[GTO]

Originally Posted by kailashnj

I think it currently looks better than what it might have done when it came out of the Mahindra Factory

Well, she's got a better engine compared to '97, and a whole lot of small customisations since. Yes, I would say she is better today than when she was brand new.

Originally Posted by SPIKE ARRESTOR

Those are Bolero side (second row) door hinges

Originally Posted by gautam109

It looks simply super in the flesh! The paint is just awesome, the black seats and interiors look great as well and really fit in character.

Hey thanks

Originally Posted by DHABHAR.BEHRAM

the side mirrors are of TATA 407.

You have got to be kidding me.....guess one learns something new everyday

[GTO]

She's gone in for her annual service at Milestone (Mahindra workshop). In the last 1 year, breakdowns = Zero.

Work being performed:

• Starter service. Drove through a (dreaded) water body again. First thing to get affected is the starter which has started acting up.

• All lubes (engine oil, tranny etc.) to be changed. Battery service & charge. Any worn out / cracked hose pipes to be changed.

• Some misc niggles (one headlamp conked off, glow plug indicator not working etc.).

• Tie-rods worn out.

• Steering box has developed a leak.

• Slight rust showing up here & there. Best to patch it up before it spreads.

That's pretty much it. Not bad for a 17 year ol' girl (she completed 17 years on the 10th of Feb). Also fitting the soft-top back. Jeep has been running topless since a while, but things are going to get hot from March onward.

A shot down Manson's place:

[DHABHAR.BEHRAM]

Dear Rushabh (GTO) - oooooohhhh! with the windscreen down, the Jeep looks superb! Absolutely nothing beats a well bred CL340 with the windscreen down! Congratulations and hats off to you for maintaining it for 17 years.

I know the chances are next to nil, but if ever you want to give it in tender / loving / caring hands forever, you know which mobile number to dial! I'm waiting. .

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar

[GTO]

Originally Posted by DHABHAR.BEHRAM

Dear Rushabh (GTO) - oooooohhhh! with the windscreen down, the Jeep looks superb! Absolutely nothing beats a well bred CL340 with the windscreen down!

Thanks

I know the chances are next to nil, but if ever you want to give it in tender / loving / caring hands forever, you know which mobile number to dial! I'm waiting.

You can borrow her anytime you like, but I'm not signing on any transfer papers

[fazalaliadil]

Dear GTO,

Your Classic is looking as beautiful as ever.
Nearly done with restoring a very original one for my friend.
A Classic truly lives up its name.
Regards,

[GTO]

Took the ol' girl to Pawna for some healthy offroading, two weekends back.

She drove smooth as butter. No problems, no issues and no overheating at all, despite it being a hot summer. 300 kms of pleasure delivered.

There's something inherently appealing in driving such a purely mechanical machine. No gizmos, no electronics, no power steering. Just plain & simple mechanical feel. She might not be the fastest on the expressway (far from it, stuck to a top of 100 kph), but boy does she have character. Even though I was in the middle lane for the most part, I had the widest smile planted on my face. Let her loose off the road and she ran up & down like a mountain goat.

They say, what's most important about a car is how she makes you feel. I couldn't agree more. Was so looking forward to the drive back alone at night.

[GTO]

Had my first mechanical problem in years. And a very strange one at that.

The diesel engine starts up fine. But, it suddenly loses power, as if the fuel supply has been abruptly cut off. It's hard to replicate the problem and it happens anytime...just after starting or even on the move. On a 10 kms drive yesterday, it happened 5 - 6 times. Accelerator input doesn't make any difference at all. What's equally strange is that, after the engine stalls, it starts again easily (sometimes at the first try itself) and then runs along as if nothing was wrong at all. The engine felt absolutely normal by the time I got back home.

I'm thinking it's a issue with the FIP. But it was bought brand new (as part of the new engine). Done merely 20,000 kms since then. Or perhaps, rats have attacked my Jeep. Anything else?

Going to send it to Ferdi this week.

[dhanushs]

Originally Posted by GTO

.... Anything else? ....

Does the Jeep smoke badly when this happens? I mean, after it comes out the problem? If so, I'd guess blocked fuel lines.

Otherwise, I guess you can check the "engine off" wiring and solenoid of the pump. Sounds like that.

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by GTO

I'm thinking it's a issue with the FIP. But it was bought brand new (as part of the new engine). Done merely 20,000 kms since then. Or perhaps, rats have attacked my Jeep. Anything else?

Going to send it to Ferdi this week.

I am too suspecting the fuel pump since the behaviour of starvation suddenly is generally attributed to it.

Anurag.

[GTO]

Fuel delivery problem all right, but something smaller than I thought. The fuel filter went bad (probably choked up). Am surprised as I get all filters replaced as per Mahindra's maintenance schedule. Probably bad diesel from some place, or it was a bad filter to begin with.

[svsantosh]

Originally Posted by GTO

Fuel delivery problem all right, but something smaller than I thought. The fuel filter went bad (probably choked up). Am surprised as I get all filters replaced as per Mahindra's maintenance schedule. Probably bad diesel from some place, or it was a bad filter to begin with.

their maintenance schedules must have a 10+k kms change cycle, i used to stick to 5k kms oil-fuelfilter-oil filter change cycle (10k kms for air filter).

from mobile, e&oe

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by GTO

Fuel delivery problem all right, but something smaller than I thought. The fuel filter went bad (probably choked up). Am surprised as I get all filters replaced as per Mahindra's maintenance schedule. Probably bad diesel from some place, or it was a bad filter to begin with.

Since the problem has been traced to a fault fuel filter, I think how about getting the fuel tank and lines cleaned once?

Just a thought what say GTO, svsantosh?

Anurag.

[svsantosh]

Originally Posted by a4anurag

Since the problem has been traced to a fault fuel filter, I think how about getting the fuel tank and lines cleaned once?

Can do Anurag, tank cleaning/draining is a spanner job with a 'balti' below co-driver seat. Fuel line - better replace, shd be few 100Rs.

But really not needed, these things are not so sensitive. A jump&pump every 10 minutes will keep you moving till next mechanic.

[DHABHAR.BEHRAM]

Originally Posted by GTO

Fuel delivery problem all right, but something smaller than I thought. The fuel filter went bad (probably choked up). Am surprised as I get all filters replaced as per Mahindra's maintenance schedule. Probably bad diesel from some place, or it was a bad filter to begin with.

Dear Rushabh - I had a black A/C Armada from May 2000 to July 2005. It was my company vehicle. I used to drive it very sparingly, so in 3 years, it completed 10000 kms. As I wanted to take it to Goa, I changed the fuel filter cartridges and immediately faced the fuel starvation problem. I immediately went to the MICO outlet at Worli (next to Bharat Auto Radio), bought two filter cartridges from them and fitted them. My Armada became as good as new once again. The fuel filter cartridges that I had fitted first were spurious parts but they were packaged very nicely. Please don't take chance and be very careful, spurious MICO fuel filter cartridges is big business!

Slightly off-topic, (I can't resist telling you yaar!), on the subject of my black Armada, I had done the following things:

1. Removed the useless OE FRP front add-ons with the rectangular headlights, fitted Lucas TVS round headlights with the original stainless steel headlight rings, equipped with 140W GE bulbs with Finolex wiring and Bosch relays.
2. Removed the mudflaps fitted in front of the front wheels (yes, Armada was one of the very few vehicles which actually had mudflaps in front of the front wheels ).
3. Fitted 2" diameter stainless steel bull bar which I had designed for the Lebanon CL340 P2150 engine petrol vehicle. This was fitted on the OE bumper with four concealed brackets as the Armada NG chassis had a round front cross member. The front number plate was located in the center of the bull bar. Painted the front bumper shining black in place of dull grey.
4. Removed the rear FRP bumper and threw it out, fabricated and fitted a sheet metal bumper with additional Gypsy tail lights recessed in it, so I had 4 small lights, 4 signal lights and 4 reverse lights. Wired the lights through 3 Bosch relays fitted inside the tailgate. Painted the rear bumper shining black in place of dull grey.
5. Changed the location of the rear number plate to below the tailgate handle, fitted Zen number plate lights in the tailgate handle, wired them through a Bosch relay mounted inside the tailgate.
6. Fitted high back bucket seats with integral head restraints from the South Africa MM775 vehicle. Export Commander Hard Tops were called MM775 and MM785, 775 was police vehicle, 785 was prison van with doors not openable from inside.
7. Fitted stainless steel wheel hub covers (which normally come with alloy wheels), from inside the steel wheel rims. There is an annular recess between the hub OD and the rim center ID, the covers fit perfectly in this recess.
8. Changed the rear axle ratio from 5.38:1 to 4.27:1, obtained excellent highway cruise-ability, 15 kmpl and greatly reduced NVH.
9. Fitted the original France made Peugeot XDP4.90 engine's dry air cleaner in its original position on top of the rocker arm cover. Used the original french rocker arm cover with integral brackets for this. Resonator box was not required due to the optimized axle ratio.
10. Fitted the CL340-LHD suitable low dome control housing's straight gearshift lever to obtain perfect gearlever knob ergonomics from the steering wheel for the RHD vehicle. Removed the soft cover on the gear shift lever and threw it out. Used Commander hard top rubber boot in its place. Removed the long gearshift lever knob and fitted the original KMT90 knob.
11. Painted the side footsteps and the fender extensions in shining black color to match the body color, fitted these parts using M6*1.0 size bolts with nyloc nuts instead of self tapping screws to prevent loosening and dislodging.

The whole vehicle as a package looked very balanced and elegant. After using it for 5 years as per the company policy, I sold it to one of my very good friend who is still using it. It has covered 1.7 lakh kms and is running beautifully. He has done nothing to it except normal maintenance. It is now 14 years "young"!

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar

[GTO]

Originally Posted by svsantosh

But really not needed, these things are not so sensitive. A jump&pump every 10 minutes will keep you moving till next mechanic.

You bet! Whenever she was starved of fuel, a crank or two had her running again

Originally Posted by DHABHAR.BEHRAM

Please don't take chance and be very careful, spurious MICO fuel filter cartridges is big business!

Damn, that sucks.

I don't think counterfeit parts could be the problem with my ride though as she is serviced at Milestone only (authorised Mahindra shop). Plus, the Jeep was running just fine all these years on the same filter.

Changed the rear axle ratio from 5.38:1 to 4.27:1, obtained excellent highway cruise-ability, 15 kmpl and greatly reduced NVH.

My Jeep was running the same final drive from 2003 - 2009. Super top-end for cruising, but at the cost of crawlability.

Offer remains open, Behram. Anytime you want to, feel free to take my Jeep for a Sunday drive around Mumbai.