[Senz]

Oh man in this age of 2.2 VVGT and common rail magic, what is so exciting about a decade old truck? Honestly for me its a celebration. yes cannot afford one of the new ones, and tried hard to look for a 3 liter Dicor 4x4 but no couldnt find one.

Hmmm TCIC, and lack of power, lack of this and lack of that, honestly I was looking for a vehicle that was more mechanical than run with electornics, yes call me stone aged but I believe that a mechanical set up can take more abuse than electronic set up and yes its the moolah factor as well.


So having said all this, a friend of mine who runs a pretty succesful used car business in Chennai picked up the truck. First things first, the body was good, no rust on the outside, and clean, did not look repainted, atleast to us, and no major dents except for a few scratches and a small dent on the drivers side door. The engine was not touched, it had done 98000 KM and was looking good.
The truck was smooth but there was no sense of urgency and it cried for a good service and maybe a through look-in at some of the mechanicals

So off to the garage where the clutch assembly, steering column, suspension set up was all serviced and replaced and fixed the 4x4 motor was not working , so got that fixed and then went to the interiors, tried to find out the source of a lot of squeeks and rattling, and arrested most of them.

Then the fuel pump was serviced and reset at the Bosh service center, so all set, now for some testing.

Where do we go in Chennai to test a 4x4, the beach ofcourse.

Man o man I can honestly tell you, I did not feel like I was driving an underpowered vehicle at all, the truck performed extremely well and I felt as proud as a peacock.

Over all I am very happy with the truck performing in the city and on the beach, Man we did try some pits where some jeeps had got stuck but the safari pulled clean and how!!!

Yes the rubber, cost was a factor, so after much searching and leafing through reviews and opinions on Team-BHP and on the net settled for the Nankang Forta tyres,they have proved good so far.

This truck is also my daily commute and I do quite a bit in distance I do not feel it is a burden in the congested city traffic/roads. I am looking for my long drive to Ooty soon and so will be able to post a more detailed report on its highway manners and fuel efficiency etc.

One thing I did notice is, that at times the RPM is kind of not settled, as in, when the truck is idling, the RPM fluctuates between 1000 to 1500 RPM and this is only when the AC is on, other wise the RPM is a more decent 900 t0 1100 RPM

Next step is to work on the interiors, and give the truck a facelift, I want to retain the original looks, but want to give it a coat of paint to make it look smarter.

I shall post pictures soon and in the meanwhile I would appreciate all the truckers accepting me into their fraternity.
I must say one of the most important reasons I fell for the Safari was the numerous travelogues of ADC/TSK/Suman/Jaysmokinleaves, wow, amazing and am planning for a BIG one too, but when I don’t know, but the mind is set and yes I can and I will :+)

Also on a side note I was super impressed by the blog of IBM-Jennifer, Man you did inspire a lot of confidence in me to go for the TCIC, reading your maintenance chart and parts cost etc, wow, I cant thank you enough.

Pictures coming soooon

[condor]

Sen, congratulations on your truck. Yes, the 2L TCIC is quite safe in it's mechanical way. You should not have any problem with it's spares or servicing. Do get a comprehensive servicing done, and you should find it smoother - things like engine oil flush, change of GB / transmission oil & coolant etc.

The idling should remain in the 900-1000 range, even with a/c. Get that checked up.

One thing is, even in the Sumo, I find this engine under-powered when using with the a/c. Wish I could do something about this.

Do post some pics, and your travelogue as soon as you complete it. Wishing you a safe & happy ownership.

[SDP]

Dear Sen, congratulations for the truck. Its a very bold decision. Can you please share the price that you paid as well as the service cost for the exhaustive service you got done? And lots of pics of course :-)

[suman]

Sen, Congrats on your new acquisition....since you've got it serviced & replaced whatever was necessary, I'm sure this is going to be one hell of a reliable daily drive. The feeling of peering out at the world below as you trundle by is simply unmatchable

Have fun!!! And keep us posted as the kilometers are munched upon. And lastly - pictures mate!

[Senz]

Wow, thank you so much, it is nice to see responses already, wooooooooo!!!

@ Condor - Thank you!!! I think fuel pump adjustments will help in a some power boost, atleast that is what I believe. Yes I need to get the idling issue sorted out, will do so this week end.

@ SDP - Thank you, the truck with all the mechanical work on it cost me 2.25 lacs.

@ Suman - Thank you dear Sir, It is nice to hear from you , you are absolutely right, the feeling that I get driving this truck form an envious position is simply unmatched. waiting to hit the highway soon.

Pictures will come up soon, probably by Saturday.

[condor]

Senz, just stumbled on this one : but you may have already seen it.
TATA SAFARI TCIC - Complete Parts Price List (Updated) | TATA Safari Club.com

[Senz]

Dear all,

Apologies for lying low for a while, wasnt well, and also was caught up with a job change situation, but yes here are some pictures of the truck parked by my house.

I will be hitting the beach this weekend and will surely take pictures of the truck tackling some sand pits too.

@ Condor - Yes Indeed did look up that link, pretty informative I must say.

[KALINGA]

@ Senz

The car looks neat..
I never drive a "SAFARi" . But i can say one thing. SAFARI is the best, what ever variant it may be.

In looks / comfort no one beat SFARI in this price range. ( With due respect to other SUV / MUV. These are my personal thinking )

[condor]

@Senz, the truck looks clean.

Need a little info from the owner's manual - could you pls send me a scan / photo's of the specifications part. Need the tech spec details, incl gear ratio's. Are you running on the G-76 gear box with a dual synchro clutch ?

[Senz]

@ Kalinga Yes pretty comfortable, can be much much better but in terms of value for money, I am satisfied

@ Condor I am afraid I dont have the Owners manual, didnt ask for it, but will try procuring it. As for the gear this has that odd pattern with the
R 1 3 5
2 4

shift. Not sure if this helps but it did take me some time getting used to the shift pattern.

[tanwaramit]

thats a clean truck you got and the best part is you got it more cleaner with all the work and didnt pinch the pocket much.

Congrats mate, wish a happy riding.

[Senz]

Folks, this might be a silly question, but i want to clarify, my friend who helped me acquire the truck, swears by Tyre pressures of 30 psi for all 4 tyres, whereas the some colleagues of mine who own safari, say that it has to be 35psi front and 32 psi rear, this is because the truck is front HEAVY etc, just a little confused, need some clarification.

[ab500]

Originally Posted by Senz

Folks, this might be a silly question, but i want to clarify, my friend who helped me acquire the truck, swears by Tyre pressures of 30 psi for all 4 tyres, whereas the some colleagues of mine who own safari, say that it has to be 35psi front and 32 psi rear, this is because the truck is front HEAVY etc, just a little confused, need some clarification.

30 is great for all 4. I have had 2 Safaris Since 1998, 1st one sold it in 2006. Bought another one in 2005, and still using it everyday.Worked out all possible combinations and 30 is best suited.