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-   -   The love of my life - A 2000 Maruti 800 DX 5-Speed. EDIT: Gets export model features on Pg 27 (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-term-ownership-reviews/173454-love-my-life-2000-maruti-800-dx-5-speed-edit-gets-export-model-features-pg-27-a-10.html)

Yes the starter motor of the 5 Speed 800 is mounted differently.






4 Speed 800's starter motor for comparison

I like to cruise at 80-90kmph in 5th gear in any car. That's the speed I am most comfortable.

Having said that, my 800 feels absolutely normal at 100kmph mark. In 5th gear, at 100kmph, it revvs at around 3600rpm, compared to 4500rpm of F8B 800 at same speed. Hence you car felt strained to you at 110kmph.

Ceratec doesn't make an engine achieve something if it wasn't able to achieve earlier. I have crossed my speedometer range many a times on non-public roads, without ceratec. You can expect a bit lesser friction when using Ceratec, that's it.

Another thing I would like to warn people, specially those with older cars. If your engine has any kind of sludge or carbon buildup, avoid using Ceratec/Fully Synthetic oil. A WagonR user whom I sometimes meet had this issue. His car had done some serious kilometers, but as he didn't change the oil as regularly, there was considerable amount of sludge and carbon in his engine. After he used Ceratec, all hell broke loose. Th ceratec compound mixed with all the sludge and became a semi solid mass and accumulated near the oil strainer(inside sump). That choked the strainer, which eventually caused his engine to run dry. Just 20 kilometers after pouring Ceratec, his engine seized.

Picture of the wagonR which died post Ceratec use

So if you are willing to use Ceratec, take an informed decision. I monitored the internals of my engine before using Fully Synthetic and this friction modifier.

It becomes extremely boring to do mileage runs alone. Please come to Ranchi, we'll do the test together. :D However, just to give you an idea, if you are driving like a robot(ie emotionless), on an empty highway, with your car in 5th gear and speedo stuck at 60kmph, you can easily breach the 30kmpl mark.

Off-Topic:-Someone had requested me to post pictures of the Nano's insulation which I have used in my car on central tunnel. Sorry for posting so late.







I tried this too on my car, but removed it within a day as the finish was nothing great.stupid: For this same purpose, I am soon getting Zen Diesel's hood insulation.


Regards,
Shashi

There is a difference between "Carbon Buildup" and Sludge. The Sludge, which happens because of procrastinated oil changes, just won't get burnt up if you revv the engine, or take it to higher rpms. You are a Mechanical engineer, so you should know better. The best way to inspect sludge is open up the tappet cover and have a look. The drained out engine oil also gives a fair idea about the internal condition of your engine. You can get approximate idea about the condition of engine by checking the tailpipe with your finger. If there is too much soot deposition then it does hint about a fair bit of carbon accumulation. You may try to borrow an endoscope to look into the combustion chamber if you are extra finicky like me.

More than anything else, it means that your engine desperately needs a gasket change. lol: Carbon buildup or clean, no engine should leak oil from anywhere.

I just have a thin layer of dense foam just behind doorpad, and the inside metal part has thick sound deadening polymer sprayed. The stuff is similar to anti-rust compound, but has a thick rubbery texture to it. Above that polymer, I have a coat of cavity wax.

Earlier I had cavity wax, along with the SGP melt sheet, but when my car was in workshop for two days, I got the entire cavity wax and melt sheet removed(by diesel), cleaned the doors thoroughly, sprayed the Metachem polymer, and then sprayed cavity wax again above Metachem. I didn't put back the Melt sheet as I found it was coming in between the channels designed for water drainage.

Please make sure that the water channel and drain is as clear as it can be. This is the catch why any normal NVH material can't be installed. If it stops water, it will cause rust after a few years.

Regards,
Shashi

Did a comprehensive detailing at home. The things done were

1. Washing
2. Claying using Gyeon Q2M Clay
3. Compounding using Meguiar's Ultimate compound
4. Polishing using Meguiar's Ultimate Polish
5. Waxing using Meguiar's M26
6. After a week, applied two coats of Collinite 845, while keeping one day time in between the coats.

After a week of usage, the lustre is still brilliant.


PS- This baby is soon nearing her 17th birthday.

Lovely car and hats off to you for taking care of the beauty for so many years...! How do you manage to keep the engine bay so damn clean?
Any tips? How do you go about removing the stains and muck off?

Regards

Thanks. :)

The best practice is to take care of the cleanliness from Day 1. Unfortunately, my car's engine bay didn't receive the same care from the first day. So I had to work a little harder. Also do note that the methods explained here are specific to my car, and it varies from one vehicle to another.

Luckily I don't have to worry much about covering the sensitive ECU's etc as everything is inside the car. I wrap alternator and some sensors using normal plastic.

• For white firewall area, I use vim dishwasher liquid
• For other engine bay components, I use Liqui Moly Engine cleaner(Amazon) once in a while when they get soiled with greasy stuff
• For normal cleaning, you can use any APC
• To make the metal components shine, I used Autosol metal polish(Amazon). Use it only on unpainted metal parts like clips, gearbox, alternator, ac pipes etc
• Whenever I use APC/Liqui Moly engine compartment cleaner, I spray them generously on a cold engine, leave it for 30 min and agitate using a long brush.
• After 30 minutes, hose the liquid down. You get shining engine bay.
• Then get your vacuum cleaner out, use the attachment which has thin nozzle for maximum pressure and use it to remove water from engine bay.
• Once the pipes and rubber hoses are dry, you can use any rubber detailing product which isn't flammable.
• Let that detailing product sit for 3 hours and then wipe it off. You are done.

My small collection of detailing products. I use Mr Muscle kitchen cleaner to clean engine from underside(sump etc)


Using Autosol metal polish on unpainted metal surface. I then used cotton swabs to clean the alty windings





Final result. The hoses look matte finish once you wipe away the extra dressing material.



Regards,
Shashi

Sir, you mentioned that nightmarish incident with the WagonR. I was planning to use a semi synthetic Castro Magnatec on our WagonR which has run for over lakh kilometres. Which oil do you recommend to use?

Liqui Moly Molygen has a MSo2 additive, any possible issues that might arise with its use? This one will be for a first oil change in our new Brezza.

One more thing, did you paint the inside of your engine bay? Paint looks new.

IIRC, yours is a F10 powered WagonR. Go for 10W40 Castrol Magnatec/Shell Helix HX7 eyes closed. Shell HX7 is a bit better IMO. Please don't opt for 5w30.

No issues reported with the Molygen. How many kilometers has your Vitara done?? Please let it run-in properly before shifting to fully synthetic. People have also used Mobil1 Delvac and they have loved it on their Multijets.

Apart from the tappet cover, nothing is painted, just religiously cleaned. :)

Regards,
Shashi

PS: Please don't call me "Sir". I am just 23. :D

Shell one is semi synthetic? Why 10w40, When our Brezza will be due for servicing in two more months I was thinking of putting the Magnatec oil which the dealer uses as standard, into our WagonR and asking them to use Liqui Moly one that I would buy into the Brezza(5w30 is recommended for a healthy turbo). Brezza should be about 7k when I service it, should be enough for running in . I can't wait any longer to try a better oil and further smoothen the diesel clatter. You have used the Liqui Moly one which comes in a blue container I guess. Leichtlauf something. Does it quiten the engine?

I thought you were in your 60s, hence called you Sir. Turned out to be of the same age as mine. lol:

Yes shell HX7 is also Semi-Synthetic.

I have already explained the reason behind my advice of 10W40 here. Request you to kindly go through it.

Click to Open

Yes I have used Leichtlauf 5w40. It definitely makes the engine extremely smooth and free-revving. Molygen is a new product and some people who have used it are giving only nice feedback about it.

Regards,
Shashi

PS:BHPian Saket77 has used it on his Zen too and this is what he has to say-Click to Open

Leichtlauf 5w30 is costlier than Molygen 5w30. Which one should I go for, I don't know what's the difference between them? Did you buy it from Amazon or Land Rover lab directly and at what price?

If your choices are Leichtlauf and Molygen, then go for Molygen eyes closed. It is a newer generation of engine oils, and Leichtlauf will soon be discontinued IMO.

They also have a diesel exclusive engine oil. Click to open

We bought our engine oil(Leichtlauf 5w40) from Amazon(cloudtail seller), and it cost us approx Rs. 7500 for 7L. Price has gone down, and now its available for less.

Now, I buy directly from Landroverlab. Most of the products are cheaper there, their packaging is excellent, and they also ship very quick. I had some issues with the packing which Amazon provided, it didn't have any bubble wrap, or thermocol, and one of the cans had leaked a bit. No such issues with Landroverlab(LRL). The owner of LRL is a gentleman, and a very genuine person. He has replaced some products which were damaged/not upto the mark without any question. They did goof up once when the product leaked midway, and Bluedart refused to carry it any further. He shipped another piece, and all these incidents delayed the shipment by 10-15 days. But he did keep me updated on mail about the status, and I passed it as a one off incident. LRL is also a seller on Amazon BTW. :)

Regards,
Shashi

PS: I am not commercially related to LRL in any way. Whatever I have written is just one honest review.

I am worried about the MoS2 additive. It's a solid lubricant. Hope it won't clog the oil filters by clogging up.

I've bought injector cleaners from LRL. Cured the jerking issue in our WagonR engine.clap:

Yes all Liqui Moly products work as promised, and I also had a similar thing to report. Quoting myself:
Don't worry about MoS2. Where did you read that Indian range of Liqui Moly's have MoS2?? AFAIK, MoS2 isn't there in their synthetic range in India. Please correct me if I am wrong.

Also, MoS2 isn't present in solid form. Their gear oil additive is mostly MoS2, and it was a slightly thick liquid. :) Nothing which will clog up your filters.

Regards,
Shashi