Election has changed a lot of person. Especially politician. They have declared war in their blog. Phew..!! Thanks to Tun Mahathir who setup a Multimedia Super Corridor. He's the one who create all these platform for us. And now he has become a grandmaster (sifoo) in bloggers world. His blog http://www.chedet.com has reach over 1 million hits. Congratulation Tun... You are the best. Eventhough a lot of people backstabbed him, for me he is still my hero... hehehe... That's just the introduction. And I am not going to be a politician.... Only following all the news by reading their blogs.

Well, at the age of 29 I have a lots of agenda to fulfill. My carrier, savings, home, better life, etc..... hmmm.... but gonna change my attitude first. Easy to say but hard to apply...

I am very upset with Proton. And I don't know what has happened to their engineers. It seems like proton is running out of new idea on how to improve their technology. They are always relying on other party (giant car company) like mitsubishi, citroen and volkswagon (unfortunately VW refused to collaborate).

What is in their mind actually? Its simple.. Learn from Hyundai, KIA, etc. Learn how they manage the company. Learn how they can increase their profit. Learn how they attract buyers and so on. Proton, you should come up with new model. SUV, MPV and so on so forth. Yesterday newspaper (utusan) claimed that proton will come out with tuned waja (turbocharged edition). Common la proton, are your engineer is sleeping or your management is having old and conservative thinking?? new model lah... not the upgrade one..

May be we don't know what exactly happened to you proton. But the point is, please do something to save your company. Reform your organization, come up with new model, new technology... What the hell are you doing with Lotus?? Buying the company and then losing you money managing that company? Without getting their technology? This is bad... too bad... If proton cannot attract our nation/malaysian car enthusiast, don't dream to attract international buyers laa...

Last night I watched TV3 Buletin Utama. One of the segment is about one family which their children were sick. It was kidney problem. And they need money to treat their children. So the father wanted to take out his EPF money. He did fill the application form. But no response from EPF for a long time. When TV3 find out why, the EPF told TV3 that the father has submitted an incomplete form. This is the EPF reason for the delay. Actually it was unacceptable. If EPF encounter any problems regarding the application form, they should inform the applicant. They should not act like EPF money is their own money. It was simple right? Just imagine how difficult the applicant family who need the money badly. I think government officer should take more responsibility when processing application form. Don't just take it for granted. If people submit the application form, they must have their own reason. Everybody makes mistakes, just correct it. But don't just blame them and throw it away. This is one of the example of how public sector worker doing their job. Sluggish and unreliable.