1st thing to do on Saturday was to get rid of the odd looking ORVM.
Post grinding it looks like this.
I went to a welding/grinding shop and got it removed.
Then it was some fabrication brains to create a place for new ORVM's. It was cheap and effective. I really don't bother for form over function.
Then electrical dept. The new fuel gauge had to be fit. The old one without the chrome ring was out of place and the back light wasnt working. So got a new one here. Post all this, dash looks like this.
-----------Then the fun started------
After I went home I noticed the battery was at 12V and not charging at 14+. I ALSO NOTICED THE RED BULB
INDICATOR was NOT ON which meant the Alternator was charging the battery. But I WAS WRONG. The BULB HAD FUSED - which meant the Alternator was NOT Charging the battery and each start/honk/light was running off the battery.
NOT GOOD - ran back to the electrician and learnt about the fused bulb and got a new one for 5 rs. After going home again noticed the speedo was dead...!!! Ran back to electrician saying you opened the Dash, now fix it. He told its not his cuppa..!!
Ran around town to find a M&M tech. I found one garage with 1 CJ500 stock, 1 commander, 1 Utili, 1 bolero and other non M&M's. I was in the right place. to further convince me, the commander was of a known marwadi seth of the town and he was getting the peugeot's vavles adjusted along with a oil change. The seth had the commander for years, and if a person like him is getting his jeep done there, the mech must be probably the best in the town.
He quickly found the inner cable of the speedo was cut in two (it was new and only 2 weeks old). He told it may be due to some bend at the wrong place. After 1 hour and running around the town to find a new cable - got 1. Got it fixed for 50Rs labor and came back home.
Whew - Learnt a lot in 1 day about where and how of Jeeps in my TOWN.
-------------Sunday------------
HAPPY BIRTHDAY star_aqua
Visited star_aqua Vijay for a demo of the new Jeep. I wanted to learn about the mechanics around blore.
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After a week of ownership and some expert talk with mechanics and like minded people, i made a few observations.
1) The front bumper - the metal joint where the shackle is fixed is new and not stock. It is welded since the one may be broken.
2) The radiator grille is not mounted over a bush. Its welded to the chassis. Vijay - then how can the radiator be removed. Did you mean something else is welded that should not be. - OBSERVATION - excess vibrations passed thru the chassis to the tub.
3) The tub has some issues with rubber mountings. May need attention later.
4) The steering system needs some attention later. Some excess play detected.
Thats it for now...