DIY - Rear(l) view mirror for Mahindra Classic

Do it yourself, just the installation part but the buzz is that after a term of one and half years waiting finally the Explorer is wearing close to its original spec side view mirrors with original Mahindra Classic like fittings from it's American Sibling Kaiser CJ5 Jeep.
Yes, finally I have got a set of original CJ5 Jeep's original side view mirror set which fits like icing on cake. I have a small problem though as one of left hand side unit shipped (brought) to me had a wrong hole on the arm causing a minor issue in alignment.
I can drill a 90 degree hole against the current set of holes in the arm to correct the problem. It will be done next week as now i'm on my way to Coimbatore. Just fixed the mirror in the Jeep and had a test drive to see if it works, man it gives me new view sight in the jeep which I was missing all along.

Warn/Saturn Overdrive with Mahindra Classic

After I posted the last blog about my possession of Overdrive that is going to be installed on my Mahindra Classic. Couple of techies asked me about the gearing ratios and the figures that is going to prove the increase in speed, fuel economy and reduction in noise and engine RPM.

Here here is the worksheet out put of mathematical figuresThe actual speed change figures for ball back engine RPM figures will be made available after completion of the calculation. Just for your information, here is the formula to calculate the speed

Overdrive for Mahindra Classic

Almost 2 years of my waiting time has come to end finally. Yes, here you go.

In simple terms an overdrive is the final/cruising gear. It reduces the power output by lowering the gear ratio. The overdrive mechanism increases fuel efficiency, and saves strain on the transmission and the drive train.

Warn has developed a overdrive for Jeeps, It is a very old design that has been around for decades. The same has been bought over by Saturn Company then ATV Mfg. started rebuilding it or producing the same for the niche market.

The Warn overdrive is a simple 2 speed gearbox that mates to the Jeep's transfer case and provides a 25% drop in engine rpm when engaged. Instead of creating the final gear as overdrive, the Warn overdrive model introduced new gear ratio between each gears. Hence a transmission in which the highest gear ratio is less than a one-to-one ratio. This means the drive shaft turns faster than the engine crankshaft. The overdrive feature saves fuel and, because the engine runs slower, engine wear and noise are reduced.

What I have got is the same Warn Design reproduced by ATV Mfg. for Mahindra Jeep transmission/transfer case specification. What makes the Mahindra Jeep different from its American cousins is that of Tooth and Spline counts in the transfer case, hence the regular or used Warn Overdrives will not fit directly into Mahindra Jeeps. Herm Till ford reproduced the gear with 29tooth and 15 spline count to suite the Mahindra Jeeps. The same is what I have got and going to be placed into my Jeep.

Instead of the normal 5speed gearbox with overdrive that provides an additional gear to rotate faster than the engine(crankshaft) RPM, The warn overdrive actually sits on the PTO port of Dana/Spicer T-19 transfer case and takes the input from transfer case main gear shaft and converts into different gearing ration and sends it back to the actual transmission. Because of this particular model, the warn model overdrive can introduce as much as double the number of existing transmission gears.

Currently my Jeep equipped with KMT-90 4 forward and 1 Reverse transmission, hence I'm running the Jeep with 10 gearing ratios including the 4 wheel drive Low mode. By installing the Warn Overdrive I will get 20nos of gearing ratio that will enable to choose huge range of gearing ratio according to my need.

The moment I enable the Overdrive all the gear ratio will be on the higher side, hence going to give me a smoother noiseless ride. Whenever I need to do Offroad the overdrive will be temporarily disabled by pulling the Overdrive lever back to the driver side position. Practically the overdrive will be left in engaged mode all the time as most of the time the jeep is driven on the road.

Now I will let the pictures talk about what are the items came with the Herm Tillford supplied overdrive baggage.





Come back to this space to see more on the installation side, then comes the actual driving experience part.

Goodies to accompany the offroader arrived

Couple of goodies collected in the recent past for the offroader

That includes

1. Electronic tyre pressure tester
2. Vehicle work light with magnetic base for holding on the body
3. Halogen torch light
4. Hi-lift jack handle holder
5. Light weight screw driver assy
6. An emergency cutting blade kit

MahindraClassic gets a new Music System

Hurray it's again time for little bit of entertainment after the many tiring works that got completed recently. I have also gone out with the Explorer for an OTR too. I will post the detailed report by tomorrow but before that here is the new Music system that got installed in the Explorer.
This system is made in China and not so costlier one, who dares to install a costly system on a open jeep. First of all the rain or moisture may spoil a electronic components or the unnecessary worries about loosing it to a thief. Anyway the Chinese make is not that bad, though the sound quality is not upto the branded ones but the package is good overall for a diesel jeep with canvas top where wind makes more sound than the music system.
The great advantage of this music system is that it can play MP3/WMA music files from SD card and USB Memory stick and what not it also got a FM and AM Tunner.

Flat tyre

Today it was again day with Mahindra Classic shoe work, the rear left side tube in the tyre was flat. Not worried as I noticed the flatted tyre in the office parking lot and changed spare wheel.
When reached tyre store found that the mouth of the tube inside the tyre is gone and needs replacement, BF Goodrich tube gone in.
How about rotating the shoes? Yeah, that is what I was thinking and same has been done today.
I had issues with my steering directions last time during the offroad so my mechanic corrected the issue with tie road in the steering system. He suggested me to do the wheel alignment, hurray flatted tyres took the credit today the wheel alignment also corrected with computer assisted machines.

Tree Trunk(Bark) Protector

Be nature friendly, that is what we always say when we talk about offroading. At time we have to run over bushes on the forest offroad but we always very cautious in protecting nature wherever we can. We normally carry litter bags to carry the litter back from our offroad trips, we don't cut tree or harm animals.

But during recoveries we do run into issues as we need to rob around trees to get hold for our winching operations. Some times we found the tree trunk bark got damaged, a simple search on the internet and winch company websites shown something called Tree Trunk Protector. If something I can achieve by spending money to save environment is always on the welcome list.
The latest recovery gear equipment is that of Tree Trunk protector, This one is 3tonne direct pull capacity and if used with basket model (routing the strap around the tree's trunk is called basket model pull) I can achieve 6tonne capacity which is more than sufficient for a Jeep weighting 1.4tonne plus 100 to 200 kilo grams on board.

I have also got a recovery gear bag custom made for the recovery stuffs along with the Tree Trunk Protector. Hmmm life is more easy now to carry all of them at once. No need to worry about forgetting something out of the complete gear whenever going for offroad.
This bag is made of tarpaulin kind of canvas material and very strong to hold all the heavy stuffs.

Mahindra Classic - Trac-Lok 30 spline LSD trial

I'm now started considering options to put LSD (Trac-Lok Limited Slip Differential) into the Explorer's rear drive axle setup.

There are issues associated with this change
1. There is no ready made LSD kit available for DANA 44 / 19 spline axle

2. The currently available MM550 LSD (Trac-Lok) is matching to DANA 44 differential but spider side axle spline count is 30 against 19 in Classic

3. The axle track of MM550 is not same with CL340 DP - Classic, as heard from experts(CJ/CL 340 = 48 inches, MM540 = 51 inches and NGCS MM540 = 53 inches). but I have not measured the size of MM550 and Classic axles yet.

With the above constraints, I have few options to implement LSD setup on my Classic
1. Take the complete differential setup for front and rear from MM550 and use it in Classic
2. Take only the LSD from MM550 and custom fabricate axle to fit Classic axle length setup, this exercise may lead me to convert the semi floating axle to full floating type (Though bit tricky but I know a expert who has done it for his Jeep earlier)
3. Buy a on the shelf Dana 44 / 19 spline Auburn Limited Slip(http://www.drivetrainwarehouse.com/PDT259648.aspx) from overseas and get it installed in the existing housing and axle setup.

With the above constraints and options I've also got a MM550 LSD in my hands (just in case if I opt to take option no. 2)
Watch out this space for more information on how my LSD project is achieved.

Meeting with Jeep GOD Mr.UBS

Right from the day I found my Mahindra Classic, the only person who is fully supporting me for any query on the Jeep front is none other than the National JEEP Daddy Mr. Uday Bhan Singh (Mr.UBS). One must interact with him to really believe how good and down to earth person Mr.UBS. I never think twice to take inputs on Jeeps from Mr.UBS and he is a living Jeep dictionary or service manual.Today was a great day as I got a chance to meet him 2nd time in the last 3 years. As a jeeper meeting him itself a great thing, but my day was made with multiple surprises. Guess what ? Mr. UBS brought a lot of Jeep stuffs for my Classic and CJ3B. I went to the Chennai central station to receive him and rushed to the platform where the coramandal express was slowly came to halt, As instructed by him earlier I was standing on the entrance of the three tier A/C compartment B3. At first I didn't recognise him, but he spot me on the second and waved me. I was so happy to see Mr.UBS today.
I have been always dreaming of fitting a PTO stuff on my classic and finally today I got a simple PTO utility that rotates with a gear lever. Thinking of such a celebrity like person carrying heavy weight PTO and stuffs for me on the train, I'm astonished.
I've also got original drop down tail gate and swing open stepney door for my CJ3B along with a set of headlight and parking light guards and side view mirror rod.
I must say this, expect the swing open spare wheel door rest of the stuffs are brand new original products. I'm the jeep items directly from JEEP god today.