Mahindra 4540 exhaust modification (Problems and Solutions)

   / Mahindra 4540 exhaust modification (Problems and Solutions) #1  

BigRed4540

New member
Joined
Oct 2, 2021
Messages
10
Tractor
Mahindra 4540
I wanted to do a write up of my experience with my 2021 Mahindra 4540 here on the forums to hopefully give other owners who may be Googling the same issues with their tractor.

The General Situation:

If you haven't seen my other posts, I purchased my 4540 4wd FEL in October of 2021 brand new. I own approx. 6 acres at the NC/SC line and enjoy maintaining my property and large garden. As my wife and I are new land / homeowners. Upon purchasing the tractor we used it around 80 hours in the first year and have not had any significant problems. However there were some moderate annoyances that I hoped I could modify to fix.

First problem, or set of problems perhaps is the exhaust system on this tractor. The exhaust exits very close to the brake pedals on the right side directly onto the loader mount from the engine compartment. This design may be fine without the loader, but with the loader installed the hydraulic hoses are getting cooked constantly by hot exhaust. This poor design also creates a consistent smell of exhaust fumes to be ever present while running the machine.

The second half of this exhaust problem is mostly due to my usage. I run this machine at lower RPMs nearly all the time tooling around the yard and garden. It is a straight geared tractor so speed is controlled by throttle range and selection of 4 gears. This machine also has a Diesel Oxidative Catalyst (DOC) or basically a catalytic converter installed just after the manifold before the muffler. This appears to be Mahindra's add on to meet Tier IV by "having no DPF or regen" as claimed by their sales pitch. My usage of running at low RPM's for a number of hours cultivating my garden causes buildup of I am assuming soot or unburned exhaust products to build up inside the DOC and then when I rev up to bush-hog or run the tiller it begins to burn off and the exhaust smells like an unbearable strong burning plastic smell. The DOC also gets extremely hot, hot enough that I am concerned for the paint on my hood.

Yes, I have seen Hamiltonville Farms solution with the flex pipe but I am not a fan of rigging like that. I want the solution to look at least halfway OEM. First I removed the DOC from the equation and fabricated a 1 7/8 elbow to match the DOC's exact size so that I could replace it at any time if the tractor needed to return to the dealer for warranty work. There are exactly zero sensors in the exhaust system of this tractor, so the engine computer will know nothing is different. I then ordered 2 of the exhaust extensions from an earlier model which used the same manifold design before the DOC was implemented and welded an elbow between them and bought new gaskets which matched from NAPA for 2" standard flanges.

Manifold muffler extension pipe: MUFFLER EXTENSION FOR MAHINDRA TRACTOR (001231400R13)
1678631835854.png


While I was working in the exhaust category I figured lets get two birds with one stone, so I fabricated a simple EGR block off plate to install between the manifold the the EGR pipe. This left the entire EGR system intact on the engine however no exhaust will be able to recirculate. Hopefully this will help with some of the high exhaust temps and soot buildup as this was also an add on to meet Tier IV from the unchanged 2.7L Mahindra engines.

Next I purchased an 1 7/8" ID to 2" OD straight adapter along with a 2" ID -12" 45 degree elbow to clamp to the stock exhaust. This will effectively route the factory exhaust around the loader mount past the hydraulic hoses forward away from the operator. The factory exhaust outlet is slightly smaller than 1 7/8" OD but the adapter clamped down well with a standard clamp.

Adapter - https://www.autozone.com/emission-c...ebilt-2in-x-1-7-8in-exhaust-adapter/52787_0_0
1678631633010.png


Elbow - https://www.autozone.com/emission-c...-i-d-x-2in-o-d-12in-45-degree-elbow/61527_0_0
1678631642854.png


After the job was done I noticed the tractor has a much easier time starting, runs cooler, and smells like a normal diesel tractor (when I rarely get a whiff of exhaust) and I don't have to worry about low RPM operation anymore. The engine seems to be breathing much better now.

***Disclaimer*** do these modifications at your own risk. This is a privately owned and operated piece of equipment that sees very few hours per year. I couldn't care less about your opinions regarding [insert your choice of federal regulation or government overreach program here]. More the less do I want to hear about how many degrees I am raising the earths temperature [insert your unfounded "climate" theory here] or your big city's air particulate numbers. This project is about saving my lungs, my money, and my pursuit of happiness on my private property in the hope that others can benefit as well.

Pictures of the final solution:
1678632107182.jpeg
1678632125073.jpeg
 
 
Top