[anjan_c2007]

Originally Posted by benbsb29

Anjan, can't believe your Scorpio looks so clean even before the service! Mine always goes in for service wearing half the dust of Bangalore on its body!

Actually the Scorpio was not so clean. There was a squall last Friday that created the usual dust and water drops clinging to the paintwork. I gave it a wash on Sunday (little effect) and the servicing was done yesterday. bangalore must be quite dusty.We too have the dust problem here, much more prevalent in winter.

Originally Posted by vijaythacker

A perfectly well maintained machine you have anjan, awesome and the more i see your pictures more i fall in love with this shade of scorpio,looks elegant.
Does paid service varies from city to city for MASS, here i have heard many friends paying atleast 1200 ya more.Keep updating and enjoy your ride.

Thanks Vijay, touchwood ! Will post the updates.

[anjan_c2007]

Today I have tried to do some cut and paste job with the tattered rubber hoseson the four doors (concealing P/W wiring) of my Scorpio.
I also opened the tailgate of my 1987 Maruti 800 (25 years plus). There I found a llittle tatter on the rubber hose concealing the taillight wiring.The first picture below shows the extent of damage caused in 25 years (DOB 24/04/1987 )!



The picture below shows how it was sealed now by me on 17/06/2012.



Whereas, my Scorpio from 2009 (DOB 14.04.2009) has broken all records of "tattering" for me within 3 years.
To undertake the job one needs three articles - a adhesive tape (the blue one here), a plastic tape with no adhesive on either sides (the black one) and the quintessential scissor.



To start with, I firstly tied a knot with the black tape so that it gets a good grip. Thereafter, the black tape was rolled over the tattered rubber hose and fastened (knot tied) at the other end.



The ends (near the door and near the body) of the rubber hose were then sealed with the blue adhesive tape securely. For using the adhesive tape it needs to be cut into pieces of lengths of not more than 15 cms each. This is because the larger the length the more tough it is to maneuver the adhesive tape by rolling it over the hose.The non- adhesive tape is easy to use.
I have not used an adhesive tape for the full job as it may stick to the P/W wiring in the long run.Moreover it gets squeezed once, you start rolling it over and over.
The tattered hoses are shown in the pictures and also the knot (first step).The adhesive tape is at the extreme ends of the hose covering the non adhesive tape.
The front door hoses are too difficult to access. The rear doors are DIY friendly however, in this matter.
The hoses must be reasonably clean for the DIY job.











Again tying the knot (above) to start the job!









I can only wait and watch as to how long this DIY work lasts !!! Its like marriage. We tie knots first and GOD only knows whether it will last or not ???

[anjan_c2007]

My Scorpio is doing its duties extremely well during the monsoon. Occasionally, when its not rainy, like during every monsoon spell I take liberty to switch off the A.C., roll down the front windows and have the pleasure to hear the peppy, M Hawk grunting all along.
Even during the winter I do not take such a liberty by switching off the AC, as dust entry is barred. Its only monsoon time when the dust settles do I take such liberties.
I would like to proudly say that during my three plus years of ownership, never has the Brute SUV needed a second self to start. It was only when my fingers were lazy enough, not to fully engage the ignition key well by the torquey clockwise move, did it need a second self.
Today I cleaned the engine bay, a portion we usually pay less attention to. Must also say that the engine bay components but for a few rusting fan shaped bolts and clips on the bonnet inside (visible in the pictures), there's no rust elsewhere.The aluminum and the galvanised metals also do not show any corrosion features at least now.The servicing was done in May 2012 but the bay was cleaned due to the rainy conditions and the wet roads.
The battery terminals appear to be of galvanised iron which is shameful for M & M. Wish they change over to the old yellow metal that is a better conductor.They may save a few hundred rupees here but reversion to the yellow metal adds class too! I applied petroleum jelly to the terminals as the ASC fellas had'nt done it.









Rust



Rust



Rust



Petroleum jelly- even Vaseline is petroleum jelly



The Lumax headlight on the left side had after the monsoon spell in 2010, entrapped water vapour. So also the left side fog lamp.It was nice of the ASC to honour the 2 year warranty for these two components and replace them free of cost. Touchwood- no water vapour inside till this day since 2010!

[snaps]

Hello Anjan & other experts,

Sorry to hijack this thread and be a bit off-topic. But, wanted to know if I can put a newer generation Scorpio (turbo cRDE) front bumper which has fenders attached on my 2004 turbo Scorpio?

Mine is a older type of bumper which exposes the tyres a lot. I am purely wanting to change this for looks purpose as the CRDE ones have a better look with fenders looking like small wings on the bottom. IS this feasible and how much approx will it cost me? any side effects?

I am aware that I cannot fit the latest generation scorpio's (the one Anjan has) front bumper on my vehicle and I am not looking for it. I am looking for the bumper which is one generation before. Please let me know.

Thanks in advance.

[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by snaps

I am aware that I cannot fit the latest generation scorpio's (the one Anjan has) front bumper on my vehicle and I am not looking for it. I am looking for the bumper which is one generation before. Please let me know.

Thanks in advance.

Yes, you can, and it almost a bolt on fit. All M&M did when supposedly "redesigning" the bumper was to add those plastic skirts to it on both the sides. If you rip them off, you ll be left with your bumper.

The bumper, unpainted will cost your around 8000.00INR.

[anjan_c2007]

Yes true snaps, as Devnath, a veteran Scorpio fan says, the bumpers are interchangeable. The old ones in the oldest Scorpios were like a mini-skirt trying to expose the under body, but the guard below the bumper tried to conceal some of it.
It is much like the Ambassador Mark I, II and 3 bumpers which are interchangeable. The Mark 4 bumper cannot be however fitted to the older Ambassadors.

[anjan_c2007]

The driver's side wiper blade was tattered and was not doing its duty properly.With the rains playing truant, I decided to replace the OE right blade.It was a fairly simple job . I bought a new one of make "Syndicate" thats the OE brand. It just cost me Rs 150=00 and fitting it after taking off the original one took less than five minutes.



the dismantled original- the small wood piece placed there, shows the tearing rubber



the new one ready for duty

Then I though that if this were a taxi, then the owner possibly, instead of buying a new one, would have the replaced the right one with the one on the left (still in good condition).

[anjan_c2007]

The Brute SUV of mine is doing its duty extremely well. Must proudly proclaim that it never needed a second self to start, ever since I bought it three and a half years ago. The only exception- it was only once when I was away for about four days, that it had needed a second chance to crank to life.
I have taken it for some distant trips recently and its poise on the highways is something I can feel proud of.The safe-feeling inside for all passengers is discernible. For its price its truly a VFM buy.
There were a few hiccups however. All of a sudden, sometimes, the double horn became single ( much like a married couple who sometimes sour mutual relations!). The fault was traced to a "point needs adjustment" in the horn on the driver's side. And after the stepney shock (stepney air checking is extremely tough) this was another one for me. The horns are located between the front bumper and the body's front end. To reach the horns, the front bumper must be dismantled. The workshop (not ASC but my favourite M/S Shree Automobiles, Nagpur) people did the job pretty fast as they are used to doing such jobs all the while.









The horn being repaired

On four lane highways, I had crossed the 110 kmph mark many a time and the SUV feels very much in control, planted and a pleasure to be cruising in. Overtaking is quite a breeze and with the windows rolled up, unless one sees the speedo, its difficult to guess the speed. The NVH levels are not at all disturbing to the passengers. The fuel consumption I found was quite on the higher side, if the SUV is constantly driven at 100 kmph plus, whereas at 60-70 kmph it very well delivers 13-14 kmpl, the optimum, in all cases with the AC on.





The SUV parked at Khindsi, near Ramtek while my daughter (left) and her cousin feel elated as they are about embark on their boating spree in Khindsi lake!



The foot board cap shown by the red arrow

Some days back, I was waiting at a signal to take a right turn.A fellow in a new Wagon R came and parked his car to my left. When the signal turned green he started taking a right turn along with me.As he did not leave enough space for my SUV, to save that frail and ductile car, my SUV's right foot board scraped the road divider. The aluminum was slightly scraped, while the foot board cap (plastic) broke and fell down. I scared the hell out of the Wagon R driver, who was new to driving.
Later on, I bought the plastic foot board cap from the Mahindra ASC and fitted it myself. The fitting with screws was quite snug.The thing was black in colour and the next best thing was to get it painted in Mist Silver. I got this shade from an automotive paint shop ( 100 ml in retail ) and painted the cap. Though the colour matched, the finish leaves a lot to be desired. The cap potrudes and its edge is a few millimeters away from the foot board, which exposes it to such damage - a design defect.

[anjan_c2007]

Originally Posted by anjan_c2007

Later on, I bought the plastic foot board cap from the Mahindra ASC and fitted it myself. The fitting with screws was quite snug.The thing was black in colour and the next best thing was to get it painted in Mist Silver. I got this shade from an automotive paint shop ( 100 ml in retail ) and painted the cap. Though the colour matched, the finish leaves a lot to be desired. The cap potrudes and its edge is a few millimeters away from the foot board, which exposes it to such damage - a design defect.

The plastic cap repainted by painter anjanc is seen here



The scraped foot board can also be seen here

[diwakarmuthu]

Anjan, I've been thinking about putting in a universal armrest as I feel the need to have it especially moving in slow traffic and long drives. I found some posts in T-BHP and also found this in ebay. http://www.ebay.in/itm/Universal-Car...item19d9146d5d

I believe it would fit in, but have a few questions around this:
1. I think we will need to drill minimum 4 holes in the console near the hand-brake, would it have any impacts
2. I also think the front seats have to be removed to make this fitment, would it have any impacts in the long-run
3. How difficult would it be to access the power-window switches (Especially for LX) would

[anjan_c2007]

Originally Posted by diwakarmuthu

Anjan, I've been thinking about putting in a universal armrest as I feel the need to have it especially moving in slow traffic and long drives. I found some posts in T-BHP and also found this in ebay. http://www.ebay.in/itm/Universal-Car...item19d9146d5d

I believe it would fit in, but have a few questions around this:
1. I think we will need to drill minimum 4 holes in the console near the hand-brake, would it have any impacts
2. I also think the front seats have to be removed to make this fitment, would it have any impacts in the long-run
3. How difficult would it be to access the power-window switches (Especially for LX) would

Diwakar, true the armrest is quite necessary and the LX version is deprived of this feature.
Drilling four holes or more for placement of the armrest may be required.
I do not think that the front seats will have to be removed for such a fitment.
The design of the armrest should be non-invasive type, and should not intrude into the power window switches and also the fore and aft movement of the front seats.
For this the armrest has to be properly designed.
Do keep us informed if you are able to succeed in your endeavour.

[anjan_c2007]

Monsoon drives are always a pleasure on my Scorpio. This is the only time when its AC takes some rest during the dry spells.This is because it is so naturally cool and non-dusty, that one can drive with the windows rolled down. The M Hawk grunt is quite audible, which adds to the drive pleasure in the green ambiance.
I was on a long drive last morning and it rained very heavily.The water flows down the windscreen like a river. This caused some visibility problems earlier, but now I am getting used to! All the slopes above the windscreen drain through the windscreen - a bane in the design.
Monsoons remind me of the Mumbai flooding during July 2005. This is when hundreds of office goers abandoned their stalled cars on flooded roads to walk back home. The SUV's got a good report card and most of them did not stall.
This is among the many reasons for my opting to zero in on a SUV in its aftermath.

I must say that my brute SUV's performance has been flawless till now- Touchwood!

Also the Amaron OE battery is still doing its duty without any hiccups whatsoever till now- again Touchwood!





Above- patient wait at the traffic signal



"I will always love you" by Whitney Houston (film Bodyguard) playing - so apt as I will always love my Brute SUV !

[anjan_c2007]

The CIVAA members drove to the Bor Reservoir and resort yesterday, 23/06/2013. Bor is a wildlife sanctuary near Nagpur. It falls in Wardha Dist.
There were 40 of us altogether. The onward journey was cloudy with an overcast sky. While returning, it rained and poured heavily - in fact much, much more than our normal barometer for "cats and dogs."
The trip was of nearly 150 plus kms in all.
My Scorpio did the run very well, brute as it is. Its poise all through was remarkable be it rain or the clouds or thunder. We did stretches on muddy cart tracks as can be seen in the last picture. I drove at speeds not exceeding 60 kmph, as we were passing through forested areas most of the time.The intention was to sight wildlife in its natural habitat. The other more important reason was that since it was a CIVAA (Central India Vintage Automotive Association) drive, many brought along their classic cars (there was one bike a classic BMW), but those members who drove the modern machines like me and a few others kept pace with the slower moving jalopies. My classic car was down with some niggling fault and hence I preferred the Scorpio.
So at such a steady driving speed, I found the fuel consumption quite in the region of around 13 kmpl , with most of the distance being covered in the 4th and 5th cogs. The AC was not on for about 40 % of the time, when it was dry. During rains it was put on, with the glasses rolled up. And as is expected, the water flows down the windscreen while it pours as if this is the only place from where the rain water can go down.
Contrastingly, the Scorpio, I have noticed consumes much, much more fuel at speeds above 100 kmph.
Overall, it was a lovely day spent by participating members and their families and friends.












My niece and daughter are seen above.













CIVAA participants after reaching the Bor reservoir resort

[anjan_c2007]

The original (OE) Hella dual horn was doing well since more than 4 years. A week back the OE, HT (high tone) horn located on the driver's side conked off. I tried all tricks in the book adjusting the horn point, wiring etc,etc but nothing worked.
The other alternative was to buy a new one. Though I could not get a Hella HT horn of the kind fitted as OE, I could get an Addon HT horn. The dealer was good enough to charge me 50 % of the cost price. The cost price was inclusive of the LT (low tone) horn and was rather as a pair costing some Rs 536/-. I was charged Rs 268/- for a single piece. The new horn is smaller but more effective. Thats newer technology four years hence - 2009/ 2013.

A new horn was a much better option than repairing the original as repairs would cost upwards of Rs 100/-. And chances are that it would again conk off when you need it the most!

The horns are located behind the bumper, like many NewGen automobiles. Without opening the bumper, there is no way out. And for any DIY chaps its necessary to learn how to dismantle and refit the bumper.

I would advise that anyone without any past DIY experience, may PLEASE not attempt this exercise as chances of errors are many.

The two plastic flaps on the bumper to the right and left have to be opened with a thin electrical screwdriver - be careful not to scratch the paintwork on the bumper, or else cloth packing can be used between the screw driver and the bumper.
The 2 + 2 bolts on the left and right are to be removed - use a 14 mm box spanner.
The bumper can be slowly moved forward and after it departs its company with the nuts, the bumper can be rested on a stool as shown below. It can be propped with a wooden/plastic stick as shown in the picture below.

The horn bracket can be unscrewed with a 13 mm box spanner. The two wires can be detached, but just keeping in mind their positions for re-fitment with the new horn.The new horn can be refitted and the tested. I got a very good sound to my satisfaction and was pleased!

I also cleaned the water and moisture gathered on the left fog lamp. The bulb was dismantled and access to the lens and reflector with a soft cloth enabled me to clean it, but not fully as total access is quite an irritant. But the major job is over and now the SUN God needs to oblige me, drying up the rest of the moisture.

The 2+2 nuts holding the bumper, have a bracket each to the left and right. I have screwed check washers to keep the nuts (and also the bracket) in position or else, while refitting the bumper, the bracket encourages the nuts to Rock'n Roll to our irritation. The check washers are necessary for DIY guys, as workshops are better equipped to do check and thwart such "undisciplined" Rock'n Roll acts. While refitting, it is essential to see that the rubber-packing between the bumper and the body to the left and right, just below the headlights, reach their original position touching the headlights cosily. Only when such positions are seen, should the four bolts be tightened slowly. With the bumper in place its all over ! The Brute SUV is ready for your drives.



The OE Addon HT to the right



The bumper dismantled and rested securely



The bumper dismantled and rested securely



Check washer to check Rock' n Roll acts by the bracket- the washer should tight fit the nut almost like a bolt



Check washer to check Rock' n Roll acts by the bracket - the washer should tight fit the nut almost like a bolt



The new one- Addon (right) and the old one- Hella (left)



Moisture and water on the left fog lamp - pity LUMAX and their totally lackadaisical Quality Control. This one was replaced for the same reason by the dealer two years back for free (under warranty) for the same reason, but the moisture and water are back again in the new one fitted in 2011, this time in 2013.



The cleaned fog lamp







Above three pictures show that the bumper is back in its original position

- Brute SUV Ready for a drive!

[anjan_c2007]

Very recently, my Scorpio had developed a clutch problem. The clutch was sinking and not getting released. Though not always, the phenomena was getting repeated once during 5-10 times of usage. While on the move, footwear had to be used to get it back to its normal position.
Rather it had become a "Charan Bhakt", relying on the footwear's command.
That was simply dangerous while on a drive.

So I decided to take it to the Sales and Service people on 10/09/2013, viz.M/s Unnati Motors, Nagpur. The servicing had also become due. Diagnosis was done soon and I was informed by phone, after leaving the SUV at the workshop, that the clutch master cylinder needed a replacement.

I okay-ed the replacement. Some other new spares needed to be fitted like the coolant chamber that had a broken cap.

While asking for the reason for the clutch repairs, I was told that the gear oil level had come down to an abysmally low level,owing to leakage.

The gear box has a drain nut as the only outlet.I queried and could learn that the leakage was owing to a drop by drop depletion ever since I had replaced the gear oil in June 2012. This was done at the same dealership. It could be gathered that the drain nut was not properly fitted.

The point is that the SUV is parked in a garage at home and I have not noticed any abnormal leakage. It was a one year four month gear oil drip that caused the depletion.

Sheer negligence of the workmen at Unnati Motors.

The service and repair job were executed and the SUV was delivered back to me the same afternoon. The service engineer behaved very well.He was not at fault, but the faulty job was done in June 2012.

I was only happy for I had preempted a very major gear box problem,by quickly taking the SUV to the workshop, immediately, when such a problem had cropped up.With a single handed and very careful usage,problems can always crop up. The workshop people can put us into problems.

The total bill was for Rs 5490=00.