Feasibilility of converting an esteem diesel to a petrol

cooldude1988765 · 23rd June 2008, 23:43

Hi,
After my dad got the optra magnum the esteem diesel has been lying around with hardly any use (the engine is a POS). I was wondering about the complications and cost of tossing the TUD 5 out and plonking in a esteem mpfi or the baleno engine. What all components have to be changed. The car also needs minor denting work and probably a complete repaint. The suspension was replaced about 20-30k kms back.
I think the diesel has a different suspension setup compared to the petrol. Can the same suspension be retained? Two things that i know for sure that have to be changed are the engine and gearbox. Gurus please advise on what else has to be changed.
Would the car be reliable as a daily drive ? I would be using it everyday as long as I am in India. How long would the transformation take paint job included. The car is silver and i would either keep it silver or change it to black. How much would the paint job cost ? If the costs are over the roof i would rather sell the car and buy a used esteem/baleno. Would prefer to get this car done up though because it looks like a project to me and i was never involved in such kind of a transformation before. Also are there any other engine options that can be considered? Looking strictly at a petrol though.

Edit: The esteem is a 2003 model. It just turned 5 last week.
Last but not the least where can i get these mods done? I wouldnt mind driving down to bangolore too.
Gurus

advice

Thanks.

Edit: The esteem is a 2003 model. It just turned 5 last week.

aadix · 24th June 2008, 10:37

would suggest selling it and picking up another used esteem, esteem diesel has a good resale, so think about the selling option.

pawan · 24th June 2008, 10:53

you would need a whole new engine dont know about the gear box you might need a new gear box to. complete wiring ecu new fuel and air hardware

possibly new drive shafts don't know if the diesel shafts mounts on the petrol gearbox.

engine mounting again not to sure if again its the same.

ot: whats the engine code of the diesel esteem.

it would be better to sell this and pick up a 2000+ esteem petrol.

condor · 24th June 2008, 11:13

Best option is to sell it & pick-up something you like. You'll definitely find something good, un-touched (by modifications) & original.

GTO · 24th June 2008, 12:24

Your TUD5 Esteem would sell like a hot cake in Hyderabad, the lover of diesels. Sell it for a good price....an Esteem petrol of the same vintage would probably work out far cheaper!

esteem_lover · 24th June 2008, 12:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTO

Your TUD5 Esteem would sell like a hot cake in Hyderabad, the lover of diesels. Sell it for a good price....an Esteem petrol of the same vintage would probably work out far cheaper!

Am not sure of that GTO. Esteem diesel is hard to find but hard to sell as well. It sells a little cheaper than the petrol.

I agree with selling it & getting a petrol.

cooldude1988765 · 24th June 2008, 17:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by pawan

ot: whats the engine code of the diesel esteem.

It is a pegeout TUD 5

I wont get too much for it. Last i checked i was offered 1lakh and that was in January. It has done 220k Kms. Also selling at that price does not make sense we rather keep it.

Jeep · 24th June 2008, 18:09

Surprised to see this thread. Usually, people convert from Petrol to Diesel.

220K and it is a diesel - you don't have to think harder - sell it off! Petrol esteems are available in plenty and are cheap! I am sure that the project that you mentioned will be a real headache, unless you love to experiment and money is not a problem.

Proxima · 24th June 2008, 18:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

Am not sure of that GTO. Esteem diesel is hard to find but hard to sell as well. It sells a little cheaper than the petrol.

I agree with selling it & getting a petrol.

I disagree esteem_lover. Diesel esteems and zens sell like hot cakes in Chennai.

aadix · 24th June 2008, 19:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

Am not sure of that GTO. Esteem diesel is hard to find but hard to sell as well. It sells a little cheaper than the petrol.

I agree with selling it & getting a petrol.

dont know about chennai, but in hyd, it will sell for a good rate.

cooldude1988765 · 24th June 2008, 19:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by aadix

dont know about chennai, but in hyd, it will sell for a good rate.

Aadix do you think 1 lakh is a good rate ?

aadix · 24th June 2008, 23:51

dude.. one lac is too less. You will definitely get far more unless until something is wrong with the car. Pm me all the specs. I will spread the word around and as well as find out & let you know the market rate.

aaggoswami · 24th June 2008, 23:51

If I am not wrong, then your Esteem has done 220K that equals to Two Lakh Twenty Thousand + kms !

Selling it off is the best thing IMO. The chassis will have taken enough after Two Lakh Twenty Thousand + kms .
1 Lakh is for just engine or entire car ?

cooldude1988765 · 25th June 2008, 11:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by aaggoswami

If I am not wrong, then your Esteem has done 220K that equals to Two Lakh Twenty Thousand + kms !

Selling it off is the best thing IMO. The chassis will have taken enough after Two Lakh Twenty Thousand + kms .
1 Lakh is for just engine or entire car ?

It is for the entire car and I am not surprised as there are a lot of dents/rust in a quite a few places. The car does not start sometimes and then randomly after 5-10 minutes you turn the key and it jumps to life( it literally jumps

). The clutch has gone kaput and so has the transmission( gears dont engage properly it comes back to neutral while driving you have to hold the gear in place so that it does not go to neutral) there is a grinding noise from the gearbox and this was long before the clutch went bad. The ac does not work too well (though the compressor gets on there is no cool air) The car over heats sometimes. Basically to get it in TOP condition we were quoted about a lakh and a half by MASS guys. I am not surpirised at the 1 lakh offer we got. And yeah all 5 tyres are also bald. So that adds another 20k.
Since most of the problems are mechanical I was under the impression that changing the engine would fix 90% of the problems. Painting and denting is not a very tough job i guess. Since the car was used by drivers( who I am pretty sure abused the hell out of it BTW) from the past 2-3 years to run errands and it had done quite a lot of trips between warangal and hyderabad sometimes even 3 times a day so it has a lot of kms on it.

Edit: Yes it is 220k Kms Last time we checked.
The headlight assembly also has to be changed. They have become yellow and the reflectors also have gone bad.

There is a whole plethora of problems.

Also 1 lakh is for the whole car. If it was only the engine i would be extremely happy.

Edit again it is 262k kms just went and checked and no it did not start.

cooldude1988765 · 25th June 2008, 11:54

Also walked around the car just now. There are not too many dents/rust. Basically the body is not as bad as i made it out to be in my previous post :sorry .

23rd June 2008, 23:43	#1
cooldude1988765 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,046 Thanked: 213 Times	Feasibilility of converting an esteem diesel to a petrol Hi, After my dad got the optra magnum the esteem diesel has been lying around with hardly any use (the engine is a POS). I was wondering about the complications and cost of tossing the TUD 5 out and plonking in a esteem mpfi or the baleno engine. What all components have to be changed. The car also needs minor denting work and probably a complete repaint. The suspension was replaced about 20-30k kms back. I think the diesel has a different suspension setup compared to the petrol. Can the same suspension be retained? Two things that i know for sure that have to be changed are the engine and gearbox. Gurus please advise on what else has to be changed. Would the car be reliable as a daily drive ? I would be using it everyday as long as I am in India. How long would the transformation take paint job included. The car is silver and i would either keep it silver or change it to black. How much would the paint job cost ? If the costs are over the roof i would rather sell the car and buy a used esteem/baleno. Would prefer to get this car done up though because it looks like a project to me and i was never involved in such kind of a transformation before. Also are there any other engine options that can be considered? Looking strictly at a petrol though. Edit: The esteem is a 2003 model. It just turned 5 last week. Last but not the least where can i get these mods done? I wouldnt mind driving down to bangolore too. Gurus advice Thanks. Edit: The esteem is a 2003 model. It just turned 5 last week. Last edited by cooldude1988765 : 23rd June 2008 at 23:45. Reason: typo, Added more questions
	() Thanks

24th June 2008, 10:37	#2
aadix Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: hyderabad Posts: 1,597 Thanked: 16 Times	would suggest selling it and picking up another used esteem, esteem diesel has a good resale, so think about the selling option.
	() Thanks

24th June 2008, 10:53	#3
pawan BHPian Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: auckland, new zealand Posts: 868 Thanked: 4 Times	you would need a whole new engine dont know about the gear box you might need a new gear box to. complete wiring ecu new fuel and air hardware possibly new drive shafts don't know if the diesel shafts mounts on the petrol gearbox. engine mounting again not to sure if again its the same. ot: whats the engine code of the diesel esteem. it would be better to sell this and pick up a 2000+ esteem petrol.
	() Thanks

24th June 2008, 11:13	#4
condor Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Speed-brkr City Posts: 16,061 Thanked: 16,408 Times View My Garage	Best option is to sell it & pick-up something you like. You'll definitely find something good, un-touched (by modifications) & original.
	() Thanks

24th June 2008, 12:24	#5
GTO Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Bombay Posts: 71,572 Thanked: 310,029 Times View My Garage	Your TUD5 Esteem would sell like a hot cake in Hyderabad, the lover of diesels. Sell it for a good price....an Esteem petrol of the same vintage would probably work out far cheaper!
	() Thanks

24th June 2008, 18:09	#8
Jeep BHPian Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: London Posts: 442 Thanked: 67 Times	Surprised to see this thread. Usually, people convert from Petrol to Diesel. 220K and it is a diesel - you don't have to think harder - sell it off! Petrol esteems are available in plenty and are cheap! I am sure that the project that you mentioned will be a real headache, unless you love to experiment and money is not a problem.
	() Thanks

24th June 2008, 23:51	#12
aadix Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: hyderabad Posts: 1,597 Thanked: 16 Times	dude.. one lac is too less. You will definitely get far more unless until something is wrong with the car. Pm me all the specs. I will spread the word around and as well as find out & let you know the market rate. Last edited by GTO : 26th June 2008 at 13:51. Reason: No Slang / SMS language please, Addix.
	() Thanks

24th June 2008, 23:51	#13
aaggoswami Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2007 Location: Vadodara Posts: 4,987 Thanked: 2,965 Times	If I am not wrong, then your Esteem has done 220K that equals to Two Lakh Twenty Thousand + kms ! Selling it off is the best thing IMO. The chassis will have taken enough after Two Lakh Twenty Thousand + kms . 1 Lakh is for just engine or entire car ?
	() Thanks

25th June 2008, 11:54	#15
cooldude1988765 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,046 Thanked: 213 Times	Also walked around the car just now. There are not too many dents/rust. Basically the body is not as bad as i made it out to be in my previous post :sorry .
	() Thanks