Seeing our families and friends this holiday season got us to wondering: who are all those people in the commercials buying someone a brand-new car for Christmas? I’d lose my mind if there was a car in the driveway on December 25th, red ribbon and all, mostly out of sheer embarrassment that the best presents I sent out were ugly sweaters and Wal-Mart gift cards.
But hey, maybe one of you got a brand-new Mahindra Roxor for Christmas. Even if you didn’t, if you’re looking for a place to cash in your holiday cheer might we suggest a street legal conversion package or some parts from the Roxor Store?
This Roxor Weekly is all about newness. From a first-day introduction to the Roxor, to the installation of new skid plates, axle vents, and aftermarket grilles, to new information about speed sensors and unlocking your Roxor’s top speed, these videos will make you want to break out that set of tools Santa gave you and get to wrenching.
This is Roxor Weekly.
Mahindra Roxor: A Quick Introduction
If you’re new to the idea of the Mahindra Roxor, Shaw and Scott from Spicer’s Boat City in Houghton Lake, Michigan are here to answer your biggest questions.
The specs are familiar to veterans of Roxor Weekly: 2.5-liter turbodiesel engine, 5-speed manual transmission, four-wheel drive, power steering, massive towing capacity, and a purposefully spartan interior that’s built to withstand all the muck and mire your favorite trails might throw at it.
The new Roxor in this video shows off the sporting color of Woodland Camo. It’s optioned with a windshield, winch, light bar, and other OEM accessories that you can pick out at the dealership. While this Roxor is not street legal – they leave the factory as UTVs – making Roxors street legal is what we do at Dirt Legal. Check out our Roxor Conversions page to learn more.
Mahindra Figured Us Out: No More Unplugging Speed Sensors
Youtuber Abiez has just broken the news of a recent development in the Roxor world, and it has to do with removing the Roxor’s speed sensor to unlock its top speed.
In the summer of 2018 we published an article about how de-restricting the Roxor is as easy as unplugging the speed sensor. Apparently, Mahindra has grown wise to our antics.
At some point Mahindra started building in fail-safes to dissuade people from having fun voiding their warranties. According to recent information from Abie and the Roxor forums, removing the speed sensor works on early Roxors only. New Roxors will throw codes and might go into Limp Mode if the speed sensor is unplugged.
Do you have a newer Roxor? They can be identified in two ways:
The last four digits of the PIN (Product Identification Number, found on a Mahindra sticker on the driver’s side firewall) are 1500 or higher
The speed sensor itself is a different design that’s wrapped in plastic, making it harder to remove
To de-restrict these later Roxors, you’ll need to pick up a tuned ECU or send yours off to be tuned. By far the best and most affordable option we’ve found for ECU tuning is the Roxor Tune Package in our Roxor Store. Let us know if you find another work-around, and we’ll keep looking ourselves.
Part 1: Winching a Tractor with a Roxor
The first part of the latest video from Red, White, & Roxor highlights one of the Roxor’s biggest strengths: the 8000-lb Warn winch riding on the front bumper. The vehicle that needs winched is a 1980’s model Ford 5000 which experienced a failure in its power steering system. It can’t be started because it’ll spew power steering fluid everywhere – that’s where the Roxor comes in.
Wikipedia says that Ford tractor weighs anywhere from 5,800 to 9,700 pounds depending on what weights are installed. That’s no problem for the Roxor – it stays planted and hauls the tractor up without a second thought. Off-camera, the Roxor even towed the tractor across the yard in 4-Low without any trouble, proving that the Roxor’s stated towing capacity of 3,035 pounds is a lot lower than what it can actually do.
If you don’t have a winch, you might be wanting one right about now. Check out the Winches and Winch Accessories in our Roxor Store.
Part 2: Venting the Axles and Transfer Case
Gather ‘round, friends. Engineering 101 is now in session.
A vehicle’s transmission, differentials, engine, and transfer cases all contain air. These parts don’t rely on pressure to operate. Instead, the fluid inside moves freely and is cooled by exchanging heat with that air. In the case of vehicles that don’t have separate transmission or differential coolers to cool the fluid, that air (and the air outside the cases) is the only thing moving any heat at all, so it’s imperative to have some way for hot air to escape and cold air to enter. That’s why these parts are ventilated.
It’s important to vent your axles and transfer case to prevent a vacuum forming inside. If there was no vent connecting that space to the atmosphere, as the air inside got colder it would contract and create a vacuum. Conversely, when things heated up under intense use, the air pressure inside would increase. This would lead to reduced lubrication and increased wear; having no vent at all could even lead to complete mechanical failure.
The Roxor’s axles and transfer care are vented from the factory, but the way Mahindra went about it leaves room for improvement.
The stock vent line basically sits on top the diff where it’s vulnerable to mud and water. Running a new vent line like Red, White, & Roxor did in this video moves that outlet somewhere safe. All you have to do is get some ¼” clear hose from the local hardware store, remove the stock line, and tie the new line off at a higher point. Be sure to leave some slack and ensure the outlet is facing down to prevent water and debris from getting in.
Installing an Aftermarket Grille
The powersports-savvy team at Platinum Off Road have gotten a new Mahindra Roxor, and the first order of business is to show off that Willys Jeep heritage with a brand-new six-slot grille. Here’s the final result.
The Classic Grille by On the Rox Fabrication gives the Roxor a Willys-inspired facelift. Made from 3/16” aluminum and with optional reproduction Willys turn signals, this grille is a great way to add a custom touch to your Roxor. Order your own Classic Grille from our Roxor Store.
Removing the stock grille is a breeze. Remove three hex nuts from around each headlight, then unplug and remove the headlights. Locate the four white grille clips (two on each side near the headlights and two toward the center at the top), then squeeze and push to remove them. Finally, crawl under the bumper and remove the 4mm Allen bolt at the center of the grille above and behind the bumper. The stock grille will now lift off.
Installing the Classic grille is easy as well. First, attach the bottom bolt to stabilize the grille. You will be putting your new mounting bolts through those four push pin holes, so confirm everything is centered and aligned before tightening anything down. Install these four bolts, reinstall the headlights, and away you go.
The optional turn signal kit does require drilling on the Roxor with a metal hole saw. The video details this process, and keep in mind this modification won’t be visible if you ever re-install your stock Roxor grille. Something else Platinum Off Road did that’s optional but helpful is to file out those four mounting holes and use nutserts to secure the mounting bolts. This makes aligning the grille easier.
Installing an OEM Oil Pan Skid Plate
Youtuber Abiez is back again, this time showing us how to install an OEM oil pan skid plate on a Mahindra Roxor.
The Roxor’s oil pan hangs low underneath the chassis. That’s all well and good for a street legal or daily-driven Roxor, but for anyone who goes off-roading on a regular basis, one wrong move can spell disaster for all 7 liters of engine oil that pan contains.
To avoid the EPA shutting down your favorite trail, it’s important to protect your Roxor’s oil pan with a skid plate. The OEM Mahindra plate is a great choice, but we suggest the aluminum oil pan skid plate in our Roxor Store because it’s of equal or better quality as the OEM option and it costs a lot less. This video applies to installing either one.
All told, installing this part is an afternoon job at most. Only basic tools are involved – no drilling, hammering, or cursing required. Be sure to loosely install all the hardware first, double-check that the drain plug is accessible, then tighten everything down by starting at the front and moving to the rear.
Merry Christmas to Duke from Kalispell, Montana, the proud owner of a new Roxor! From Instagram @penco_powerproducts
Roxor Weekly
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Cover image source: Instagram @byronpowersports
Learn how to fix a major flaw in an otherwise incredible off-road machine. (UPDATED 2019)