One of the biggest challenges of owning a Jeep in India is the parts quality. Even if you are willing to spend quality money, you can't get quality parts. Some you get from Mahindra, some you can get from independent parts makers, but some you can't get at all.
For example, independent parts makers make better water hoses than Mahindra OEM. They are even properly tagged unlike the Mahindra OEM part. After going through multiple water hoses, I know that now.
When I got my Jeep completely rebuilt last year, I could buy front grill, hood, fenders from independent makers. But there was one part that was not available. The hood latch! Neither the rebuilder, nor my current mechanic could replace the hood latch, because good hood latches are not available. I was told that, if they ever see a good hood latch, they will let me know. So I was managing with the bad rusted hood latch all this time.
Now, you might think hood latch is a hood latch, why do you need a good one?
This is what happens with a bad hood latch:
The brand new paint was scratched once the hood latch was connected. The scratch on the left side was caused by the side pointy thing, since the latch couldn't sit straight. The scratch in the middle is dug all the way to the metal. That has happened at all latch points. When the hood is open, it doesn't always stay out of the way. By mistake if somebody had pushed it forward, it can further scratch the paint when the hood is closed.
This is what happens if the latch is leaning forward when the hood is being closed.
If you see few posts behind (post #1142), you can find even the brand new Thar coming out with sub-standard latches which has already nicked the paint. So there was no hope for my old Jeep. Mahindra obviously has no plans to make high quality latches.
Recently shekaran mentioned the idea of getting the latches from Amazon.com, and I jumped at it right away.
Yesterday, the imported latches were installed when I had given the Jeep for greasing after the Sunday drive. As I went to pick up the Jeep, first thing Prakashanna (our master mechanic) pointed out was the spring action of the imported latches. He was mesmerized by it. It moves out of the way when disconnected.
If you look from the top, you'll notice that it is not touching the body, also it stays parallel to the bodyline.
Yes, it is just a hood latch, from an independent part maker. But, notice the attention to details, how such a minor part is engineered. If the whole Jeep is crafted this way, can you imagine how reliable even a Jeep can become? One can only wish.
All the above photos were taken with the new latch, that is why they are so shiny and neat, down to the bolts that came with it.
The 4 hood latches cost me $19, shipping was free. Somebody carried it for me from USA.