[svsantosh]

Originally Posted by Samurai

The third gear was not replaced for lack of availability.

Edit: The 3rd gear was replaced today and the problem went away. Will pickup the Jeep tomorrow morning.

Dear Sharat,

I did not check inthis thread for a few weeks and I understand you nearly got a gearbox overhaul done? Correct me if I am wrong. Could you post some prices for this exercise once you settle the bills?

Thx
san

[Samurai]

Alright, the Jeep back home again. The 3rd gear upon reinspection found to be the culprit. It was replaced with OE part and now it is working fine.

I even took the SA offroad during the trial, simple by offroad standards, probably his first experience.

Major parts replaced: OE radiator, 2nd-3rd-4th gear, sync rings, half the bearings, counter gear, front casing of transfer case.

Minor stuff: Front indicator lens changed (both), missing locking hub bolts added, horn fixed, foam fixed under bonnet, firewall and floor.

So far engine, gearbox, cooling system and transfer case are sorted out. I need to do Agumbe trip to test the cooling system.

[kuttapan]

Originally Posted by Samurai

Major parts replaced: OE radiator, 2nd-3rd-4th gear, sync rings, half the bearings, counter gear, front casing of transfer case.

Minor stuff: Front indicator lens changed (both), missing locking hub bolts added, horn fixed, foam fixed under bonnet, firewall and floor.

So your Jeep is as good as new now.

Originally Posted by Samurai

I need to do Agumbe trip to test the cooling system.

Aye to that, Captain Samurai. Looking forward to the test report.

[tsk1979]

Considering the amount of money you have spent, wouldn't it have been better to buy a brand new 4x4 Jeep from Mahindra, instead of restoring an old one?

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Considering the amount of money you have spent, wouldn't it have been better to buy a brand new 4x4 Jeep from Mahindra, instead of restoring an old one?

Not really Tanveer, if I add up everything, it is still less than 50% of a brand new Major 4x4 from Mahindra.

[Kandisa]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Considering the amount of money you have spent, wouldn't it have been better to buy a brand new 4x4 Jeep from Mahindra, instead of restoring an old one?

No way. The brand new major cost around 5L on road!!

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by Kandisa

No way. The brand new major cost around 6L on road!!

Don't forget 14% road tax in Karnataka.

[Terrainsnooper]

Samurai,

I need to do the same with my 2nd gear too probably, and if i have to open the gearbox, might as well get the whole over-haul done. Request you to PM me a ball-park figure for the GB overhaul, for Labour + Parts, will really appreciate it. Also, this has been done by a Mahindra A.S.S centre right?

Thanks and hope your Agumbe trip returns positive results. Its a crazy ghat with the narrowest roads and sharpest hair-pin turns...wilder than any of the roads I have seen during my Leh trip also(on the bike). By the way, when i came driving my MM540 via Agumbe, the temp was around 90-95 Degrees on the stock radiator, without coolant, if that helps.

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by Terrainsnooper

I need to do the same with my 2nd gear too probably, and if i have to open the gearbox, might as well get the whole over-haul done. Request you to PM me a ball-park figure for the GB overhaul, for Labour + Parts, will really appreciate it. Also, this has been done by a Mahindra A.S.S centre right?

Yes, I got it done by Mahindra service center. Depending on the state of your gearbox, it can be anywhere between 10K ro 25K. Using Gajra parts can make it cheaper, but OE parts will be expensive.

Originally Posted by Terrainsnooper

Thanks and hope your Agumbe trip returns positive results. Its a crazy ghat with the narrowest roads and sharpest hair-pin turns...wilder than any of the roads I have seen during my Leh trip also(on the bike).

Agumbe ghats are wilder than Leh roads? I haven't seen Leh roads, so I can't comment.

Here are some gear parts I replaced, I can't recognise all the parts.

Here are 2nd, 3rd and 4th gears, not sure which is which.







What is this part?



The counter gear.



Notice the damage closeup.





Umm, what is this?



This is the front part of the transfer case that is broken.

[headers]

hey sharat, whats the scene with the agumbe ghats? How does the "almost new" jeep behave now?
cheers

[vinod_nookala]

hi sharat,

Thanks for the pics. If iam not wrong the the 4th pic is that of a gear in transfer case which is out put shaft sliding gear and the 8th pic is that of output shaft with bearing.
Gurus please validate!

[princezahed]

my 540xd underwent an engine overhaul.the engine sounds smoother but the problem is smoke coming from the exhaust under idling which thins out during acceleration.anyone know what could be the problem?the mechanic says the rings need some time to set and the smoke would disappear soon.the new engine has run about 200kms.what could the problem be?

[Samurai]

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/trave...ml#post1082061 (Cooling system test in Agumbe Ghats - Part II)

Originally Posted by Samurai

Wow, it has been 4 months since the last test is it?

Anyway, today I decided to do test run to Agumbe again. Now I have replaced the radiator with Mahindra OE radiator, new engine head to replace the cracked one and an almost completely rebuilt gearbox.

When my wife heard about my trip, she decided to join up. Today my son had school till 4PM because of some school inspection. So I picked him at 4PM, dropped him home, and then my wife and I took off in the Jeep towards Agumbe.

Five minutes into the drive, my wife asks me why we are going to Agumbe, so I tell her. I thought she knew...

The temp slowly starts raising from 40C and after a while settles at 65C. Nope, it is not going beyond that. The optimal operating temp of this engine is 80C. Now I am getting a little worried because I am driving the Jeep below the best condition.

As we drive through cool Someshwara forest, the temp actually drops a few degrees. It picks up later as we get out of the forest cover.

As we reach the base of Agumbe Ghat (40Kms of driving) and the temp is still at 65C. Now we start climbing, 2nd gear in hairpin curves and 3rd gear in between. The temp starts climbing and settles little shy of 80C. As we reach the peak (sunset point), the temp needle is stuck at 78C and simple refuses to go beyond.

We had some snacks at Agumbe and when we came back to the Jeep, the needle is still at around 70C. We started driving back, the needle starts dropping thanks to the cool breeze of Agumbe, remember it is December. The needle remained at 55-60C all the way back.

Conclusion: The overheating problem has been solved. But I have a under-heating problem now. Fortunately, this problem can be easily fixed, I need to install a thermostat to control the over-cooling by the radiator.

[Cyrus43]

Dear Sharath - Behram here - your gears have pitted on the tooth flanks which clearly indicates lack of lubrication. Unlucky for you. This is what happens due to total apathy on the part of the owner. I see it all the time. Sad but true that the previous owner did not care for the car properly. The factor of safety of the KMT90 is so high that nothing should happen in normal course. By the way, the "Umm what is this?" is the transmission input shaft. I am glad that your car is in the safe hands of Richie's team. I'll try and meet you when I am in Mangalore next time.

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar

[Samurai]

Thanks Behram, Richie's team has indeed done a great job. Until last December, this Jeep was owned by a series of non-enthusiasts, who used it like a work-horse. The first owner was a plumber, followed by people in similar professions. For them this Jeep was just a transport, I really wonder why they bought a SWB. Jammy was the first enthusiast owner to buy it and restore it for offroad use. Since he indended to resell the Jeep, he didn't open the engine or gear box, that could turn out to be a pandora box.

Since I am planning to keep it forever, I am opening and fixing each issue as and when they crop up.

Now I have over-cooling problem, the temp is staying in 60-65C, I need to install thermostat.