cewtwo
New member
This is a long tale of woe...
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What exactly is it with The fourth of July and me? It really should be a great time to enjoy life but I seem to question it. Now that that is said, here is my story of 2006.
It started with Tom screaming his way out of sleep and out of bed. He has a blind cat (Bowie) that was chasing the other cat of his (Ash). Bowie jumped up on the bed with claws out and ready to find a place to provide grip. Bowie sunk his claws into both of Tom’s ankles. Let’s say that Tom got out of bed really quickly.
We arrived atBuena Vista. There are several trails in the area and we decided to head toward Mount Antero. We aired the tires down about halfway up. The Mount Antero road is a narrow shelf road that travels above timberline on loose rock and shale. It can be a harrowing experience the first time that you take it. It is literally one car width wide.
We climbed to the highest point of Mount White (the peak next to Mount Antero). It had started to rain 2/3 of the way up. It was hailing sleet by the time we got there. We waited and had lunch within the Jeep while the weather subsided.
You need to understand that we have the “soft-top†on the Jeep. We had the back window rolled up and stowed inside. We had taken the backside windows off and stowed. We never took the upper doors off so we had to roll them up. We had our jackets on and had the heater blazing.
After lunch, we headed down to the bowl between the peaks and then headed toward Mount Antero. The final run has even more switchbacks and steep runs to the top. It was cold and the atmosphere at 14,000 feet is rarified. We walked about sucking in as much air as we could.
Halfway down it started to rain. It came down buckets and buckets. More and more rain fell. By the time we reached the Saint Elmo road, we had to pull over in the pouring rain to put all the windows on and put our camping gear from the outside rack to the inside to keep it dry.
Chinaman Gulch is a fun trail. It is challenging from the start with rocks and narrows and interesting challenges to keep you occupied. It was a busy trail. We saw 4 rock hoppers getting pulled from the trail that day. Little did we know that our turn was about to come?
At the bottom of a ravine, I pulled over onto some rocks to let another Jeep get by. It was a tight place and I had to go farther over than I wanted. The Jeep passed us by fairly easily. I got ready to back out. It went fine at first, and then I felt some resistance. The Mighty YJ has a standard transmission. Generally, when you meet resistance, you give it a little more gas and you are up and out. What I didn’t know was I had the steering cranked to one side and not straight. When I goosed the gas, there was enough pressure put on the passenger front axle to rip the yoke right off the axle u-joint. This is also referred to as “Spinning a hub.†Tom got out. The guy from the other Jeep that just passed us helped determine a place to put the Mighty YJ so we could start repairs. After all, having experience, we carry things like extra axles. We got the Mighty YJ in position, jacked it up, and it started to rain again.
It was late afternoon. We were starting to get tired. So, of course, nothing went right. We pulled the tire. We pulled the brakes. We pulled the axles from the axle shaft. We got the parts and started to change the u-joint out.
We got everything assembled. As we put the axles back into the shaft, we could not get the intermediate axle to go into the differential. We tried everything. It would not go in.
We were getting soaked by this time. We decided to store the axles in the Jeep, seal the end of the axle shaft with a rag, mount the wheel and get it to flatter ground, perhaps even to Denver, where the work would be easier. We did all that. We mounted the brake caliper on the brake disc, and then mounted the wheel. We tightened the lug nuts on the tire and turned the Jeep around. We headed down to the trailhead.
At the trailhead, we check the tire and the current setup. It looked to be correct. We made some coffee and some supper. We headed for the highway and for home (or so we thought).
It was an uneventful drive from Buena Vista to Fairplay. Even the weather had let up. Then, about ½ mile north of Fairplay, I felt a sudden jarring bump and the passenger side of the Jeep settled downwards quickly. I held on to the steering hard attempting to keep the Jeep going straight. I also hit the brakes hard. We came to a quick stop just off of US285, a two-lane hardtop highway. I knew without looking that the passenger tire front had just come off of the vehicle.
When we settled to a stop, Tom asked what happened. I told him that the tire just fell off. I put the Jeep in neutral and set the emergency brake. I turned the flashers on.
He got out on his side, looked back and saw the tire about 20’ back. He ran back and looked at it. The brake was still attached. That meant that the brake line was broken and we were leaking fluid.
Me? I waited for no traffic and got out of the driver side door. I no sooner put my foot on the asphalt than I felt myself grow cold and I started shaking. I went around and looked at the Jeep. There was an 18†wide gravel shoulder beyond the edge of the two-lane highway we so abruptly stopped on. The passenger side front axle was buried to the top in that gravel. The Jeep was mostly out of the traffic lane. That was good, as it wasn’t going to be able to be moved for a while.
Tom got the Hi-Lift jack out and started to jack up the passenger side front. He asked me to find something to seal the brake line. I wanted to get warm. I already had one jacket on, but it was not enough. I got another out and put it on. I got a pair of leather gloves on my hands. I was still shaking but feeling warmer. I leaned into the cab and cranked the heater to high. I stayed there a few minutes until I felt more together.
We could not find a thing to seal the brake line with. So we bent it up and out of the way for the time being. As the axle rose off of the ground, we got a look at the situation. Basically, we forgot to attach the axle end through the hub back into the tire when we did our field repair. That meant the wheel was held on by the hub alone and by the brakes. It was never meant to take that kind of stress. It failed due to a rush field repair.
About the time we figured out what had happened a Good Samaritan stopped to help us out. He parked facing us and in front of us to give us light. I was still suffering from my bout of adrenaline and nerves, as was Tom. He was very patient with us. We had all of the parts we would need so we started to get the Jeep ready for the road again.
We raised the Jeep to tire height and cleaned gravel off where the axle was buried. The highlift was out and lifting the jeep. About halfway up, of course, the entire Jeep listed toward the passenger side.
I went to the tire where it landed. The brake caliper, the rotor and the spindle were still on the wheel. So were the ears from the steering knuckle where the calipers bolt on. The spindle had completely sheared off. To get to the wheel, Tom had to stand on the tire as I used a breaker bar to release the lug nuts.
We disassembled everything. We set the brake rotor on the steering knuckle. Tom went and got the extra brake line and hooked it into the calipers. Finally the brake line leak was stopped. We just laid the calipers under the hood.
We had to put an axle end back into the steering knuckle.
We set some rocks under tires to chock them. We were hoping that would stop the sideways movement long enough so we could mount the wheel. Tom and our benevolent stranger pushed against the side of the Jeep and we jacked it up again. I slipped the tire into place and tightened two of the lug nuts.
We attached the nut and the cotter pin to the axle end. The tire was back on and was usable. Everything was tight and in place. We thanked the guy who stopped and helped profusely. Good people!
We set the calipers to the right width with some wood that our benevolent stranger had in his pickup. We mounted the calipers to a strut under the hood with some nylon ties. We quickly picked up our tools in the dark and stowed them away. Finally, we were road worthy again.
I was not about to drive again that evening. Tom got in and we went back a half mile to a convenience store and gas station. We bought some brake fluid and filled the reservoir. Tom got really tired of me as I was asking him not to drive too fast (I must have been nervous for some reason).
We got home around 11:15 PM. We quickly unloaded the Jeep. Before 11:30, we were both fast asleep in Tom’s living room.
Was the total endeavor over? No. Things still needed final repair. We needed a steering knuckle ($310), Differential fluids, assorted parts & gasket ($89) and an axle seal ($9), an axle bushing ($30), and a brake rotor ($44). We also needed to build custom tools for the axle work. We needed to spend endless hours under the Jeep to repair it all. We also have a lot of spare parts that need to be replenished – another $200 to $400..
Everything went well over all. The first test drive revealed the blown axle seal. That resulted in another couple of days under the Jeep. The final test drive was most excellent, though.
We finished the job a week later. We took it up to the Rocky Mountain Foothills. It ran well but our hearts weren’t really in it. This weekend we are going on a group ride. After all, there is strength in numbers (and repairs).
What is the moral of the story? Take your time when you do the field repairs. Make sure that the repair is done correctly. Then this tale of woe may not happen to you.
- - - - - - - - - -
What exactly is it with The fourth of July and me? It really should be a great time to enjoy life but I seem to question it. Now that that is said, here is my story of 2006.
It started with Tom screaming his way out of sleep and out of bed. He has a blind cat (Bowie) that was chasing the other cat of his (Ash). Bowie jumped up on the bed with claws out and ready to find a place to provide grip. Bowie sunk his claws into both of Tom’s ankles. Let’s say that Tom got out of bed really quickly.
We arrived atBuena Vista. There are several trails in the area and we decided to head toward Mount Antero. We aired the tires down about halfway up. The Mount Antero road is a narrow shelf road that travels above timberline on loose rock and shale. It can be a harrowing experience the first time that you take it. It is literally one car width wide.
We climbed to the highest point of Mount White (the peak next to Mount Antero). It had started to rain 2/3 of the way up. It was hailing sleet by the time we got there. We waited and had lunch within the Jeep while the weather subsided.
You need to understand that we have the “soft-top†on the Jeep. We had the back window rolled up and stowed inside. We had taken the backside windows off and stowed. We never took the upper doors off so we had to roll them up. We had our jackets on and had the heater blazing.
After lunch, we headed down to the bowl between the peaks and then headed toward Mount Antero. The final run has even more switchbacks and steep runs to the top. It was cold and the atmosphere at 14,000 feet is rarified. We walked about sucking in as much air as we could.
Halfway down it started to rain. It came down buckets and buckets. More and more rain fell. By the time we reached the Saint Elmo road, we had to pull over in the pouring rain to put all the windows on and put our camping gear from the outside rack to the inside to keep it dry.
Chinaman Gulch is a fun trail. It is challenging from the start with rocks and narrows and interesting challenges to keep you occupied. It was a busy trail. We saw 4 rock hoppers getting pulled from the trail that day. Little did we know that our turn was about to come?
At the bottom of a ravine, I pulled over onto some rocks to let another Jeep get by. It was a tight place and I had to go farther over than I wanted. The Jeep passed us by fairly easily. I got ready to back out. It went fine at first, and then I felt some resistance. The Mighty YJ has a standard transmission. Generally, when you meet resistance, you give it a little more gas and you are up and out. What I didn’t know was I had the steering cranked to one side and not straight. When I goosed the gas, there was enough pressure put on the passenger front axle to rip the yoke right off the axle u-joint. This is also referred to as “Spinning a hub.†Tom got out. The guy from the other Jeep that just passed us helped determine a place to put the Mighty YJ so we could start repairs. After all, having experience, we carry things like extra axles. We got the Mighty YJ in position, jacked it up, and it started to rain again.
It was late afternoon. We were starting to get tired. So, of course, nothing went right. We pulled the tire. We pulled the brakes. We pulled the axles from the axle shaft. We got the parts and started to change the u-joint out.
We got everything assembled. As we put the axles back into the shaft, we could not get the intermediate axle to go into the differential. We tried everything. It would not go in.
We were getting soaked by this time. We decided to store the axles in the Jeep, seal the end of the axle shaft with a rag, mount the wheel and get it to flatter ground, perhaps even to Denver, where the work would be easier. We did all that. We mounted the brake caliper on the brake disc, and then mounted the wheel. We tightened the lug nuts on the tire and turned the Jeep around. We headed down to the trailhead.
At the trailhead, we check the tire and the current setup. It looked to be correct. We made some coffee and some supper. We headed for the highway and for home (or so we thought).
It was an uneventful drive from Buena Vista to Fairplay. Even the weather had let up. Then, about ½ mile north of Fairplay, I felt a sudden jarring bump and the passenger side of the Jeep settled downwards quickly. I held on to the steering hard attempting to keep the Jeep going straight. I also hit the brakes hard. We came to a quick stop just off of US285, a two-lane hardtop highway. I knew without looking that the passenger tire front had just come off of the vehicle.
When we settled to a stop, Tom asked what happened. I told him that the tire just fell off. I put the Jeep in neutral and set the emergency brake. I turned the flashers on.
He got out on his side, looked back and saw the tire about 20’ back. He ran back and looked at it. The brake was still attached. That meant that the brake line was broken and we were leaking fluid.
Me? I waited for no traffic and got out of the driver side door. I no sooner put my foot on the asphalt than I felt myself grow cold and I started shaking. I went around and looked at the Jeep. There was an 18†wide gravel shoulder beyond the edge of the two-lane highway we so abruptly stopped on. The passenger side front axle was buried to the top in that gravel. The Jeep was mostly out of the traffic lane. That was good, as it wasn’t going to be able to be moved for a while.
Tom got the Hi-Lift jack out and started to jack up the passenger side front. He asked me to find something to seal the brake line. I wanted to get warm. I already had one jacket on, but it was not enough. I got another out and put it on. I got a pair of leather gloves on my hands. I was still shaking but feeling warmer. I leaned into the cab and cranked the heater to high. I stayed there a few minutes until I felt more together.
We could not find a thing to seal the brake line with. So we bent it up and out of the way for the time being. As the axle rose off of the ground, we got a look at the situation. Basically, we forgot to attach the axle end through the hub back into the tire when we did our field repair. That meant the wheel was held on by the hub alone and by the brakes. It was never meant to take that kind of stress. It failed due to a rush field repair.
About the time we figured out what had happened a Good Samaritan stopped to help us out. He parked facing us and in front of us to give us light. I was still suffering from my bout of adrenaline and nerves, as was Tom. He was very patient with us. We had all of the parts we would need so we started to get the Jeep ready for the road again.
We raised the Jeep to tire height and cleaned gravel off where the axle was buried. The highlift was out and lifting the jeep. About halfway up, of course, the entire Jeep listed toward the passenger side.
I went to the tire where it landed. The brake caliper, the rotor and the spindle were still on the wheel. So were the ears from the steering knuckle where the calipers bolt on. The spindle had completely sheared off. To get to the wheel, Tom had to stand on the tire as I used a breaker bar to release the lug nuts.
We disassembled everything. We set the brake rotor on the steering knuckle. Tom went and got the extra brake line and hooked it into the calipers. Finally the brake line leak was stopped. We just laid the calipers under the hood.
We had to put an axle end back into the steering knuckle.
We set some rocks under tires to chock them. We were hoping that would stop the sideways movement long enough so we could mount the wheel. Tom and our benevolent stranger pushed against the side of the Jeep and we jacked it up again. I slipped the tire into place and tightened two of the lug nuts.
We attached the nut and the cotter pin to the axle end. The tire was back on and was usable. Everything was tight and in place. We thanked the guy who stopped and helped profusely. Good people!
We set the calipers to the right width with some wood that our benevolent stranger had in his pickup. We mounted the calipers to a strut under the hood with some nylon ties. We quickly picked up our tools in the dark and stowed them away. Finally, we were road worthy again.
I was not about to drive again that evening. Tom got in and we went back a half mile to a convenience store and gas station. We bought some brake fluid and filled the reservoir. Tom got really tired of me as I was asking him not to drive too fast (I must have been nervous for some reason).
We got home around 11:15 PM. We quickly unloaded the Jeep. Before 11:30, we were both fast asleep in Tom’s living room.
Was the total endeavor over? No. Things still needed final repair. We needed a steering knuckle ($310), Differential fluids, assorted parts & gasket ($89) and an axle seal ($9), an axle bushing ($30), and a brake rotor ($44). We also needed to build custom tools for the axle work. We needed to spend endless hours under the Jeep to repair it all. We also have a lot of spare parts that need to be replenished – another $200 to $400..
Everything went well over all. The first test drive revealed the blown axle seal. That resulted in another couple of days under the Jeep. The final test drive was most excellent, though.
We finished the job a week later. We took it up to the Rocky Mountain Foothills. It ran well but our hearts weren’t really in it. This weekend we are going on a group ride. After all, there is strength in numbers (and repairs).
What is the moral of the story? Take your time when you do the field repairs. Make sure that the repair is done correctly. Then this tale of woe may not happen to you.
