[Leoshashi]

Originally Posted by blackwasp

This is how the front now looks. .

Just curious, how have you mounted the fogs? Can you kindly share a pic of the mounting arrangement?

Regards,
Shashi

[Rob UK]

You probably shouldn't be doing 2 of the things you are doing on that oil change...

1. Filling the oil filter like that... As you look at the filter, it has a large centre hole & several small outer holes. On most cartridge filters, the outer holes are the ones the dirty oil goes through, it comes out of the centre hole filtered. The way you filled it, if there are any contaminants in the new oil you put in there, they will go straight into the engine. If you want to fill it (that isn't neccesary on cars), get a smaller funnel and do it from the outside holes.

2. Blowing air into the engine. Just drain the engine with the oil warm. If you want to be REALLY anal about flushing the old oil out, just tip a bit of cheap clean oil in whilst the sump plug is still off. Anybody who has stripped an engine can tell you the majority of the old oil still in there after draining will be sat coating the bottom of the sump itself.

If you want to be totally anal about oil, fit a magnetic sump plug, wrap some magnetic strip around your oil filter & use Slick50.

[sagarpadaki]

Originally Posted by Rob UK

2. Blowing air into the engine. Just drain the engine with the oil warm. If you want to be REALLY anal about flushing the old oil out, just tip a bit of cheap clean oil in whilst the sump plug is still off. Anybody who has stripped an engine can tell you the majority of the old oil still in there after draining will be sat coating the bottom of the sump itself.

If you want to be totally anal about oil, fit a magnetic sump plug, wrap some magnetic strip around your oil filter & use Slick50.

What is the harm in blowing compressed air into the engine? The intent is to get the remaining oil out of the sump which otherwise would not come out.

[Rob UK]

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

What is the harm in blowing compressed air into the engine? The intent is to get the remaining oil out of the sump which otherwise would not come out.

As others noted, it may well blow small contaminant particles into the engine - why risk it?

I also think blasting air into the valve cover is going to get more oil out by blowing old oil off valve train components - so if you blast the last of the old oil off the camshaft & followers, the fresh oil it won't coat the cam properly until it reaches the top end, that will not be good for engine wear.

When you rebuild an engine, you coat every moving part thoroughly with clean oil during assembly as you don't want any of it to be "dry" when the engine is first turned over & started.

I've built up a few engines, changed cams etc... in race motors & the only time I blow compressed air on anything is to clean any swarf off it prior to oiling and assembling.

Each to their own though.

*edit* forgot to add, jacking the car so the sump drain hole is the lowest point on the sump is a good way to get maximum oil out. I have to do that on my MR2 after the sump plug is out as you have to Jack the car the 'wrong' direction to get to the sump plug & filter

[Leoshashi]

Dear Rob UK, thanks for your valuable views.

Originally Posted by Rob UK

1. Filling the oil filter like that... As you look at the filter, it has a large centre hole & several small outer holes. On most cartridge filters, the outer holes are the ones the dirty oil goes through, it comes out of the centre hole filtered. The way you filled it, if there are any contaminants in the new oil you put in there, they will go straight into the engine. If you want to fill it (that isn't neccesary on cars), get a smaller funnel and do it from the outside holes.

Point noted! BTW I doubt a brand new can of Synthetic oil would have such impurities which can be filtered by the paper material. Nevertheless, I'll consider your advice from the next oil change and fill from the smaller holes.

Originally Posted by Rob UK

As others noted, it may well blow small contaminant particles into the engine - why risk it?

Just for the record, the surroundings of my parking are as clean as they can get. It's cleaned daily and is air- conditioned too, since my old grandparents reside nearby as they are unable to climb stairs. It isn't a dusty place by any means. I am not forcing any visible particles, and if any invisible kind of dust gets inside, shouldn't the oil keep it in suspension successfully? I mean it won't kill the engine straightaway. Our cars don't operate in laboratory conditions ever, and if one becomes so anal about dust, even the air filter don't filter out 100% of the contaminants. Similarly, when mechanics open the oil filler cap during draining and pouring oil in workshops or on roadside, that interval is more than enough to get some dust into the engine. Hope you get the point and the risk involved.

I also think blasting air into the valve cover is going to get more oil out by blowing old oil off valve train components - so if you blast the last of the old oil off the camshaft & followers, the fresh oil it won't coat the cam properly until it reaches the top end, that will not be good for engine wear.

I have checked this. Blowing air does remove all oil from the valve train, but when fresh new oil is poured inside, all the tappets and valve gear got sufficiently dipped in new oil. The oil galleries are very narrow and the oil goes in slowly. That gives enough time to flood the volume between head and tappet cover.

I had thought about every risk possible, and except the super fine invisible type of dust, nothing looked major to me. And as I said, I'm counting on the oil to take any such dust into suspension.

The only caution one needs to take IMHO is not to blow the dust settled on the external engine components inside the engine.

*edit* forgot to add, jacking the car so the sump drain hole is the lowest point on the sump is a good way to get maximum oil out. I have to do that on my MR2 after the sump plug is out as you have to Jack the car the 'wrong' direction to get to the sump plug & filter

I had the car jacked up, that did increase the flow a bit but blowing air brought out more oil even after that.

Regards,
Shashi

[Leoshashi]

Minor Update: Few days back, I observed delayed cranking. To be precise, the crank sounded strong but the car was taking a bit too long to start. The battery is approximately 4 years old, but wasn't weak at all. The other culprits can be ignition coil, distributor or the igniter. At one instant, the car was not starting. I then found current was not reaching the distributor. This narrowed it down to either the igniter or the coil itself.

The Igniter costs a whopping 17.7k rupees, and I was hoping it hadn't failed. Thankfully it was just the coil that had become weak. Replaced it myself, and the issue was solved.

Also replaced the Fuel filter, since after the fuel tank fiasco, I've decided that I'll change the fuel filter after every 10k kms, manufacturer schedule be damned!

The filter and the coil:



Fuel filter



Ignition coil



I usually take my 800 to this washing centre for underbody washes. However I was too tired to wash the upper body myself, hence decided to take their services. I provided my own wash mitt, microfibers and mopping cloth.



Glittering



Regards,
Shashi

[torque18]

Hello!

Sharing my experience with this mind-boggling machine...

What a magical day it turned out to be. My chance visit to Ranchi gave me an opportunity to see this one of a kind car in person and meet the enthusiast in Shashi responsible for its maintenance and ensuring that it remains in the pink of health always.

I had the occasion to follow this beautiful car for around 20 Kms in sporadic traffic as also through a patch of four laned highway. The first thing that strikes you is how she moves! The way she accelerates, you will not want to believe that it's an 800 you are trailing. It just kept skipping the queue and jumping ahead of other cars with such clean manoeuvres that you cannot relate to any other 800 you would have had the chance to observe. No smoke whatsoever at any point even 'if' it was being driven spiritedly and that I guess is the Suzuki way of defining longevity for you with a 3.5 lakh km run car that still runs on all original factory assembled internals. It's different from the word go!

Staying behind, I could not help but spot the visual enhancements made to this little beast. All OEM spec in case you are wondering. The LED brake lights make a mark as does the badge that reads '800i'. Rear wash and wipe together with perfectly integrated fog light on the left of the bumper and rear glass demister removes any doubt you would have that it's a car from a foreign country! 800 in this avatar was neither seen before nor even heard of in our country.

I had once made a mistake of asking the guy as to how safe he felt driving the car on high speeds on our fast four lane highways and if it was prudent to drive 800 without safety features on highways in the current era. To answer my questions, he obliged me with a driving seat on such kind of roads itself (yes, he thinks differently. Both, the car and the owner, are in a league of their own compared to their respective brethren )

Moving ahead, I immediately realised the potency under the hood! It's so unlike the 800 that I have ever had the chance to drive. The sure shifting gearbox, the noiseless drive, leather wrapped steering, the stock dashboard, all just make your time inside this car a memorable one. But what truly elevates the driving experience is how this tiny thing handles, how it manages to hold its line, how it grips the surface and is not unsettled by an odd undulation at 'good' speeds! It just maintains its composure like any other modern car and that is huge boost to driver confidence. With minimal to no body roll, the car is a driver's delight rendering a go-kart like experience.

The AC button on our 800s has always been our personal nitro boost button. But not here. It just picks up speed effortlessly and without any tantrums with the AC running on full blast. Not even requiring you to downshift to build the momentum!

By the time I had handed over the car back to Shashi, I was clear in my head. My questions looked dumb. Apprehensions unfounded. The car is as capable out on the highway as any other car. As sure footed as you would expect any other car from the segment. We both however concurred that the lack of passive safety features could possibly be the only concern if you want to nitpick.

We all know that this car has unimaginably clean engine bay so I won't repeat that. But it left me awestruck. How has this guy managed to keep it in such spic n span condition belies all logic. Looks straight out of the oven!

This car is a wolf in sheep's clothing 😁

Next time anyone sees a golden 800 with BR registration, beware. You might be left embarassed.

[Sharique]

Hi
Just saw the rear bumper of BR1N 5641. The same export version suzuki bumper is available at a shop (5 pc) in Patna Bihar, so any enthusiast wish to have one for modification may get in touch with the shop owner.

The rates will be as per MGP quotes. I have already booked 2

[Leoshashi]

Originally Posted by Sharique

...Just saw the rear bumper of BR1N 5641. The same export version suzuki bumper is available at a shop (5 pc) in Patna Bihar, so any enthusiast wish to have one for modification may get in touch with the shop owner...

Thanks for the heads up! Which shop is that? I had to spend significant amount for that bumper as it had to be imported from abroad. Nevertheless, there isn't any significant difference between Indian bumper and export except that hole. And even the Indian bumper has lines marked for cutting.



Regards,
Shashi

[halley]

Hello all, hi to Shashi!

I'm Halley, an automotive journalist and an 800 lover for GT longest time. I just picked up an used 800 5 Speed (April 2000) I have followed this thread for long now and have a few queries. Hope to gain some tips from you Shashi.

[Leoshashi]

Originally Posted by halley

Hello all, hi to Shashi!

I'm Halley, an automotive journalist and an 800 lover for GT longest time. I just picked up an used 800 5 Speed (April 2000) I have followed this thread for long now and have a few queries. Hope to gain some tips from you Shashi.

Congratulations. Do post detailed pics of your beauty.

Regards,
Shashi

[Leoshashi]

Had a quick meet with BHPian Sumitsinha0280, and asked him to bring his newly restored M800 along for a Photoshoot. Hope you like the pics :





















































Nature's wow moment:



Regards,
Shashi

[R2D2]

Both cars look lovely. Congrats Shashi and Sumit.

[V.Narayan]

Beautiful photo shoot of two classic ladies. Shashi your car must without doubt be the best kept 20+ year old Maruti 800 in the country. Good bless.

[Blow Horn Ok]

How is GG doing shashi? Any updates regarding the car?