[Lukeskywalker]

Originally Posted by richie4u

Hi Guys, I have a peculiar problem with my safari,every time I start from a cold start and drive the car for a couple of minutes until I reach the fourth gear and about 65+ speed, while accelerating there seems to be a sudden dead spot(deceleration feeling) for about 1-2 seconds and the vehicle accelerates normal from there on. The problem is this happens almost every alternate day and I cannot replicate it.

It occurs almost at the same speed of 65-70 in fourth gear and always after a cold start maybe first thing in the morning, or while leaving back to come home in the evening but always on a cool engine. The problem does reoccur in the normal drive after that.I dont feel it is a fuel problem as I have been tanking up at the same bunk as usual.So what can this problem be? My car has gone through three timing belt replacements in less then 50K kms so just a bit paranoid,should I be worried?

Have you observed a puff of black smoke when the " dead spot" is reached? if yes, it's a very common issue in most of the 2.2 Dicors on a cold start, it happens less than 2-3 Kms after you've started. I don't think there's any cause for worry.

[richie4u]

My safari gives black smoke on heavy acceleration (at RPM above 2.5) anyways so I don't know if it is actually normal. This never happened in the earlier years so do you mean this is normal for the car at 5 years of age? And so also is it normal for it to happen during increasing acceleration?, cause that's when I feel it happening when I accelerate from 65 towards 70 and for that 1-2 seconds, I feel the pedal non responsive with car decelerating and then back to normal again. The last time I felt something like this, after a couple of thousand kms. the belt had broken hence my query.

[bj96]

Originally Posted by richie4u

My safari gives black smoke on heavy acceleration (at RPM above 2.5) anyways so I don't know if it is actually normal...

I think black smoke is due to unburnt Diesel. Looks like it sucks more fuel than engine could digest and belches out the unburnt. I have seen similar symptom on some other diesels too during rapid acceleration. Should not be cause of a worry. Anyway, try System-D on couple of tankfuls and floor the pedal (in order to flush the cat-con) once in awhile for 10-20seconds before bidding goodnight to the beast.

-BJ

[Ajitsingh208]

Went to the Diveagar beach on Sunday for a day trip from Pune with wifey. While coming back just before the Tamhini Ghat. I took the driver side window glass down to enjoy the cool wind. Then it started raining and the glass wouldn't go back up. The Power window switch stopped working although I could hear a slight click sound. Had to drive like this till home, Faced the full fury of rain gods, got totally wet, although I was more worried about the side mirrors control switches and the other power window switches, that they would stop working since the water was coming inside. I only had a small polythene which I placed on them.
Also the visibility became very low and I maintained a speed of 20-30 km/hr since it was already dark so did not want to stop as it's a rather unsafe place to be at night.
The car went over thousands of potholes, somehow managed to reach home all wet and the car making a strange sound that came from near the front right side, everytime it went over even a little stone.

Took the Safari to Concorde Motors Pune, was really apprehensive of the bills expected in-spite of the car being under 2+2 Warranty.
Well, The switch was changed under warranty, all other switches were working as expected so rainwater did no harm.
The sound that was coming from the Right front side was due to a ball joint apparently, which was replaced FOC.
Although I have been told that I might need to get some suspension work done after 5-10k. Current ODO reading is 61k.
Everything was done so smoothly I am still in disbelief that this is also a TASS compared to my past experiences at Rama Motors, Okhla, Delhi which has thankfully closed down now.

I love TATA.

[dadu]

The Timing belt bug hit my safari while coming back from a long weekend just 40 Kms outside banaglore on the NH, luckily had a restaurant to rest and some roadside mechanic shops to help. This is the culprit below:



Outside the belt you can see the tensioner.

- There was a play found in the bearing which led to the belt to slip
- A part of the Timing Belt split into 2
- No damage to the engine otherwise

Called up Concorde who towed the vehicle and inspected the engine, repairs required a day.

I would recommend all owners whose Safari is 2012 or earlier to go for the F-Kit timing belt replacement asap or atleast get the timing belt inspected.

Mine was a D-Kit which lasted only 45K. Replacement Cost with Labor and other Misc charges is 16K.

There are few other things they found during inspection:

- Vibration due to injector, consulted CRDISamir, no change required, only the backleak pipes were replaced.
- Center link rod has play
- Turbo oil backflow pipe leakage
- Disc and brake pad need change

Does anyone know the life of front Discs, TASS told that they need to be replaced if under 21 mm

Also I need to fix the bugging air circulation which is there despite the flap closes (dont want to block the vent from outside), does anyone know how to access the flap itself, I will try to fix the leakage of air myself by padding it airtight, remember a post long time back talking about how to reach the vent but cant find it now.

[Prowler]

Originally Posted by dadu

I would recommend all owners whose Safari is 2012 or earlier to go for the F-Kit timing belt replacement asap or atleast get the timing belt inspected.

Mine was a D-Kit which lasted only 45K. Replacement Cost with Labor and other Misc charges is 16K.

Mine is dec 2008 and it was recalled in 2010 for some retrofitting - which included timing belt and a rubber cover for the ECU. I recently changed my timing belt, water pump and the front cover (they must have broken that when fitting) for Rs.25k

It included the routine service also - oil change, filters replacement and coolant change. My timing belt looked fresh and probably didn't require any change. But I didn't want to take a chance. My truck has just about done 27500 km in all these years.

[dadu]

Originally Posted by Prowler

Mine is dec 2008 and it was recalled in 2010 for some retrofitting - which included timing belt and a rubber cover for the ECU. I recently changed my timing belt, water pump and the front cover (they must have broken that when fitting) for Rs.25k

It included the routine service also - oil change, filters replacement and coolant change. My timing belt looked fresh and probably didn't require any change. But I didn't want to take a chance. My truck has just about done 27500 km in all these years.

The timing belt covers need to be replaced as part of the F-kit, the F-kit is supposed to be a fix for the earlier failures and currently runs on the storme, every part of this F-kit is re-designed to prevent failure, hence the new covers too.

[Ajitsingh208]

I need help from fellow Safari owners. This isn't a Technical problem but turning out to be a huge problem.
My Safari was standing in the covered society parking since the last 10 days.
Since the headlamp bulb was fused, I opened the bonnet to change it and saw a big rat running inside. It vanished within a minute. I took it to the car cleaner, got the engine bay spray washed and then went over many bumps hoping it would fall off.
The next day when I opened the bonnet I saw it again.

Tried the rat Glue but it turned out to be useless, the rat sat on it, ate the bread and left a dead frog on it. I sense it's storing food inside the Safari somewhere and making a Nest as I have started seeing cockroaches too inside the cabin even after getting the cabin vaccum cleaned twice from all corners.

I have given my Safari to Concorde Motors Pune now, as I suspect it's behind the Dashboard. Does anyone have an idea where all can it hide, where are the hidden spaces in the Safari.
So far no wires have been cut, but I hope to catch it before any damage is caused.

[dkamath]

Please examine the blower air draft duct pipes in the engine bay, which have high chances for rat entry. I was sure the rat had got in from there, when i faced this issue, since the cardboard box holding the spare headlamp bulbs were nibbled, and droppings were present in there too.

[amitk26]

Originally Posted by dadu

The timing belt covers need to be replaced as part of the F-kit, the F-kit is supposed to be a fix for the earlier failures and currently runs on the storme, every part of this F-kit is re-designed to prevent failure, hence the new covers too.

I got the F Kit at 40K Km some 2 years back as part of routine checkup.
The tensioner had uneven wear and unfortunately this was just after extended warranty got over but good to know still it is F Kit and they have not come up with G or H versions.

Dadu what were the symptoms on timing belt splitting and how you detected in time to prevent damage to engine ?

[vijuvarghese]

About rat inside cabin: please check space behind jump seats and the cavity leading to roof through rear pillar. Once inside rear pillar, rat will easily make way to roof lining. You can inspect this area by removing the light in boot area. From the space behind wheel arches it can enter cavity inside running board too.

[bj96]

Originally Posted by vijuvarghese

...About rat inside cabin: please check space behind jump seats...

+1. Check behind/near the cavity where jack is stowed. There is an easy access to the outside. I have permanently sealed the place with a thick foam used in shipping cartons. It also cuts down, somewhat, the road/tire noise seeping into the cabin.

-BJ

[tarundsk]

Team,

I was facing a gear oil leak issue (slight brownish oil near front right wheel) and suddenly I head a vibrating noise from gear box, took it to Bosh (since being near) and they replaced the bearing inside a gearbox (total cost INR 10,000), but post that my gear shiftiing from 2nd to 1st had become very hard, so to rectify (and also the leakage was still there after Bosch guys topped up the gear oil), I gave it to TASC, they said clutch plates are worn out and that is cause of hard gear shifts.

After replacing the clutch assembly, the clutch has become too soft (almost like feather press) - and I am not used to this, there is no feel of driving. When enquired they said my Safari 2.2L is old (2009) and the new clutch assembly is like that only.

Can somebody share if that is true, do the recent models have soft clutch pedal.

Also any guidance of gear box oil leakage, it is still there.

-Tarun

[ameaa]

Originally Posted by tarundsk

Team,

I was facing a gear oil leak issue (slight brownish oil near front right wheel) and suddenly I head a vibrating noise from gear box, took it to Bosh (since being near) and they replaced the bearing inside a gearbox (total cost INR 10,000), but post that my gear shiftiing from 2nd to 1st had become very hard, so to rectify (and also the leakage was still there after Bosch guys topped up the gear oil), I gave it to TASC, they said clutch plates are worn out and that is cause of hard gear shifts.

After replacing the clutch assembly, the clutch has become too soft (almost like feather press) - and I am not used to this, there is no feel of driving. When enquired they said my Safari 2.2L is old (2009) and the new clutch assembly is like that only.

Can somebody share if that is true, do the recent models have soft clutch pedal.

Also any guidance of gear box oil leakage, it is still there.

-Tarun

Safari clutch is very soft when your master and slave cylinders are new with new plate. This will start becoming hard as you start using them. After running 10-20K it would turn back to hard depending on your use.

You have mentioned leak near front right wheel. Are you sure it is from gearbox? Steering box sits near to front right wheel. Please check if the source of leak is from steering box.

[saurabh2711]

HI All,

A friend of mine owns a 2011-LX-BS3, is working fine, except for issues with HVAC system.
There is a contineous "HISSING" sound whenever the A/C is started. There is also a significant reduction in the cool air that is coming out from the blowers. The problem started yesterday during his drive from Nagpur to Pune. Prior to that no such issues faced.
We can guess the issue can be due to less gas in the A/C unit. If this is the case, can you please suggest what led to sudden drop in gas levels, or any other pointers to the solution are welcome.


Regards,
Saurabh.