New Horns Look Nice !!
But now the character of the car will change. From SUVish to sedanish.
I mean by the sound.
But now the character of the car will change. From SUVish to sedanish.
I mean by the sound.
Last edited:
“The Blue Elephant” My Safari 4x4 Review & Mods
- Thread Starter bhvm
- Start date
Thread Starter
#362
Had some fun with the ODO numbers.
The pics are from different trips and different timeframes.
Enjoy!
Just 1k Left to go!
Actually drove this trip meter in a single shot. Just bio breaks & lunch. With such a legendary mile muncher, its actually easy!
Just 7 KM more.
And then it Rolled over!
Could not take the exact 1L shot as focus is always on the road rather than the meter.
The pics are from different trips and different timeframes.
Enjoy!
Just 1k Left to go!
Actually drove this trip meter in a single shot. Just bio breaks & lunch. With such a legendary mile muncher, its actually easy!
Just 7 KM more.
And then it Rolled over!
Could not take the exact 1L shot as focus is always on the road rather than the meter.
Attachments
Thread Starter
#363
Odo 97K
One fine day I noticed small drops of coolant when I was parking the beast at a nearby temple.
With Further inspection It appears that coolant hoses have a minor Leak. So I gave the Elephant at nearby ASC for repairs. Here are the details-
1. Coolant Leak-
Certain coolant pipes had become hard and hence had cracked & leaked. Causing a minor drip below the car.
Said hoses took a week to arrive and were subsequently replaced.
2. Since the beast was sitting at service station, I decided to do a full service including Engine Oil change with a flush.
Differential & Transfercase oils were inspected but not replaced.
Air filter was cleaned.
3. The service center started finding other issues with the vehicle.
The Gearbox Packings, Engine sump were leaking minor oil causing an oil film on the lower components.
These packings were sealed with RTV & tightened. Sump Gasket was replaced as it was easy to do so.
4. To my horror, the ASC found rat damage inside the car. This was surprising as all the features of the car were working normally except rear wash & wipe.
Gave permission to fix the wiring which took a lot of teardowns.
Thankfully the refit was good and there are no new rattles in the car.
5. Installed new Side marker lights from Boodmo.
These are not OEM but do the job and look much better than old faded ones.
6. As usual after any Major service, Ran my Usual round of additives which the beast gulped down happily
Radiator flush was important as I was changing the coolant and also various repairs were conducted on the cooling system.
Abro DI 502 fuel additive for cleaning injectors & fuel pump.Boosts Fuel economy too.
STP oil treatment for buttersmooth Engine & silent drive. (when cruising at 85 you can't even hear the engine)
7. The total expense for this ordeal was about 10k. Plus additives.
Beast once again roaring & ready for trips!
One fine day I noticed small drops of coolant when I was parking the beast at a nearby temple.
With Further inspection It appears that coolant hoses have a minor Leak. So I gave the Elephant at nearby ASC for repairs. Here are the details-
1. Coolant Leak-
Certain coolant pipes had become hard and hence had cracked & leaked. Causing a minor drip below the car.
Said hoses took a week to arrive and were subsequently replaced.
2. Since the beast was sitting at service station, I decided to do a full service including Engine Oil change with a flush.
Differential & Transfercase oils were inspected but not replaced.
Air filter was cleaned.
3. The service center started finding other issues with the vehicle.
The Gearbox Packings, Engine sump were leaking minor oil causing an oil film on the lower components.
These packings were sealed with RTV & tightened. Sump Gasket was replaced as it was easy to do so.
4. To my horror, the ASC found rat damage inside the car. This was surprising as all the features of the car were working normally except rear wash & wipe.
Gave permission to fix the wiring which took a lot of teardowns.
Thankfully the refit was good and there are no new rattles in the car.
5. Installed new Side marker lights from Boodmo.
These are not OEM but do the job and look much better than old faded ones.
6. As usual after any Major service, Ran my Usual round of additives which the beast gulped down happily
Radiator flush was important as I was changing the coolant and also various repairs were conducted on the cooling system.
Abro DI 502 fuel additive for cleaning injectors & fuel pump.Boosts Fuel economy too.
STP oil treatment for buttersmooth Engine & silent drive. (when cruising at 85 you can't even hear the engine)
7. The total expense for this ordeal was about 10k. Plus additives.
Beast once again roaring & ready for trips!
Thread Starter
#364
Odo 100k
The beast was happily munching miles, Including the recent 2k Kms trip to Satara & Kanheri math (Want a T log?), Which included 1k kms of Non stop driving (except lunch & bio breaks).
The next week, one morning I noticed small drops of diesel on the floor and engine lower parts were once again wet.
The leak would magically stop once the car came at operating temperature. My Guess was that extremely cold morning has caused some hose or gasket to shrink or crack, causing leaks.
Inspection later that day revealed that a diesel return line was leaking. The leak was very minor, like pinpoint bleeding.
The beast was given to nearby ASC for repair.
1. The leak was identified by me from a return nozzle with handles return diesel from the injectors and sends fuel back to the fuel pump. Leak had stopped by the time ASC inspected it.
The hardest part was opening the plastic nozzle as it was in an awkward place. The Inside of nozzle had a Black O ring, which might have shrunk or displaced due to cold.
The Nozzle & Ring were properly cleaned & Refit. Black nozzle is a part of High pressure fuel pump which costs 70k and is not available separately.
Thankfully, cleaning, some tape & tightening fixed the leak for good, In one go.
In the screenshot you can check the black nozzle attached to the fuel pump.
Normally these parts are not visible as fuel pump sits behind the EGR and intake manifold. Making it very hard to reach.
2. Some coolant lines, which were not in stock the last time were replaced proactively, on my request.
The cost of these lines is not much, but can save hassle long term. As TATA usually does not have proper stock of safari parts.
3. The Elephant's suspension hand a small clanging sound when going over speedbreakers. The issue was identified to be a damaged rubber bushing on one of the shockers.
The ASC suggested entire shocker to be replaced, which costs 2k + fitting. I was not ready for it as Shocker was good and not leaking.
So I headed out to an old Friend of mine who replaced the rubber bush. Now any sound when going over potholes is gone. Cost just 200 Bucks including bush.
The entire Service costed about 2k Including ASC & FNG bill.
The beast was happily munching miles, Including the recent 2k Kms trip to Satara & Kanheri math (Want a T log?), Which included 1k kms of Non stop driving (except lunch & bio breaks).
The next week, one morning I noticed small drops of diesel on the floor and engine lower parts were once again wet.
The leak would magically stop once the car came at operating temperature. My Guess was that extremely cold morning has caused some hose or gasket to shrink or crack, causing leaks.
Inspection later that day revealed that a diesel return line was leaking. The leak was very minor, like pinpoint bleeding.
The beast was given to nearby ASC for repair.
1. The leak was identified by me from a return nozzle with handles return diesel from the injectors and sends fuel back to the fuel pump. Leak had stopped by the time ASC inspected it.
The hardest part was opening the plastic nozzle as it was in an awkward place. The Inside of nozzle had a Black O ring, which might have shrunk or displaced due to cold.
The Nozzle & Ring were properly cleaned & Refit. Black nozzle is a part of High pressure fuel pump which costs 70k and is not available separately.
Thankfully, cleaning, some tape & tightening fixed the leak for good, In one go.
In the screenshot you can check the black nozzle attached to the fuel pump.
Normally these parts are not visible as fuel pump sits behind the EGR and intake manifold. Making it very hard to reach.
2. Some coolant lines, which were not in stock the last time were replaced proactively, on my request.
The cost of these lines is not much, but can save hassle long term. As TATA usually does not have proper stock of safari parts.
3. The Elephant's suspension hand a small clanging sound when going over speedbreakers. The issue was identified to be a damaged rubber bushing on one of the shockers.
The ASC suggested entire shocker to be replaced, which costs 2k + fitting. I was not ready for it as Shocker was good and not leaking.
So I headed out to an old Friend of mine who replaced the rubber bush. Now any sound when going over potholes is gone. Cost just 200 Bucks including bush.
The entire Service costed about 2k Including ASC & FNG bill.
Lots of updates !! Feels nice the SUV is taken good care of.
After all these things done, how is the ride now? I mean other than the vanished suspension noise.
p.s underbody pics show too much oil leak and at too many places esp. near the gearbox.
After all these things done, how is the ride now? I mean other than the vanished suspension noise.
p.s underbody pics show too much oil leak and at too many places esp. near the gearbox.
Last edited:
Thread Starter
#366
Thanks!
Safari is known for its quality to hide mistakes & issues. In-fact you cant make out a punctured tyre sometimes. The ride quality is the same, Soft & cushy as always.
Most of these leaks were fixed. Some sealant was applied around the gearbox.
Both ASC and me were reluctant to remove entire gearbox & replace the seal as its a major job and wound need lots of teardowns, Including the 4x4 system which the ASC is not confident to work with.
Safari is known for its quality to hide mistakes & issues. In-fact you cant make out a punctured tyre sometimes. The ride quality is the same, Soft & cushy as always.
Most of these leaks were fixed. Some sealant was applied around the gearbox.
Both ASC and me were reluctant to remove entire gearbox & replace the seal as its a major job and wound need lots of teardowns, Including the 4x4 system which the ASC is not confident to work with.
Thread Starter
#367
Once in a while, The 4x4 system on the Safari Throws a tantrum and asks for some TLC.
Here is a short post regarding the yearly Maintainance on 4x4 motor. Not very detailed as i already have a full guide here-
Borg Warner Electric-Shift 4x4 Troubleshooting & Repair
So here we go-
Firstly, The motor was removed from under the car. Its quite some workout without having a proper lift. As This motor sits behind the transfercase, In absolute middle of the SUV.
Nice to see my last years markings still visible,
The motor was throughly cleaned using diesel,
Any visible surface rust was addressed using a few blasts of clear coat,
Stops the rust from spreading sans the mess.
I forgot taking the pics of inside the motor, since I was focusing on the Job and hand. Here are the pics from last service-
Everything was cleaned and Re-Greased.
Coming back to today, You notice I've made some splices on the wires.
And soldered 2 new wires on top of Main Motor wires. Solder provides the perfect joint.
Other end of these wires go an XT90 connector. I already have the female end of XT90 at the vehicle side, routed to inside the cabin. Any guess of this secret project?
Fully taped up, The motor ready for install.
Yay! 4x4 works as intended.
Here is a short post regarding the yearly Maintainance on 4x4 motor. Not very detailed as i already have a full guide here-
Borg Warner Electric-Shift 4x4 Troubleshooting & Repair
So here we go-
Firstly, The motor was removed from under the car. Its quite some workout without having a proper lift. As This motor sits behind the transfercase, In absolute middle of the SUV.
Nice to see my last years markings still visible,
The motor was throughly cleaned using diesel,
Any visible surface rust was addressed using a few blasts of clear coat,
Stops the rust from spreading sans the mess.
I forgot taking the pics of inside the motor, since I was focusing on the Job and hand. Here are the pics from last service-
Everything was cleaned and Re-Greased.
Coming back to today, You notice I've made some splices on the wires.
And soldered 2 new wires on top of Main Motor wires. Solder provides the perfect joint.
Other end of these wires go an XT90 connector. I already have the female end of XT90 at the vehicle side, routed to inside the cabin. Any guess of this secret project?
Fully taped up, The motor ready for install.
Yay! 4x4 works as intended.
Attachments
Thread Starter
#368
In the previous Post, I had renewed the side marker lights on my Safari and also installed LED bulbs into them.
However, I never felt satisfied as the cheepo LED bulbs I brought online gave a yellowish, Warm white glow rather than proper amber glow which legal side markers / Indicators should have.
After hunting a bit more found Proper Orange-Amber LED bulbs on amazon, Immediately brought them!
Here is newer Bulb (in my palm) compared to Existing Warm white Bulb-
Two Bulbs side by side, The Newer Bulb is on the Right. Let's Install them.
Camera does not do justice to the colour tone, But difference to eye is very obvious. Older ones were yellow, New ones are amber.
Also, new bulb has more LEDs, allows the light to properly fill the side marker reflector for a "Fuller" look.
However, I never felt satisfied as the cheepo LED bulbs I brought online gave a yellowish, Warm white glow rather than proper amber glow which legal side markers / Indicators should have.
After hunting a bit more found Proper Orange-Amber LED bulbs on amazon, Immediately brought them!
Here is newer Bulb (in my palm) compared to Existing Warm white Bulb-
Two Bulbs side by side, The Newer Bulb is on the Right. Let's Install them.
Camera does not do justice to the colour tone, But difference to eye is very obvious. Older ones were yellow, New ones are amber.
Also, new bulb has more LEDs, allows the light to properly fill the side marker reflector for a "Fuller" look.
You might want to change the colour scheme of your SUV, now that it's time.
How about it. Safari 2.0 ??
How about it. Safari 2.0 ??
Thread Starter
#370
Currently not planning on any visual mods. If anything i may go for full restoration & Underbody paint for rust prevention reasons.
Currently the Important thing is to renew the RC which is expiring in a couple of months, So i can use the beast for a many years more, with peace of mind.
P.s- Just received new style blind spot mirrors, will install them & report soon.
Currently the Important thing is to renew the RC which is expiring in a couple of months, So i can use the beast for a many years more, with peace of mind.
P.s- Just received new style blind spot mirrors, will install them & report soon.
Thread Starter
#371
Brought a few things for my cars. Will report after use.
Also brought another set of Blind spot mirrors for my other vehicles. Liked em very much.
Also brought another set of Blind spot mirrors for my other vehicles. Liked em very much.
Thread Starter
#372
Guys I have some bad news.
Yesterday I was shopping around with the Family, On the way back Pressed safari clutch and something broke. It became hard & stuck.
My initial guess would be return spring or clutch sensor is broken & bent awkwardly. I wasn't able to free it by hand & looking around the clutch pedal assembly did not help much.
Called my usual guys,No help was available due to Sunday. Thankfully, A Tata Showroom was nearby so decided to drop the car for repairs rather than trying to drive home through the city traffic.
Somehow was able to engage low range. Engaged 1st gear, Did a rolling start. Was able to crawl at walking pace to Service center which was located on the same road as I was.
Large starter motor combined with Torque multiplication from Low range transfercase meant that the start was quick & effortless. Infact one could not even feel anything being angry. The beast lunged forward and engine fired up, kept crawling till parking spot and deposited the vehicle at security.
Warning- Pls don't try doing a Rolling start unless you really know what your're doing. You might hurt yourself or your beast.
Will keep you guys updated.
Yesterday I was shopping around with the Family, On the way back Pressed safari clutch and something broke. It became hard & stuck.
My initial guess would be return spring or clutch sensor is broken & bent awkwardly. I wasn't able to free it by hand & looking around the clutch pedal assembly did not help much.
Called my usual guys,No help was available due to Sunday. Thankfully, A Tata Showroom was nearby so decided to drop the car for repairs rather than trying to drive home through the city traffic.
Somehow was able to engage low range. Engaged 1st gear, Did a rolling start. Was able to crawl at walking pace to Service center which was located on the same road as I was.
Large starter motor combined with Torque multiplication from Low range transfercase meant that the start was quick & effortless. Infact one could not even feel anything being angry. The beast lunged forward and engine fired up, kept crawling till parking spot and deposited the vehicle at security.
Warning- Pls don't try doing a Rolling start unless you really know what your're doing. You might hurt yourself or your beast.
Will keep you guys updated.
Wire itself may have been disconnected/ broken from the coupling.
Thread Starter
#374
All the heavy diesels like safari use hydraulic clutches. There's Master cylinder near the pedal, supplied with oil. Then Oil goes down to clutch at the slave cylinder.
Currently the problem appears to be Master cylinder.
Even Bigger problem is that as usual TATA never has parts for repairs.
Currently the problem appears to be Master cylinder.
Even Bigger problem is that as usual TATA never has parts for repairs.
Thread Starter
#375
Update-
Since TATA had no spare available, i Decided to order the same from Boodmo.
Its disappointing that Tata does not stock even maintenance / Moving items.
The beast will stay parked at ASC during the time.
While the doubt is on master cylinder, I order slave cylinder too since I am tired of parts failing one by one consecutively. Will get it replaced proactively.
Since TATA had no spare available, i Decided to order the same from Boodmo.
Its disappointing that Tata does not stock even maintenance / Moving items.
The beast will stay parked at ASC during the time.
While the doubt is on master cylinder, I order slave cylinder too since I am tired of parts failing one by one consecutively. Will get it replaced proactively.
Last edited: