[AVR]

The Jeep came back around the end of last year after the paint job and the snorkel. Some pending issues that remained were
1) Broken windshield
2) Starting trouble
3) Change oil-based air filter to Bolero paper-type
4) Electricals - Foglights, instrument panel lights, front/rear indicators, wipers, etc
5) Front leaf-spring recambering
6) Fuel tank placed under rear seat
7) Seat cushions for rear front-facing seat and side-seats
8) Bikini soft-top

1) Broken windshield - Now I picked up new windshield frame from a local Jeep body fabricator Sabuwala. While fitting a new rubber strip around the windshield just before Mcube, the windshield had cracked but it was too late to do anything so drove with that and once it came back, things didn't move. When we started looking for a new glass, it didn't seem to be available anywhere. Finally after driving it for a couple of days without the windshield, I found a new glass at a shop and the job was done in 20 mins flat!




2) Starting Trouble - It was a coming together of multiple issues, a bad starter overhaul job, a weak battery (90-Ah Minda Ace - Don't ever buy it!), very rare usage, air-leak in the fuel-line. Went about solving each issue one-by-one. Easily, the most frustrating experience of owning a Jeep. Everyone tried to assign blame to the other - Electrician, Battery guy and the Mechanic. I was lost in the middle. Over those few weeks, talked to a few Jeepers and obviously Arka. I asked the electrician to overhaul the Starter, threw out the old Minda battery and bought a 100-Ah SF Sonic Jumbo. Now, the Jeep would start if I'd use it on a regular basis. Even after a few days, the battery was able to turn a few cycles which were good enough for the DI engine to start. But, I wasn't convinced that it was solved as the first crank after a few days would not even be a half-chakkar. Because the battery and starter were in good shape, the Jeep would eventually start but diesel-starvation seemed to be a pending issue. Have got the fuel-lines checked and the fuel-filters changed but I think prolonged durations of non-usage are causing an issue. Opening up the fuel-pump might have help also but then a simpler work-around (and not a solution) was to install a small electric pump which runs off the ignition. This not only ensures that the Jeep is never starved but also saves me some battery life and the hassle with the fuel-pump if any. I know Arka said it's not a complete solution and I feel so too but I think the frustration of running around made me look at the workaround. Also, now that everything has stabilized, I use the Jeep on a regular basis so things should be fine! Phew. Am just glad this thing is behind me.



3) Changed air-filter to Bolero paper-type - Was on the oil-sump based filter and changing to the paper-type seems better and the engine does feel like its breathing better. I believe the TCIC Safari and Bolero share a similar filter element and have used the Arrowhead filter in the Safari and am thinking I'll install a similar one in the Jeep. Should help things further.





4) Electricals - Finally have working turn-indicators, front and rear fog lamps (JCB work lamps), backlit instrument panel and wipers. Only issue with the wipers is my fold-down windshield cannot be folded down now :(





5) Leaf-spring recambering - I never got it done after I bought it and the extra weight of the new engine was making the front sag. A half-day spring recambering job sorted it out.




6) Fuel-tank under rear seat - Have heard a few people face a punctured fuel tank or the fuel-line so shifted the fuel tank above the body and placed a front-facing seat on top of it.



7) Seat-cushions and
8) Bikini soft-top

These two are pending and will be done next. Right now just enjoying the Jeep. And loving it. As usual, it goes where you point it and it comes out thanks to all the torque available! One thing Allan told me which I totally agree is that once you drive a 14B 5x0, you'll never enjoy the Peugeot engined ones again! Few pics from an off-road outing last weekend









Cheers,
Adi

[Shubhendra]

Originally Posted by AVR

2) Starting Trouble - It was a coming together of multiple issues, a bad starter overhaul job, a weak battery (90-Ah Minda Ace - Don't ever buy it!), very rare usage, air-leak in the fuel-line. Went about solving each issue one-by-one. Easily, the most frustrating experience of owning a Jeep. Everyone tried to assign blame to the other - Electrician, Battery guy and the Mechanic. I was lost in the middle.
Cheers,
Adi

Aditya Bhai,
I have been there, changed starter twice and repaired thrice, changed battery etc. Worst part is no one takes ownership and always blame to others. because of starting issue, i got stranded on sea shore with rising water level at 2 in the midnight. It was damn scary as water was rising inch by inch, finally tow started by Gurkha. I am seriously contemplating to to have one 14BT powered CJ5. Your point by point target approach finally took your vehicle to almost perfect condition.
Good going.

Shubhendra Singh

[AVR]

Originally Posted by Shubhendra

Aditya Bhai,
I have been there, changed starter twice and repaired thrice, changed battery etc. Worst part is no one takes ownership and always blame to others. because of starting issue, i got stranded on sea shore with rising water level at 2 in the midnight. It was damn scary as water was rising inch by inch, finally tow started by Gurkha. I am seriously contemplating to to have one 14BT powered CJ5. Your point by point target approach finally took your vehicle to almost perfect condition.
Good going.

Shubhendra Singh

Thanks Banna. Very true. I have never been more frustrated with a Jeep issue as this one. Your idea of a 14B-T CJ5 is definitely worth exploring. Don't think that you'll need the Turbo though. I have the NA-engine (wiki: 98 bhp and 240 NM) and so far haven't felt the need for a Turbo given that its got truck-loads of torque (pun intended) at low revs.

Cheers,
Adi

[Shubhendra]

Originally Posted by AVR

Thanks Banna. Very true. I have never been more frustrated with a Jeep issue as this one. Your idea of a 14B-T CJ5 is definitely worth exploring. Don't think that you'll need the Turbo though. I have the NA-engine (wiki: 98 bhp and 240 NM) and so far haven't felt the need for a Turbo given that its got truck-loads of torque (pun intended) at low revs.

Cheers,
Adi

Aditya bhai,
we are thinking on same line . I will anyday prefer linear power delivery over a Turboed power delivery.
May be in 2014, i will work on this. I have one CJ5 lying with me, which i can use for this.

BTW, loved the color of your jeep.

Shubhendra

[AVR]

With the onset of the Ahmedabad summer, a topless Jeep becomes an odd vehicle to drive. Mind you, it still attracts the same amount of attention from the regular sedan crowd but now instead of appreciating the Jeep for its stance and build, they pity the driver for the sun-bath he's forced to have!

1) Soft-top - Wasn't looking to cover it on all sides but primarily the roof alone. Also, since I usually don't even have a passenger sitting along, I wanted a full and a half soft-top. And of course fully removable when I want the windshield down. Obviously the stock 540/Thar soft-tops weren't an option anymore. In any case, I don't like the boxy rear and wanted a sloping rear. Did a few amateur MS Paint-designs and this is what I eventually ended up with:

Front only


Side Profile


Another view


Rear-view


2) Seat-cushions - I had put a small front-facing bench on top of the fuel-tank as you see here



This had to moved forward to avoid the sloping soft-top from irritating the seat occupants. The space behind the front-facing seat will now have a flat sheet-metal base on top of the fuel-tank to serve as a luggage holder.
This seat plus the original side-platform seats were cushioned up along with roll-bar as you see in the pic below:



3) Flooring - My earlier floor looked something like this:





Not only did I need a new 2-gear fiber gear cover (found with the help from Nachiket in Goa) and painted it in black here:


but also need insulation and floor mats though the same black cover couldn't be masked properly:



4) The silencer also needed to be extended to exit out from the original fuel-intake instead of under the driver seat. The original location was great from a sound perspective and I loved it but if you were to ever stand at a redlight next to the divider, all the sand on the road would start flying around thanks to the exhaust pressure. So now it looks like this. Snake style. I can only imagine a two-wheeler behind my Jeep at a redlight trying to take support of the snake and later realizing its the exhaust



The Jeep is significantly quieter thanks to the shifted silencer and the floor insulation. Now, all I can hear is the KMT-90 drone!

5) Clutch sound and hardness - The Jeep's been working fine but had someone work on the clutch as it was very hard and the clutch release bearing sound had become perpetual. Now, it is a pleasure to drive the Jeep, even in traffic for two reasons: a) Obviously the clutch being soft is making it easy to drive and b) nobody ventures close to the Jeep

All these incremental changes have added up to a at-times frustrating but at-the-end satisfying and joyous experience over the past 3 years. It also becomes my medium to go to quieter and more beautiful places like this:


And its all worth it!

Since, a Jeep can never be completely ready, I already have my next plan in mind. Tube doors.

Cheers,
Adi

[dhanushs]

Originally Posted by AVR

Soft-top

Hi Aditya, how much did the soft top cost?

but also need insulation and floor mats though the same black cover couldn't be masked properly:

hmm.. for an open Jeep, I think this is not a good idea, as water and moisture tend to stay between the carpet and metal body, causing it to rust. I had the same in my Jeep, and in a year, it was completely rusted and I had to get a new platform and front driver flooring done.

[AVR]

Originally Posted by dhanushs

Hi Aditya, how much did the soft top cost?

hmm.. for an open Jeep, I think this is not a good idea, as water and moisture tend to stay between the carpet and metal body, causing it to rust. I had the same in my Jeep, and in a year, it was completely rusted and I had to get a new platform and front driver flooring done.

Hi Dhanush,
Soft top cost me 3500.
I see your point about the flooring but frankly I couldn't find a clear middle path and I also wanted Jeep interiors to be decent. The drain holes still exist and we'll see what can be done.
Cheers
Adi

[AVR]

Ahmedabad has been rather active on the offroad scene lately and hence this post is only going to be about pics of my Jeep from the OTRs. No issues with the Jeep so far

[AVR]

Been a while since the last update. Jeep's working fine. Made its first garage visit in months for a few updates. The engine has probably done 5-7000 since the transplant and has settled into a nice rhythm.

Things done:
- Changed from the local shocks to Gabriel Bolero long-travel shocks. Can feel the difference. Ended up recambering the leafs again since the Jeep was leaning on the driver's side. Since I rarely have a passenger it's going to remain an issue.
- Got the Transfer-case overhauled since engaging/disengaging had become an issue due to wear and tear of some parts.
- Water pump top elbow literally disintegrated one day so ended up putting a new one. Looked like the elbow was a factory fitment donkey years back!
- There was some slack in the accelerator cable which was resulting in a full-pedal-to-the-metal situation still not resulting in the full movement of the cable at the pump. Sorted.
- Wheels got serviced. All our OTRs are in river sand resulting in jammed wheels!

Jeep ownership has finally crossed the threshold of part-time garage residency to occasional visits. That's a pretty bold statement to make though

The OTR scene has picked up over the last year or so and we've been able to manage quite a few outings. I think we've managed to gain the critical mass needed to create an active off-road culture in and around Ahmedabad. This is our group Link

Some pics from recent outings:










Since slightly more than a year, there has been a claimant for this Jeep who it seems is gradually going to take over. His slow moves look like eventually I'll have to relinquish this Jeep to him.

Here's him making his first move!



Cheers,
Adi





-

[AVR]

The exhaust setup I had was arguably not ideal for offroading. It did survive for a few years but had taken a few big ones on the chin and then finally gave way in the last OTR. It was also a smaller diameter pipe and I was looking to change to a right-sized exhaust.

The current or rather ex-setup:

Standard Jeep-sized dia pipe and twisting and turning through the underbody to come out like a snake (yellow circle) with a few points jutting under the body (red circle)




The new setup:
Pipe dia similar to Eicher truck and short and sweet. Nah. Short and loud! On the plus side, there's less back pressure and performance is good.






P.S. Driving a 14B without an exhaust is the noisiest thing ever! On top of that I had to tow a Pajero back from the trail so we created quite a ruckus!

Cheers,
Adi

[AVR]

Offroad scene has been pretty active last few months. Just a few pics from then. Jeep's doing fine.
No issues so far. Start. Offroad. Park. Repeat. I wonder if it's really a Jeep thing?

Will let the pics do the talking:

[ashroy_6]

Dear Sir, Lovely thread and very informative. I just wanted to ask you, what milage is 14 b giving you???thanks and regards

[AVR]

Been a while since I posted on this thread:

1) Back in August 2014, a snatch recovery of a Pajero in sand broke my KMT gearbox internals. Got the countershafts and a couple of gears changed. Worked well for a while but had issues with shifting and staying in a gear. Finally in March ended up getting the gearbox completely overhauled with pretty much everything changed internally. Works like a charm. It worked very well for 4 years so I guess this should take care of it for the next few years at least.

2) Back in May, a small water crossing ended up being a big issue as the snorkel was disconnected internally. Ended up rebuilding the engine. There had been issues with too much white smoke even before this incident so I thought I'll just get everything sorted. Engine rebuild has been very good and its currently being run-in.

3) Got black negative offset steel rims finally. The wider stance looks lovely.

The monsoons are here so should be some fun times ahead!
Will post pics later.

Cheers,
Adi

Originally Posted by ashroy_6

Dear Sir, Lovely thread and very informative. I just wanted to ask you, what milage is 14 b giving you???thanks and regards

Thanks Ashroy. Usually in the 12-13 kmpl range but I may not be very accurate.

[ashroy_6]

2) Back in May, a small water crossing ended up being a big issue as the snorkel was disconnected internally. Ended up rebuilding the engine. There had been issues with too much white smoke even before this incident so I thought I'll just get everything sorted. Engine rebuild has been very good and its currently being run-in.

Dear Sir, could you share details of how much the enjine rebuild cost you???thanks in advance..ashish

[AVR]

Originally Posted by ashroy_6

Dear Sir, could you share details of how much the enjine rebuild cost you???thanks in advance..ashish

I got new sleeves (local), rings (Toyota Japan), head surfaced, lathe work, 1 used connecting rod, connecting rod bearing, head gasket and other engine packings with labour for about 20k.