[ashu_82_2001]

hi,,guys,, i came back from gwalior today had gone all the way from bombay to see a trax gurkha 2006 make model the dealer had quoted rs.4.5 laks for it. it had air intake, A/C,power steering, 4wd & no differential locks it was white in colour. The dealer told me he picked a batch of 20 export surplus vehicles it had gurkha ,pickup, judo. The vehicle i saw was one out of those, the car seems to be over coat because the paint looked almost brand new but rusting had started on the top & near the bonnet.
It had a OM616 IDI turbo engine this is wat the dealer told me, the car lacked pick up didnt seem like om616 IDI turbo ,nosiy ,vibration, gear box was hard, a/c ws bad.The papers mentioned as BS I but the dealer was saying BSII. If i would have bought it registration would be a problem as in thane BSII is allowed not BSI. RTO will look at papers not what the dealer says. I dunno i didnt wanna take risk paying 4.5 lakhs may be it was a export rejected vehicle the dealer had the car since oct 08, so dnt know what was the problem. The km reading was 216 kms may be it was tripped. The exterior of the car was good but interior was in ok condition, the car looks good in white colour.

[4x4addict]

If this is truly and OM616 IDI it is a good buy. Diff locks can be ordered from the Force.

Did you get any pictures? Does he have any Judos from that stock? It will be a good project vehicle for the right price.

[rhandle]

YouTube - Trax Gurkha Coming down from the Hill

Enjoy this video, check out the stream of visitors who thronged the place to see Gurkha fall off the cliff. Also note that place from where the video is taken is also at a height. Gurkha was able to climb up without hesitation. Only hesitation I had was when I had to take a U turn to get down. Driving sideways on hill is dangerous.

We were just 4 people when we reached there!

Will be posting pics soon.

[rhandle]

OK

I had my fare share of Issues with Gurkha. There are also some basic problems in design. Fitting of Rhino hooks, c clamp, winch have been overlooked. In absence of Ram air the A/C does not works properly and also over heats the engine.

The window operation lever is way down ( might be only for a fat person like me with seat belts on). The door opener lever is at knee level which has taken a toll on my knee -- I was driving a maximum of 1050 in a day. The position of door lever wont be an issue with anyone less than 5'8" in height.

The passenger seat does not moves back enough so anyone with 5'10"+ height would be uncomfortable in long rides. No thermostat as well.

The seats do not lock on 90º angle, thus making long drives kind of painful on your back.

The windshield washer pipe is of inferior quality of rubber which heats up and falls down. So you need to keep it tightening.

Besides this many points further were told to the Force motors R&D team and Service manager.

The best part, they are ready to work on everything. They had been helpful and working their best to provide solutions as soon as possible. Regional service manager or Delhi called up Ahemdabad Force engineer at 11 PM night so that he can have a look at my vehicle next day. The issue was speed sensor has gone kaput. Delhi has already ordered part and I just need to go and get it done.

HATS OFF to service of FORCE people. They are the best to deal with.

But throw this beast off road and you are perfectly at home. Few pics to fortify my claim regarding this:



Trying to climb a small hill.



Tucson the backup vehicle lifts a leg while following Gurkha.



1st Low and slight push of accelerator, will move anywhere!! In fact the person driving the vehicle is a total newbie to 4wd vehicles.



Did not realize we climbed this high till we stopped.




Tucson - that was the limit. It could not follow further. Though full marks to the vehicle and driver to dare this.



When you look at building you realize the height. Also mind you there were lot many steps cut in the hill, which made driving bit difficult.






The driver and co-passenger of Tucson preparing for a walk up!!



Looking Down at the World!





Journey back begins. Look at the crowd. More than 50 people gathered in that small village to see this They were amazed and really thought Gurkha wont be able to make it back. To tell you the fact even my knees trembled when I sat on the vehicle. To move back we had to manage a loop so as to come on the right path. As everyone knows traversing a slope horizontally is dangerous specially when there is so many steps cut which threaten to put you vehicle off balance. But Gurkha managed to do it - how foolish of me to not use diff. locks but once the vehicle started I never felt the need for them.



looking back at the climb - I conquered you!!

[4x4addict]

Always good to read your balanced and unbiased views about the Gurkha.

[ex670c]

Hi Rahul,

Nice pics, good to see you putting the Gurkha through its paces.

SIDE SLOPE - 1) Always Turn into the slope to prevent a roll over
2) Do not engage Diff-Locks on a Side Slope, the increased traction, make the vehicle slide sideways; down slope.

Regards,

Arka

[rhandle]

Originally Posted by 4x4addict

Always good to read your balanced and unbiased views about the Gurkha.

Originally Posted by ex670c

Hi Rahul,

Nice pics, good to see you putting the Gurkha through its paces.

SIDE SLOPE - 1) Always Turn into the slope to prevent a roll over
2) Do not engage Diff-Locks on a Side Slope, the increased traction, make the vehicle slide sideways; down slope.

Regards,
Arka

Thanks for the good word friends.

Did another Major change to the Gurkha:


Problem:

While idling the engine temperature rises and starts to touch the red line.

A/C kind of stops working and there is lot of stuffiness feeling inside the cabin. It begins to get hot.

It is really painful while in traffic or when you are waiting at a signal or railway crossing.

I even went to Force motors Pune and complained about it.

Solution

Fitted the fans.


Fan size 10" x 2 nos.

The pictures:



Front bumpers removed, bullbar removed and front grill removed. A/C relay is fitted near the battery and the wires are out.



Checking out the fans. Earlier a 12" fan was considered but it was bit big and was slightly coming down.



Two 10" fans were then fitted, same fans which do service in Innova.



Fans fitted and tested. Also notice the white strip in grill right in front of fan. The grill was given a small cut and straightened to fit in the fans. Later it was turned back again.



Bending the bumper to adjust for the fans. Went against cutting it through welding since it might have blackened the bumper at places.




Final fitting. Kept the A/C on for 30 minutes on the standing vehicle no issues, drove back in traffic conditions no issue. Problem resolved.

Wish the Force people add this small thing and remove our woes.

Yes the total cost = INR 3200

Cold drinks = INR 75 + INR 25 for Ciggi

and time was just 3 hrs which included testing period as well.

People who did it were Unique A/C Kidwai Nagar.


PS: MODS please change the title 10 Dummies guide to Gurkha ~ 17000 kms done.

[4x4addict]

From the pictures it seems like the intercooler (top) and ac condensor (bottom) are completely blocking the radiator. The additional cooling fans was definitely a great idea. Not only will it help the ac cool more efficiently it will also help cool the radiator.

[rhandle]

hi Ashwat. i had been to pune factory and told them what all needs to be done in 2650. Om 611 would take time as they even need to get the toolings for Trax range of vehicles. This they will do if only there are good number of vehicles made. I do not think for 20 odd vehicles they would do that.

I would get in touch with R&D guys and ask them if they are making any progress.. I would be back by 12th june and then will start the follow-up.

If you can pm me your number i can let you know what talks i had. It is not possible for me to type all using the mobile phone!

[4x4addict]

Anshwat:

Rhandle is the best person to get feedback on the Gurkha. He has given us the most honest feedback on this vehicle. If he gives the thumbs up to the revised model, I would be comfortable ordering one. I would however, prefer the 4 Door version so I don't have to have two vehicles.

[GTO]

Each time I stop by your review thread, I like the Gurkha more.

It's evident that owning the Gurkha has its share of niggles, especially during the early days of ownership. More like the factory expects the owner to sort out bugs. Case in point : Fitting those 2 additional fans! Reminds me a lot of my early Mahindra days (actually, make that current as well).

But throw this beast off road and you are perfectly at home.

And you sure are using it on terrain that she was made for! Nice pictures.

[taranonline]

truly said guys

I wish I had come to this thread prior buying my innova last year...

Love the G-Wagen man.

My suggestions,
:
Remove all stickers, vinyls, badges to make the vehicle look like merc.

Source a g-wagen space tyre cover.. Looks hot.

Interestingly I saw a G-wagen black in Jalandhar, looks much similar to gurkha. Get rid of the force badges and if you dont mind put merc badges.

[taranonline]

check out the attatchments and you'll know what I mean?

^^^ see below.

Even the turn signals are at the same place... damn man!

[tanwaramit]

nice review, nice reports. if anyone is seriously considering a vehicle for offroading within 8L budget then this one is the best. Hands down to the makers for making a vehicle for such users. Just keep on taking feedback from owners and update the product. It sure will beat other 4WDs soon.

[rhandle]

Originally Posted by 4x4addict

Anshwat:

Rhandle is the best person to get feedback on the Gurkha. He has given us the most honest feedback on this vehicle. If he gives the thumbs up to the revised model, I would be comfortable ordering one. I would however, prefer the 4 Door version so I don't have to have two vehicles.

Jump any day for the 4 door version vehicle then all it's fault can be forgiven. Most of the things I am complaining about are ones which we can do ourselvs in 10-15 days. New owners would benefit from our experience. For Technical things Dr. Arup would be the best guy.

Originally Posted by GTO

Each time I stop by your review thread, I like the Gurkha more.

It's evident that owning the Gurkha has its share of niggles, especially during the early days of ownership. More like the factory expects the owner to sort out bugs. Case in point : Fitting those 2 additional fans! Reminds me a lot of my early Mahindra days (actually, make that current as well).



And you sure are using it on terrain that she was made for! Nice pictures.

Well thats true. it has turned me into 1/10th of a mechanic. I think though I am vocal about minor things because I never had a jeep before and things which we take for granted in other vehicles are simply not there.

GTO you should have seen the vehicle working in Bihar and it's roads. Too bad I was alone and could not get good pictures to tell you what it was pitted against. For the week I was there, not a single day went where I did not had to make use of 4wd and on first 3 days even the use of Diff. locks were mandatory.

******* My report continues and would continue further (can we shift it to 4x4 vehicle page)*****

Welcome to the interview with a person who drove Gurkha over 10,000 kms in a month.

This would sounds funny where interviewer and the interviewee both names are same – Rahul Roy

This is an interview with Self.

Q. Congratulations for driving approximately 10,000 kms in one month on your vehicle “Gurkha”. How was your experience?

A. Thanks. Awesome experience. Saw many ups and downs with the vehicle. All these kilometers were done with my family, my 5 year old daughter and 10 year old son. So my experiences are more unique than Guys on Jeep out for fun!.


Q. Before we ask about the good points can you let us know anything which you did not appreciated in your vehicle?

A. Yes two things happened.

The number one point was the trouble with EDC light. This light would glow as soon as you cross 90-95KMPH. After Bandhavgarh trip I did set it right in Delhi where Force engineer Mr. Sachin was able to solve the problem. He said too much dust and dirt in speed sensor. In Mumbai trip even after taking the vehicle to 140 once ( the top speed in speedometer) no issues. While coming back EDC light started to come back. I got it checked it Ahemdabad, no benefit. As soon as reached Delhi had a talk with Mr. Desai and he got it replaced with new sensor, NO GOOD. After crossing Benaras approx. 800 kms the lights were back to their dance again.

The other major issue was the Hose pipe getting cut. The issue was metal was touching it and the hose pipe got cut. I would let pictures do the talking and would show you the solution as well. The solution is makeshift arrangement only. Would not advice people to run just on this. Change to new hosepipes and better still carry a spare with you if you are a Gurkha owner. The design is unique and not easily available. The hose pipes are cheap and would save you lot in trouble.





Why hose got a cut ~ evident reason. This resulted in coolant getting leaked. Thanks god it was spotted in time.





Another place where metal is touching the hose pipe. The metal was covered in insulating tape later on to prevent any further damage.







The cut in the hose pipe.



The tractor hose pipe the shorter one is placed on the original hose pipe, which would be cut. The metal pipe which would be inserted in to both these pipes and then clamped. The metal pipe was also cut in half to reduce it's length and fit properly.


The two guys who came up with the brilliant idea of fixing the tractor hose pipe to make it better. The thing managed to get me To Gangtok from Purnea and back to Delhi without any issues. Though I had to cover these hose pipes by another cut of old hose to prevent the metal to eat it's way back in to the hose.

And yes the only other black thing which could beat me in off-roading in Bihar!!