Been a little while since Ive updated this thread as in the past 6 months Ive been on a long holiday and since I got back the GRY has just been used as a daily / shopping car. I did sell the WRX last week so Im now down to just the Evo and the GRY.
Here is a final WRX pic... Sold to a young lady who'd wanted a Hyperblue Edition (only 200 made) since they were launched when she was 18 and since she turned 25 this month she could finally afford the insurance. She was so very excited to finally fulfil her dream and was so pleased that she found a nice, clean condition low mileage one. I hope its as great a car for her as it has been for us the past 6.5 years.
Q. OK, so what is new with the GRY?
A. Another dealer service... the 2nd one!
While 2 weeks back it turned 1year old, yesterday it got its 12mth service. It has just 3800km on it. 2000 since the first service.
I tried another dealer. This time Castle Hill Toyota. I chose to go there as while its not the closest after Pennant Hills Toyota (who even though Ive told them directly that I wont be going back still email me weekly), it's the place that the Aussie FB forum guys recommend in this area due to the GR Tech being good.
My first attempt was abortive 2 weeks back as when i arrived the GR Tech was on a day off and I had specific things I wanted to talk to him about. Apparently it wasn't the service desk jockey's fault I arrived when the GR Tech wasn't there, it was 'the first time he'd seen the booking' listing the service and the things I wanted to talk to the tech about. Er ok... It was made about a month earlier and no one had bothered to scan the incoming bookings then. Not an auspicious start. I went home after rebooking for 10 days later.
Anyway, yesterday I arrived and things went better. Car was taken in and I got to go for a drive with their GR Tech Craig who knows these cars well. He worked with Andy of Motive Garage to build their 500KW GRY etc.
Craig noticed the gear issues right away, even when warm. He had some ideas on fixes with the linkage and also using a different gearbox oil. He didnt need to have any lengthly approvals by Toyota Aus to get started and fitted me in to have the work done the same day by him. Great News.
It did take most of the day and I was waiting at the dealer which was a bit soul destroying, although they offered plenty of times to run me to various train stations or the local mall. Instead I did chat to the salesman who allowed me to test drive my first GRY 18+months ago, although we couldnt make a deal on my order as he was insistent on RRP. He bought his own GRY and is a huge fan, loves it. While chatting I had a walk round/sit in the GR86. I know people love them but it all seemed a bit 2012* to me. It's a pretty thing to look at, but you can tell its a restyle and not a new car imho. It also makes the inside of the GRY seem spacious lol They had a lightly used 2nd hand one in the showroom for 10k over list. sigh.
* - I had a drive of one as I was tempted in 2012, it wasnt for me.
While working on the car it was found that the gear linkage was set perfectly in line at the factory so was adjusted to be offset slightly and the oil that came out wasn't like metallic paint, so nothing was being overly worn out using it as it was - I never hurried the change when cold though and always babied it until it was warm. As suggested up front the fix was a combination of the different weight oil and a light adjustment. Also I was told that I wasnt alone with this issue, a local guy had the same problem and the same fixes were applied and he hadn't come back so the assumption was that all was well.
Anyway, slow and boring day aside I got the car back just before 5pm. One the way home it was better but to be honest it was pretty good when warm before, the acid test would be when it was cold.
Today I went out for a quick spin with everything cold and grabbed second like a normal car, ie faster than Ive ever dared, and it went home with no graunch. Superb! It is notchy but im cool with that. It finally doesn't feel like im killing the gearbox with 1-2 changes when cold. Phew!
To be honest the synchro graunch/baulk when cold was disappointing and not at all what I expected with the GRY since everyone else seemed to love their gear change. The the first dealer suggested it would wear in with use, which was obviously rubbish, when i mentioned it at 1800kms. Mechanical sympathy meant I'd take quite a long pause between 1st and 2nd and very gently/slowly slot in the lever feeling it go home, especially in winter where the 10deg less in temps really worked against the gearbox oil's viscosity. Hardly sportscar material.
Checked the tyre pressures as well today. So, last time I received the car back from the previous dealer with 275kpa all around. This time it was 240. sigh. Id even discussed that with the GR Tech so it was annoying. It clearly states what the pressures are (220 front and 200 rear) on the door pillar and its a few simples presses on the kind of digital pressure gauge main dealers use.
This kind of lazy workmanship is a barrier to car guys wanting work done within the franchised dealer network. I know the GR Tech isnt the guy who does the wheel rotation and tyre pressures, thats a normal tech, but its not good. I could immediately feel the tyre pressures were off when i drove it home, it just didnt handle like I expected and it wasnt like i was throwing it about, just driving in rush hour traffic.
I expect some will suggest that its the difference between my gauge and theirs, but I run a very accurate JAMEC PEM unit which isnt some cheap rubbish. I would think their setup would be similar in quality. The fact my gauge measured each tyre at 239 suggests they gave each wheel a dose of 240kpa pretty accurately.
I called the GR Tech to let him know the fix was successful and also to let him know about the tyre pressure thing, he was pleased with getting feedback so quickly and that the gearbox was better, he was less happy about the tyre pressures and was off to talk to the guy who did the work after the call. Good on them for acting on the feedback so quickly.
Anyway. All in all a much better experience than last time. I'll use them going forwards while Craig still works there at least.
