[anjan_c2007]

Earlier, I used to do many of the repairs of this car on my own. But now I sit and watch the garage people on the job. This car is 22 years old and with me since 1990 as a personal commute.
The car was not accelerating well since the past few months and was abruptly stopping in the middle of any street.Goosebumps! I decided to rest it for a while and after sometime found that without the air filter fitted the car would run fine with no hiccups - and with a muscle car like engine noise- whrrrrr!
Today I got the carburettor opened in my trusted workshop of Babubhai. The larger butterfly valve in the carburettor was jammed.So all air was being drawn from the carburettor top open and not through the air filter.The jammed valve was soaked in brake oil for half an hour! No effect! A new one was bought and fitted.The carburettor was refitted and the car started. After acceleration, engine oil was drawn into the carburettor by suction! The air filter route remained clogged. The fault was traced to the also jammed reed valve that is fitted on the carburettor-engine head junction.This was also replaced.The inlet of this valve on the carburettor sleeve was full of carbon and again it was found that the new valve was being jammed due to the carbon deposit, that was not allowing the valve to function.And guess what? Petrol from the carburettor flowed into the engine chamber as the air passage was blocked.Oil spillage was liberal and nearly 1.5 litre may have spilled.But the oil dipstick was showing a normal engine oil level.Thats when the petrol like odour in the spilled engine oil raised suspicion and the mystery of petrol in the engine chamber came true.Now the oil was fully drained, oil filter changed and new oil poured (my brand Castrol GTX).The carbon from the valve passage was cleaned thoroughly.
Another advantage was that the engine inside has been thoroughly cleaned due to the petrol flow within.
I have now got my car back in action and its running fine now. Touchwood!

Thats my car

The large butterfly valve(jammed) is to the left

The 22 year old Mikuni carburettor

The engine bay minus the carburettor

The valve (vertical in aluminium) just near the carb-engine head
junction.

The badly mauled engine bay with the petrol-oil mixture spilled all over!

[honeybee]

That was a very informative post with very clear photographs too. Unfortunately some of us will not be able to enjoy it as much as you, as carburettors have become pretty much extinct. With today's hassle-free engines, the owners may not have such intimate relations with their machines. Good for a worry-free maintenance, but maybe not so good in a philosophical way.

[aargee]

Wow, that was very informative & happy to see "Made in Japan" etched on the carbs.

[anjan_c2007]

Originally Posted by aargee

Wow, that was very informative & happy to see "Made in Japan" etched on the carbs.

Thanks aargee will post more information about the car on this thread from time to time.I am determined to keep the car running.The distributor is also Nippon Denso "Made in Japan" but now there are Lucas makes in the newer ones.

Originally Posted by honeybee

That was a very informative post with very clear photographs too. Unfortunately some of us will not be able to enjoy it as much as you, as carburettors have become pretty much extinct. With today's hassle-free engines, the owners may not have such intimate relations with their machines. Good for a worry-free maintenance, but maybe not so good in a philosophical way.

Thanks honeybee.Will keep the posts coming in on this thread from time to time.

[Mpower]

Looks like the whole engine could use a decarb treatment to remove the carbon and the gunk.

[vigsom]

Half an hour is too less a time to soak a jammed part in brake fluid and get good results;I have seen our people doing it overnight at least.

You are lucky to still have this technology as it is the least complicated;the only flaw I observed in a carb car is starting in cold weather;

I am still a carb fan but can't own a carb car because of emission norms in my City

[honeybee]

Originally Posted by vigsom

Half an hour is too less a time to soak a jammed part in brake fluid and get good results;I have seen our people doing it overnight at least.

You are lucky to still have this technology as it is the least complicated;the only flaw I observed in a carb car is starting in cold weather;

I am still a carb fan but can't own a carb car because of emission norms in my City

Yep, two more flaws: Emissions and fuel consumption.

[vigsom]

Originally Posted by honeybee

Yep, two more flaws: Emissions and fuel consumption.

this might sound ridiculous but is true - my carb Esteem used to give me a better FE than the FE claimed by all fuel injected Esteem owners I have met;can't explain this but it is true.

The emission control is better because of the cat-con

[kavesh55]

Originally Posted by aargee

Wow, that was very informative & happy to see "Made in Japan" etched on the carbs.

Yes, it is an asset, i too have one, with i guess everything jammed. My mechanic suggested i get it opened by a turner, my reply No. Thanks for reminding will have to spare some time and open.

[anjan_c2007]

Many months since I last posted anything here! After the repairs the 23 year old car is again running without posing any problems. It takes me to congested places,places where parking is a problem and the like.Usually I reserve the weekends for the Maruti for errands and other movements inn the city.
Must say that after sitting all the while behind the wheel of my SUV the Maruti 800 feels like a toy and I am surprised at how simple the car really was in every respect. Its so easy on the pocket as far as maintenance goes and I am sure it will be with me for many more years.
A Bad Habit I Have Developed: With the SUV I often tend to move to the right of the road and the tiny cars move away fearing getting trampled by the beast.This mighty habit stays when I am driving the 800 too! But I get chagrined when even Zens and Santros come over my tiny 800 to try to shoo it away and terrorise it. Only then I realise that I am just on a 800!

[techkarl]

Can you post me some instructions of how to dismantle and assamble the carb of my maruti 800 MK1 ( 1991 ) ? as it needs cleaning. Diagrams are appreciated. I am a technical person, is this a DIY JOB ?

[techkarl]

Originally Posted by anjan_c2007

Earlier, I used to do many of the repairs of this car on my own. But now I sit and watch the garage people on the job. This car is 22 years old and with me since 1990 as a personal commute.
The car was not accelerating well since the past few months and was abruptly stopping in the middle of any street.Goosebumps! I decided to rest it for a while and after sometime found that without the air filter fitted the car would run fine with no hiccups - and with a muscle car like engine noise- whrrrrr!
Today I got the carburettor opened in my trusted workshop of Babubhai. The larger butterfly valve in the carburettor was jammed.So all air was being drawn from the carburettor top open and not through the air filter.The jammed valve was soaked in brake oil for half an hour! No effect! A new one was bought and fitted.The carburettor was refitted and the car started. After acceleration, engine oil was drawn into the carburettor by suction! The air filter route remained clogged. The fault was traced to the also jammed reed valve that is fitted on the carburettor-engine head junction.This was also replaced.The inlet of this valve on the carburettor sleeve was full of carbon and again it was found that the new valve was being jammed due to the carbon deposit, that was not allowing the valve to function.And guess what? Petrol from the carburettor flowed into the engine chamber as the air passage was blocked.Oil spillage was liberal and nearly 1.5 litre may have spilled.But the oil dipstick was showing a normal engine oil level.Thats when the petrol like odour in the spilled engine oil raised suspicion and the mystery of petrol in the engine chamber came true.Now the oil was fully drained, oil filter changed and new oil poured (my brand Castrol GTX).The carbon from the valve passage was cleaned thoroughly.
Another advantage was that the engine inside has been thoroughly cleaned due to the petrol flow within.
I have now got my car back in action and its running fine now. Touchwood!
Attachment 287588
Thats my car
Attachment 287589
The large butterfly valve(jammed) is to the left
Attachment 287590
The 22 year old Mikuni carburettor
Attachment 287591
The engine bay minus the carburettor
Attachment 287592
The valve (vertical in aluminium) just near the carb-engine head
junction.
Attachment 287593
The badly mauled engine bay with the petrol-oil mixture spilled all over!

Was the jammed part replaced together with the other smaller throttle valve ? Thanks

[anjan_c2007]

The car needed new footwear as the old nylon MRF tyres had outlived their life. Though the tread was quite intact, due to very less use, the tyres had turned hard and bumps or shocks would be amplified and passed on to the occupants - I had become habituated but first timers would really feel as to whether they were seated in a Trabant ?

The choice fell obviously on Bridgestone S 322 radials ( 30th Sept 2014) and I went for a set of four for the four wheels. The sales person was requesting me to go for five but I did not agree as my record of stepney use is very dismal since the past 27 plus years, the car has been with me. I cannot remember ever using the stepney ! Flats were twice detected at home and I have never had a flat while driving this car.

The best tyre was kept as stepney and four of them were replaced. The cost of each tyre + tube was Rs 2520=00 (incl all taxes).

The rims were straightened by the tyre dealer at a cost of Rs 150/- each, but these had no visible dents (Overloaded Sumos, Boleros and Taveras have the best of rim distortions these days) of any kind.

Wheel balancing was also done at the behest of the tyre dealer, though I did not really feel the need of doing it on such an old car.

But I must admit that the ride has become quite supple and cosy and my family members were the first to acknowledge the fact.





















The front suspensions and the right drive shaft need to be worked upon and this shall be done at a later date.

[sumeethaldankar]

My MRF Zigma's lasted 7 years per set in the 17 years i had my 800. I was on my 3 rd set when i sold the car with just 38K on the odo. I guess the Bridgestone would do. Any chance of getting the exterior of the car fixed as it simply looks as it had seen better days.

[sudev]

You need to get that car on a lift and thoroughly check for rust especially around the suspension load points. While the paint system in M800 was good but considering the age it is best done now and underbody protection renewed.

Decarbonizing the engine is a good suggestion. But also get compression tested after that.