[deetee]

Originally Posted by snaronikar

Do conduct a thorough test on functional parts including tyres before taking for any long drives.

Thank you snaronikar, well not a thorough but a quick(i mean superficial-nothing opened up) checkup had been done- not just once but some 3-4 times(at various mechanics) ; i wanted to be doubly sure ,so got it crosschecked with diff mechanics. The engine and electricals are showroom(some colloquial language they use) condition as they say, only clutch pressure plate is making some noise (when i release clutch suddenly, it gives a li'le jerk in 1st and 2nd gear).First they asked me to get clutch cable changed, after getting a new cable also, slight discomfort at low gears, so now they are suggesting its pressure plate causing the small jerk. But as per the previous owner clutch work(entire overhaul) has been done at around 44-45K odo reading and one year back. Now the odo clocks 47K, so probably last time the clutch work might not have been done properly.BTW, the vehicle was being serviced at authorized MASS for the past 5 years since 2002(prev. owner gave me the service history), but just do not know who is the crank at the MASS that had messed up with clutch work.Anyway it may not cause me any problems till another 5-6k , meantime i'll get it checked thoroughly at next service and then decide upone needed remedy.
Another minor work needed is that gear rod bushes have been worn out,no sounds yet but gear rod play is a bit more than normal.Will get it done at next service.

[deetee]

Originally Posted by rjstyles69

deetee first of all congrats on the purchase. Sometimes I feel nostalgic when I get to see the M800 at my neighbours parking. My FIL still owns a '94 M800 and I take it out for a spin once in while. I love driving this small thingy around Mysore once in a while.

Thank you rjstyles, yes i can understand that emotional feeling,i have seen and read about the emotional attachment people find with this small but practical city car.Well, sometimes i feel, if it had not been for 800 i would have taken a lot more time to learn negotiating hyderabad traffic efficiently. You can always find gaps where other cars can't venture,well size does matter here :-)

Originally Posted by humyum

I still have a 1998 4 speed carburated new shape maruti 800.

Yes Humyum i already know it :-), infact after my purchase i had been searching through the various forums and had found your threads about the problems you faced. They helped me a lot to learn more about the car mechanicals, thanks a lot.

Originally Posted by humyum

IF u have a punture on the front tyre then u cannot run one cross ply and one radial in the front as the 800 is a front wheel driven car.Will cause damage to your differential.
So if u change the tyres buy 5 new tyres of the same size

Yes, i was aware of it that we should either buy new rims or get them checked thoroughly. And in my previous posts what i meant is that i will keep '96 tyre as stepney as long as i run on other tyres only, i.e., am going to change all 5 tyres at once. Thanks for the advice, i did not know of the side effects though.
BTW, in one of you posts you mentioned about coolant leakage and how finally you spotted an old pipe which is the cause, well i immediately checked in vehicle . I am referring to that (metal)pipe which comes from cyclinder block and meets radiator bottom end; just where this pipe starts from cylinder block, i once saw slight deposit of coolant on the gear box block(below the pipe). Coupled with this in just 400 km running my coolant has gone from full to half level in the coolant container. So, it all reminded the symptoms you mentioned( 800km and empty coolant in container). So , i took a 30km run and in the meanwhile couple of times i checked for any signs of leakage from that particular tube, didnot find any leakage nor even from anywhere else on the other hoses. Well, even today i didnot find any traces of coolant anywhere and level in container remained more or less same. So, do not know what caused that small amount of coolant appear there but no clues as of now,will wait and see.

[deetee]

almost a month since i have owned the car and covered about 500kms till now.Driving was done both in and out of the city(a 3-lane highway).So, this is my intial ownership experience:
1.)Performance:
Well, it's an 800 c.c engine with about 57bhp/ton peak power, so it all translates to comfortable city commuting.At runs from traffic signals, its fun watching indicabs in RVM- they becoming smaller and smaller in my RVM. Well, its just that,very good for city. Out on highway, am limited to a safe speed of 60-70 only as beyond that am scared due to lake of proper braking efficiency.(800 doesn't have brake boosters ,right?).
2.)Interior comfort:
Seating has suited me very well( am 5'10" and has to push the seat all the way back but that's enough even for long drives).Legroom is quite enough for me. On the front passenger side the legroom is remarkable. Some one who sat there in an 800 can understand what i mean. In modern cars because of luxurious dashboards, they tend hit on our knees when we sit at front left. It happened to me in indica ,santro(alto is worst here).Because 800's dash is minimalistic, it releases a lot of leg room there.
Even rear seat leg room is much better than alto(only viable comparison).
3.)suspension:
Type-1 800's came with leaf-spring arrangement at rear; so it does a very good job at providing precise feedback of road under the tyres. You drive over a bump, you'll immediately regret for doing that ; drive on a good surface , you'll thank god for such a good stretch :-)
4.)ownership experience:
Did not spend much till now: 200 rs for clutch cable replacement and head light focus adjustment; 125rs for Wheel alignment and rotation, Rs.120 for coolant, Rs.125 for a OSRVM(previous one became too loose to hold position). So, it's about Rs.600 of first months expenditure. I think that's quite acceptable for a 11yr old 800, is it not?
5.) FE:
Measured it tank full to tank full. For first 200kms i got about 12kmpl ; well most of the time i was driving in 2nd gear then.At next tankfull it consumed 22ltrs for 312kms, so its 14.2kmpl. A good indicator that am improving at driving, am i not?? :-) well, half of that driving was done on highway, so it helped the FE figures, my guess.

[humyum]

Originally Posted by deetee

BTW, in one of you posts you mentioned about coolant leakage and how finally you spotted an old pipe which is the cause, well i immediately checked in vehicle . I am referring to that (metal)pipe which comes from cyclinder block and meets radiator bottom end; just where this pipe starts from cylinder block, i once saw slight deposit of coolant on the gear box block(below the pipe). Coupled with this in just 400 km running my coolant has gone from full to half level in the coolant container. So, it all reminded the symptoms you mentioned( 800km and empty coolant in container). So , i took a 30km run and in the meanwhile couple of times i checked for any signs of leakage from that particular tube, didnot find any leakage nor even from anywhere else on the other hoses. Well, even today i didnot find any traces of coolant anywhere and level in container remained more or less same. So, do not know what caused that small amount of coolant appear there but no clues as of now,will wait and see.

Brother this could happen because of engine speeds too.The water pump runs on engine power.The more u rev the more water pressure it will be in the lines.So if the pipe is puntured or in its failing stages a certain pressure above which it will start leaking water.So you must have not revved the car in the 30 km run you took and hence no leakage spotted.

Ask them to do a leak test.Will show exactly where the water is leaking from or u can get all the pipes changed since its a very old car and due to heating and cooling the rubber would have deteriorated anway.So changing all the pipes and getting the radiator flushed and filled with new coolant will be really awesome.

Also since your car has not run much ask them to check the secondary butterfly in the carburator.It generally gets jammed and will deprive you of the kick you get at high rpms has happened in my car a lot of times.
Cheers

[deetee]

Originally Posted by humyum

So you must have not revved the car in the 30 km run you took and hence no leakage spotted.

Well,i actually drove it through a not-so-hilly area(we have something called whisper valley here- a continuous winding uphill for half a km then a couple of ups and downs). So, i should have revved it a bit, anyway i will get it pressure tested as you said,to better be safe than sorry .

Originally Posted by humyum

Also since your car has not run much ask them to check the secondary butterfly in the carburator.It generally gets jammed and will deprive you of the kick you get at high rpms has happened in my car a lot of times.
Cheers

Spot on!! that was something i am wondering why i feel lack of power after some intial speed.. i mean 2 and 3 rd feel ok upto 40 -50kmph , but beyond 50 or so, its like some power has been suddenly missing. Well surely will get it checked ,thanks brother for that info.