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Old 6th November 2014, 12:59   #1
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1996 Maruti Gypsy MG410W - Going places

Chattargala pass, 30 kilometres from Bhaderwah (J&K) is where it all began.

1996 Maruti Gypsy MG410W - Going places-20140901dp2m3034.jpg

I am an avid trekker and a landscape photographer. This time, I had borrowed my best friend's Gypsy for a week of trekking in and around Bhaderwah (J&K). However as luck would have it, it started to rain incessantly a couple of days into my trek. Now, rain during any trek is normal, but with this unseasonal rain I had a funny feeling in my gut. Over the years, trekking has taught me to listen to my gut and the next day when the rain turned into an even heavier downpour; I decided to pack up gear and head back home. Little did I realise at that time that this rain was the precursor to the deluge that battered Jammu & Kashmir for the next six days and caused extensive loss of life and property.

I had been contemplating buying a used Maruti 800 before this trekking trip. I wanted a tough, lockable four wheeler that would act as a base camp to store food and gear for multiple treks. My rationale was that a M800 was tough and robust enough to withstand the rigours of bad roads, while being cheap and easy to repair. However, as I was driving back in the incessant rains, the "kuccha" mountain roads had turned into quagmire of slush, falling boulders and vigorous water crossings. There was no way I would have made it back home without a four wheel drive and high ground clearance that the Gypsy afforded.

1996 Maruti Gypsy MG410W - Going places-20140921dp2m3093.jpg

I thought over my predicament for the next six days as it rained and rained in J&K and finally realised that when the crap really hits the fan, a four wheel drive is godsend on an Indian mountain road. Armed with this epiphany, I dumped the plan to acquire a used M800 and decided to start looking for a four wheel drive instead. These six days of thinking, aided by the fact that we had no electricity or good weather to act as a distraction, had given me a clear idea of what I wanted.

1. Utter reliability. Most of my driving would be over extremely poor to non existent roads in mountaineous terrain. And after a multi-day high altitude trek the idea of push starting a four wheel drive is not really something I look forward to.

2. Easy to repair and cheap to maintain. My work which is trekking, motorcycling and photography affords me little time or money to baby or fuss over a car.

3. A roof and a lock. One because some my trekking gear is extremely specialised. Even though it is not always very expensive, if lost or stolen it is difficult to procure in India. Second, this was going to be my home away for home for extended periods of time and I prefer sleeping in my car to save money and to acquire those early morning and late evening photographs.

Things that I didn't care much about

1. Comfort. I consider myself fairly physically tough and can take a fair bit of knocking around without complaining or losing too much sleep.

2. A/C. see above, plus it is usually good weather in the mountains during the summers.

3. Fuel cost. Since the only purpose of a four wheel drive would be getting me to trekking start points, the overall mileage would be under 20-30,000 kilometres / year

Now, I am quite lucky that my best friend "G" in Jammu (J&K) is an avid offroader and has owned two gypsies for the past 15 years. His first gypsy was an original narrow track 410 in ice blue which he had driven over 350,000 kilometres. He now owns a condemned army 410W, painted white, which has been lovingly restored and has done just under 200,000 kilometres.
When I broke the idea about owning a four wheel drive to "G" over a few beers, he was quite adamant that it had to be a Gypsy. More precisely it had to be a hard top Gypsy. His logic was impeccable:
1. Low mileage meant petrol cost was not a concern
2. His 15 years of experience have taught him that a stock Gypsy is totally and utterly reliable
3. Maruti service stations are most widespread (even though their service standards leave a lot to be desired - more on that later), and a stock Gypsy is relatively cheap and easy to maintain.
4. A gypsy is available in hard top configuration and if we took off the back seats, the rear would make a comfortable bed for one person with gear.
4. Finally, what sealed the deal for me was "G's" decade and half of Gypsy knowledge. He knew precisely what parts to source, where to source them from, what usually breaks, how to fix it in the field, the best mechanics in the city and so on and so forth

Armed with this brief, we started our month long search for the perfect Gypsy. Immediately into our search we hit our first roadblock. I had a budget of Rs. 100,000 for the M800 purchase and I was unwilling to go beyond this amount. This budget meant there was no way I could afford a shiny, post 2000, MPFI MG413 Gypsy King. Now, I have never owned a four wheeler in my life and "G" was unwilling to buy me a condemned Army Gypsy or one that had been modified for street cred or rallying. I was still a "Gypsy Virgin" as he put it, and it was better for me to take baby steps with a stock Gypsy.

So what we needed was a privately owned, stock gypsy with good mechanicals for under 100,000. That's not asking for much, is it? Now anyone who has bought or sold a Gypsy on team-BHP will know that with this measly budget a chance to score a decent purchase was frightfully difficult to pull off.

We had a few false starts and after a month, the leads were beginning to dry up. Decent used Gypsies were too expensive. The cheaper models were rust buckets with knackered engines. Some had been converted to diesel or even worse supplemented with extras for that extra bling and boy racer looks. After almost a month of looking one of "G's" contacts reported that there was a 1996 MG410 with a dealer which might suit our requirements. He told us that it was a privately owned vehicle with a hard top and that it was mechanically sound. "All it needs is a little bit of TLC (tender love and care)", he said.
Excited at the prospect, we drove to the dealer's yard the next day. There standing in a field of overgrown grass was a very sorry looking white Gypsy which looked like it had been left there to rot. I rolled my eyes and groaned inwardly when I saw the vehicle. "Great! another false lead", I thought to myself. By now a gypsy within our budget and with our parameters was beginning to look as elusive as a unicorn. But then I noticed that G's eyes had suddenly lit up. They usually do when he is on to something. Now, I have a fair mechanical aptitude and consider myself a fair tinkerer but this Gypsy definitely looked like it needed more than a "bit" of TLC. A quick inspection revealed:
The interior was shot and would need a complete rework. The carpeting was long gone and the seats were home to a colony of ants, a lizard and a few spiders. There was so much wildlife in the vehicle, that the previous owner could turn it into a mini zoo. The lights were mismatched and broken, the wipers didn't work, nor did the horn. The engine bay looked like it hadn't been opened in months. The engine oil was more sludge than oil. No coolant, only water and the brake oil that was more black than red.

However, on the positive side, the body line was clean and straight. The paint needed work but looked completely original. Most importantly, under a veneer of caked mud and dirt all important mechanical bits looked original and seemed to be bolted on in the right place. The suspension looked sorted and the tyres were radials that had done under 10,000 kilometres.

Apprehensively, we asked for the keys and after a fair bit of prodding by "G", the engine fired. A short 100 metre drive followed by a 4x4 engagement and 15 minute visual inspection later G was utterly convinced we had found our vehicle. I was still unconvinced, but I am wise enough to realise that when you are over your head in water it is best to keep your mouth shut. So I let G take the lead, handle the negotiations and the next day we struck a deal for the Gypsy as it lay. The registration revealed that this was a MG410W, privately owned Gypsy, owned by a business in Jammu and registered on 5-09-1996. Reassuring! But this also meant that this Gypsy was over 15 year old and it would need re-registering at the local RTO as the registration had run out.

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The gypsy was driven from the dealer to a service station for a wash. The washing and vacuuming took a bit over three hours. The tenants a.k.a. wildlife were evicted, the carpets thrown out, years of muck washed off and the exteriors were beginning to look a bit spanky. Here's what it looked like after the wash

1996 Maruti Gypsy MG410W - Going places-front.jpeg
1996 Maruti Gypsy MG410W - Going places-interior-left.jpeg
1996 Maruti Gypsy MG410W - Going places-tyre.jpeg
1996 Maruti Gypsy MG410W - Going places-right2.jpg

Tomorrow I take it to the MASS for a long overdue service. More on that later.
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1996 Maruti Gypsy MG410W - Going places-parked2.jpg  

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Old 6th November 2014, 15:23   #2
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re: 1996 Maruti Gypsy MG410W - Going places

Heartiest congratulations on the purchase.
I have been forced to return / alter my travel plans, by poor roads twice before, so I can assure you buying a 4X4 is a wise choice.
I too have just started my gypsy journey so it nice to know I will have company in the aches and pains of a gypsy restoration process.
My two cents: make sure you learn to adjust the mixture on your gypsy as you will need to adjust for a change in altitude.
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Old 6th November 2014, 16:16   #3
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re: 1996 Maruti Gypsy MG410W - Going places

Dear Antihero - hello to you. I don't mean to sound spoilsport but the rear left door is non-standard, so is the hard top. Please be very careful.

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar
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Old 6th November 2014, 21:42   #4
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re: 1996 Maruti Gypsy MG410W - Going places

Quote:
Originally Posted by caged_nomad View Post
Heartiest congratulations on the purchase.
I too have just started my gypsy journey so it nice to know I will have company in the aches and pains of a gypsy restoration process.
My two cents: make sure you learn to adjust the mixture on your gypsy as you will need to adjust for a change in altitude.
@caged_nomad. Thank you so much for your heartfelt comment. I am following your restoration thread with a lot of interest and I wanted thank you for the carb tip, much appreciated.

Quote:
Originally Posted by DHABHAR.BEHRAM View Post
Dear Antihero - hello to you. I don't mean to sound spoilsport but the rear left door is non-standard, so is the hard top. Please be very careful.
@Dhabhar.behram First, thank you for taking the time out to comment. I have followed your posts for quite some time, and I must say there is a lot to learn from them. Needless to say you are not being a spoilsport and I respect and welcome your perspective. As far as I understand your comment, since this is a non standard door and top (as opposed to the original fibre hard top) perhaps you wish to state that that repairs / spares will be hard, if not impossible to source. Is that what you meant? Waiting for your reply. Cheers!
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Old 6th November 2014, 22:06   #5
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re: 1996 Maruti Gypsy MG410W - Going places

Original gypsy hardtop had a single rear window and no doors. This is an aftermarket job but if has been done properly it will serve your purpose. See if your friend can procure an original hardtop from an auctioned vehicle to be retrofitted to your gypsy.
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Old 7th November 2014, 10:09   #6
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re: 1996 Maruti Gypsy MG410W - Going places

Quote:
Originally Posted by antihero View Post
Since this is a non standard door and top (as opposed to the original fibre hard top) perhaps you wish to state that that repairs / spares will be hard, if not impossible to source. Is that what you meant? Waiting for your reply. Cheers!
Dear antihero - no that is not what I meant. Availability of spare parts / repair is a very small thing. What I meant was three things, as follows:

1. Such changes affect the structural integrity of the "body tub" (as we call it in engineering terms), therefore, its behavior during normal operation of the vehicle which involves pitch (about the Y axis "transverse") / roll (about the X axis "longitudinal") and yaw (about the Z axis "vertical") will not deliver optimum vehicle dynamics performance.
2. BSR (buzz, squeak and rattle) performance will certainly deteriorate in the absence of engineering backup for such changes.
3. Corrosion path starts due to the complete absence of production intent pre-treatment of the BIW (body in white) in this area.

All these things will finally reduce vehicle life. As you have purchased the vehicle for a special application of photography, use it carefully. I know that you will understand, all the best and if you find a good body tub and the original FRP top from a scrapped vehicle, please swap it.

Dear all - garages can never do what R&D can do, people make tall claims, make big bills, do some tinkering and handover something which resembles a vehicle. By the time the customer realizes, it is too late. Same goes for accessories too. Be careful. Don't spend your hard earned money to spoil your vehicle.

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar
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Old 7th November 2014, 11:00   #7
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re: 1996 Maruti Gypsy MG410W - Going places

The gypsy was turned over to the neighbourhood MASS. My job card looks like this

1. Oil and oil filter replaced (the sludge has been replaced with some fresh smelling oil). Rs 969.16 with 0.5 litres of oil handed back
2. Differential and transmission oil added (it was running with negligible oil, under 500 ml) Rs. 1419
3. Radiator flushed and tap water replaced with a concentrated coolant and water mix. Rs 502.20 for 2 bottles of concentrated coolant
4. Brake fluid replaced. Rs 326 / 500ml
5. Fuel filter replaced. Rs 32.60
6. Brake pads front and rear replaced, brake shoes rear replaced. Shoes Rs 856.38 Pads Rs 731.28
7. 4 spark plugs replaced. Rs 193.84
8. Coil replaced with an original Lucas coil. MASS did not have the part available, bought aftermarket Rs.700
9. Coil lead replaced. MASS did not have the part available, bought aftermarket Rs. 150.
10. Propeller shafts inspected and splines lubed
11. No issues with the shocks or leaf springs
11. Crosses checked and the 4wd cross needs to be replaced
12. Wheels balanced and rotated
13. Distributer timing adjusted
14. Brake and indicator light bulbs inspected and fixed
15. Air filter replaced. Rs. 189.43
16. Aftermarket air intake pipe bought and fitted. MASS did not have the part available. Rs. 80. Interesting that the original MGP air intake rubber hose costs ~ Rs. 2500

Total cost around Rs. 8000

The MASS mechanic working on the Gypsy was an old hand and he was fairly competent. One thing I have noticed with these old garage hands (and it really gets my goat) is their inherent propensity to go for a hammer and cold chisel, even when there are specialised tools available.
The chief electrician was unavailable and his replacement was a snotty young man who wanted to fill up the battery with water from a coolant can. I simply told him to leave the vehicle as it is. I can live with non functioning vehicle rather than put up with a shoddy job by someone who obviously doesn't care much about what he is doing.

Rant alert!
I fail to understand this culture of shoddy workmanship in my country. We as Indians are more than gratified by mediocrity and seldom make an effort to improve our own work over mediocre standards or demand excellence from others. Most people perceive this to be rooted in poor education and training. However I digress. The urge to do your best, and provide quality work is something that is self inspired. Its a shame we accept mediocrity as a way of life.
--

Some other issues that need work
1. The 4x4 lever vibrates alarmingly between 60 and 65 kmph
2. The silencer has a tear which causes a cabin resonance in 4th gear and needs to be fixed
3. None of the gauges work, nor does the odometer.
4. The self does not fire at a cold start. It works fine when the vehicle has wamed up. It could be an issue with the battery or with the self. We need to figure it out.
5. The headlights don't work, needs new bulbs and reflectors.
6. I am not even thinking about the interiors yet. That's a low priority for me.

So far the Gypsy hasn't thrown an ugly scare (yet?) and it seems to respond quite well to the fesh fluids and consumables therapy. A short 10 kilometre ride confirmed that rattles and squeaks have subsided, and that the engine breathes easier.
Coming Next: The Gypsy visits a good electrician to sort out the niggling electrical faults. More on that later
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Old 7th November 2014, 12:03   #8
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re: 1996 Maruti Gypsy MG410W - Going places

Quote:
Originally Posted by antihero View Post
I can live with non functioning vehicle rather than put up with a shoddy job by someone who obviously doesn't care much about what he is doing.
I couldn't agree with you more, sadly we have to work with what we have (human talent that is), its best to fuss over your vehicle and get the work done in front of you. It helps you learn and keeps them on their toes.

Sadly I am unable to walk my own talk as I am sitting in Hyderabad
but you can be rest assured that i will give the car a through once over with the mechanic to check what all he has done!

Will keep you posted on that, let us know what the electrician says.

Cheers!
Abhi
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Old 7th November 2014, 12:29   #9
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re: 1996 Maruti Gypsy MG410W - Going places

Quote:
Originally Posted by antihero View Post
The urge to do your best, and provide quality work is something that is self inspired. Its a shame we accept mediocrity as a way of life.

So far the Gypsy hasn't thrown an ugly scare and it seems to respond quite well to the fesh fluids and consumables therapy. A short 10 kilometre ride confirmed that rattles and squeaks have subsided, and that the engine breathes easier.
Dear antihero - you are absolutely correct, in India, it is indeed shameful that "Mediocrity has become an accepted level of Performance". Excellence comes from within the person. Either a guy has it in him or he does not have it in him, it is as simple as that. Read these examples:

1. Sometimes I have to give my classic Fiat cars' batteries for trickle charging as I rarely use my classic cars. Whenever I give the battery to my regular batterywallah who has been in the business for more than 30 years and from who I buy my batteries for the last 30 years, I still have to buy a bottle of distilled water from a petrol pump (they also rarely keep it these days) to fill the cells if required before I hand over the battery to him otherwise he will fill normal water. I actually keep the plastic bottle in his shop only. What else can I do?

2. I was explaining the nuances of one of the vehicle aggregates to some colleagues. After the interaction, a guy came to me and coolly asked me the relationship between Ram and Sita! I was like "zapped"! You got it? My engineer correctly told me, "boss, if you are hell bent on banging your head against a wall, only your head will break"! I had no answer!

Amongst all this madness, guys like us have to find our way and also try to remain sensible! .

As far as your Gypsy is concerned, what you have done upto now is correct. See the quantity of oil which came out, people are so "kanjoos", they don't even put oil in the vehicle. This is nothing new and this attitude will not change. Just swap your battery with another one and if the starter works properly, just put a brand new branded battery (Amaron is preferred) from a genuine battery dealer shop and clamp it properly with new clamps, parts are readily available. Ask for the battery specification catalogue, 99% chance is that he will not have it. Instead of the catalogue, the batterywallah will give you all sorts of "gyan", listen to him but take your own correct decision. Best of luck!

Then use your vehicle, do at least a couple of thousand kilometers. And please don't go overboard to do this thing and that thing, you will lose money so fast, you won't even realize it till it's gone. Enjoy! .

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar
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Old 7th November 2014, 15:16   #10
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re: 1996 Maruti Gypsy MG410W - Going places

Hi Antihero, Congratulations on the purchase! One simple check which gets forgotten with Gypsies is the seat bush at the base of the 4x4 shifter. This ring causes the shifter to get stuck sometimes especially if the transfer shifter has not been used in a while.
Looks like: http://www.pramodmarutiparts.com/prodimage/843.jpg
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Old 7th November 2014, 18:58   #11
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re: 1996 Maruti Gypsy MG410W - Going places

Quote:
Originally Posted by caged_nomad View Post
Sadly I am unable to walk my own talk as I am sitting in Hyderabad
but you can be rest assured that i will give the car a through once over with the mechanic to check what all he has done!
As it should be. You must be quite distressed at not being able to oversee your build / repairs. Every petrol head will empathise with that.

Quote:
Originally Posted by DHABHAR.BEHRAM View Post
Amongst all this madness, guys like us have to find our way and also try to remain sensible! .
At times it really gets to me, but you are right. “The real cycle you're working on is a cycle called yourself.” ~ Pirsig

Quote:
Originally Posted by DHABHAR.BEHRAM View Post
the batterywallah will give you all sorts of "gyan", listen to him but take your own correct decision. Best of luck!
How right you were! this is exactly what happened. I went to two shops, and they had no answer for my simple question. How is "X" better than "Y", empirically?
They went on to talk about big companies and better batteries but really couldn't define "better".
Quote:
Originally Posted by rmonie View Post
One simple check which gets forgotten with Gypsies is the seat bush at the base of the 4x4 shifter. This ring causes the shifter to get stuck sometimes especially if the transfer shifter has not been used in a while.
@rmonie. My Gypsy knowledgable friend "G" inspected and replaced this rubber seal when I reported the wobble. But apparently that is not the cause.
However, I wanted to thank you for the tip. Its quite nice of you to share your pertinent knowledge irrespective of my ignorance. Much, much, appreciated and please don't hesitate to share more such nice nuggets of information.
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Old 8th November 2014, 09:41   #12
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re: 1996 Maruti Gypsy MG410W - Going places

Good news and bad news today.

The good news first.

The electrician recommended by "G" turned out to be a thorough professional. The first thing that he did was whip out a hydrometer

1996 Maruti Gypsy MG410W - Going places-hydrometer_psf.png

and inspect the battery. The battery is in a poor state and needs a replacement. Since I came recommended by "G", he told me to run the gypsy for a few hundred kilometres and decide if I still need a new battery. He was honest enough to state that he recommended an Amaron battery, because he owned an Amaron dealership.

We had a discussion on the pros and cons of a stock vs slightly uprated headlamp setup. In the end, I decided to go for 100/90 bulbs running on a Minda relay. Since, it's really a plug and play job; no splicing or cutting required, it does not compromise the vehicle's reliability in any way.

1996 Maruti Gypsy MG410W - Going places-201411060003.jpeg

He changed a damaged reflector and the front dome glass to the original Lumax glass with a funny vertical etched line pattern on it. I could not get a valid explanation on the functionality of this pattern on the headlight dome. Is it for better light dispersion? In my mind a clear glass dome would cause minimum loss in light transmission. Any takers for this conundrum?

1996 Maruti Gypsy MG410W - Going places-201411080003.jpeg

Wipers next; this needed removing the glovebox and accessing the wiper motor to reset the wipers to their correct rest position. I wonder why Maruti chose this inaccessible nook to place the wiper motor. It's not like the engine bay is exactly crowded as a 5 o' clock Mumbai local train. The wiper blades were from 2004 (sigh! el cheapo ex owner) and were promptly replaced with new Bosch wiper blades.
Since the dash was already dismantled, the electrician epoxied the blower inlet tubes to the dashboard vents. The blower inlet tubes tend to fall off the dashboard vents, a common problem with old gypsies, he said. The blower lives again, though I doubt I will be using it much, because there is no heater.
Another point to ponder. The original M800 had a heater fitted as standard. This makes me wonder why a heater was never an option for the Gypsy. Was it because of technical reason or was it simply cutting costs? P.S. perhaps some gypsy guru could elucidate (@DHABHAR.BEHRAM I am looking at you )

Other such small odds and ends were fixed. Replaced the non functioning dual horn with a softer horn. Pulled out the old speakers which had rusted in the footwell and the side pillars. They were quite reluctant and attached to the gypsy and it took a fair bit of prodding and WD40 application to get them away.

1996 Maruti Gypsy MG410W - Going places-201411080002.jpeg

No, there were not usable and I am not looking for a sound setup because
1. The default speaker position in the footwell is a lousy idea and with my kind of terrain, I can only foresee them shorting out in the middle of a mountain stream crossing. Not a pleasant prospect.
2. I have an old school battery operated tri-band (MW/FM/SW) radio which makes an excellent travelling companion and doesn't a need car battery to run. It may come as a surprise to most people but the radio market is still alive and doing quite well in rural India. Did you know they even sell radios on flipkart
3. Even the cheapest branded ICE setup (head unit and 4 speakers) will cost me around10% of the Gypsy's purchase price
4. I cannot afford an ICE setup

Total time 2 hours
Total cost Rs. 1700
Excellent professionalism.

Now for the bad news.

As I was heading back, I noticed a fair sized puddle forming near my front left wheel. Just when I thought I could get away with it; the dreaded kingpin bearing, corroded rubber seal monster had reared its ugly head. In all honesty, "G" had warned me that this was one of the first things that would need work but I thought I could put it off for a while. Karma it seems has a sense of irony. The only reason this problem took a day to surface was probably because the front diff had no oil to begin with.

At the MASS, the technician insisted that it is only the leaking hub that needs an inspection. However by now I knew better, and it took me 10 minutes of verbal duelling to convince him that both hubs need to taken apart and inspected. And right I was; the kingpin bearings and two steering bearings needed replacement, while the knuckle kits had worn down to shims. The MASS did not have these parts in stock, which was perhaps the reason why the technician was reluctant to work on the diffs. A pair of aftermarket knuckle kits with the requisite rubber seals were sourced, along with original MGP bearings, which was a relief.

Total cost Rs 2500
Sidenote: If you are in Jammu and are looking for Gypsy spares. Amba motors, near Rehari Gurudwara is the place to go. Reasonably priced, well stocked with a straight talking owner, who will ask you upfront whether you want MGP or something else. "G" has been buying Gypsy gear from this shop for over 10 years, and recommends this shop.
By the time the diffs were put back together it was already dark. This meant an opportunity to test the new headlamps. The light is satisfactory, without being overwhelming for incoming traffic. Since the bulbs are 3200K a.k.a. yellow light, perhaps I can get along without fog lamps. Only time will tell; snow and winter is coming. P.S. I still need to adjust the headlamps for more accurate throw.

On a positive note, the jostling and the short test drives have unexpectedly brought the fuel and temperature gauges back to life. It always feels good to end the day on an unexpected win.

Some other issues:
1. The windshield is scarred with scratches and wiper blade lines and will need a replacement in the distant future. A low priority, because the Gypsy will seldom be driven on highways or at night.

The gypsy now heads to a friendly neighbourhood garage for small repairs like door adjustment and muffler welding. More on that later.
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Old 8th November 2014, 12:26   #13
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re: 1996 Maruti Gypsy MG410W - Going places

Nice narration of bringing back to life a joy giver.

The older headlamps had "lenses" that created the diffusion pattern needed for proper road coverage. The horizontal and vertical lens lines create beam pattern for high as well as low beam. It only much later that pattern reflectors started coming and clear lens could be used. You can of course replace older beams with newer one.
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Old 8th November 2014, 23:30   #14
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re: 1996 Maruti Gypsy MG410W - Going places

Dear Antihero, heartiest congrats on your new acquisition. I whole heartedly agree with you with regards to the competence of a lot of our mechanics, even MASS ones.

I was in our friendly neiborhood MASS, with "iceberg" (my gypsy&#128512 a few days ago after an off road trip as it was time for her servicing and oil change ( diffs, transfer, transmission and engine) .

As you may well believe, they just treated the vehicle like any other hatch or sedan. Didnt check play on the transmission shafts,didnt know where the grease points were and didnt check tightness of transfercase mounts, spring mounts etc.

In short, they had no clue how to handle a 4x4 vehicle.
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Old 9th November 2014, 11:42   #15
Tgo
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re: 1996 Maruti Gypsy MG410W - Going places

Another Gypsy lives on... great thread. Your opening frames of your friend's Gypsy are the best pictures of a hard top gypsy I've ever seen of it.

Quote:
Originally Posted by antihero View Post
On a positive note, the jostling and the short test drives have unexpectedly brought the fuel and temperature gauges back to life. It always feels good to end the day on an unexpected win.
I think the shaking about has shaken up the wires which connect to the gauges. These wires being old may have cracks from which current may be leaking if that part touches any metallic part or each other. Shaking the wires might have just temporarily stopped that leakage path. Please check.
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