Plan to recondition your old 800/Alto - Maruti does it in Rs.35k with new half engine

[gaurav_chopra04]

Yesterday, I went to get the coolant hose pipe replaced of the swift at DD Motors (Peera Garhi), and while paying the bill, I came across a poster that said, transplant your Maruti's heart for longer life for Rs.10,000.

I was a little surprised as I never expected it to be this cheap at ASC and asked the service adviser for the details. I was told that Rs. 10k is the cost of new half engine of 800/Omni and including other costs such as valves, guides, gaskits, lathe machine cost for head face etc, and labour; the complete rebuit of your 800 will cost you around Rs.20k. Now, one any ways get to pay 10-12k for complete reconditioning of the old 800/omni engine and paying Rs.20k to ASC is not bad at all when you get warranty on parts (Adviser wasn't sure how much warranty we get, he wil check and let me know today).

Since, we have the now almost 12 year old 5-Speed 800, which has mostly the same engine as Alto (apart from few minor modifications in Alto), I enquired about the cost of the rebuit of the 5 Speed 800/Alto engine. And again I was surprised to know that the total cost of reconditioning including a new half engine will be near Rs.35k. Now, I was expecting somewhere around 18-20k for complete overhaul of the engine and paying 35k for complete thing is not a bad idea..

We have done over 1.7 lac kms on our car in last 12 years (without an overhaul) and tell you what its still a delight to drive. We plan not to sell the car ever (after a small thought of trading it for used esteem CNG- now discarded) and hence, plan to bring the car back to its pristine condition sometime next year. So, whats the better way than getting an almost new heart which can run for the rest of the car's life easily as this car now runs only 5k kms a year.

Just an effort to save the 800 - a CAR that put India on wheels..

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by gaurav_chopra04

Yesterday, I went to get the coolant hose pipe replaced of the swift at DD Motors (Peera Garhi), and while paying the bill, I came across a poster that said, transplant your Maruti's heart for longer life for Rs.10,000.

I was a little surprised as I never expected it to be this cheap at ASC and asked the service adviser for the details. I was told that Rs. 10k is the cost of new half engine of 800/Omni and including other costs such as valves, guides, gaskits, lathe machine cost for head face etc, and labour; the complete rebuit of your 800 will cost you around Rs.20k. Now, one any ways get to pay 10-12k for complete reconditioning of the old 800/omni engine and paying Rs.20k to ASC is not bad at all when you get warranty on parts (Adviser wasn't sure how much warranty we get, he wil check and let me know today).

Since, we have the now almost 12 year old 5-Speed 800, which has mostly the same engine as Alto (apart from few minor modifications in Alto), I enquired about the cost of the rebuit of the 5 Speed 800/Alto engine. And again I was surprised to know that the total cost of reconditioning including a new half engine will be near Rs.35k. Now, I was expecting somewhere around 18-20k for complete overhaul of the engine and paying 35k for complete thing is not a bad idea..

We have done over 1.7 lac kms on our car in last 12 years (without an overhaul) and tell you what its still a delight to drive. We plan not to sell the car ever (after a small thought of trading it for used esteem CNG- now discarded) and hence, plan to bring the car back to its pristine condition sometime next year. So, whats the better way than getting an almost new heart which can run for the rest of the car's life easily as this car now runs only 5k kms a year.

Just an effort to save the 800 - a CAR that put India on wheels..

If your car is running fine, do nothing. An engine rebuild is needed only if
. Your piston rings are worn.
. Your valves are not seating properly.
. FE has dropped and at times black smoke is emitted.

A properly maintained M800 engine should go on till 3L km, without major surgery. So if the engine is still lively, leave it alone. As it is, the residual value of the car is less than 50K, so there is no point in resurrecting the engine only. Apart from the engine the things that need more attention are
. Suspension
. Clutch
. Brake lines and rubber parts
. The electrical wiring. As it gets older the insulation starts deteriorating, so it is a good thing to change the whole harness, if you want to keep the car for another 10 years.

Also check if rust has set in. In case it has, you are in for major expenses.

[srikanthns]

We had a OMNI in our office purchased in 1996. The first engine re-bore was at 2.86 lakh KM. Then it ran for another 1.2 lakh KM. Finally, the exterior became so bad that it was unwillingly sold off in 2005. Somebody bought it in auction. Who knows, it might still be running!

[DicKy]

@gaurav_chopra04- I too had come across the poster in the Maruti service centre, but didn't have time to enquire about it.
Would surely like to give our '91 Omni for a rebuild,it's run for some 3lakh kms and the sole reason for doing so is nostalgia/sentiment, since the total cost of the car in the present condition is below 20k rupees.

[gaurav_chopra04]

Originally Posted by Aroy

If your car is running fine, do nothing. An engine rebuild is needed only if
. Your piston rings are worn.
. Your valves are not seating properly.
. FE has dropped and at times black smoke is emitted.

Although, there is no problem in driving the car normally, but the earlier punch is no more there. Also, the piston rings are now worn, car has started to consumer over 1.5L of oil in 5k kms and should need a rebuilt soon. The FE too has gone down to about 12-13 from 18 earlier. Though there is still no black smoke..

A properly maintained M800 engine should go on till 3L km, without major surgery. So if the engine is still lively, leave it alone. As it is, the residual value of the car is less than 50K, so there is no point in resurrecting the engine only.

I completely agree, the value of the car is only about 40k, but then the family including me is very attached to the car. Some extra cash to get it in top notch isnt a problem..

Apart from the engine the things that need more attention are
. Suspension
. Clutch
. Brake lines and rubber parts
. The electrical wiring. As it gets older the insulation starts deteriorating, so it is a good thing to change the whole harness, if you want to keep the car for another 10 years.

The car had complete new steering assembly and suspension about 10k kms back. Also, I have got new clutch, pressure plates, flywheel and bearings about a month back.

Brake booster has a small leak and I will address it at the earliest. Also, the drivers seat needs replacement. But the most important thing I need to address is the heat from engine bay that is transferred to the cabin. Need to get it insulated properly..

Moreover, the car will get a complete respray next year along with all new rubber parts..

Thanks for your post, very much appreciated..

Also check if rust has set in. In case it has, you are in for major expenses.

No rust at all apart from that on a dent on door. The chassis is in perfect condition and I got the rust coating done about a year and a half back along with the new steering suspension.

Originally Posted by DicKy

Would surely like to give our '91 Omni for a rebuild,it's run for some 3lakh kms and the sole reason for doing so is nostalgia/sentiment, since the total cost of the car in the present condition is below 20k rupees.

Ya, its mainly the sentimental values that we too dont want to sell this car. First new car, you know.

[shashank.nk]

Our Maruti 800 which is 23 years old and still is a delight to drive, had a half-engine replacement in 2005, and IIRC it was approx 30k all inclusive.

The only thing that needs constant monitoring in my case are the rubber fuel hoses. It always ends up with rat bites and fuel leakes out. Unfortunately, i haven't been able to find a solution to this and it once turned dangerous when the hose near the engine leaked and there was a fire.

The suspension is also a goner, but we haven't replaced it yet. What is the approx cost if the suspension is to be changed ?

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by gaurav_chopra04

Although, there is no problem in driving the car normally, but the earlier punch is no more there. Also, the piston rings are now worn, car has started to consumer over 1.5L of oil in 5k kms and should need a rebuilt soon. The FE too has gone down to about 12-13 from 18 earlier. Though there is still no black smoke..

Before going in for half engine check compression of each cylinder, after heating the engine up
- once in normal (dry) mode
- once after squirting engine oil into each cylinder

In case the compression is low in dry mode, but good after squirting oil, then only the rings need change.

In case the compression improves slightly with oil, but not much then the valves are also leaking.

Half engine change is necessary only if the valves are also leaking, else a change of piston/rings will suffice. In either case a change of the crank shaft bearings will also help.

[GTO]

Here is another thread (Half-Engine change on Alto @ 45k Kms, Please help) that offers more insight on Maruti's half-engine replacements.