Quote:
Originally Posted by tsk1979 Many Safari owners including me have experienced malfunction in 4x4 operation whenever water is splashed on transfer case. This often happens after underbody wash, or when you splash through water.
4H and 4L lights start blinking, and till the transfer case dries up, 4x4 does not engage.
I am wondering, how do you waterproof the transfer case. Don't you get malfunction in the electronic transfer case mechanism? |
Many of us have installed home-made "breather kits" for the two differentials, the gearbox and the transfer case.
They are required because once you've been driving for some time, the oil in said devoces will heat up considerably, and once in the water the sudden cooling will cause a decompression which will literally suck water inside!
So... either a breather kit (all you need is a few feet of 1/8" SS braided hose and a few threaded nipples) or you seal the devices permanently with silicone glue, which means you plan to never open them again, not even for an oil change...
Breather kits, please...
TATA should keep in mind that when you want a model to sell, sometimes you need a "hot" version to lure the prospective buyers into the showroom...
...once they've seen the hyped up "Tourist Trophy / Himalaya Rally" Storme, they will be happy to sign on the dotted line for the "family man" ordinary version... only to go to Spares Dept. and order a few stickers to hype up their "family man" Storme...
But you WILL have the ones who WILL insist for a "Tomb Raider" style Storme (it worked for Land Rover and Jeep Co., at least here in Europe!)
What do you need to create a "Tomb Raider" style Tata Storme?
Here are a few suggestions based on my 7 years offroading:
- front differential, Dana 30 is good but a Torsen is better (with OEM breather)
- rear differential, LSD Dana 44 is good but Eaton ElectroLock is better (as in Mitsubishi Pajero/Shogun) (with OEM breather)
See what you can do with lockable diffs ?
- gearbox, 6 speed close ratio or 6 speed wide ratio with "granny-style" 1st (i.e., 5:1 1st gear and the other 5 as you have now, to allow for a low 1st when you don't want or can't engage 4L but desperately need a low 1st for heavily laden uphill starts without burning the clutch)(with OEM breather)
- air filter to include snorkel as OEM specification
- 2" taller suspension with 25-30mm wider offset steel rims - such a setup will not alter the overall geometry of the vehicle and will not move the centre of gravity any higher BUT WILL improve offroad capabilities.
By the way, you want STEEL rims because you can hammer them back into shape, unlike alloys...
- offer, as an alternative to the standard 235/70x16 Bridgestone ATs, thinner tyres which are more recommendable for dirt/gravel roads, such as 205x16 or 225/75x16 with M/T or M+S treads.
- offer, as a factory option, an auxiliary fuel tank where the spare tyre currently sits, and reposition the spare on the tailgate.
Even if the overall price would increase a little, you would have a Storme/Safari which would have up to
double operating range, would be capable of
fording up to 40" water (instead of the current declared 20"), would have
much improved capability over rugged and/or muddy terrain (thanks to the Torsen front and Electro-lock rear differentials) and would be capable of towing mad elephants (never mind the dead horses!) without having to resort to 4L thanks to the "granny 1st gear".
This is Enzo on his "TataExplora"
This is Tataclub Elephant 4x4 Club Member "Max Smogbiker" who participated in the "Overland 3000" offroad race in Romania in 2004 and came 2nd overall !!!
A report of his race is here, in Italian, but you can easily translate it with any online website translator (Google, Bing, etc.)
http://www.tataclub.net/php/tatazza/tatazza_romania.php
PS I have omitted mentioning the Safari/Storme's apparent impossibility to fit a luggage rack for anything larger than a 40"x25" suitcase... have those rear plastic holdons any function at all, other than purely cosmetic?