[Sawyer]

Lol. A VERY loud hiss at times! No reason to worry; minimise it by easing off the fuel cap slowly at the end. When a pump attendant does this on my car, at times he gets a small fright.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by cool_dube

Shankar - I'd agree with others here. The USP of Gypsy is its simplicity, why ruin it with something that can be lived without. I have been driving my King shod with 215 radials w/o P/S for over a month now, mostly on tarmac and in city traffic - have been able to manage without P/S pretty well. I am sure if I can, you can too - c'mon man, exercise those dormant bicep and shoulder muscles. If they can swing golf clubs, they can operate the Gypsy steering too That said, if the steering is too heavy (maybe you can compare it with mine) then time to get the steering mechanism checked.

Just asking. Just asking.

Am not interested in tampering with the original setups any more that one should.

[starter]

Originally Posted by satan

if the hub is set on free and place you transfer case in N and engage first your front tranny will engage and free wheel or "exercise".

Hey Neville,
I don't get this. So if i try the above procedure on a Gypsy not having FWH, then the front wheels should start moving in spite of my transfer case in Neutral.
Isn't it more easy to "exercise" your front tranny by switching to 4H with the FWH set to unlock and drive it around on tarmac?
Cheers,
Deepak

[Sawyer]

Originally Posted by starter

Isn't it more easy to "exercise" your front tranny by switching to 4H with the FWH set to unlock and drive it around on tarmac?

Lol; if I may jump in:

I had not thought of this, but yes, this should work very well too. Just as well as driving in 2WD with the FWH locked, also with no worries about doing that on tarmac.

But I struggle to see how anything could be achieved on this count with the car stationary as it would be with the transmission in N, regardless of what the FWH are set in.

???

[Sawyer]

I spent a little more time, to express my argument as simply as possible, and the best I came up with is this:

Regardless of the status or presence of the FWH, the front wheel drive shafts of a stationary car can move only if they get driven from the engine. If they get driven from the engine, the rear wheel prop shaft also must get the drive and the rear wheels must turn. If they turn, the car cannot be stationary.

Reductio ad absurdum: if I remember my almost forgotten high school maths teachings.

Happy to be proven wrong of course, but only in terms of a flaw in this proof please; I am no Gypsy Guru, and I haven't touched any maths book after high school.

[satan]

Originally Posted by Sawyer

I spent a little more time, to express my argument as simply as possible, and the best I came up with is this:

Regardless of the status or presence of the FWH, the front wheel drive shafts of a stationary car can move only if they get driven from the engine. If they get driven from the engine, the rear wheel prop shaft also must get the drive and the rear wheels must turn. If they turn, the car cannot be stationary.

Reductio ad absurdum: if I remember my almost forgotten high school maths teachings.

Happy to be proven wrong of course, but only in terms of a flaw in this proof please; I am no Gypsy Guru, and I haven't touched any maths book after high school.

its funny how the discussion has moved from the relevance of FWHs to working out the drive shafts. Your above explanation is partially correct ie the rear shafts will also get power but if the Tcase is in neutral the wheels will not rotate.

Why dont you try this out on your set up and report back the findings to us. irrespective of whether you have FWHs or not the car will not move since the Tcase is in N but i suspect the shafts will have drive. You may even want to take a video and post here for everyone's benefit. Just my suggestion and i am just as happy to be proven wrong

[cool_dube]

Originally Posted by satan

irrespective of whether you have FWHs or not the car will not move since the Tcase is in N but i suspect the shafts will have drive

This itself is contradictory. Forget the front axle for a minute - we all know that if the car is in "N" (transfer case lever) it will not move irrespective of whichever gear you engage on the main gearbox. Hope you are with me till here. Now, if you claim that the rear drive shaft moves in this case, it will rotate the rear axle, and consequently the rear wheels, which eventually will set the car in motion since there is no chance of a de-couple b/w rear drive shaft and rear wheels! This clearly indicates that it is just the gears inside the gearbox spinning when the transfer case is in "N" - nothing else moves.

[Sawyer]

Originally Posted by satan

its funny how the discussion has moved from the relevance of FWHs to working out the drive shafts.

irrespective of whether you have FWHs or not the car will not move since the Tcase is in N but i suspect the shafts will have drive.

It moved because we got around to discussing what a FWH needs to keep it in good running order, for a car that may not see any 4WD use in a year or even more - for example someone like me that hasn't used the stock car in 4WD mode for over three years, maybe more. Obviously to Gypsy experts like you that see frequent 4WD use in the course of your adventures, this is a non issue.

As to the last part of the second sentence quoted: :From where will they get the drive? And how can that happen without the rear shafts also getting it, and thus moving the car?!

But I have nothing to prove here so sorry, no videos; I know now that my stock car 4WD gear needs no "exercise" other than perhaps shifting the smaller lever around from time to time to make sure the linkages don't stick somewhere by non use, and I have no skin in this FWH game.

[shankar.balan]

Ok So my new (old) Gypsy 1.3 MPFI is undergoing some simple cosmetics and cleaning up and re addition of the outside mounted spare etc.

Need to change or re tension the rear RH leaf spring as it is not "bowed" enough and the Gypsy is canting to the right a bit.

Need to change the tyres - am not interested in spending big bucks and hence my considerations are JK Tyre Brute AT/HT. JK Tyre Ranger AT, Ceat Car or Rhino, MRF Zigma ZGP, MRF Wanderer, Goodyear Wrangler, Conti Cross Contact 4x4 and Yokohama Geolandar. I also saw these tyres called Aeolus Cross Ace AS01.

Im concerned about the size - I don't want 215's if it is going to impact my mounting the spare on the rear because I want to be able to lock the tyre in place on its hub.

So Im keen on 205/70/15 size more than 215/75/15. My usage will be primarily home-office-home with the occasional bout of mud roading or gravel riding - no rock climbing for me nor wading etc. I just want the pleasure of owning and driving an Old Gypsy about just for fun. But I would like AT tyres in preference to HT. Harder, longer lasting rubber would be preferred so that I don't worry about punctures and broken lugs and so on.

What should I do?

There seem to be a lot of deals online and having bought a set of tyres on PayTm for my Yeti Im quite comfortable with buying online especially on account of the quality, the delivery and of course the price and cash back benefits etc.

Can someone please help me list the best options of tyres here as per my specific needs and wants?

I really don't want to spend more than 20-25K on 5 tyres.

[shankar.balan]

Ok again. So I did a bit of research this morning by visiting 5 different Tyre Shops.

I saw the MRF Wanderer AT Tyres in 215/75/15 - the man quoted his best price of Rs 5200 per tyre. Nice tall tyres. Squared shoulders and good lugs. Nice, tough and cheapest so far other than those Aeolus. But the size...I really don't want issues on the spare rear mount...
Then I saw these ContiComfortContact 4x4 Tyres in 205/70/15 - though this looked more a HT kind of tread even though it says M+S = Mud and Snow - the man quoted his best price of Rs 5900 per tyre.
And then in two different stores, I was told about the ready availability of Yokohama Geolandar G012 AT Tyres in 205/70/15 Size - both of them showed me the price tag of Rs 6200 per tyre approx but were willing to give me 5 tyres at Rs 5700 each.

Now as I said before I don't want to upsize from stock or manufacturer recommended size. The Gypsy Radial recommended size is 205/70/15.
Im guessing since this is the manufacturer recommendation, that the tyre ought to fit peacefully on the stock spare tyre mount and not stick out unnecessarily. And one ought to be able to lock it in place as well, I think...

Any input from anyone here will help please!
And any info on these Aeolus Cross Ace tyres too, will help, as per my previous post on this thread.

[shankar.balan]

Pics of the tyres;

[khan_sultan]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Ok again. So I did a bit of research this morning by visiting 5 different Tyre Shops.

====

Any input from anyone here will help please!
And any info on these Aeolus Cross Ace tyres too, will help, as per my previous post on this thread.

If you are getting 205 in Conti, then go for them. A friend has this brand in Thar and likes them a lot, has done a bit off-road also and has similar use case as yours.

IMHO, get the best tyre that you can get and not the cheapest.

[shankar.balan]

Thank you Khan.
Normally as you say I would do exactly that. Im not one for penny pinching.
Im wondering if the stock size radials as recommended by the manufacturer will sit happily on the rear mount without causing any indentation on the sidewall. I also want to be able to lock the tyre/ wheel in place on the mount to prevent thievery...
This is one of the main reasons for going as per stock size.

Next, my usage is going to be very limited and on occasion it is going to be harder usage than normal because the Gypsy is my rough use vehicle.
Thats why Im not putting in any creature comforts in it.
Im even considering removing that carpet etc and just making do with the standard rubber mats all over.
Because that carpet does tend to smell a bit and I dont want that.
In this vehicle Im not going the lift kit and mods route at all.
Im just keeping it as stock as possible.
Im not even painting it up right now.
Just bare bones cosmetics.
And of course that leaf spring re tension job and changing all the suspension rubber bushes.
While the engine and gearbox etc are smooth right now already, Im going to give it in for a nice clean mechanical and engine servicing too as soon as the current bunch of work is over.

This Gypsy does not as of now have any back seat.
It is an empty space since I pulled out the existing seat as I didnt like it at all and no one is going to sit there anyway.

For the front seats I am going to re upholster them or cover them with simple easy maintenance Art Leather after thoroughly cleaning the existing fabric seat covers.
Mostly on account of accumulated dust and muck.

One thing I wish to seek further advice on, is the seat belts. The ones in this vehicle are functional but quite old and not very good at 'self retracting'. Is there a seat belt substitute I can consider from any other car?

[cool_dube]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

I also want to be able to lock the tyre/ wheel in place on the mount to prevent thievery...

Shankar - you should be able to do so with 215s as well. Go for the 215 Yoko Geolander AT-S, the most tried and tested tyre for the Gypsy on this forum.

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

One thing I wish to seek further advice on, is the seat belts. The ones in this vehicle are functional but quite old and not very good at 'self retracting'. Is there a seat belt substitute I can consider from any other car?

You can get the OE ones, as the Gypsy used the same seat belts as the Omni. Any MASS should be able to do this for you.

[shankar.balan]

Hi
Thanks
You ve bought 215's?
No problem with tyre width when it comes to the 'rubbing' and being able to lock the spare in place?