Hello BHPians, apologies for my absence from the forum for a long hiatus.
I hope you are all doing well.
Anyway it is now time for an update and this update is going to be a rather big and detailed one !
My last post on the forum was regarding my tyre change and alloy wheel installation on 1513. I have since been using the car almost daily to run errands and tasks and also for weekend drives, enjoying every bit of it as usual !
The car returns a mileage of about 11-12 km/litre in the city which I suspect is decent and what most Zen owners would have received from their cars.
The evergreen side profile of the good old 'jellybean' , I still cannot get over how the wheels have transformed the car to no end ! The car now has a slight offset due to the upsized tyres, which I am somewhat of a fan of. Might I also add how it has improved the ride quality by leaps and bounds.
The car has finally by passed the 30,000 km mark after 25 years of existence !
Had it not been for the lockdown last year it would have surely covered more !
Now for the main part of this update. I was supposed to service the car a long while ago, but due to the lockdown last year I was unable to and other constraints further prevented me from doing it. However, last month I finally decided I would get down to doing it because it was well overdue. The engine oil had gone all black and the coolant was brown. Furthermore, the brakes had begun to feel strained and tired. An annoying humming noise from the wheels began to make its way into the cabin, which was a sign that the wheel bearings were on their way out too. The steering too had a slight squeak. And finally, the clutch had gone hard and squeaky , of course the age did have a part to play there but I owe it more to the fact that I learnt to drive on the car ! The car had started to become sluggish. It was high time for some TLC.
A call was then made to my trusted mechanic Ravi, who has of course been spoken about previously on this thread as well, and then the car was driven off to the garage, which was its home for two years before I got it !
As I had free time, I decided to visit the garage and help work on the car myself . I must say it was a great learning experience, and of course, getting your hands dirty every once in a while is an important part of being an enthusiast
Time for some TLC !
So here is the list of things I had done on the car during the course of its visit to the garage :-
- Engine Oil and oil filter Change
- Coolant Change, Radiator flush and cleaning
- New Fuel filter
- Air Filter cleanup
- New Brake Pads
- Brake service and fluid change
- Clutch Change (including Pressure Plate, Release Bearing and Clutch Cable)
- New Wheel nuts and Wheel Bearings
- New Drive Shaft boot and greasing
- Steering Rack Servicing
- Carburetor cleaning and tune up
- Electrical work ( replaced shorted bulbs )
- A wash and clean service at Cadel Auto
and other general things that would get covered during a service. The parts that were replaced were all of original MGP branding and were purchased from two of Mumbai's trusted Automotive Spare parts shops namely , Sundar Auto Parts and Chandrika Auto. The work was all done at Ravi's garage and was done brilliantly as always . The entire bill came to about 7100 INR. Reasonable ! Now for the pics !
This time around we decided to use Castrol Magnatic 10W40 Synthetic Oil. Although , it is often recommended that Mineral Oil should be used for older cars, I decided to go for Synthetic. As the selected grade is correct, it should be fine. The engine revs more freely now !
The Brake pads were done for. That explained the annoying squeaky noise that the car made everytime I applied the brakes. Sometimes I do also thank the higher powers !
WORK IN PROGRESS !
The LHS Wheel nut had a crack !
The old clutch was past its prime and did not have much life left on it at all. Hence, it was replaced !
25 years worth of dust being cleaned out !
The New clutch and pressure plate ! What a beauty ! The entire cost of this piece including the new clutch release bearing was about 2750/- . The clutch is made by Valeo, which is one of the main suppliers to MGP.
In it goes !
The difference felt after the new clutch was installed was of the highest order, I can say that the car never drove that good ! As Ravi said, the clutch and gearbox would feel like makkhan post the clutch change and rightly so !
Furthermore, the LHS driveshaft boot was torn so I had that replaced and greased. The other boots were in good nick, so they were left as is but were re-greased. The steering rack was also serviced which got rid of the squeaks.
The car was driving amazingly post the new clutch installation of course, it never felt that nimble ! Post that, it was time for a carb clean and tune up. As defunct as carbs maybe these days, I shall pen down that part of the service here as well. The carburetor was cleaned and serviced with the help of a 3M Carb cleaner spray and its throat was cleaned with a toothbrush, the old school way !
Ravi, being an old school mechanic with years and years of experience knows carburetors inside out , especially the Mikunis that Maruti Suzukis got. So I watched and learnt as he turned the air-fuel mixture screw and the engine idle screw to ensure that the engine was in the right state of tune. Even if a slight something felt off, he would start over again, till the time he was sure the car was running as it should . "This is how we tuned cars without computers back in the day ! " he exclaimed. Finally, the carb was tuned up and the car started in half a crank or 'half self' as they say and the cabin was as quiet as ever with zero vibrations. Well, ZERO ENGINE NOISE !
The car was then driven to the electrician's a few blocks away to fix the LHS tail light and fender indicator that had suddenly stopped working. The culprit in both cases was a shorted bulb, had them replaced.
Finally, all the pending work was completed . The car felt and drove like a breeze. It now revved happier than ever and accelerated like never before, of course ! It was then time for the icing on the cake , which was some final pampering. I dropped it off at the Cadel Auto Petrol Pump for a wash and clean service because it had to come home squeaky clean !
Nothing more satisfying than a clean engine bay !
Welcome back home!
Next, I shall be attending to the faded bumpers and score some fitting center caps for my alloys.
A mini photoshoot with a friend's IGNIS. Displaying how Maruti Suzuki's fun small car has changed over two decades. A few do consider the Ignis to be the spiritual successor of the Zen. They are both fun to drive, So I would agree with that statement.
I have driven the car for approximately 300 kilometers post the service and it is driving brilliantly, in conclusion, I must reiterate the fact that I am so immensely happy that I have 1513 as my first car. Not only is it a fun car, but owning and looking after it is also a brilliant learning experience from which I have learnt and continue to learn so much !