[sagar iswalkar]

Originally Posted by commander

Quick point i found was that the estimates will definately be higher and please do get a rough quotation. Since i'm also in the middle of the conversion i would be touching the 2 lakh barrier after building it from scratch.

Thanks Barani Sir.

And yes I didn't count tires, alloys, any body and paint work in the estimate I calculated. But again I'll recheck and put the amount as and when I spend on anything. Bodywork and paint as I mentioned will be pushed to next year.

Regards.

[powertrain]

Originally Posted by sagar iswalkar

Thanks Barani Sir.

And yes I didn't count tires, alloys, any body and paint work in the estimate I calculated. But again I'll recheck and put the amount as and when I spend on anything. Bodywork and paint as I mentioned will be pushed to next year.

Regards.

Hello Sagar, Any updates on the 4wd conversion? Eagerly awaiting for some info & W I P pics?
Regards,
Varun

[sagar iswalkar]

Hi Powertrain,

Really sorry for no updates on the work, its going on at snail's pace. Secondly because of my new job, I hardly get any time to check on work.

Still am attaching some pictures clicked by my dad who visits the place once a week. Sorry for the pathetic picture quality.





Thanks

[sagar iswalkar]

Hello,

Finally after almost two months, my Armada (named MEGAthor) is slowly coming back to life. Work is getting closer and closer to completion and am getting eager-n-eager day by day. Well to be honest, out of those two months, most of the time the MEGAthor was standing at the workshop, components lying on the floor and we waiting for other spares to be sourced, technitions falling ill and loads of other problems.

Current update, front axle installed, transfer-case installed, gearbox overhauled, rear axle installed, all brakes overhauled (most of all is new), self-made longer shackles installed (now this will help you to calculate how slow the work was going on till now) and well that's it.

Stuff yet to do includes complete engine servicing and replacement of essentials, complete electrical s to be sorted, front bumper fabrication, installation of fog lights, new mirrors, new seats, new shock-absorbers, removal of window tints, installation of tow hooks at both end and some small decals here-n-there.
Also I wish to replace my sliding glass on fifth door to Bolero type fixed glass, and also tail lamps from Bolero itself.
As for mirrors I have already purchased Force Traveler ones, liked the massive-ness of it. Also chose 4 neolite round large fog lights and 2 local branded rectangle shaped small ones.

Am targeting may-be second week of jan for completion (fingers crossed)















Thank you.

[svsantosh]

1) Reduce front shackle height, ride quality will go out the window with this much long shackle! Stick to OE length! Also risking shackle reversal with so much length!

2) Any work done on rear axle assy? I see the rear FFRA left side looks diff from previous page.

3) I recently got rid of the Armada family front grill and went to mahindra's OE Jeep grill look, love the current look.
link

[sagar iswalkar]

Hi Santosh. Thanks for your suggestions. Always was a follower of your thread and modifications on your Armada. Now already I have cancelled, actually pushed S.P.O.A for later on and seriously don't want to get rid of those shackles now although I am aware of all the problems related to it. Neither handling nor ride quality was ever on my wish-list anyways.

Rear axle yes that's changed too, the one seen in a picture on previous page was my original axle. Switched to RHS differential offset one.
Regarding the looks of the front end, I always liked the MM look. Gives it a true jeep identity. Saw your Armada's pictures, It looks awesome especially with that winch at the front. In-fact many suggested me to switch to MM style jeep look, but am seriously not willing to do that. Actually I want to retain the old Armada look on mine. Don't want her to loose her identity after all large tires, increased stance and array of fog lights. Still I'll give it a try some day.

Here's a pic for reference.



Thanks and Regards.

[sagar iswalkar]

Hello,

Just a small update on my MegaTHOR, took my 1st road trial yesterday. At 1st it was my mechanic driving it in 2H, after 2 kms I asked him to shift to 4H, which looked very difficult for him to do. He had to hit the lever really hard to shift it to 4H but after a few tries it did. And after that it was shifting quite smoothly from 2H to 4H and backwards. We went straight to a fueling station, added some diesel and on our way back I drove. At 1st I started in 4H. As was expected, it felt a bit rough, not as freely moving as it used to be earlier. But this as I said was expected as even the front axle is a part of drive-train now. After a 2 kms, I tried to shift it back to 2H but it was not at all doing that. It moved out of the 4H gate but say stuck somewhere in between. Was really disappointed. Even the mechanic tried but nothing was happening. It was stuck in 4H. We drove it back to the garage about 500mts. He opened it once again, grind-ed the lever end a bit and we tried again but still it was the same thing.

Now the work is stuck again. The guy from where I sourced the T-case has promised me to replace it within 2 days. Am thinking of finishing the rest of the work like seat, fog lights, electrical s and so on by the time. Engine servicing also has been done.

Please throw in some suggestions if any of you has experienced such a thing.

Thank you. Sorry no pictures this time.

[jyobeb]

4wd on tarmac is the worst thing you can do to your transfer case man!
The Mahindra transfer cases SHOULD NOT be used like that. Even a brand new transfer case will fail.

[svsantosh]

^ Agree that dont use 4wd in hard surfaces... only on mud and gravel, of course in slush and other loose surfaces.

But you do seem to have a issue when you say 4WD cant be engaged. This calls for checking of the shifter mechanism inside the Tcase. PS - did you dismantle the entire Tcase when you got it from scrap market? That may have revealed the fault before fitting it onto the vehicle. Now you need to remove the tcase (alone, not the whole GB), down and open it up...

Dumb question, are you and the mechanic familiar with the Tcase lever operation? What did he grind?! Is your model the 2H on top-1step down-4H-1 step down-left-up-Neutral?-1step up-4Low? Is there a pic of the travel route on top the knob?

[sagar iswalkar]

Hello jyobeb and SVSantosh, Thanks a lot for your suggestions and regular help. As you might have guessed am an absolute novice in 4X4 world. I will keep this in mind, maybe put a warning sticker somewhere so that on my behalf my father doesn't fiddle with it.

Btw nice time to share an update, good news in a sense, T-case replaced today, took a trial and its working perfectly now. Smooth shifting between all gates, all modes engaging perfectly. Again I didn't knew I shouldn't be using 4H/L modes on road but I had to try it.

@SVSantosh, Its a new T18 transfer-case not taken out of any scrapped vehicle. Sorry don't have any picture for the t-case knob but yes its exactly the way you said.


Took some pictures today but my mem-card went kaput so nothing to share. Took it to a different workshop today. Now its all final check-up, and seats and other stuff fitment.

Enquired for tires today at a known tire shop near my area. He quoted 8,500/ pc for Apollo Hawkz 31 10.5 R15. Is this a good option?

Thanks and regards.

[svsantosh]

Thanks for the update, glad to know Tcase and 4WD is working perfectly - welcome to the 4wd club :-D

31" is possible, but hope you read about my experiences in my thread? Even with a body lift the tyres scrape like crazy and will damage the tyres. Let me know if more tips needed...

[sagar iswalkar]

Hey friends

Finally my MegaTHOR got back home on Tuesday. On my way back suddenly the clutch started making loud snapping noise every time I pressed the pedal. Am guessing the release bearing must have gone kaput. I skipped it while doing gearbox overhaul, should have changed that too. Will sort it out this week. 4WD transfer-case working perfectly. All brakes were new and were a bit low on feel and effect on my 1st trial but now they are good. All electricals sorted.

Other than clutch only tires and wheel alignment is pending now. Also I want to change the rear most sliding glass to Bolero/Marshal type fixed glass. Anyways sharing some pictures for now.






































Regards.

[svsantosh]

You are really bad with the camera!!

But a brilliant effort to bring a old dog back to its glory 4wd days - kudos!! Get some nice pics asap... action pics are more welcome. Fix the rust spots soon, else you wont have much of a jeep left!

[sagar iswalkar]

Hello. Really apologies for not posting anything here for almost months now but was really busy with job, training s, exams and what not! Still I kept an hour aside every Sunday for my MegaTHOR, just a short drive here-n-there to keep the batteries charged.

I am eagerly waiting for monsoon dying to take it off-road. Obviously I cannot do that on those puny 215/75 r15 H/Ts mounted currently, am waiting for monsoon or maybe May end to switch to some nice big M/Ts. May be some used alloys too. Also am enquiring around for a good deal for Power steering and SPOA conversion. Lets see if I get a good deal.

Anyways sharing some recent pictures, just a drive on a rough n narrow patch of road nearby.



















Thanks and regards.

[svsantosh]

You will be surprised how much those 215-75-r15 HT can do! Wear them out and once you find out why and where you need better tyres, go for them. Just bcoz good MTs cost 50-70 for a set I have been postponing them forever and make-do'n with all sorts of HT and wornout MRF SG's!