[Dr_MNC_SK]

1st Anniversary Update

Fourknotfour crossed 1 year on 19th this month and has clocked 17,500.
A second trip to Sandakpu & Phalud a week before this took a toll on the vehicle. Bad timing with flash rains and muddy trails and getting stuck a couple of places in the slush (due to my tyres) and I ended up with a twisted front propellor shaft and a failed 4x4 sensor (which was changed once before)

The local service centre " Sikkim Motors" threw up their own regular unprofessional attitude (like they do me a favour by working on my vehicle) Dissatisfied took it to another service centre outside Sikkim (Sona Motors Siliguri) where the following were identified and corrected

1. Torsion Bar Adjustments
2. Front Propeller Shaft is buckled and twisted (havent sorted out as lathe was non functional due to Bishwakarma Puja Extension Holidays)
3. 4wd sensor failure (Covered in warranty as last thing- coordinated with the ASS in Sikkim and fitted there as they didnt have spare there)
4. 3rd Servicing - Air filter | Diesel Filter | Engine Oil Filter | Engine Oil | replacement.
5. Front Brake Pads Replacement (at Sikkim Motors where this was all they did)
6. Wheel Alignment Rotation.
7. Central Lock Rewiring with Door Switch Installation (after repeated complaints to HQ Delhi of RD Devices for the same)
8. Removal of Reverse sensors and unit for conditioning and checkup as it was giving false signals.
9. Fabricated and installed a High Mount Stop Lamp for approx 700 rs all inclusive ( Lamp + Mount + Wiring + Spray Paint)

Keeping fingers crossed now that it is out of warranty and it doesn't throw up something major.

[Shivanshu]

Great congrats on finishing the 1st Anniversary. Would be looking forward to see your tour pics more often.

[Dr_MNC_SK]

20,000 Km Update

My fourknotfour crossed 20,000 kms on a 3000 kms journey to Arunachal & Back. (Travelogue will come soon).

Has been a pleasant journey till now. Minor Niggles fixed
- 2nd time Hand Brake Failure (Cable Snapped)
- Coolant leakage from multiple sites ( Thermobond sealing and pressure screw washer installed)
- Alignment Issues

Vehicle Update

Fenderflares gets a carbon fibre wrap for the numerous patchy flaked paint patches.

Installed a roof rack (custom made with bungee tie down points, aluminium mesh and no sides) with additional fog lamps.

and lastly but not the least "Happy New Year Folks"


At Laitum Meghalaya with Family and Friend's Ford.

[wanderlust]

Originally Posted by Dr_MNC_SK

20,000 Km Update

My fourknotfour crossed 20,000 kms on a 3000 kms journey to Arunachal & Back. (Travelogue will come soon).


Fenderflares gets a carbon fibre wrap for the numerous patchy flaked paint patches.

Installed a roof rack (custom made with bungee tie down points, aluminium mesh and no sides) with additional fog lamps.

and lastly but not the least "Happy New Year Folks"

Cool, Happy New Year! Looking forward to your travelogue as well as the roof rack mounting... curious about this.

[Tanmay K]

Originally Posted by Dr_MNC_SK

20,000 Km Update
Installed a roof rack (custom made with bungee tie down points, aluminium mesh and no sides) with additional fog lamps.

Doc, would love to see some pictures of your roof rack if you get a chance to take some. I've been debating fabricating one myself vs. getting one from the market.

[Dr_MNC_SK]

My Custom Luggage Rack

The rear seat modifications with extra generous 2nd row leg space and the short wheelbase of my fourknotfour had made the luggage space to a bare minimum. Hardly 3 medium sized duffel bags would fit in properly. Any larger then the second row seats backrest would had to be upright or it would try to come out through the rear vinyl hood.
Lots of thinking and a roof rack had to come for any long trips with more than 2 occupants. Looked for compatible racks and none caught my eye , neither were any readily available. Inspired by many good designs of thule racks and our very own diamonds and rhinos I decided to fabricate one locally as per my liking.

Materials:

¾ inch square iron pipe heavy duty for the main frame.
Lighter one for the subsidiary inner connections.
Aluminium netting for base.
Multiple bolts for bungee tiedowns.
Parabolic Strengthened Brackets from an old roof rack modified for size.
13 No Bolts and Plastic Moulded Bolts from old roof rack
4 No 35 W Pearl halogen Yellow Rectangular Lamps
Tin Sheet for Wind Deflector

Construction /Fitting/ Painting /Wiring

The frame was constructed with heat tempered bends and welded as per measurements covering basically A to B pillar width.

The parabolic brackets were adjusted for the racks height and just above the roof canvas and then welded onto it. The anterior part dips lower than the posterior part. Two of the brackets on either side are connected by a metal to distribute the weight along the whole rain channel and not cause undue pressure over four points. The clamping system is made with sheet metal and each of the four ends are clamped with the channel and bolted with a nut and covered with a PVC encased nut knob for visual asthetics. So basically double bolting. Aluminium netting is riveted underneath the whole frame .

The front end gets a cross bar so that luggage deaccelerates against it on hard braking and doesn’t break the bungee. Also the middle part I have designed a small wind deflector and have installed four fog lamps 2 on either sides of it .

The whole setup is then painted and installed. It takes around 15 minutes to install and another 10 to uninstall and just a spanner and two persons.

Wiring is done for foglamps using a heavy duty 300 W relay and Double action pull switch on two circuit each for 2 lamps without any connection to the main wiring. It can be lit without the ignition key.

Total cost including Roofrack Painting Lamps and Wiring was around Rs 9000/-

Luggage Tie Down Points: I have welded multiple (more than 15) bolts on the inner side of the main frame and elsewhere inside . Luggage is tied down using Bungee through these points.

Usage/ Review:

Recently did a 3000 kms trip where I carried 3 loaded trolley bags up there tied down with 6-7 Bungee cords with absolutely no problem. I climb up through the dashboard to tie the luggage.
No extra wind noise – infact the canopy fluttering decreased.
Fuel efficiency hit by -2km/l from 12kmpl to 10-11kmpl this time with roof mounted luggage.
Handling: Highways/ Expressways: No difference
Hills: Hardly noticeable difference in handling
Rough Roads: Need to tie down the luggage more securely as there is only one side support bar in the front.

Originally Posted by Tanmay K

Doc, would love to see some pictures of your roof rack if you get a chance to take some.

Here are some pictures I had.

Fabrication in Progress


Fabrication in Progress


Fabrication in Progress


Front View with Luggage


Front view with No luggage.


Rear with luggage


Rear View with No luggage ( Notice its hardly Visible )




Side Views


Top View



Top View with Luggage and Me on Top to tie down luggage.

[Dr_MNC_SK]

Hello everyone.
Could someone help me figure out a problem in my TharCrde.
Since the day i got it it has been consuming more coolant than expected.
There seems to be no visible loss or staining or power loss. Radiator cap was changed and also some seals were strengthened with sealant.
Last time the reservoir tank ran dry like always and i couldn't procure coolant hence i filled the reservior with demineralised water. It consumed that also half but the remaining half in the reservior is still pure water, i mean some back flow should have caused it to change colour but its pure water. I filled it up again with the remaining water. And again it consumed it but no back flow of coolant. What seems to be the problem?

[Tanmay K]

I'm no expert on Thars but coolant consumption seems like a common issue. There's this one thing you could try if nothing else works.

You can buy a bottle of UV dye on Amazon and a UV lamp. The dye can be mixed safely in water and you should be able to pin point the leakage location very easily after some time.

The dye and the lamp should not cost more than 1500-1600 bucks combined.

[JayPrashanth]

Originally Posted by Dr_MNC_SK

Hello everyone.
Could someone help me figure out a problem in my TharCrde.
Since the day i got it it has been consuming more coolant than expected.
There seems to be no visible loss or staining or power loss. Radiator cap was changed and also some seals were strengthened with sealant.
Last time the reservoir tank ran dry like always and i couldn't procure coolant hence i filled the reservior with demineralised water. It consumed that also half but the remaining half in the reservior is still pure water, i mean some back flow should have caused it to change colour but its pure water. I filled it up again with the remaining water. And again it consumed it but no back flow of coolant. What seems to be the problem?

Try changing the coolant cap. The late Mr. Behram Dhabhar used to advice this when people complained of coolant level drop issues.

Cheers,

Jay

[Dr_MNC_SK]

Originally Posted by JayPrashanth

Try changing the coolant cap. The late Mr. Behram Dhabhar used to advice this when people complained of coolant level drop issues.

Cheers,

Jay

Thanks for the advice, but please refer to my post, the radiator cap (coolant cap ) is changed to no avail. More than coolant consumption I am wondering why there is no back flow to the reservior.

[Jaggu]

Originally Posted by Dr_MNC_SK

And again it consumed it but no back flow of coolant. What seems to be the problem?

Originally Posted by Dr_MNC_SK

Thanks for the advice, but please refer to my post, the radiator cap (coolant cap ) is changed to no avail.

Few checks you can do:

- Leak in overflow pipe to the reservoir tank or at the cap? It should be visible with marks.

- Open the radiator cap and check at what level coolant is, when it is cold. If the level is within 1/4 to 1/2 inch from filler mouth it is fine.

- Try one more cap replacement, with M&M replacement parts are sometimes fishy. Ideally source from dealer or a M&M master stockist in your region. Also check if it is the right type and rating.

Hope you have ruled out any coolant mixing with oil?

[sjcherian]

I have had all the similar issues with the coolant consumption. Had various hoses (top hose and bottom hose) changed couple of times since 2012 (when they were found to be getting brittle/having minor leaks) and problem goes away for some time and then reappears. Had the water pump pulley break last year and that was changed as well. Radiator cap has not been changed from the start.

Only observation finally I have is that harsh driving of repeated acceleration and braking and acceleration over 100 has caused increased consumption. A 7 hour stretch stop and go crawling in 1st gear in Chennai flood waters in 2015 caused increased consumption of the entire bottle however after a top up it was fine for months afterwards. When I stay under 90 with normal driving there is no issue. Have managed some long trips without any issue with non stop driving for stretches of 3 hrs and 5 hrs at around 80-90 max.

I always have one or two bottles of coolant with me and find that the specified coolant when used is better than the distilled water/coolant mix combination. Also you do not need to have the overflow coolant bottle always up to the top.

Check coolant level in radiator when cool as Jaggu mentioned and if that level is constant just top up to "Low" or "Mid" mark in the overflow bottle at periodic intervals. Check the bottle for overflow before and after a long drive if there is an increase in the level due to heating of the coolant from the radiator that is normal behavior.

As long as you don't see leaks don't worry too much. Keep a coolant bottle handy to top up and inspect at intervals. Get the hoses checked and joints re-sealed.

[BlackPearl]

Originally Posted by Dr_MNC_SK

Hello everyone.
Could someone help me figure out a problem in my TharCrde.
Since the day i got it it has been consuming more coolant than expected.
There seems to be no visible loss or staining or power loss. Radiator cap was changed and also some seals were strengthened with sealant.
Last time the reservoir tank ran dry like always and i couldn't procure coolant hence i filled the reservior with demineralised water. It consumed that also half but the remaining half in the reservior is still pure water, i mean some back flow should have caused it to change colour but its pure water. I filled it up again with the remaining water. And again it consumed it but no back flow of coolant. What seems to be the problem?

The coolant consumption was also an issue in my Thar initially but it was rectified by Mahindra service centre. One fix was reported by Behram sir regarding replacing stock clamps with those from Maruti Zen. Many on this forum have done it. I cannot find Behram's post now but pasting the one that I found from desertfox -

Originally Posted by desertfox

Purchase two Maruti Zen clamps from any Maruti Genuine parts dealer for Rs. 20 each and replace the two clamps on tubes going inside the dashboard for the heater. The coolant leak will be solved forever. Meanwhile tighten these clamps before you set out.

[desertfox]

Yes it works I personally vouch for it. All coolant spillage had stopped ever since I did this little modification in April 2014.

I purchased the clamps from a Maruti parts dealer and got it fitted at RR Auto the Mahindra AOS in Gurgaon.

Since then it requires just the normal topping up of say 100 ml in six months.

[Dr_MNC_SK]

Originally Posted by desertfox

I purchased the clamps from a Maruti parts dealer and got it fitted at RR Auto the Mahindra AOS in Gurgaon.

Hi there, thank you for the input.
Can you kindly tell me what kind of clamps are these? Like hose clamps? How big? What do i ask in the Maruti Shop for these clamps as? And do you think this could be a short DIY? or it needs extensive work to get to that place. Pardon my ignorance but the clamps for that hose is inside the fireboard in the footwell or inside the bonnet?
Sorry for lots of questions.