[glenrox]

Bimal Auto in Mahadevapura, Bangalore sells this feature as an accessory in their so called 'limited edition' models and they will do it for your car for a price as steep as Rs.950/-. What a bummer!

[samsag12]

Finally managed to get hold of all the necessary parts last week. Did the routing of cable and installation of lever in 10 min. but the striker plate screws are very hard to unscrew. Will get it loosened at a local garage and install the striker, hopefully in the next few days.
I am really thankful to this thread for listing out such a useful DIY.

Cost of parts:
Lever: Rs 75
cable : Rs. 99
Striker: Rs. 35

[isiv]

Wonder why there's been no activity on this thread for so long! Just wanted to thank fusspot and let everybody know I did this with my 2008 Alto Lxi today and the results were great. I no longer have to shut off the engine, climb out (with my weight and frame, that's what it feels like) and open the boot. There are a few points I'd like to mention though:

1. I was less than happy about way I routed the cable - directly on the floor along with the fuel lid opener cable and then under the left scuff plates, carpet and finally under the frame to the striker. There simply were not enough places to fasten the cable - but I did notice that even the fuel lid cable was simply 'on' the floor and the only thing holding it in place was the carpet itself. If the experts have done better, could they please share their knowledge.

2. The thing did not work right away after assembly. On examination, I found that the though the striker component moved when the lever was operated, it did not actually depress the unlocking catch on the tailgate fully. Had to bend it outward slightly to get it to work - not very cool. I doubt whether I could have botched up when I fitted the striker - there really does not seem to be too much room to mess up here.

3. Lastly, I noticed that in the fully closed and locked position, the tailgate moves a bit when I apply force. Is this normal? In the few kms of driving I've done since, I did not notice any rattle. I really do not remember whether this small movement existed before I changed the striker.

PS: I'm not very mech terminology savvy so I just described various parts as best I could. Hopefully, experts and other readers will understand the references based on context.

[samsag12]

Originally Posted by isiv

Wonder why there's been no activity on this thread for so long! Just wanted to thank fusspot and let everybody know I did this with my 2008 Alto Lxi today and the results were great. I no longer have to shut off the engine, climb out (with my weight and frame, that's what it feels like) and open the boot. There are a few points I'd like to mention though:

1. I was less than happy about way I routed the cable - directly on the floor along with the fuel lid opener cable and then under the left scuff plates, carpet and finally under the frame to the striker. There simply were not enough places to fasten the cable - but I did notice that even the fuel lid cable was simply 'on' the floor and the only thing holding it in place was the carpet itself. If the experts have done better, could they please share their knowledge.

2. The thing did not work right away after assembly. On examination, I found that the though the striker component moved when the lever was operated, it did not actually depress the unlocking catch on the tailgate fully. Had to bend it outward slightly to get it to work - not very cool. I doubt whether I could have botched up when I fitted the striker - there really does not seem to be too much room to mess up here.

3. Lastly, I noticed that in the fully closed and locked position, the tailgate moves a bit when I apply force. Is this normal? In the few kms of driving I've done since, I did not notice any rattle. I really do not remember whether this small movement existed before I changed the striker.

PS: I'm not very mech terminology savvy so I just described various parts as best I could. Hopefully, experts and other readers will understand the references based on context.

Though i am no expert, still will try my best to answer your queries as I too went through this phase.

1. Its like that way, both the cables pass through the frame and lie under the carpet. Even the fuel cap one is that way. I guess its very difficult to do anything in this regard without removing the carpet. So let it be that way only till someone guides us through a better option.

2. First of all you should have marked the position of the old striker as there's some adjustment gap provided in the frame. Once this is lost then issues like this crop up. Not a big problem though as you can adjust the striker by loosening the 2 screws and moving the striker to a suitable position. No need to bend anything. One problem you might face while following this method is that you will have to re-bend the striker part to its original position which was bent previously by you. The original design of MGP is a direct fit and i have experienced it first hand.

3. The door may have come loose because of the excess clearance between the door( latch) and the striker. Just loosen the 2 screws and move the striker a little bit inward and tighten it. This will solve the problem of excess play on hatch door.
Please do not ignore this thing else it will be a nightmare especially in the rainy season. Hope you got it.
Now the other thing can be the adjustment rubbers fitted on both sides on the inner part of hatch door frame. They can be adjusted as per the need, they can be screwed/unscrewed, but there's a very low chance of this being the culprit in your case.

I hope this post of mine proves useful to you. BTW your description is quite easy to understand so no "terminology savvy" problems there. Do share if you have any further problems in this regard. Will be happy to help you.

[isiv]

So I did botch up the striker installation. I checked the striker position once more and guess what, from the fading/discoloration in that area, I was able to precisely make out the position of the old striker. My fitting was off by around 2 mm - don't know how I missed that earlier. So all I had to do was adjust it so it sat in exactly the same position as the earlier one and viola the hatch closes nice and tight. Of course I remembered to reset the striker part I had bent back to original position (... ouch! How I wish I hadn't done that)

Thanks @samsag12 for all the answers and for pinpointing the problem.

Others who plan to do this at home may please take note.

[numerouno.no1]

Originally Posted by sabret00the

Took my car for servicing to MASS this morning. I had earlier spoken the Service Engineer who takes care of my car. He was a little hesitant but when I explained it to him that he doesnt need to modify anything since it's a direct fit from the ALTO VX. So he got hold of an enterprising mechanic who was more enthusiastic than me to get the Boot Release thing done. There are basically 3 things required. The new switch with 2 levers which replaces the existing one with 1 lever. The cable which connects the lock with the switch. And a new lock which has a hinge on it to hold the cable onto it. Took the mechanic barely 15-20 minutes to do the entire fitting. IMHO one doesnt even need to go to a mechanic or to MASS. Dedicate a Sunday morning to it and post a new DIY thread .
I'm posting poor quality cellphone pics for the time being. I'll post high resolution day time pics and the part number of the spares required for the entire job.

NOTE: No modifications were required. The 3 parts from the ALTO VX I mentioned above are direct fit onto the new ALTO Lxi.

Can you give me the part number because I purchased 76520-76G10 and its the regular one not the one you mentioned. The part no. is same as lxi.

Please provide the part number of the extra attachment that goes on with the striker assembly(in green ✓).

[aeroamit]

Originally Posted by numerouno.no1

Can you give me the part number because I purchased 76520-76G10 and its the regular one not the one you mentioned. The part no. is same as lxi.

Please provide the part number of the extra attachment that goes on with the striker assembly(in green ✓).

Below are the listed part numbers required for conversion:
Sl.# ---Part # -----------Description-----------Qty----Price
1. ____ 82650 M79 G00___Striker, Back door Latch_1 No._ 34.95
2. ____ 83310 M76 G50___ Lever, Fuel Lid Opener __1 No._47.20
3. ____ 83350 M79 G20___Cable, Back door opener__1 No._98.92