[saket77]

Hi,

Congrats for the Zen. This peppy car needs no introduction. This is among the last batches of the Zen produced, the facelifted one and not the jelly bean.

Originally Posted by wrongturn

It's an automatic variant based on Zen LX. That means no AC, only blower and also no PS sadly. PS isn't needed honestly but I would definitely need to retrofit an AC.

All variants, including the base variant of Zen which was the LX, always came with a factory fitted AC & heater. Hence, please check if the AC was removed later. Power steering, yes, the LX variant did not have the power steering but believe me the non-PS assisted steering provides one of the best feed backs.

Enjoy the car. Any problems and knock this thread.

Regards,
Saket.

[Leoshashi]

Originally Posted by saket77

All variants, including the base variant of Zen which was the LX, always came with a factory fitted AC & heater. .

Since this car is the AX easydrive, which was made exclusively for the specially abled customers, I guess it came without AC (atleast I couldn't see it in its brochure).





The normal AX always got AC and heater.

[starter]

Very well maintained vehicle wrongturn.
Very interesting to know about this easy drive variant.
Wonderful initiative from Maruti Suzuki to provide factory installed controls for the differently-abled people.
Just curious, does it require a special category of licence to drive it?
Cheers,
Deepak

[saket77]

Originally Posted by Leoshashi

Since this car is the AX easydrive, which was made exclusively for the specially abled customers, I guess it came without AC (atleast I couldn't see it in its brochure)

The normal AX always got AC and heater

My comment was for the OP's information as he thought that the LX variant did not come with an AC from the factory. Quoted the same part as well.

Regards,
Saket

[wrongturn]

Originally Posted by saket77

All variants, including the base variant of Zen which was the LX, always came with a factory fitted AC & heater.

Thank you.

I thought it was based on LX, my mistake but as Leo mentioned AX Easy Drive variant specifically made for differently abled never came equipped with AC.

Originally Posted by Leoshashi

Since this car is the AX easydrive, which was made exclusively for the specially abled customers, I guess it came without AC
The normal AX always got AC and heater.

Thank you for the much required info Leo, much appreciated.

Interesting to know that steering grip was an OEM accessory. I removed it while new steering cover was being applied. I would put it back in it's place to keep this unique car in it's original condition.

Originally Posted by starter

Very well maintained vehicle wrongturn.

Thank you.
No special requirements needed for driving this type of vehicle. The hand controls are there to assist people with special needs, it can be driven without the use of hand controls like any other AT car, the break and accelerator pedals work as normal.

[chiranjitp]

Originally Posted by wrongturn

I have recently acquired a Maruti Suzuki Zen AX Easy Drive.

It's an automatic variant based on Zen LX. That means no AC, only blower and also no PS sadly. PS isn't needed honestly but I would definitely need to retrofit an AC.

Brilliant find wrongturn, this is the first time I am seeing photos of something like this. I always thought that all the models of ZEN got AC as standard equipment (including the base Lx variant), until I saw your & Leoshashi's post. Upon close inspection of the photos you shared, the location on the central console where the AC button (green colored button) is placed on normal Zen, it is covered in your car. Hence I am sure your car never came with AC as a standard equipment. Can you please post a photo of your engine bay?? I am curious to see as to how it looks. Please consult some AC expert or MASS as to how to go about fitting an AC in your car.

There is a brilliant review of Zen automatic by Senior BHPian Dippy. Here is the link http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-t...en-1997-a.html
It seems that this car being the normal AX model had AC.

The missing AC button in your car:



The AC button in my car:

There are so few usable storage spaces available inside the cabin this is the only dislike I can think of about this car, I am thinking of installing the Alto floor console with cup holders at front. Is there a better option available?

The best option would be to fit the console box that came in the face lifted ZEN (03-06) as standard on the LXi & VXi variant. But, this console box is long discontinued & not available. I have fitted the console box from the old Alto (00-12), this is a direct fit in the Zen. Though as yours is an automatic, there might be some problem in fitting the Automatic gear knob with the Alto console box. Here is the link:

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/modifi...ml#post4333467

[chiranjitp]

Originally Posted by Leoshashi

Part No: 33278M54E10
Root: 33278-54E10
Part Name: O RING
Price: Rs. 106.7

First of all thank you Leoshashi for providing me with the part number. I first visited a MGP store with the part number, they told me that no stock was available with them & the part is discontinued. After that I requested them to check through the Live stock search, part was shown as available in 2 places (Jorhat & Duliajan). I first called Anamika Motors Jorhat, they advised me to bring the car to Jorhat (300km from Guwahati) as they don't sell parts to a walk in customer. This behavior is not surprising from this dealer, apparently you can't buy a car from them without buying some useless accessories. Link to the thread: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...cessories.html

Anyways I then called the other MGP store in Duliajan. The manager after going through his stock told me that he couldn't find the part. At last, Leoshashi came to the rescue, he found the part & he then shipped the part to Guwahati.

Here is a photo of the two O-rings together:



So, I finally went to my FNG to change the O-rings, tappet cover gasket & also the engine oil. My mechanic first cleaned the distributor properly & then he marked the timing & after that the distributor was out. Both the O-rings fit perfectly in my distributor, the old O-rings had become hard & brittle.

The distributor after being cleaned:



Inside the distributor:



New tappet gasket & new spark plug O-rings fitted:



Then the tappet cover was removed to change the gasket, after removing the tappet cover I could take a peek inside my Zen's engine. What I saw left me heartbroken, there was lots of sludge buildup . Here are some photos of the Sludge build up. What do you guys think?? How bad is it??






Closeup of the sludge:



Now, as some of you may know I bought the car used in February 2016 with 90k km on the odometer. Since then, I have done 21k km more (total odometer reading at 111k km) & surprisingly the car has been reliable. Except for needing a new battery & a blown relay, she has been extremely reliable.

Anyways when the topic of engine health comes up, smoke from the exhaust & oil consumption are the two main questions. My car smokes a a bit in the morning but nil afterwards even if I stand on the accelerator, there is no smoke from the dipstick either. Since I bought the car I have been changing the oil at 5000km, at the end of the 5000km the oil dipstick does reach around the minimum mark, so I guess she is consuming around 500-1000 ml of engine oil per 5000km.

[saket77]

Originally Posted by chiranjitp

at the end of the 5000km the oil dipstick does reach around the minimum mark, so I guess she is consuming around 500-1000 ml of engine oil per 5000km.

This is something alarming. This engine (like most Suzuki engines) does not have a reputation of burning oil, even when new & running-in. So, there's either a leak or oil is entering the combustion chamber through worn pistons. The sludge build up is also not a pretty sight.

I think you need to get some professional help to resolve these issues.

Regards,
Saket.

[scorpian]

@Chiranjitp
Sludge buildup is quite a bit in your car, probably irregular oil changes, i would suggest you start using engine oil flush hence forth and please remove the oil chamber,clean it well and keep checking the oil strainer,in-fact i would change oil strainer at every oil change since it costs only 58 rupees or so. Post this fill with fresh oil.
An earlier oil change couple of times would help to remove some the sludge.

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by chiranjitp

Anyways when the topic of engine health comes up, smoke from the exhaust & oil consumption are the two main questions. My car smokes a a bit in the morning but nil afterwards even if I stand on the accelerator, there is no smoke from the dipstick either. Since I bought the car I have been changing the oil at 5000km, at the end of the 5000km the oil dipstick does reach around the minimum mark, so I guess she is consuming around 500-1000 ml of engine oil per 5000km.

Chiranjitp, I would not worry about the oil consumption at all. Even for engines that have a reputation of using very little oil, sometimes they do and this is absolutely no problem. When you get well below 1l per 1000km, it might be time to think about taking some action.

The amount of sludge is odd. You say you changed the oil every 5000km, but did you also change the oil filter?

As suggested by scorpian irregular oil changes could be the culprit. Most notably if you switched to a fully synthetic oil and the engine has been using mineral, or semi synthetic before. Synthetic oil will dislodge any built up and this is what you get.

So a very thorough clean of everything, a proper flush, a new oil filter, new oil and check again in a few thousand kilometers.

The only other reason I can think of for such sludge if the engine has been overheating, but you would have had different signals as well.

Good luck.

Jeroen

[chiranjitp]

Thanks guys for the prompt reply & the wonderful advice.

Originally Posted by saket77

This is something alarming. This engine (like most Suzuki engines) does not have a reputation of burning oil, even when new & running-in. So, there's either a leak or oil is entering the combustion chamber through worn pistons. The sludge build up is also not a pretty sight.

Yup, most old Suzuki engines like this G series one doesn't consume any oil when in a healthy condition. I don't think there is any leak, if there was one I would have noticed. I believe some amount of oil is burned in the combustion chamber, this probably explains the smoke at startup. Funny thing about the smoke during startup is that the amount of smoke tends to depend on the angle at which the car is parked at.

I forget to tell about the fuel consumption in my previous post. On the recent two tankfuls she has returned around 15kmpl in city condition with about 20% AC usage, for the record our Ecosport diesel with 100% AC gives the same FE in the same driving cycle. I have only once conducted an FE test in highway conditions, the car returned an astonishing 22.5 kmpl without AC. In the same route a few months before the ZEN FE test, I conducted one similar test in a 09 M800, that car returned 22.8 kmpl without AC.

Originally Posted by scorpian

Sludge buildup is quite a bit in your car, probably irregular oil changes, i would suggest you start using engine oil flush hence forth and please remove the oil chamber,clean it well and keep checking the oil strainer,in-fact i would change oil strainer at every oil change since it costs only 58 rupees or so. Post this fill with fresh oil.
An earlier oil change couple of times would help to remove some the sludge.

The sludge seems to be due to irregular oil changes. In the next service, I will get the oil strainer replaced & also the oil sump removed & cleaned. I believe cleaning the sump with diesel would be good enough.

Originally Posted by Jeroen

Chiranjitp, I would not worry about the oil consumption at all. Even for engines that have a reputation of using very little oil, sometimes they do and this is absolutely no problem. When you get well below 1l per 1000km, it might be time to think about taking some action.

I am also optimistic that this oil consumption isn't a big problem, at least as of now. I believe that the oil consumption & the smoke at startup are somehow related, the smoke at startup is not due to condensation of water vapor. The smoke that comes out of the exhaust is a small cloud of thick white smoke & it is smelly too.

Originally Posted by Jeroen

The amount of sludge is odd. You say you changed the oil every 5000km, but did you also change the oil filter?

Well, I only bought the car after it was 14 years old & had done 90k km. After that I have changed the engine oil & the oil filter at every 5000km. Now the odometer reads 111k km. So, I don't have any idea about the intervals at which the oil was changed for the initial 90k km. For the last 21k km I have been running my car on Castrol 20W50 mineral oil.

Originally Posted by Jeroen

So a very thorough clean of everything, a proper flush, a new oil filter, new oil and check again in a few thousand kilometers.

The only other reason I can think of for such sludge if the engine has been overheating, but you would have had different signals as well.

I have read in a few places that an engine flush can decrease the compression in an old engine that has done over 100k km. I personally have no idea or knowledge if an oil flush is bad for an old engine. What would you advice??

My car also doesn't have any overheating problem, even if driven in city traffic with the AC on.

[scorpian]

See sludge is either ways bad, at some stage if it goes and clogs the oil strainer it will cause havoc.
This is what i would do or rather have been following with my zen, use a good flush like ows/wurth etc, run the engine on idle with flush for a good 15 to 20 mins and drain, once draining is complete, i would remove the sump and clean it,replace the oil strainer as well. Post this fill fresh oil. In about three oil changes you should be able to get rid of significant amount of sludge.
If money permits i would after a flush use a cheap mineral oil and run it for say 500-700 kms and drain it.
Agreed all this takes time and patience but at the end this is going to prolong the life of your engine and of-course affect in a positive way how it responds and performs.
But for sure i would recommend you remove the pan and clean it and replace the strainer considering the amount of sludge already present, skipping this step could lead to significant problems after using a flush.So only if your mechanic agrees to do all this then only use a flush.

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by scorpian

See sludge is either ways bad, at some stage if it goes and clogs the oil strainer it will cause havoc.

.

On most engines clogging of the filter is not the main problem. Most lubrication system have a bypass that will open when the filter gets clogged.

The real problem is that with a clogged filter you don't have any filtration and some of the smallest channels in the lubrication system will get clogged and that causes part to be less well lubricated.

Jeroen

[scorpian]

Not having filtration is definitely a issue.Would rather get the sump cleared and replace strainer rather then risk it.
Can be done while replacing oil, takes an hour at most, for me leads to total peace of mind.

[chiranjitp]

Ever since I bought the ZEN, I have always driven her with the antenna pulled out, the pull-out antenna has a nice retro feel to it. About two months ago, one of my cousins borrowed the ZEN as his car was in a service center (met with an accident). Anyways when he returned the car, I noticed the broken antenna. I have no idea as to how one can hit something with a ZEN's antenna, I mean ZEN is a really low slung car.

I was sure that the I won't be able to get the OE antenna, so I looked for aftermarket ones. I bought a cheap aftermarket one for Rs.150, which apparently also fits in M800, old Alto. Quality of the aftermarket antenna was horrible & I have also noticed in many M800s & Altos, the aftermarket antenna tends to get rusted quicky. At last DBhpian Leoshashi came to the rescue, he found an antenna & shipped it to Guwahati. Me & my ZEN, both are grateful to you.

The OE antenna is vastly superior in quality w.r.t the cheap aftermarket one. Shashi tells me that the ZEN OE antenna is still open for sale, so if anyone is looking for a ZEN antenna, I would advice you guys to place an order at a MGP store.

New antenna in place:



The OE antenna vs the cheap aftermarket antenna:



Part number for ZEN antenna:



Part Number: 39250M70F30
Price: Rs.537