[Sawyer]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

The thing is that the left side door is old and out of order.

And somehow it lurks inside the door, possibly because the drainage is also clogged. Im taking it today to drill a few holes as may be necessary, under the door sill bottom to allow for water drainage.

Fix the door one way or the other, I agree; but do NOT drill more holes! The drainage required is just the holes when the rubber bungs are pulled out, and it is very adequate to even use a hose to wash the car inside. There is no way it can be clogged. But water has to be pushed in its direction with a broom or such, the wells don't have a slope like good bathrooms do, to allow gravity to do the job. Throw the front mats in the rear till the floor dries out and you are good to go.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by Sawyer

Fix the door one way or the other, I agree; but do NOT drill more holes! The drainage required is just the holes when the rubber bungs are pulled out, and it is very adequate to even use a hose to wash the car inside. There is no way it can be clogged. But water has to be pushed in its direction with a broom or such, the wells don't have a slope like good bathrooms do, to allow gravity to do the job. Throw the front mats in the rear till the floor dries out and you are good to go.

The footwell bungs are completely clear.
Thats no issue at all.
The bottom of the actual door frame inside behind the door pad (where the window glass cradle is located) has tiny drainage holes in it around the frame's outer rubber beading, which I have unclogged with a piece of metal wire.
Saying that, yes, that door does need to be changed and I am going to do it as soon as I get a replacement.

[shankar.balan]

So a brand new door costs Rs. 11899. Available in ten days based on advance paid order from Popular Automobiles.
If I change one then I might as well change the other.
Including painting and fitment it will set me back by another 30 Grand.
What say?

If I actually do this then my Gypsy will be like the Ship of Theseus - mostly new parts all over the place!

I would like to keep this Gypsy until she actually becomes illegal to drive around.

I know it is stupid and irrational and so on but I really truly love the Gypsy. I have never felt as much peace and freedom as when Im driving the Gypsy.

Hence Im wondering.

Or else if some fella on TBHP is willing to buy this restored
2002 Gypsy then I ll just go and buy a brand spanking new one and hang on to it for life.

[Sawyer]

Live with that door is my recommendation. Do whatever cheap jugaad is necessary to make it functional.

[Leoshashi]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

So a brand new door costs Rs. 11899. Available in ten days based on advance paid order from Popular Automobiles.

Is this for a genuine OEM door?? Just checked my database, here are the details of a new door

Part Number: 68001-80C12
Name: PANEL ASSY FR DOOR RH
Price: Rs. 14235

-Can't believe that Maruti hasn't bothered to localise the door in so many years. It's still SGP(Made in Japan). This explains why a brand new Gypsy costs so much, despite being a barebones vehicle. Most of the larger parts are imported.

Why can't they localise it and offer it for a much lesser price?? If they offer complete localisation, I'm sure it will retail around 5lac rupee mark.

Regards,
Shashi

[Sawyer]

That is a surprise; and now with army procurement volumes having some questions about them, tooling for local manufacture will never make much sense. I doubt that there will be significant volumes sold even at the 5 lakh price point; the Gypsy is a test of character and spine that not many will venture to go up against.

As for repairs to body parts go, these are well within the capability of Indian denting and painting shops easily found anywhere in the country. Buying a door made in Japan makes no sense at all.

[Leoshashi]

Originally Posted by Sawyer

As for repairs to body parts go, these are well within the capability of Indian denting and painting shops easily found anywhere in the country. Buying a door made in Japan makes no sense at all.

True. A nicely tinkered door, sprayed with liberal doses of cold galvanising spray, and then Epoxy primer will be as good as a new door, while costing a fraction of the new part.

Regards,
Shashi

[shankar.balan]

Yes.
Im trying to source the left side door from the scrap chaps.
And the price indicated for a new door is what the Popular Automobiles chap told me.
Sadly the present door is beyond the tinker because the glass channel inside the door frame is all gone and that is an integral part of the door. Hence to stop the leak and have the window wind smoothly, I have no option other than changing that whole door. Right now it is held together more by rust and sheet force of habit.

[cool_dube]

A query to the Gypsy gurus here - not sure if this is a bug or a feature

Sometimes I feel that there is a "play" b/w the (pardon my ignorance here but in layman's terms it appears to be) drive shaft and gearbox in that while changing the gears and releasing the clutch, I hear a "khat" sound. This does not happen every time I up/down shift and I have learned to avoid it by releasing the clutch more gently than I regularly do on my other cars.

It seems that there is a "lag" of a fraction of a second b/w me releasing the clutch and the power being transmitted to the shaft. The same behavior can be elicited from the Gypsy when I slot first gear at standstill and release the clutch suddenly. Typically a regular car would stall if I do this but without the "khat" sound. The Gypsy stalls too, but with a "khat" sound. There is no other abnormal behavior observed while driving. Thoughts?

[Sawyer]

I don't know if this is the same thing: every annual service I get the transmission/prop shaft nut/bolts attended to by telling the advisor there is a little drive lash. For a few months after, all is well and then it reverts, till the next service. Normal for a Gypsy I think.

[cool_dube]

Originally Posted by Sawyer

I don't know if this is the same thing: every annual service I get the transmission/prop shaft nut/bolts attended to by telling the advisor there is a little drive lash. For a few months after, all is well and then it reverts, till the next service. Normal for a Gypsy I think.

Thanks Sawyer. Are the symptoms observed by you similar to what I have listed above?

[Sawyer]

Yes, to the extent one can feel some looseness/slack in the way the driveline takes up engine revs from the gearbox.

[cool_dube]

Originally Posted by Sawyer

Yes, to the extent one can feel some looseness/slack in the way the driveline takes up engine revs from the gearbox.

Sounds similar. Thanks for your inputs. Will bring it to the attention of SA during the upcoming annual service.

[Raul258]

Originally Posted by cool_dube

A query to the Gypsy gurus here - not sure if this is a bug or a feature

Sometimes I feel that there is a "play" b/w the (pardon my ignorance here but in layman's terms it appears to be) drive shaft and gearbox in that while changing the gears and releasing the clutch, I hear a "khat" sound. This does not happen every time I up/down shift and I have learned to avoid it by releasing the clutch more gently than I regularly do on my other cars.

It seems that there is a "lag" of a fraction of a second b/w me releasing the clutch and the power being transmitted to the shaft. The same behavior can be elicited from the Gypsy when I slot first gear at standstill and release the clutch suddenly. Typically a regular car would stall if I do this but without the "khat" sound. The Gypsy stalls too, but with a "khat" sound. There is no other abnormal behavior observed while driving. Thoughts?

I used to have a very smooth gear shift in my Gypsy till I changed the clutch plates and the clutch release bearings a few months back. Recently I've been noticing the same problem too. I don't know how to put this technically correct but I think this may be due to the bearing because when my mechanic was testing the front-back movement of the bearing during the replacement, it was getting stuck sometimes. He told its normal and applied lots of lubricants. Now especially during the 2nd and 3rd gear shifts there is that noticeable lag you are talking about.

[Sawyer]

Try tightening all the nut/bolts in the driveline and see if this fixes the problem. It can happen in any gear change as the driveline takes on the load again, but is more noticeable in the shifts you mention because matching wheel and engine rpm driven prop shaft speeds is more of challenge at those times and less likely to be achieved to the extent needed for this not to happen with driveline slack.