[svsantosh]

Probably a first on TBHP where a rebuild/repair cost has been broken down. I dont want to keep a big secret since people read these pages to share/gain some knowledge. Here goes...

Material









Labor





Total

40,960Rs for Repair alone.

[svsantosh]

I Did not reveal the price for a month to make sure I get the Jeep up and running. I agree a MWB Jeep goes for lot less than a SWB, dont understand what is with the SWB's now-a-days...!!! The CJ340 and the Classis have become pretty expensive off late.

I Purchased the Jeep at 1,10,000 INR and restored it to current condition after spending ~40,000 on it.

For a sum of 1,50,000 I present you the above CJ340 SWB...

[amreshmahapatra]

Nice Inputs Santosh,

I am sure many of us in this forum will be educated and benefited from this parts/price/ labour cost chart. From parts perspective, not only have you given us valuable information with respect to cost of parts but also names of parts. My first exercise is to make sense of what all these parts are and where do they all go in the jeep.

Secondly, interms of the labour, you have given us a valuable reference level to verify against the labour cost being quoted elsewhere.

This really helps
Thanks a lot

Amresh

[beejay]

Nice. This is really informative for other CJ 340 owners.

[svsantosh]

Originally Posted by amreshmahapatra

Secondly, interms of the labour, you have given us a valuable reference level to verify against the labour cost being quoted elsewhere.

Originally Posted by beejay

Nice. This is really informative for other CJ 340 owners.

thx guys. I think the parts may have only a very minor difference else where, but the labor is always different. So use this as a reference point since I have done nearly everything other than (1) Engine work and (2) Painting/tinkering work. I have done almost everything else thanks to the condition it was in.

In case anyone is wondering why so much work - the Jeep was marooned in rain water/slush for one full night and tractor'ed out the next day and never serviced after that for nearly a year. So this led to all the suspension rust/screwup, brake gone bust, etc etc.

I missed a few points, please add these to your reference point. MATERIAL only.

MATERIAL

Radiator CUSTOM COWL - 500
Anabond - 60
Tailgate holder Clamp - 100
Plastic Strap tags - 27
8MM Bolt - 18

-------------------

I think I am getting a hang of driving a jeep sooner than I expected. I did electronic city bangy and back home, was a great feeling. Morning was a stiff ride, i loosened up nicely for the evening ride, am getting a feeling of the vauge steering and getting into the COMFORT Zone of driving. The Steering has SURELY IMPROVED after the WHEEL ALIGNMENT.

[svsantosh]

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.

-----------------------------------------------

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...

[svsantosh]

I have done 2 tankfuls till now. 1st drive was from Chennai to Blore on GQ. I got about 11.5KMPL FE. The next tankful was purely city driving and I again got around 11.5KMPL FE.

I know FE and Jeeps mean a Apples to Oranges comparision. But i am trying to settle on a Jeep for a daily drive. I will have to settle for a 15KMPL Sedan over this if no solution is found.

I was thinking a SWB Peugeot should give better FE. I am trying to entice a Vehicle Efficiency Vs FE point. Does anyone think I need to check something. Few Jeep experts told me leave things as it is, but I was wondering is something is wrong in the Jeep and its telling thru the FE...

PS - Black smoke noted daily and smell of Diesel in the smoke...

[svsantosh]

Obviously the Jeep did not like the 1st Parking lot, it was singled out and no-brainers laughed at it...




But of course, This is the real parking lot and it did prove its mettle to reach here.



some of the Action shots below.

[Ramsagar]

A very good report indeed.Love the way you have explained all the enjoyment you had.UUmmmm guess thats the spirit of a real off-roader.

Thanks for giving listing the break-up of expenses during the restoration of the vehicle.

Can anyone tell me why doesn't people reveal the price of vehcile/accessories when purchased? Except few.

[svsantosh]

After the chikbelapur OTR, 1 front left tube burst. Got it replaced and since there was side wall damage, left the damaged wheel as spare.

Then didnt get time to do a alignment check, was sure it was out of sync. Took it to Vijay wheel center and they showed me wear on right-inner, and left outer (front 2 tyres). Got the alignment set correctly and they tightened all the 8 U clamps. Total bill - 200Rs

One guy pointed out slight oil leak from the steering box.

How does a CJ340 type steering box work wrt to servicability? What does it mean if oil is leaking and can I top up the oil? Are there any bushes, nuts I need to tighten? Advise would be of much help...

[harjeev]

A very nice report Santosh, nice indeed.

Its always a good practice to disclose the cost as it really helps the fellow members when they have to do something similar in their vehicles.

[svsantosh]

Originally Posted by harjeev

A very nice report Santosh, nice indeed.

Its always a good practice to disclose the cost as it really helps the fellow members when they have to do something similar in their vehicles.

thx paaji, any inputs from your side as to a leaking steering box?? You had this issue, how did you tackle it?

[vinod_nookala]

Originally Posted by svsantosh

thx paaji, any inputs from your side as to a leaking steering box?? You had this issue, how did you tackle it?

Drain all the oil and stuff grease into it. Steering will be tight initially but later will become free. I did this in my jeep and is working perfectly fine.

Else go for a new box!

[svsantosh]

Originally Posted by vinod_nookala

Else go for a new box!

Approx cost for a new one? any other work arounds?

[vinod_nookala]

Originally Posted by svsantosh

Approx cost for a new one? any other work arounds?

about 6 k for NGCS manual steering box. Old ones must be less than that