[gsferrari]

AFAIK Kaushik doesn't have the "Demon" anymore but I am sure he misses it a lot. A cute cage is on it's way to replace the black messiah from hell

[KSM-Vtec]

Originally Posted by gsferrari

AFAIK Kaushik doesn't have the "Demon" anymore but I am sure he misses it a lot. A cute cage is on it's way to replace the black messiah from hell

Originally Posted by MexXxentric

He look sophisticated & demonish is soft top.
Got any plans for a winch?

Originally Posted by Amar82

Kaushik,
I love the way you drove the gypsy with accelerator rope in one hand.

Awesome pics buddy. I am waiting since 2 years to goto Leh, everytime there is some problem.

Originally Posted by harjeev

Great Pictures Kaushik, I've too been a follower and admirer of your travelogues.

BTW in your Ladakh travelogue you wrote that your 4x4 was stuck in neutral and then you rectified it yourself!! That was really something. Could you please explain what exactly went wrong and how you rectified it?
Cheers

Originally Posted by Desmosedici

Great Pics man, especially the ladakh ones. i have read your thread several times.

Cheers,
Raj

Thanks a lot guys!!!! Appreciate your interest and compliments....

[V-16]

The Gyps looking killer especially with the Matt black paint job. Way to go bud!!
Love the Ladakh travelogue. Am planing one myself so will be taking tips from you re that whenever i finalize.

[KSM-Vtec]

Originally Posted by V-16

The Gyps looking killer especially with the Matt black paint job. Way to go bud!!
Love the Ladakh travelogue. Am planing one myself so will be taking tips from you re that whenever i finalize.

Thanks a lot Sir!!!!

Ladakh is the place to be. It will be my pleasure to provide inputs for your trip.

[KSM-Vtec]

Originally Posted by harjeev

Great Pictures Kaushik, I've too been a follower and admirer of your travelogues.

BTW in your Ladakh travelogue you wrote that your 4x4 was stuck in neutral and then you rectified it yourself!! That was really something. Could you please explain what exactly went wrong and how you rectified it?
Cheers

Thanks a lot Harjeev!!!

Oh ya that was a great day.

We were closing up into this narrow patch on the cliff where the road was very narrow and the valley was to my left. Just then an army truck came up from the opposite side and we were now forced to cross each other. Initially it appeared to be close but possible, only later it became obvious that it was very very very close. Finally at one point we had to stop and i was less than 6inches away from the edge to my left. The road/soil was soft and one nick from the truck would have sent us rolling down the cliff into the valley. This was when i decide that some more grip would be a better than almost no grip and got into 4L.

Luckily we crossed each other and were alive. After the intense moments when i tried shifting into 2wd my 4X4 lever got stuck in the neutral and just would not move, hence i could not engage any of my gears and could not move either forward or backward on engine power. Tried pushing the car forward backward but the 4x4 lever would just not move.
Had read about this problem and vaguely recollected the solution. I also tried calling up pdev29 and my mechanic but the network was very bad. Unfortunately we dint have a towing rope and that option was also out. Not left with a choice i decided to open the top cover of the 4x4 GB. Dint have too much to lose and hence decide to pull the lever out and engage the 2x4 using a screwdriver.How do you do that, let me write about this because its a very common problem with the gypsy??

Step 1. Remove the rubber cover on the 4x4 lever (just 4 screws to be removed)
Step 2. Unscrew the gear lever knob and slide the cover out.
Step 3. On looking below you will see a circular lid around the area where the gear stick enters the transfer case
Step 4. Push the lid down with the use of a screwdriver and turn the lid in the anticlockwise direction (this will unlock the same and the lever can be pulled out.)
Step 5. Now slot the 2x4 or 4x4 gear with the help of a screwdriver by bringing the linkages into the correct position
For 2x4 shift the left linkage upwards and leave the right in the middle at the neutral position, shift the left linkage down and right linkage all the way down for 4H and all the way up for 4L.

Luckily we were able to do it and rather quickly and we ended up wasting less than 1 hour. We drove down to Keylong with the propeller shaft visible from inside the gypsy and got the lever fixed back into its place by a mechanic there.

[KSM-Vtec]

Originally Posted by Amar82

Kaushik,
I love the way you drove the gypsy with accelerator rope in one hand.

Awesome pics buddy. I am waiting since 2 years to goto Leh, everytime there is some problem.

Thanks Amar!!!! I am sure you will make it to Ladakh soon… and this time its gonna be a brand new Gypsy for you!!!!

THE ACCELERATOR CABLE....

Oh ya that was another unpredicted incident that happened. During my restoration process I had changed all the cables including the accelerator cable, but for some reason it had to happen. In fact now looking back at it seems like an achievement/adventure but believe me it was real scary at that moment.

It was the same day and after the 4X4 lever getting stuck in N it was now the accelerator cables turn to play up. It was about 5 in the evening and we were parked at Deepak Taal enjoying the breeze and the colour of the first lake that we had come across. We spend some time there, click some pics and get back into the “Demon” to move on. I start up the car press the accelerator and the car doesn’t rev. At first it though this to be some major problem, engine not responding (you know how it is when panic sets in and you have already had a locked 4X4 lever in no mans land earlier in the day…lol). It was then I realised that there was no resistance on my accelerator peddle, i popped the hood and was hoping that it was the cable (only because I was carrying a spare one…lol). Yes it was and it had snapped right at the point where it holds the pulley on the carb. Well I guess this was a result of the endless all out 3rd 4th gear run that we had done all day leaving a dirt storm behind while the others were crawling in 1st and 2nd.

Ya I was carrying a spare cable but had never changed it myself, I will need double the time a mechanic needs to fix this and time was exactly what we dint have. It was 5PM already and we had a long way to go as the target for the day was Sarchu which was 50kms away and we were yet to cross Baralacha la which was 1000M higher @ 4,900M. Spending at least an hour trying to change the cable would mean travelling in the dark and missing the view.

We decided to use the good old hand held accelerator technique. Tied a thin jute rope to the pulley, passed it thru the air vents on the side of the bonnet (felt like they were there only for this day..lol) and tied it onto my hand and we were good to go. The first rope lasted for about 10kms since there were not too many turns and hence gear changes were not required. A gear change would mean release the rope with your right hand, press the clutch, leave the steering mostly at the sharp turn (remember we need to go 1000M higher in about 10kms) since you have to slot the gear with your left hand and then you are back in the game when you pull the rope in your right hand. But this would mean a lot of ware and tare for the rope due to friction. Also I couldn’t do a constant 2nd gear run since fuel was also limited, so 3rd and 4th on the flats and ya some turns did require the 1st gear torque.

Finally after using more than 5 different ropes and climbing Baralacha la we did reach Sarchu without a scratch with the hope that we will be able to fix the accelerator cable at the Sarchu army camp in the morning. By now we had reached a state of mind where we were confident of overcoming any kind of technical failure but yes we did have a prayer in our hearts and were hoping that nothing goes wrong.

This was only day one of the real trip and we had already seen a lot of action. This was the thought crossing our minds during the sleepless night at Sarchu but then we had not options.

Only later on completing the trip and getting back to Bombay did we realise that the worst or rather all the problems got over on day 1 and we had a smooth trip after that. The Gypsy is a vehicle that can take any kind of beating and still go on and on and on.

[Ramsagar]

Wow that was indeed one hell of experience you had. Accelerator cable is the highlight of the trip. That great
On a lighter note:
You reminds of Bollywood hero who would pull bike accelerator with his mouth when it snaps while chasing the goons.

[KSM-Vtec]

Originally Posted by Ramsagar

Wow that was indeed one hell of experience you had. Accelerator cable is the highlight of the trip. That great
On a lighter note:
You reminds of Bollywood hero who would pull bike accelerator with his mouth when it snaps while chasing the goons.

Thanks a lot Ram!!! Oh ya when i was pulling the rope i had the feeling that i was holding the reins of a horse(though the reins work like the steering and breaks...lol)

[harjeev]

thanks for the detailed explanation Kaushik and you make it sound so simple but it must have been very scary in reality!!!
But I think once a person gets into a tricky situation you also get the courage to face it and come out of it!!!

Bravo to your dedication and keeping your cool!!!
Cheers

[KSM-Vtec]

Originally Posted by harjeev

But I think once a person gets into a tricky situation you also get the courage to face it and come out of it!!!

Very True.... till date i dont believe how we did it.