[Adrianus]

Dear Mahindra Classic lovers,

This is Adrianus, the proud owner of a 1999 green Mahindra Classic Jeep in Malaysia.
A few years ago my jeep had a serious starting problem. With the help of this Forum that problem has been completely eliminated. Especially the advices of Shubhendra, ex670c, Sudarshan, tsk1979 and sumitkalindi were instrumental in finding the final solution of the problem.

Now a new problem has developed over the last year or so. When hitting a speedbump, even at low speed, the Jeep suddenly gets into a really heavy, horizontal (left-right) vibration mode. The vibration doesn't stop until I slow down to nearly stand still. Then the vibration vanishes and I can continue my journey without any problem.

There are no visual signs of any problems around and underneath the Jeep, at least I do not see anything abnormal.

Anybody any suggestion what might be the problem? And how I can rectify?

That would be really appreciated.

Thank you and regards,

Adrianus

[cool_dube]

Originally Posted by Adrianus

Dear Mahindra Classic lovers,

This is Adrianus, the proud owner of a 1999 green Mahindra Classic Jeep in Malaysia.

Hi Adrianus - first of all, let me congratulate you on owning the wonderful machine that you have there. Having owned a 2000 model Mahindra Classic myself for over 8 years, your pics made me miss my ex-flame yet again, more so because mine was a green one too with similar alloys Attaching a not-so-good pic of the same.

Coming to your issue at hand - looks like your Jeep is suffering from a symptom known as "Death Wobble" which is typically a result of worn out kingpin bearings and should be a straightforward fix. More details available here.

Hope this helps...

[Adrianus]

Dear cool_dube,

glad to hear that this "Death Wobble" thing is not a major issue. Sorry, I am not a mechanic and need to take the Jeep to a workshop. Not sure here in Malaysia they know what "kingpin bearings" are and if spares for Mahindra Classic are available. Just to get me a little more going ... where are these "kingpin bearings" located in the car?

Regards, Adrianus

[GTO]

Nice Jeep!

Dube is spot on - I don't know of any Mahindra Jeep that hasn't suffered the death wobble.

Originally Posted by Adrianus

if spares for Mahindra Classic are available.

Get in touch with one of the online spare part websites of India. You'll easily find someone who's willing to ship internationally. Alternatively, if you have a friend here, ask him to source it from the local Mahindra dealer and ship it to you.

where are these "kingpin bearings" located in the car?

Please read through the thread that cool_dube has linked to. It has all that information & more.

[Adrianus]

Thank you GTO,

now I have read it all. My take-away: "the wobbling can have multiple root causes."
I found out that there is actually a Mahindra shop in Malaysia. For maintenance and repairs they use one local contractor. Yesterday I talked to this contractor guy. He knows about the existence of the Classic Jeep but he's never seen one in real life. Anyway I guess he must have access to Mahindra spares. He promised to have a look at my Jeep week after next. It's an hour's drive to his workshop so I hope I can reach his place without too much "Wobbling".
You mention "online spare part websites of India". Could you recommend a few? A little while ago I lost one of my Jeep's wipers during heavy rain. Found it back a day later but not before it was ran over a million times, see picture. I checked but this particular wiper is not available here in Malaysia. Also I lost one of the "4x4" signs at the side of my Jeep. Indeed it would be handy to have easy access to spares through the Internet.
Thank you again for your help.
Regards, Adrianus

[Adrianus]

Dear GTO,

you may have missed my request. Could you please recommend a few WEB sites that sell Mahindra Classic spares?

Thank you and regards, Adrianus

[Shubhendra]

Originally Posted by Adrianus

Could you please recommend a few WEB sites that sell Mahindra Classic spares?

Thank you and regards, Adrianus

Hi Adrianus,
How are you? For death wobble whenever your order spare parts, please make sure to order entire kit (kingpin bearing and packing kit), also as you are on it, please check your tie rod ends as well and if required order them. Also for wipers if you dont get it in Malaysia, it would be good to retrofit locally available wiper arms and blades. Wipers for classic had issue of wearing out of wiper arm connector.
For classic spares you can call this guy who is treasure trove for spares. I would also suggest to do greasing of (tie rods, leaf shackles, star joints) for longer part life as well as smooth driving experience.

Shop name: Atlas Auto, Bombay
Owner name: Mr Prakash/Rajeev
Contact no: +91-22-23860631, +91-22-66357500

Please talk to them, they may figure out a way to ship spares to you.

Regards,
Shubhendra Singh

[Adrianus]

Dear cool_dube, GTO and Shubhendra,

it's been a few Months since we had this discussion around my Classic's "Death Wobble". I found Kumar, the man who now has successfully repaired the Jeep. Kumar is a Malaysian, living in Shah Alam and specialised in Mahindra repair. He has access to Mahindra spare parts in India. As you can understand ... a real good find for me (I am not a mechanic). Yesterday I picked up the car and all the wollbling has vanished, actually the car feels a lot more "tight/more stable" now and it is clear to me that this wobbling thing has been "on the making" for years. Kumar knew what the king pin problem was (thanks cool_dube) and when ordering the parts he particularly looked at the add-ons (thanks Shubhendra). Actually Kumar found a few more bearings, bushings, washers and caps that needed replacement. All done now and I am very happy with it. Actually, without noticing, I drive the car faster on the highway. Now 70 km/h, in the past 60 km/h. Because it is much more stable I guess.

Now another problem becomes more apparent at those high speeds ... the play in the steering system. It is much in my car, 20 to 30 degrees (free steering wheel turn from the total of 360 degrees). At lower speed this is not an issue. At higher speeds it becomes a problem, difficult to keep the Jeep on a straight line. Is this type of play kind of "normal" for Mahindra Classic and should I live with it? (not a real big problem to me to be honest) or can it be fixed?

Kumar is going to check with his Mahindra friends. I thought I'll ask you guys as well.

Any comment.

Thank you and regards, Adrianus

[Adrianus]

Oh yes, another thing Shubhendra ... Kumar found me a new identical wiper .

[ex670c]

Originally Posted by Adrianus

Dear cool_dube, GTO and Shubhendra,

Now another problem becomes more apparent at those high speeds ... the play in the steering system. It is much in my car, 20 to 30 degrees (free steering wheel turn from the total of 360 degrees). At lower speed this is not an issue. At higher speeds it becomes a problem, difficult to keep the Jeep on a straight line. Is this type of play kind of "normal" for Mahindra Classic and should I live with it? (not a real big problem to me to be honest) or can it be fixed?

Thank you and regards, Adrianus

Hi Adrianus,

Check the Steering Bell-Crank/Idler arm under the Radiator Cross member,
Check the steering UJ joints
Check steering Drag link & Tie Rod Ends and Clamps
Check the steering Box bolts on the chassis
Finally Check the Toe-In/Toe-Out.

Regards,

Arka

[Adrianus]

Dear ex670c/Arka,

it has been a while since you provided me with this valuable information.
Some time ago I handed over my Jeep to Kumar, the mechanic who solved my Mahendra Classic's Death Wobble problem last year. I also gave him a print of your "check recommendations".
Not sure what he finally did to the Jeep (not a mechanic myself). He told me though that your tips did the trick. Parts were imported from India. Some gear wheels too.
Fact is that the steering wheel play has now almost vanished completely. Major improvement.
Now I can easily drive at speeds of 70 to 80 km/h without any problems whatsoever.
Unbelievable that I have been living with these problems for more than 10 years.
So happy that my Jeep is finally "behaving".
Thank you so much for your help.
Regards, Adrianus