Went down with the shi..er, ship.

Heh, yeah, I lived, but the jeep didn't. Had a great time, 2 yokes, 4 ujoints, 2 z'd out leafspring shackles, 2 rear drums 2/brakes, cracked frame, bent currie track bar, 1 eaten exhaust system, 3 out of 4 flares chewed, 2 of the doors don't close so well, a rewelded axle tube and some toyota springs put in just to get me home..they were looking at reversing one of my springs, since the arch now went the other way..and we had one that was flat as a board, that was kinda impressive. 3 popped beads (damn, those procomps held up well). But the important part was meeting all the great people..and that girl in the pink top near Safeway in Truckee... :gag: Unfortunately, by then, water damage had taken out the camera, so, I'll just have to do the instant replay in my mind.
So, I went out to Colorado, overheated badly, got that fixed (never overheated at 4dyce) then bounced over the same damned rock 3000 times in California. Actually, there's nothing wrong with my jeep, I just figured I'd get better gas mileage if John from Colorado, Crash and Goatman strapped my ass up those lil hills of theirs.. The bbq was great, but I'm afraid my Tshirt kinda go thrashed on the way home.
Thanks again, guys, hope everyone makes it thru with stories to tell, and I'll be back there in a couple years with a new jeep. Least I learned a lot, and considering what all we did, was damn good experience. :cheers: ig:

Damn Jon! :wierd: I'm surpised you made it back. I take it you won't make it to the run on the 28th? :jester:

So you did the Rubicon and Colorado?

ACE said:

Damn Jon! :wierd: I'm surpised you made it back. I take it you won't make it to the run on the 28th? :jester:

So you did the Rubicon and Colorado?

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Well, technically I did. But I won't count it . I did Alpine/Engineer Pass in Colorado, came back home, fixed the heating problem..ran on out to 4dyce and ah...learned a lot..yeah, that's the story. I did 4dyce, strapped one guy for about 100 feet and then got strapped myself for about 9 miles . The only thing not bent or broken was one mud flap. Well, then tent's okay, I used it once, the rest of the time slept in the jeep or kept the rocks warm. I had a great time. But no, I'm not gonna be able to make the 28th, bro. I am scrambling to get a new rig and will work on it..and do more of the work myself. I'm getting nostalgic for welding..second childhood, maybe.
I hooked up with the guys at Icehouse, and waved at the trailhead for the 'Con, but yeah, it's still ahead of me. I'm not afraid of it, though, I just need a more capable rig, so I'm selling mine, so I can dig out of debt a lil, and start on the new project. Ya know, I really shoulda started this about 15 years ago..heh..ah well, fawk it...time to dive right in, eh? If you know of a woman who wants to marry a jeep, and get me as a consolation prize, lemme know. ig:

You going to build up another Cherokee or something else? I hope the past problems with your XJ don't scare you away from them.

Heah, you back from Fordyce already? You didn't do the Con? I was the guy behind you in the Red XJ (Big Red). How did you get your rig home? I still had fun. Man towing a rig over most of Fordyce is not a good idea. Maybe we should have hid your rig in the woods and come back for it with the parts to fix it. I know people who come through these trails have welders etc etc so we would have to hide it somewhere good. Are you going to build another xj, they are good wheelers you know.
Troy

I hooked up with the guys at Icehouse, and waved at the trailhead for the 'Con, but yeah, it's still ahead of me. I'm not afraid of it, though, I just need a more capable rig, so I'm selling mine, so I can dig out of debt a lil, and start on the new project. Ya know, I really shoulda started this about 15 years ago..heh..ah well, fawk it...time to dive right in, eh? If you know of a woman who wants to marry a jeep, and get me as a consolation prize, lemme know. ig:[/QUOTE]

Your rig wasn't bad Jon. You broke some stuff mid way through the trail and then had to be towed out. Maybe the bypass would have worked out better for us? Who knows. Why don't you fix what needs to be fixed, add a light more lift, front arb and you will have some fun. I like a xj on 33's because it is alot more highway friendly than mine on 35" mtrs and 7" lift. Lockers will enable you to wheel without relying on momentum as does gears. Hang in there. We all have a bad experience once in awhile. I blew 1 motor & 1 tranny since I've been wheeling. It sucks but I'm not giving up wheeling just respecting water a little bit more. :laugh: There are a bunch of dana 44 up here in Sac, CA that would work good for your xj. Too bad you couldn't have pick 1 up on your way out of town. :laugh:
Troy

ACE said:

You going to build up another Cherokee or something else? I hope the past problems with your XJ don't scare you away from them.

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It will be another xj. I like the people in Naxja, therefore I'll stay with the cherokee. However, it will be a stronger xj, than the one I have/had now. I rather doubt I'll be able to find/upgrade what I'm looking for, before Moab, however. It will take time, cuz I don't have the funds to just pour into one, like I did this past year. I've teased about my fears in the past, and I did have some concerns, once the platform wasn't performing as expected, but I've also got a stubborn streak about a mile wide, and I'm in the middle of that, right now. I'll be back, but in my own (financial) time. I know a little bit more about what I need/want, now I just have to turn the dream into reality. Depends on how much energy I can keep focused on the project. Some folks have gotten the idea I'm just discouraged, and giving up. Then again, not many people actually know me. I'm cutting my losses on this rig, and going with a better one. Not that hard to figure out, I just have to work about 2400 hours of overtime, to pay for it. If the chapter needs me for trail cleanups or whatever, let me know. I'll drive the Saturn to wherever, hitch a ride with one of you guys and help out on the trail. I'll still be active, just that time is limited, with the need to work more, which I know you guys understand.

Big Red said:

Your rig wasn't bad Jon. You broke some stuff mid way through the trail and then had to be towed out. Maybe the bypass would have worked out better for us? Who knows. Why don't you fix what needs to be fixed, add a light more lift, front arb and you will have some fun. I like a xj on 33's because it is alot more highway friendly than mine on 35" mtrs and 7" lift. Lockers will enable you to wheel without relying on momentum as does gears. Hang in there. We all have a bad experience once in awhile. I blew 1 motor & 1 tranny since I've been wheeling. It sucks but I'm not giving up wheeling just respecting water a little bit more. :laugh: There are a bunch of dana 44 up here in Sac, CA that would work good for your xj. Too bad you couldn't have pick 1 up on your way out of town. :laugh:
Troy

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Second driveline grenade'd ON a bypass, but I realize what you are saying. The rear locker held up fine. The third time, we fixed the yoke/ujoints, but strapped just in case, because by that time, the accumilated damage had weakened the entire system. I didn't do the 'Con, because I wasn't absolutely sure the rig wouldn't break down again, and ruin the trail for everyone else. My brakes were gone, as in, the linings were the thickness of a credit card, so the ride up to Icehouse, was a little adventuresome. The Army doesn't pay me to kill a family of 6 cuz I can't stop in time. Somewhere along the line I picked up an overdeveloped sense of responsibility for the team and all that. Prolly the DoD brainwashing that makes me put on a uniform 65 or so hours a week . I talked with Goatman, and Crash, and yep, we could have done a series of trail fixes, and parts and all that..which we did do..and we didn't even know about some of the deeper problems I found when I threw it up on a rack in Carson City. So, it was a wise choice..and yep, wise ain't always fun. With the axle crap..er, wrap, and what we knew about, it would have put too much stress on the system. Right now, the rig I have is pretty busted up. Yep, I could do a lot of stuff to it..again...but I'd rather put the money toward something that will last more than a couple years, without wondering if the frame is gonna crack in half again . Take care, I'll be back out to do the 'Con..though the guys out west WERE a lil vague when I asked for a raincheck. Next time, I plan to carry not only my own weight, but others as well. And if I can't do it in a couple years, it's a moot point, anyway, neh? :wantyou:

Thanks for the soda Jon, I was out of stuff to drink and very thirsty. How much are you selling the rig for?

Big Red said:

Your rig wasn't bad Jon. You broke some stuff mid way through the trail and then had to be towed out.

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Dude, his rig was fawked. Only things worth saving were the engine, Trans/TC, and front axle.

poomba said:

Some folks have gotten the idea I'm just discouraged, and giving up. Then again, not many people actually know me.

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They had to be there to understand. You did a great job hanging in there under the circumstances. You're junk may have broke, ALOT, but you made it easy to help you, you stayed in high spirits and didn't let it get you down, even when we left you on the trail 'till 10 am

Hope to see you again soon.

Jason


EDIT: Everybody did a great job that night. Richard, John, Lincoln and Bill, Eric, Jes, Andy, and Capt. Nemo (other I'm sure) all went above and beyond to get both poomba and Lee as far as possible.

The lessons learned:
LIGHTEN UP YOUR RIG
Chevy drop shackles SUCK.
Oh, and Fordyce 2 Stock Control Arms 0

poomba,

Curious to the carnage of parts and why.
I take it rear axles failed, and if they weren't D44's, what, and the size tires, gears and conditions did this?
Leaves and shackles tweaked, drive shaft and joints failed from wrap?
Front JKS Trac-bar bent from?
Sorry to ask for you to go through the carnage again, but I would like to hear every gory little detail that the info might help me and others build our rigs stronger from the experience youv'e gone through.

The original carnage was that the axle end ujoint slipped the caps and broke the ears of the flange. We eventually decided it was from excessive axle wrap because the leafs were shot and over loaded. On level ground they were nearly inverted. The rear d35 was pretty shot already and about to spin a tube so CRASH welded it up as well when we fixed it the final time. I don't think he actually broke a shaft. One rear shackle was already buckled when the ujoint broke the first time and that was only about an hour and a half into the trail. The rest of the carnage I'm sure was likely due to being drug for 9 miles and 12 hours over very rough terrain. It also claimed one of Goatman's hubs, which also appears to have weakened his stub shaft since that let go on him yesterday for no apparrent reason.

After the fact, it appears the major problem was that the pumpkin twisted up on the tubes, causing the rear pinion yoke to break when the axle wraped. Axle wrap was a problem (severely complicated from the pumkin twisting up) made worse by the sagging, flat springs and the weight of all the gear. It's very hard to pack light when you're camping on the trail for the better part of a week, but weight IS an issue and should be considered.

The first yoke was fixed by welding the caps to the yoke, the second break was fixed with another yoke, and the third time we decided not to fix it fearful that it would just keep breaking, so we decided to tow him with front wheel drive only. The third break was on winch hill two (of five) around 7:00 pm. We winched and towed about six miles of trail to the top of winch hill four, and since it was 3:30 am and still an hours drive to the end of the trail and camp, we went on and John stayed with his rig. We pulled into camp at 4:40 am. Complicating matters for that very tough 7.5 hours were three popped beads on the front from pulling at an angle around tight corners, and my broken front hub. We had to high lift a number of times to get him unhung from rocks, and we did some very difficult winching. On winch hill four alone, after pulling him about 2/3 the way up the hill, I winched five times from different positions (two snatched blocked) to get him to the top. At times John Kaz hooked to me and we both towed him.

After a few hours sleep, CRASH and Jes went back to get John, with help from Jason and Dan. They found the pumpkin had spun on the tubes, so welded the tubes and fixed the yoke again, then towed him the rest of the way out but at least he had 4wd.

Much closer to the end of the trail, Lee (crazy4mopar) was having breakage problems. He broke a rear driveline, so Eric (from Portland) was towing him. At one difficult spot the load was too much for the stock upper control arms and they both bent and snapped off, allowing the axle housing to twist around and breaking the front driveline yoke. So, Lee had no UCA's and no drivelines. He also camped at that spot, and Eric and Dave Taylor went back in the morning with a spare UCA and spare driveline, and towed him to the end of the trail. Lee then was able to contact a friend who brought a trailer and later that day they towed the rig home.

Last Saturday was a very memorable day/night on the trail.

now i feel like $hit for leaving eric with lee on winch hill 4. got up to the top of 5 and hung out with jason, jes and andy. didn't get back to kings beach until 4:00am. my kid was a trooper though.

almost killed bambi on 89 at 3:30 in the morning. locked up the rig at 45. good way to wake your a$$ up after wheeling all day.

thanks guys.

andy, kaylene (my kid) thinks your funny..... thanks for making her fit in.

mark

Incredible trail stories,
" :shocked: breakages
" :attom: resourcefulness
" :cheers: teamwork
" attitude
What a great group of individuals
that make what it is!
arty:

RobertF said:

poomba,

Curious to the carnage of parts and why.
I take it rear axles failed, and if they weren't D44's, what, and the size tires, gears and conditions did this?
Leaves and shackles tweaked, drive shaft and joints failed from wrap?
Front JKS Trac-bar bent from?
Sorry to ask for you to go through the carnage again, but I would like to hear every gory little detail that the info might help me and others build our rigs stronger from the experience youv'e gone through.

Click to expand...

I've got dana 35 in rear, 33 8.50 tires. Aye, the shackles were smashed from landing on rocks. Looked at end on..they were z's. The trackbar was a currie..no idea when I did that, but was before winch hill 4. I tried to power my way thru a couple things, but honestly, after that first ujoint gave, I was feathering the gas..and still lost it two more times, due, they tell me, to the wrap. Didn't lose any shafts, just yokes/ujoints/ujoint straps..and rolled the bead 3 times on tires. but yeah..was enough . Next time? 44's. and a winch..strapping helped a lot, but I loved the ability to go straight off a tree using the winch, straps sometimes drew me in a straight line behind the tow vehicle..and slid us over into bad areas. So, there's a warn 9k in my future. Andy's rig waltzed up the trail for the most part, but he's got a stroker, have to ask him what did it..other than driver finesse.

I had lots of fun on the Fordyce run I was apart of. It was a very long day being behind Poomba, but I loved the teamwork that went into getting everyone through the trail and to safety. I'm still trying to get caught up on sleep after this trip and my red eye flight to Chicago. Hope everyone had lots of fun and tells more stories and posts more pics. More pics of me behind Poomba. I need to get a digital camera. Later from the Windy City (or 80 miles NW of it at least). Who's up to round 2 on Labor Day weekend 9/4-6 for Fordyce or the Con? :guitar:
Troy