[swiftnfurious]

Wow! The Jeep's transformation as well as the person's, who I met in Coimbatore! You are such a changed man from the Ikon days (or do you still have it?)!

This one looks (& performs like) a monster. Seeing the action, the only word I can relate is "fluid"! And that's way too different from the original characteristic of a jeep which is more of a rigid vehicle as we usually say.

Thanks for sharing the details and videos. Wish you all the best and hope you do win lots of events in due course of time. One thing I would like to know is, which garage did you get these done? It sure'll be an awesome on in terms of their expertise and passion.

[speedmunster]

Now, that is some serious kit on the MM540. Only a crazy nutter would be willing to spend that much time and money to create something that you have done. Kudos to you.

I just hope I can do something on the same lines some day.

[JP_800]

That is one hell of a mod job. Could you post some pics of the interior as well? I am intrigued by the seats from the Pajero and the switch gear....

[svsantosh]

Liking the build on pics alone is one thing... but driving it and then liking it is a different ball together!

Still trembling at the *beep* pickup this jeep has! Loved it!

[Bump-Stop]

Kudos to you...it takes a lot of patience and perseverence to build up a jeep to your liking /requirement, and then also quite another have the mods done exactly the way you want it and technically sound. Keep it going!

[dracul]

This is the thread/vehicle I am eagerly waiting for a long time. Please tell us more about the engine and turbo charger with lots of pics. I presume you had done most of the work by yourself or under your supervision, since the garages/mechanics is not that enthusiastic on the mods.
BTW are you using an inline pump or a rotary pump. I have a SD25 with Kiki-diesel rotary at my disposal.
Abin

[dhanushs]

Originally Posted by dracul

This is the thread/vehicle I am eagerly waiting for a long time. Please tell us more about the engine and turbo charger with lots of pics.

Sure, will post in detail soon.

I presume you had done most of the work by yourself or under your supervision, since the garages/mechanics is not that enthusiastic on the mods.

Yes, most of the work was done from my house, neighbours house and a nearby local garage.

BTW are you using an inline pump or a rotary pump. I have a SD25 with Kiki-diesel rotary at my disposal.

I have tried both the Kiki and Mico pump , with and without turbocharging.

The kiki works better when you dont turbocharge it. The mico works better when you turbocharge it. The engine with Kiki revvs more freely. However, without the turbo, the engine is pretty much a dud. Well, not a dud, say marginal improvement over the XD3P. But, the load carrying behavior is much more than the XD3P.

Right now, I'm running on a Mico inline pump. With the turbo, the engine is an entirely different beast. Its so revv friendly. It revvs freely and there is power till the end - 5100 rpm, though it slightly tapers off. The low end throttle response is to die for. I've never driven any diesels that offer that kind of minute sensitivity and control in the throttle. The engine also has a truck load of torque right from idling.

Here's a video which hopefully illustrates the throttle response correctly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=100aURNsytY

The engine is also so much fun to drive in traffic. You can just crawl in 2nd gear and once the slot in the front is open, you can point and shoot.

Originally Posted by JP_800

That is one hell of a mod job. Could you post some pics of the interior as well? I am intrigued by the seats from the Pajero and the switch gear....

Thank you.
Here are a couple of pics.

Please dont mind the fabric seats, which on an offroading vehicle gets dirty in pretty much one outing.

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

... (or do you still have it?)!

Yup, very much have it. ~1,80,000 kms

Wish you all the best and hope you do win lots of events in due course of time.

Thank you. Let your words turn true!

One thing I would like to know is, which garage did you get these done? It sure'll be an awesome on in terms of their expertise and passion.

Most of the work was done in my house. Complicated stuff, at a local jeep workshop. The workshop guys hardly take these kind of risks in mods, unless you sit there, and explain each and every bit of it. Eg: The engine transplant too a hell lot of time, and effort.

[DHABHAR.BEHRAM]

Dear Dhanush - FANTASTIC! Hats off to you. If this is the beast you have with the SD25, go for the BD30, it will be ultimate!

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar

[Shubhendra]

Hello Dhanush,
So finally you started this long awaited thread, I was eagerly waiting for it. I really appreciate the way you and Sreejesh systematically upgrade your vehicles with lots of thought given into each modification and best of all is instead of importing all the bolt on stuff you get the stuff done with Indian spares (I know you spend more than what you would have spent importing stuff). I have few questions which I wanting to ask since long.

a. What is the weight of engine, approx. ?
b. Can you please tell more about suspension setup? What is the width of leafs ? what model of shock absorber, price, travel length? How you compare the performance with coil spring suspension vehicle? Did you face any problem in BAOTR event due to leafs protruding in front and hitting big rocks etc ? what has been done to avoid diff warping ?

c. How did you waterproof starter motor?

d. Why didn’t you go for rear disc setup, any particular reason? What is Double Cylinder Type Rear Drum Brakes ?

e. Is your cooling issue solved or you still have to prime the system oftenly ?asking, because we did one rear radiator setup which worked fine for few months but started giving problems in high RPM operations and air choke issues.

f. Why you prefer MRCBT over power/hydraulic steering as your vehicle is now only used for offroading?

g. Can you please share a pic of flexible pipe which you used for exhaust, make and details ?

Regards,
Shubhendra Singh

[dhanushs]

Originally Posted by DHABHAR.BEHRAM

Dear Dhanush - FANTASTIC! Hats off to you.

Thank you Sir.

If this is the beast you have with the SD25, go for the BD30, it will be ultimate!

Sir, a couple of things held me back from the BD30. It'd be great if you can please clarify.

1. Weight of the engine. The BD30, by a rough estimate, was weighing close to ~300kgs?. (SD25 without the alternator, turbo, clutch and oil, weighs ~185kgs IIRC)
2. Max rpm. BD30 has a max rpm of 4000? Where as SD25 has 5100.

Originally Posted by Shubhendra

Hello Dhanush,
So finally you started this long awaited thread, I was eagerly waiting for it. I really appreciate ...

Thank you!!..

a. What is the weight of engine, approx. ?

I have weighed the engine. With the Starting motor, Clutch plate, pressure plate, alternator, 5L oil, Turbocharger etc.. the engine weighs ~216kgs. So, 'kaali' engine should weigh ~185kgs.

b. Can you please tell more about suspension setup?

Yes, will try to do an elaborate post on this.

What is the width of leafs ?

Old 500D Narrow leafs.

what model of shock absorber, price, travel length?

Front Ironman shocks. Model # you'll have to ask Zac. Travel ~9 inches, IIC.

Rear, twin shocks. Travel ~10inches.

How you compare the performance with coil spring suspension vehicle?

I'm planning to put a whole thread on coil spring, leaf spring and reverse shackle comparo. Very soon.

Did you face any problem in BAOTR event due to leafs protruding in front and hitting big rocks etc ?

The max that will happen is reverse shackle. Nothing else. You can prevent that by welding small stopper on the shackle in the max articulation position.

what has been done to avoid diff warping ?

I have Springs under the axle. So, even though there is some amount of wrap, I feel it is manageable. But, again, on going SPOA, I will need a traction bar.

c. How did you waterproof starter motor?

M-Seal, Anabond, and my electricians magic recipie. But, again, on continuous muck runs front and back, and start inside muck starting motor does pack up.

d. Why didn’t you go for rear disc setup, any particular reason?

I dont do high speed braking. Whatever I have now, I feel is more than enough in an offroading scenario. Rear discs may prove helpful if you have to stop in steep inclines immediatly after water crossing.

What is Double Cylinder Type Rear Drum Brakes ?

two brake cylinders. The MM540 used to come with these in the front.

e. Is your cooling issue solved or you still have to prime the system oftenly ?asking, because we did one rear radiator setup which worked fine for few months but started giving problems in high RPM operations and air choke issues.

After changing the radiator to the back, I've NEVER had an overheating issue. If the complete system is drained, yes, I have to remove an air screw to fill it up back completely. But then you never need to drain the whole coolant, unless you are repairing something engine side.

f. Why you prefer MRCBT over power/hydraulic steering as your vehicle is now only used for offroading?

You definitely need a power steering. Thats for sure. I somehow have a phobia of my tie rods braking ball joints failing, that kept me away from it. But, now with stronger tie-rods I guess I can try it out.

g. Can you please share a pic of flexible pipe which you used for exhaust, make and details ?

They cost just less than ~2k, IIRC. for a foot length. Ask for 3" flexible pipes used in truck silencers. Looks like this.

[Twinn]

Originally Posted by dhanushs

Please dont mind the fabric seats, which on an offroading vehicle gets dirty in pretty much one outing.

Buddy, those seat belts needs to be fastened below, usually to the body, not the roll cage.. This helps you when you actually roll over (Not hoping you do that!)

Cheers to your Build

[dhanushs]

Originally Posted by Twinn

Buddy, those seat belts needs to be fastened below, usually to the body, not the roll cage.. This helps you when you actually roll over (Not hoping you do that!)

Yup. Forgot to mention it. Infact, those are indeed wrongly mounted. Was a quick fix for the RFC South. The upper two points of the 4-point seatbelts need to be mounted a min of atleast 15 degrees below the shoulder level. And the bottom two points need to be behind the butt.

[YoungSaint]

woh sab toh theek hai, "deti kitna hai?"

Jokes apart, it looks like a mean machine. Would love to hear about the details of the effort put in building this monster machine

[dhanushs]

Originally Posted by YoungSaint

woh sab toh theek hai, "deti kitna hai?"

Hi,

The kitna deti hai is largely depended on how I tune the pump (Like remap). In its most aggressive tune, it needs close to 12-13 liters for every 100 kms. In its stock (no turbo) form with no smoke at all, it can deliver an amazing ~14kmpl, with all the bells and whistles. Remember this is a 4 forward speed gearbox, with the tallest ratio 1:1 . And all readings on highway drives. In City, I guess it gives very good mileage. But not checked yet

Jokes apart, it looks like a mean machine. Would love to hear about the details of the effort put in building this monster machine

Sure. Will post more details. Just waiting if someone asks any specific details in the listed spec, so that I can start with it.

[dracul]

dhanushs, what about the stronger tie rod part. Did you custom made it or picked from another vehicle? A coil spring setup will be more suited for the purpose I guess.