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Old 20th February 2011, 09:46   #1
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Request Suggestions for my '87 Maruti Suzuki Van (Omni)

Dear all,
I have a 1987 suzuki van which was the first car we bought in our family by my dad,as expected i have great sentimental and emotional attachment to this old lady who has served me and i have had many memorable moments and trips,right from my first date to travelling all the way to Gujarat and many more eventful trips.
Over the years i acquired a Zen and getting used to power brakes,power steering i ended up neglecting the van,its been lying still for over 8months and just this morning i connected my Zen battery,the van fired up in a few cranks.

The van is stuck in one place as i guess the brakes are jammed and i can hear sum weird humming noise when i remove the seat,sounds like a bearing gone bad somewhere in the alternator or worst in the engine.

The purpose of this topic was to help me decide as to whether to restore this lady or give it up.
If i give her up i get mere 15 to 20k,it would save me space and the worry of using two cars thats on one side of my head the other side of my heart says restore her and use her.

Could you all friends suggest how much would it approx cost me to get this lady moving again?

Here are some of the issues!
1)The brake pedal goes in but do-sent return back...
2) Tyres are gone due to long standing period,however i have extra four tyres with me.
3)Humming noise or rough noise when started.

Besides this she is fine cosmetically and if i plan to restore i will do it in stages.

Would appreciate your feedback...
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Old 20th February 2011, 10:02   #2
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re: Request Suggestions for my '87 Maruti Suzuki Van (Omni)

Come on! Restore her to original glory! You will never regret.

Regarding the brakes issue, I guess the brake master cylinder has gone kaput. Parts are so easily available unlike old FIATs.
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Old 20th February 2011, 11:15   #3
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re: Request Suggestions for my '87 Maruti Suzuki Van (Omni)

Quote:
Originally Posted by scorpian View Post
The purpose of this topic was to help me decide as to whether to restore this lady or give it up.
If i give her up i get mere 15 to 20k,it would save me space and the worry of using two cars thats on one side of my head the other side of my heart says restore her and use her.
Maruti doesn't make the Omni as good as Suzuki used to make the van back in 1987! In any case, the Omni can't be bought in metros anymore, after Bharat Stage IV regulations since April 2010. 24-year-old first-owner vans are rare too. And since it appears to require just minor repairs (my guesstimate from what you describe would be <10k INR) and not a ground-up restoration, why don't you do it up and use it occasionally? It doesn't have AC and isn't as comfortable as other cars, agreed, but it's a tough little car that's capable of surviving a lot of abuse and neglect, but still running on happily (as you discovered when starting it up after 8 months).

Edit: I hope you have renewed the registration after 15 years, as required. If not, you can get it done now, though I am not sure how much the penalty in MH would be.

Last edited by SS-Traveller : 20th February 2011 at 11:23.
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Old 20th February 2011, 11:33   #4
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re: Request Suggestions for my '87 Maruti Suzuki Van (Omni)

Do the basic repair work & keep it.

Single owner Omnis are rare & will command good prices if kept for longer.

What colour is your Omni? Can u post some pics?
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Old 20th February 2011, 13:55   #5
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Thanks all for ur replies.

@funkycar
yes i feel the master cylinder and all other wheel cylinders have got jammed.My main worry is the van is parked close to a wall so one side is inaccessible,the other side i can jack up hammer a lil and free the wheel.But how do i access the wall side? i need to move it out to start the work on it... pls suggest

@SS-Traveller
yes i agree with you sir,no mechanic down here would open the carburettor as i guess it was different from later omins,they would just do the adjustments,finally one fine day i removed it,cleaned it with 3m choke and carb cleaner and wow it looked new and it revved so much more free and crisp.

@Sky line Gtr
Shes choclate brown still the original color

heres the lady,shes in the same position so am finding it difficult to access the left side...
Attached Thumbnails
Request Suggestions for my '87 Maruti Suzuki Van (Omni)-v.jpg  


Last edited by Dippy : 20th February 2011 at 14:05.
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Old 20th February 2011, 14:40   #6
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re: Request Suggestions for my '87 Maruti Suzuki Van (Omni)

The Van would be certainly not be too heavy. You along with 2-3 friends can pull it sideways towards the empty space. You may pour little engine oil in the path of the 4 wheels in direction being pulled, it will easily glide. Cleaning the floor later is a different ball game later on

Also, looking at the picture, the van appears to be pretty pristine and wouldnt require too much of money to get her to life. May be you need to do the following:
1) Overhaul the braking system
2) Replace all fluids (all oils and coolant)
3) Replace the plugs and wires if not done for long time
4) Check and replace the points and condensors if needed
5) Clean the carburater
6) Check and replace battery if bad
7) Since you have a set of tires, if they are same size, change it

Later you can think of some rubbing polish, tin work and patching up as needed

Last edited by funkykar : 20th February 2011 at 14:44.
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Old 20th February 2011, 22:05   #7
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re: Request Suggestions for my '87 Maruti Suzuki Van (Omni)

Yes points well noted,i have a new battery,set of four tyres, plugs n all i can replace once shes out of here.

I intend to overhaul the brakes,get the engine flushed,maybe decarbonised,flush the radiator,the carb has already bein overhauled at home by me since no mech was ready to touch it.

I guess every sunday ill do lil by lil work n get her back to glory.Once the brakes issue is sorted rest should be easy to do at home.
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Old 21st February 2011, 14:42   #8
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Re: Request Suggestions for my '87 Maruti Suzuki Van (Omni)

Thats a nice, clean looking van you have there. Dont sell, just get a good mechanic and leave it to him. Being a Maruti spares should not be a problem. As for the brakes may be re-bleeding the system would do the trick, i clearly remember getting it done on my uncles 2000 model Omni. By any chance was the handbrake engaged during its hibernation period? coz that could have caused the brakes jamming. Good luck with the resto.
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Old 21st February 2011, 18:08   #9
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Re: Request Suggestions for my '87 Maruti Suzuki Van (Omni)

Do not sell it off. It looks pretty well maintained and cared for. Just some more work as mentioned in the above posts would get her going. I believe this was from the very initial batches when Maruti had a very low localisation content right?
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Old 21st February 2011, 18:31   #10
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Re: Request Suggestions for my '87 Maruti Suzuki Van (Omni)

@Ripper
thanks... the handbrake was not engaged,its just that due to standing still the tyres have lost their shape and brakes have jammed,i intend to do up the entire braking system overhaul.

@Sinner 666,
Yes she has been really cared for,this was the very first van that was sold in Goa and yes all parts are of suzuki ,infact she still has her original bulbs running fine.Last i changed her just one thing in her rear wheel was the brake cylinder,even the mech was amazed that the originals were still on her.
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Old 24th February 2011, 11:55   #11
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Re: Request Suggestions for my '87 Maruti Suzuki Van (Omni)

Quote:
Originally Posted by scorpian View Post
@Ripper
thanks... the handbrake was not engaged,its just that due to standing still the tyres have lost their shape and brakes have jammed,i intend to do up the entire braking system overhaul.

@Sinner 666,
Yes she has been really cared for,this was the very first van that was sold in Goa and yes all parts are of suzuki ,infact she still has her original bulbs running fine.Last i changed her just one thing in her rear wheel was the brake cylinder,even the mech was amazed that the originals were still on her.
And you still asked of GIVING HER UP?? You kidding me? I had to sell my 2006 Omni last year due to a rear camber offset & kinda bent chassis that nobody could correct (Both were manufacturing defects). I'll always miss her. The best city run about, and dependable shopping carrier when you need her.

RESTORE HER!!!! Omni doesnt take up too much space anyway.

Try giving her a big tug the brakes might disengage with the jerk. Have all 4 stuck? See if the rear ones are OK, you could tow her to a garage to work.
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Old 24th February 2011, 22:10   #12
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Re: Request Suggestions for my '87 Maruti Suzuki Van (Omni)

@Reinhard

Yes all four are jammed,i get just sundays to work on her,so this sunday am gonna open two wheels and free them,then slide the van on oil as suggested and free the other two,once thats done ill change the tyres call the mechanic and do a full brake overhaul,after that comes a engine flush,new oil and maybe if required il open to check where is some noise coming from.

Any more pointers?
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Old 24th February 2011, 22:24   #13
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Re: Request Suggestions for my '87 Maruti Suzuki Van (Omni)

Wow, that's a nice Omni you have there Scorpian, please do restore her and keep us posted here on the process as it unfolds ! Good Luck !
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Old 6th March 2011, 11:54   #14
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Re: Request Suggestions for my '87 Maruti Suzuki Van (Omni)

Hi guys,
the work finally started,yesterday i had all the four tyres changed along with brand new rims,got them balanced.We drove her to the garage where a complete brake overhaul was done.

List of parts changed:

1)Adjusters for brakes both left and right.
2)Water pump assembly 24years old.(the old one was jammed and was making noise)
3)Timing belt again 24 years old. (the belt has suzuki pro grip written all over it,the belt hasnt cracked but has becum little loose hence replaced it)
4)Couple of gaskets.
5)Changed the point.I have a couple of toyota imported points and use them only as once changed they run awesum for years unlike denso or pmp.

In all i spent 1900 for parts and 500 for labour.

Iam stuck however with one problem...The carburettors secondary pump seems not to be spraying,its suppose to spray finely however in my case it just drips,this is a orignal mikuni carb and i do not want to change it to solex.

Any idea how to rectify this,my mech tried this but to no results it either sprays a mist or just drips...i would be glad if neone could help me sort this or help me find a mikuni carb in working condition from mumbai or any where else..
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Old 6th March 2011, 14:53   #15
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Re: Request Suggestions for my '87 Maruti Suzuki Van (Omni)

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The carburettors secondary pump seems not to be spraying,its suppose to spray finely however in my case it just drips...
The diaphragm that does the pumping for the acceleration pump has lost its elasticity - change to a new diaphragm. Get someone to dismantle the carb and service it, washing out all the channels with NC paint thinner or xylene. Fitting back everything is tricky, so get someone competent to do it for you. No need to get a new carb, this one will run for many more years.
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