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Old 15th July 2019, 15:21   #31
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Re: My 2008 Maruti Gypsy Hardtop - A childhood dream come true!

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Originally Posted by Amrik Singh View Post
If I am not wrong, vehicles with Bullbars were challaned in the past and its use banned.

https://autoportal.com/articles/bull...ure-15848.html
I think there's a stay on the same.

https://www.drivespark.com/four-whee...ia-025179.html

Even if the stay is withdrawn, I can unbolt it in a few minutes.
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Old 15th July 2019, 20:24   #32
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Re: My 2008 Maruti Gypsy Hardtop - A childhood dream come true!

I think you can always argue that the bulbar/lightbar is an integral part of the bumper, came with it ! It is not an extra bumper guard. Actually, off-road vehicles were allowed to fit these bars if they were well contoured/rounded, and not higher than the bonnet. Seemed less risky to pedestrians that way. Only angular ornaments were banned. But sometimes our courts, overburdened with backlog of cases, do not have time or inclination to go into scientific/technical assessments, and simply order a blanket ban. Another case in point is the blanket ban on sunfilms, in a country with hot summer temperatures above 50C in a tin box out in the sun.
But some VIP vehicles still go with the bumper guards, and nearly all with sunfilms. Someone should bring it to the notice of the apex court, asking why the common man cannot feel the heat of the sunrays inside a car, while only police and the VIPs do ?
In West Bengal, enforcement on these is lax, and I am running both light bar AND sunfilm ( the latter with very light tint, as if the glass itself was coated)

Read through the discussions on heaters, with amusement ! Initially, Gypsies were offered with free-wheel hubs, and ACs and heaters as options.
No vehicles now come with these, North or South India, but the dash switches remain. There is even a 'heater hose', if you try to buy a set of radiator hoses !
Often AC fitters disconnect the links for air-flow direction ( like it happened with me, and I went back and got them reconnected). The fan speed thermostat might have been disconnected similarly, or might have simply failed -- can refit one if available with MGP shops, or elsewhere.
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Old 16th July 2019, 01:43   #33
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Re: My 2008 Maruti Gypsy Hardtop - A childhood dream come true!

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Originally Posted by Arsi View Post
I have been facing an issue with the outer rear door latch. The door sometimes gets stuck and i am unable to open it from the outside no matter how hard I press.
I think I can help you with this one and nearly simple solution . Me too have been facing this problem on my new Gypsy since day 1. The door opens just fine from inside, but the outside latch 9 out of 10 times will not open it, then I push and pull it back and forth and eventually it works. During 2nd service I brought this to their notice, since its a hard top, they had to take apart the spare wheel and rear hatch to be able to access the locking mechanism, after nearly an hour of playing around, it still would not work. Since I was there all the time, it was me who discovered this. The outer door release latch is covered inside the black door handle, with the door handle removed, the latch is able to travel all the way and hit the unlock lever to release the door, but when we put the door handle back, the release latch is eventually stopped by the handle's closed outer edge on the left. MASS mechanic placed a couple of metal washers between handle and the door and it did seems to help at that point but latter when I reached home, it again started doing the same. And in all this process when they took apart the entire rear door lock assembly they were not able to put it back as it was and the door lock stopped working, I am 100% sure they were not able to put it back correctly as the lock itself was never a problem, but I guess since the Gypsy itself is in warrant they simply closed the matter saying the lock has gone bad and they will replace it. The lock had to be ordered and I have not had time ever since, hence have not been able to go back to them to get it installed. However in all this circus they broke my lock and the problem stays .

Now coming back to your particular case (and I am sorry for that little rant of mine but just wanted to give a bit of a context ), just take a screw driver and remove the round cap on the top edge to access the handle screw, remove the screw and also one on the bottom edge of handle, this will let you remove the handle exposing just the latch, now when you press the latch, it will travel all the way left and I am 100% sure the door will open. It is actually the handle which is preventing the latch to travel the required distance, and what I have noticed is, just few mm more and latch can work. From what I am thinking and may be I may have to do the same, just get a hole drilled in the handle at the very point where latch touches the left edge of the handle so that latch can move that few extra required mm. And I propose the above solution based on the entire 2 hours of futile effort which was spent on my Gypsy without any result ! I am sure it should work, otherwise it is just a handle, keep a spare one handy if you choose to try this. If you go to a mechanic, he will rip open the entire door assembly only to realize this in the end, hence before you go, just do this basic testing yourself and then choose an option accordingly.
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Old 16th July 2019, 21:32   #34
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Re: My 2008 Maruti Gypsy Hardtop - A childhood dream come true!

Wow,AVL500, I never had a problem with the rear door, from 2011 till date ! Lucky, I guess ! And I got a local lock-man to fit an inside handle as well as lock knob. they also work perfectly. Only that the guy fitted a Bolero handle inside (might have had that spare) instead of the typical Gypsy type, but that is fine as it is seldom seen.

Mine being a fabricated metal body with five doors, with two jump seats from Sumo Grande at the rear, the inside mechanisms are vital when carrying extra passengers who can fit into the luggage space !
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Old 24th July 2019, 19:48   #35
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Re: My 2008 Maruti Gypsy Hardtop - A childhood dream come true!

And how could I forget my earlier MG410W, which was with me till 2012? Another 5-door full-metal, that also did not have any problems with the rear door lock mechanisms, inside or out.
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Old 24th June 2020, 01:45   #36
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Re: My 2008 Maruti Gypsy Hardtop - A childhood dream come true!

Hi All,
Sorry about this slightly off topic post. Could not find a more relevant thread.

One of my friends has a 4x4 gypsy king (1.3 16v mpfi), which is modified completely for off road racing. Recently he got the power steering added, it was from a Peugeot make car. The power steering unit is not allowing for the car to take complete right turns. Attaching pictures below of the part that is touching the chassis.

My query:
I want to know if one of the below can be a solution.

1. Add 2 thick washers below(just above rubber part) so that the protruding bolt will now sit lower, thereby not hitting chassy.

Or

2.Can we get the bolt part trimmed (remove 3threads ) at a lathe, without changes to the quarter pin & its hole? Like reducing length of bolt.

My 2008 Maruti Gypsy Hardtop - A childhood dream come true!-img_20200624_002545.jpg

My 2008 Maruti Gypsy Hardtop - A childhood dream come true!-img_20200624_002537.jpg

My 2008 Maruti Gypsy Hardtop - A childhood dream come true!-img_20200624_002529.jpg

My 2008 Maruti Gypsy Hardtop - A childhood dream come true!-save_20200624_014842.jpg

Last edited by SS80 : 24th June 2020 at 01:52. Reason: Added notes and photo
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Old 19th February 2021, 16:37   #37
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Re: My 2008 Maruti Gypsy Hardtop - A childhood dream come true!

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Originally Posted by SS80 View Post
Hi All,
Sorry about this slightly off topic post. Could not find a more relevant thread.

One of my friends has a 4x4 gypsy king (1.3 16v mpfi), which is modified completely for off road racing. Recently he got the power steering added, it was from a Peugeot make car. The power steering unit is not allowing for the car to take complete right turns. Attaching pictures below of the part that is touching the chassis.

My query:
I want to know if one of the below can be a solution.

1. Add 2 thick washers below(just above rubber part) so that the protruding bolt will now sit lower, thereby not hitting chassy.

Or

2.Can we get the bolt part trimmed (remove 3threads ) at a lathe, without changes to the quarter pin & its hole? Like reducing length of bolt.
Sorry for replying late.

From my knowledge, adding a power steering doesn't interfere with this part of the steering mechanism. Whether the steering is eps or hydraulic, it should be installed before the steering gearbox not after it. From the pic, I can see a steering drag rod (which is connected after the steering box).
Anyways, I would recommend getting the bolt shortened.
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Old 21st February 2021, 00:54   #38
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Re: My 2008 Maruti Gypsy Hardtop - A childhood dream come true!

Hello everyone after a long time. I always wanted to update the thread but didn’t get time to do so. It has been quite some experience with the gypsy now. I have done quite considerable offroad driving since the last two years ranging from Rocky Mountains to lush green hilly meadows to mud baths and a lot of snow as well. And more is yet to come this year. Over the time, there has been a lot of learning as well and some modifications to boot. I would like to share my learnings and experience before jumping to how I have tweaked my ride

Learnings:

1- A stock Gypsy is quite tall for most of the regular OTR trails. Although I have a habit of driving with a spotter, but I can say that every time it surpassed my expectations. There is no need of raising it sky-high if you are doing easy to intermediate OTRs. You just need two things: Smart route planning and a sharp spotter. Also, you should know the approximate position of the diffs.

2- It is not a torque monster. The only disappointing thing that happened to me in almost every OTR was the lack of torque at low rpms. So, you are left with two options: either to keep the revs high and “bang” the car over the obstacles (which most of the Gypsians do and which I hate the most!) or keep the throttle light and don’t worry even if gets stalled. But in any case, do not use the clutch excessively. I remember in one of our OTRs in which I was following a Thar and we were on a considerable incline when all the Gypsies failed to get up. No matter what we did, they stalled half-way whereas the Thar was enjoying the peak-view . So, according to me, a Samurai 4.16 TC is a must (and planned!)

3- Gypsy can become comfortable. Yes, it can. Only once you get the knack of driving it. As I have shared before, if you encounter the road bumps at only one of the tyres, you won’t feel it. If it occurs at both, you are at God’s Mercy.

4- It can carry considerable loads. During this time, I was busy repairing my home. And I used the Gypsy to transport everything I could; from marble slates, tiles, wooden planks, pipes and even 20 cement bags (along with 2 Pax = 1200 kgs!).

5- Re-cambering of leafs is futile. Don’t waste your money in this. The leafs come back to the original position after some time. If you want to raise the car, then you should go for adding a leaf (but mind you, that would make the setup stiffer!).

6- FWHs are a good investment. I am getting 12-13 kmpl regularly. Plus, the ‘free’ mode makes the steering lighter and the ride quieter. Go for it.

7- TC foundation is the weakest link in the 4x4 setup. Mine got torn almost 10 times. Always remember to carry a couple along with you on an OTR. In case you forget, tying a rope around the TC and chassis is the solution. I have kept one permanently tied to it.

8- If your TC foundation gets torn frequently, then the issue lies somewhere else. In my case, it was the engine foundation which was torn and was letting the engine jump up which was tearing the TC foundation time and again.

9- Although it is permitted as per manual, but try to avoid shifting from 2wd to 4wd on the move. It could get your gear lever jammed and your car won’t budge. If this happens, you need the remove the lever which can be done from inside the car using some basic tools.

Improvements in my ride

1- Removed the anti-roll bar: Instant increase in articulation. I did a comparative and could easily find a couple of inches difference. In addition, it makes the ride further comfortable by allowing easy relative motion at two ends of the wheels. In many OTRs, I could see many gypsies struggling when one of the front wheels was raised but mine used to go smoothly just because both the wheels were on the ground, thus avoiding differential action. However, one should know that removing the anti-roll bar may cause unexpected swaying of steering at high speeds and/or during crosswinds.

2- Installed 2” shackles: My purpose was not to increase the GC or install 31” tyres but to allow more articulation with an added 2” length of the leafs. However, I could not see much improvement. I think I will have to install longer shocks as well.

3- Installed BF Goodrich AT KO2s (215): These were the best tyres out there in ATs. I didn’t want to go for MTs because their performance in snow is too bad. Plus, they bog down the already under-torqued ride

Plans:
1- Fabricating and Installing engine powered winch.
2- Installing dual independent handbrakes.
3- A 4.16 or higher TC. To be shipped from the US.

I will upload the pictures soon.
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Old 22nd February 2021, 19:37   #39
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Re: My 2008 Maruti Gypsy Hardtop - A childhood dream come true!

Here are some of the pics:

1- Good GC: I could not have imagined a stock Gypsy going over these boulders. Trust me, these are much bigger that they look here. And this was before I had installed the shackles. GC full points!

My 2008 Maruti Gypsy Hardtop - A childhood dream come true!-gc_li.jpg

My 2008 Maruti Gypsy Hardtop - A childhood dream come true!-gc2_li.jpg


2- Shackles (2") added!

My 2008 Maruti Gypsy Hardtop - A childhood dream come true!-img20201119wa0003.jpeg


3- Look how the leafs have flattened back even after they were re-cambered.

My 2008 Maruti Gypsy Hardtop - A childhood dream come true!-20201111_162934.jpg


4- Here are my new BFGs. All I need to do now is to paint the lettering white.

My 2008 Maruti Gypsy Hardtop - A childhood dream come true!-20210121_164037.jpg


5- Beast draped in snow.

My 2008 Maruti Gypsy Hardtop - A childhood dream come true!-20210123_191614_li.jpg


6- The hill upfront is where all the Gypsies stalled. The Thar you are seeing infront made it to the top easily.

My 2008 Maruti Gypsy Hardtop - A childhood dream come true!-stall.jpg
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Old 18th March 2021, 22:13   #40
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Re: My 2008 Maruti Gypsy Hardtop - A childhood dream come true!

Mod: Dual Handbrake (Poor Man's Diff Lock)

Background: After having a bit of off-road experience, I realized the disadvantages of an open differential. Just a single wheel up in the air or on the slippery terrain and you lose all your traction. In order to overcome this, two things are important. One, try to maintain both the wheels on the ground i.e. by increasing your articulation. Sometimes, this isn't enough (when the ground itself is slippery). Second, install a diff lock. Now, a regular diff lock in India costs about 40-50k which is quite some money. So I thought to go a bit out-of-the-box and save some cash while enjoying almost full benefits of a diff lock.

In an open differential, the power is directed to the wheel with the least traction. Now, if we somehow try to externally stop this wheel from rotating freely on a loose terrain or while it is in air, we can "falsely" create the situation of traction on that wheel. Thus, the power would be directed to the other wheel which is what we want. An effective way of stopping that wheel from rotating is to use brakes. In a normal car, the handbrake is connected to both the rear wheels, so we cannot control the spin of the wheels individually. Here comes the application of dual handbrake. In this, we have separate independent handbrakes for the two rear wheels.

Example: Suppose, our left rear wheel has lost traction and the right rear wheel is on firm ground. In this case, the engine will be sending the power to the left wheel which will keep on spinning and the car will not budge. Now, we will engage the left handbrake which will lock the left wheel firmly. Now the power (I won't say 100% but enough to move the car) will be directed to the right wheel with traction and the car will move.

Methods: There may be many ways to achieve this. But I chose the one which involves the least work and Gypsy's own parts. Plus, I kept the possibility for reverting back to the original setup with ease.

Required:
  1. Gypsy handbrake lever
  2. Gypsy handbrake lever pin
  3. Gypsy Handbrake adjust nut
  4. Gypsy Handbrake cable no 1
  5. A couple of thick iron sleeves (L-shaped)
  6. No. 10 bolts
  7. Couple of no 14 washers
  8. Plastic ties

Steps:
  1. Remove the original handbrake cable no. 2 from the right wheel and the bracket which connects it with the cable no. 1
  2. Remove the handbrake lever from inside.
  3. A metal cutter is required to cut and install another handbrake in parallel.
  4. Connect the handbrake cable underneath to the newly installed handbrake using the lever pin and nut.
  5. Weld the L-shaped iron sleeve parallel to the part where the first cable is attached. This L-shaped sleeve should have a provision of inserting the new cable at another end wherein you can tighten it using cable nuts and washers
  6. Since the cable no 1 has been already detached, it will need a new bracket to stay firm at the back near the rear axle. For this, weld another L-shaped iron bracket to the left of the axle (see image)
  7. Similarly, weld another L-shaped bracket to the axle near the diff for the right cable.
  8. Note: All the brackets should have provision for supporting the cable.
  9. Note: The rear two brackets should be placed in such a manner that the metal cable coming out of the rubber cable is tightened to the max.
  10. Note: The effectiveness of the setup depends on the strength of brackets used and the tightness of the cables. So, use thick brackets that can withstand the force when you engage the brakes. Also, place them in such a way that both the cables are tightened to the max.

Done! Cheers!

After removing the original handbrake

My 2008 Maruti Gypsy Hardtop - A childhood dream come true!-empty.jpg

Side view of two handbrakes after installation
My 2008 Maruti Gypsy Hardtop - A childhood dream come true!-side.jpg

Cables. Notice the brackets, on the left and on the right
My 2008 Maruti Gypsy Hardtop - A childhood dream come true!-wire-final.jpg

Final view of the handbrakes
My 2008 Maruti Gypsy Hardtop - A childhood dream come true!-final.jpeg

I will post the video of the working soon.
Hope it works as expected...

Last edited by Aditya : 20th March 2021 at 06:40. Reason: Grammar
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Old 18th March 2021, 23:49   #41
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Re: My 2008 Maruti Gypsy Hardtop - A childhood dream come true!

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I will post the video of the working soon.
Hope it works as expected...
Looking forward to the review on the ground. Your system is similar to the ESP based drive modes in modern SUVs. I read about a similar arrangement on off dune buggies many years back, but this could be the first installation in India on a traditional vehicle.
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Old 19th March 2021, 15:10   #42
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Re: My 2008 Maruti Gypsy Hardtop - A childhood dream come true!

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Originally Posted by Arsi View Post
Mod: Dual Handbrake (Poor Man's Diff Lock)
This system was being used by many offroaders few years back as cutting brakes for offroad competition to maneuver the vehicle on tight turns. We used it in a jeep with rear disc brake and double caliper from XUV 500.
Dont want to play spoilsport but how would you practically implement this? During offroading vehicle keeps on changing positions (its a moving vehicle most of the times), how would you ensure that you have used the correct handbrake?
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Old 19th March 2021, 15:56   #43
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Re: My 2008 Maruti Gypsy Hardtop - A childhood dream come true!

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Originally Posted by Shubhendra View Post
This system was being used by many offroaders few years back as cutting brakes for offroad competition to maneuver the vehicle on tight turns. We used it in a jeep with rear disc brake and double caliper from XUV 500.
Dont want to play spoilsport but how would you practically implement this? During offroading vehicle keeps on changing positions (its a moving vehicle most of the times), how would you ensure that you have used the correct handbrake?
Good question. In fact, I forgot to mention this important point that it may need a spotter to point out which tyre is spinning. Again, recurrent feedbacks may be required in a single sticky situation. Like the spin can shift from right to the left in a few metres.

Also, I feel that if the driver is experienced and smart, he has a feel as to which tyres are spinning. He can even check out two tyres from his window and pin point which of the four is/are spinning. Alternatively, he may calculate the probable loss of traction beforehand by looking at the terrain. I do that most of the times.
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Old 19th March 2021, 17:17   #44
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Re: My 2008 Maruti Gypsy Hardtop - A childhood dream come true!

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Originally Posted by Arsi View Post
Good question. In fact, I forgot to mention this important point that it may need a spotter to point out which tyre is spinning. Again, recurrent feedbacks may be required in a single sticky situation. Like the spin can shift from right to the left in a few metres.

Also, I feel that if the driver is experienced and smart, he has a feel as to which tyres are spinning. He can even check out two tyres from his window and pin point which of the four is/are spinning. Alternatively, he may calculate the probable loss of traction beforehand by looking at the terrain. I do that most of the times.
How much time does a driver get during offroad to process information, calculate and apply handbrake. Many times, we dont even get chance to change gears
But will wait for your feedback after few OTRs.
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Old 19th March 2021, 17:29   #45
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Re: My 2008 Maruti Gypsy Hardtop - A childhood dream come true!

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Originally Posted by Shubhendra View Post
How much time does a driver get during offroad to process information, calculate and apply handbrake. Many times, we dont even get chance to change gears
But will wait for your feedback after few OTRs.
Yes. True. But there's always a second chance. I think this type of system is not for dynamic situations but rather for those cases, where you know which of the tyres is causing the problem. Or in those cases where in you are already stuck and there's no one around to pull you out.

Still, I will get back to you after all the testing during a couple of otrs. I will update all the pros and cons. Stay tuned.
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