[DirtyDan]

Originally Posted by Samurai

Hey, I don't know how to check for the problem myself. I'll have to depend on the local mechanics. And most mechanics don't appreciate being told how to fix a problem or how to look for one.

No sweat, Samurai, I am learning, too, and I am no expert for sure. And you have to be an escaped Mahindra cyborg like Arka to actually like getting hot, dirty and sweaty doing mechanical type stuff.

When I have an idea of what is wrong I will ask the mechanic for his opinion. Then I will tell him to go ahead with his research but if it does not pan out I will also assertively suggest he check my opinion. The cost has been that I am regarded as being something of a "character" at a couple of shops but I smile a lot and give a little extra money so I am regarded as a "character" but a benign one.

[ex670c]

Originally Posted by Alfa_Kilo

Those bolts are for the oil seal. They will not affect wheel wobble.
Jack up the front end and check for play in the front wheel about the vertical and horizontal axes.
Play about the horizontal axis will mean that either your wheel bearings or king pin bearings are loose.
Play about the vertical axis will indicate either loose wheel bearings or steering ball joints.

The King Pin Correct the Caster of the Closed Knuckle.

They are mounted at 12' O'clock and 6'O'clock position to check for King Pin bearing play Jack up the wheel and hold it at 12 & 6'O'clock and pull towards self, if there is slack/play that is the King Pin Bearing.

For Wheel Bearing jack up and hold the wheel at 9 & 3'O'clock and pull towards self, if there is play then...Wheel Bearing it is.

The Felt Seal behind the Knuckle is not for Oil its for Grease and to prevent from dust entering the Knuckle. It also serves as a Damper for the Knuckle.

To Check to Ball Joint play/wear/slack center the Steering Wheel and rotate till the slack is taken up, Check each individual ball-joint for wear.

Suresh Stephen has gathered 25 million years of experience designing engines and gearboxes for fighter aircraft.

Also if you want to know how to rebuild a Peugeot Engine, Differential and the KMT-90 you better go have a look at his JEEP.

He has been using his JEEP for the last 11 years as a daily driver, so what he reels out are Workshop Manual Specs and Personal Experience.

Regards,

Arka

PS - How is your MM550XD rebuild coming up.

[Samurai]

Today I took the Jeep to my nearby garage. He looked at the up and down play of the steering, he diagnosed it as bush problem in the steering column. But he didn't think that created the death wobble.

Then he laid under the Jeep and asked me to turn the steering both ways within the play. After few minutes, he finally diagnosed that the bell crank is bent and is having extra play. He asked me to get the Jeep tomorrow morning.

[bblost]

Reproducing a master post as it is quite relevant in this thread;

Originally Posted by DHABHAR.BEHRAM

Dear all

The tyre pressure to use in a CL340 when driving on soft dry sand is 13 psi. I learnt this from a simple Rajasthani tourist jeep driver Veer Singh in Mandawa Rajasthan during the Mahindra Great Escape. These guys take foreigner tourists on dunes every single day in CL550MDI Major 4 wheel drive M&M vehicles. He never knew 13 psi but I learnt a trick by seeing him. The trick is to fold the fingers of your right hand into a fist and then hammer the fist on the tyre sidewall (the tyres on my car were JK Brute P215/75R15s). The tyre sidewall must buckle a little and a "dhumm dhumm" sound must come. If the tyre pressure is more, your fist will start hurting and the dhumm dhumm sound will not come. Then I went through every obstacle as if there was no obstacle. I stopped at a petrol pump and checked the tyre pressure. It was 13 psi. But remember, on the road it is terrible, you cannot go fast. The brake effectiveness is also low. Thank you Veer Singhji, tussi mahaan ho ji.

I will give detailed slush driving / rock crawling tips shortly.

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar

[Samurai]

Since the wobble only happened in bad roads, I was quite convinced that the wobble is related to steering, rather than the wheels. When I moved the steering within the play zone, that is where steering wheel turns without moving the wheels, I saw this stange movement.

YouTube - Tierod problem

My neighbourhood mechanic slept under the Jeep when I moved the steering wheel within the play, and made his diagnosis. He replaced 3 items to make this wobble go away. The bush in the steering column, all four tierod joints and the bell crank kit. The tierod joints had too much play. But I am not sure why bell crank was replaced, I didn't understand the explanation although he tried to explain to me.

New Rane tierod joints.







Now, I didn't understand the bell crank part because I can't see where it is situated. I understand the function of bell crank thanks to google, but I can't see it in the Jeep.

The mechanic also told me to quickly get the wheel alignment done, I too could feel need the while steering. Got that done couple of days back, I also got caught in a major rain storm while coming back.



The rain water started pouring though the gap between the wind-shield frame and the body and over the dashboard. I had got the frame replaced recently, but the gap is not fully closed. Should I replace the beading or can I just reseat them again?

[GTO]

Samurai,

Have him check your kingpin / steering box. I remember the "death wobble" in my Jeep a couple of years back. This did it for me.

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by GTO

Have him check your kingpin / steering box. I remember the "death wobble" in my Jeep a couple of years back. This did it for me.

GTO, the wobble is already gone. It vanished after the tierod joint and bell crank kit replacement.

[DHABHAR.BEHRAM]

Hello Sharath - you must be wondering where I have disappeared. I have been quite busy on -----. The bell crank as you mention is mounted on the radiator cross member RH side and serves as a connecting link in the steering system. If you see present day M&M vehicles, what is done is that the steering gear is moved to the same position, thus obviating the need for a multiplicity of linkages as any looseness will lead to uncontrolled side forces acting on the wheels leading to what is known as the "death wobble". So, now I think you have practically changed almost everything that could be changed in your CJ340. Now you must be getting a little hard steering feel and also a little vagueness, right? (the "fun" would have gone). It will go away slowly, just get the toe-in set done properly. Nothing else can be adjusted so don't even try. Caster can only be adjusted by using tapered shims under the spring leaves but those will be difficult for you to procure. Let me know the results.

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by DHABHAR.BEHRAM

So, now I think you have practically changed almost everything that could be changed in your CJ340.

Well, Jeeps are like grandfather's axe, where both the head and the handle have been changed multiple times.

Originally Posted by DHABHAR.BEHRAM

Now you must be getting a little hard steering feel and also a little vagueness, right? (the "fun" would have gone). It will go away slowly, just get the toe-in set done properly. Nothing else can be adjusted so don't even try.

The wheel alignment chaps adjusted the toe-in, I have posted the before and after values in the previous post.

However, I am facing a strange issue. I somehow feel that the turning radius has been increased after the tierod joint were changed. I usually can take the Jeep out of my home in a single U turn. However, since two days I need a K turn for the same. Is this something to do with toe-in not settling in yet?

[fazalaliadil]

Originally Posted by Samurai

The rain water started pouring though the gap between the wind-shield frame and the body and over the dashboard. I had got the frame replaced recently, but the gap is not fully closed. Should I replace the beading or can I just reseat them again?

Samurai,
If yours is a lift up kind of windshield, there is no way you can stop the water coming in from the beading/ frame even in stationary position. When driving in rain it is nearly floods. I have had this problem with three 540's, tried getting the frame dented closer to the beading to decrease the gap and changed the beading, but still continue to see a couple of streaks of water pouring in from the gap down to the floor whenever it rains.
Solution: stick a good quality 2" transparent masking tape, full length of the frame make sure 1 inch is on the frame and the other 1 inch on the beading. Silicone which is used for sealing glass gaps is very helpful if the above fails. You got to lift the frame put silicone between the frame and beading and tight close it.

[DirtyDan]

Originally Posted by fazalaliadil

Silicone which is used for sealing glass gaps is very helpful if the above fails. You got to lift the frame put silicone between the frame and beading and tight close it.

You can get silicone in India? Great stuff! You can also cut strips of old inner tube wth a razor blade and use them.

Bell cranks wear out in time especially around the input apperature.

Maybe you should start a lottery and sell guesses as to what part fizzles out next. There has to be a way to make a profit at this.

I jest, of course. This is fast becoming my favorite thread on this site. It has been very instructive and fun to follow. Sorry it had to be at your expense.

[khan_sultan]

Originally Posted by DHABHAR.BEHRAM

.... Caster can only be adjusted by using tapered shims under the spring leaves but those will be difficult for you to procure. ...

Is this what you are talking about? (Though this is on a SPoA)

[sudev]

Originally Posted by khan_sultan

SPoA

Educate me please what this acro is about?

I also concur that this thread is a great learning even though I do not own a jeep but having driven few back in college I can relate to few of the issue being tackled by Samurai San.

[khan_sultan]

^. SPoA = Spring Perched over Axle. The leafs are over the axle and not under the axle.

[Samurai]

fazal, I never had this leaking problem before changing the windshield frame, it survived the last monsoon without a single leak. But they used the same old beading while replacing the frame. The old rubber beading is hard and brittle to the touch. It hasn't settled well after the replacement. May be changing the rubber beading would be a good idea? BTW, I don't drive with the windshield down, in fact I can't, I have wipers that block it.

Originally Posted by sudev

Educate me please what this acro is about?

Check this thread for more details: https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/4x4-o...-complete.html

Originally Posted by sudev

I also concur that this thread is a great learning even though I do not own a jeep but having driven few back in college I can relate to few of the issue being tackled by Samurai San.

Originally Posted by DirtyDan

This is fast becoming my favorite thread on this site. It has been very instructive and fun to follow. Sorry it had to be at your expense.

Actually I don't mind much, after all it is not my primary family vehicle or even second vehicle. This Jeep has become my institute of automotive studies, I've learnt more about auto-technology through this Jeep than all my previous vehicles put together. This is one more benefit I hadn't thought about while purchasing it.