What's your scariest Jeep experience?
- Thread starter jfrabat
- Start date
I haven't had any real scary experiances. I blew a brake line once but it wasn't in a place that I had trouble stopping it. I was working on it once, left it outta gear, went in the house to eat. When I came back out later it wasn't exactly where I left it. Lol.
Today I was driving home with the bikini top on. A storm was comming up and I was getting a bit of a cross wind that was gusty. I was running 60mph, I had a CD case layin in the pass seat. I hit a dip in the road, about the same time a gust blew in from the side. The wind caught the CD case just right and it smacked me up side the head before exiting the rear of the Jeep. Lol. I've had papers, cups and various things blow out but never anything like that.
Today I was driving home with the bikini top on. A storm was comming up and I was getting a bit of a cross wind that was gusty. I was running 60mph, I had a CD case layin in the pass seat. I hit a dip in the road, about the same time a gust blew in from the side. The wind caught the CD case just right and it smacked me up side the head before exiting the rear of the Jeep. Lol. I've had papers, cups and various things blow out but never anything like that.
I've had a couple growing up. I got my first Jeep at 17, it was a 1980 CJ5 that was a rolling death trap, 3 inch body lift with big tires and a holly 4 barrel. I was cruising around with a Jeep full of people when the brakes totally quit. I ran about 3 lights because I couldn't stop (I was too dense to pull over on the side of the road). When I finally got home and took off the drums, all the brake hardware just fell out on the ground.
Another scary time was coming home from college. Every time I'd let off the gas my Jeep (this time it was an 85 CJ7) would shake like crazy. I pulled over finally and found that I had sheered off 4 lugs, and had only one lug nut holding my driver rear wheel on.
Another scary time was coming home from college. Every time I'd let off the gas my Jeep (this time it was an 85 CJ7) would shake like crazy. I pulled over finally and found that I had sheered off 4 lugs, and had only one lug nut holding my driver rear wheel on.
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69jeepcj
New member
I was going up a long steep hill and was about halfway up when I hit a big root that stoped most forward motion and stalled, when I hit the brakes, the line broke and we began a backwards ride down the hill. At the bottom of the hill was a sharp turn with a nice drop off and was sure we would not make the turn, some how the jeep stopped just before we reached the bottom. Changed the brake line right there. Make sure your braided brake line don't rub the inside of your tire!!! lol It will pop!
69jeepcj
New member
The scariest though had to be when my daughter was about 6-7 and we were out wheeling. My dad had his yj, my brother had his cj and my daughter and I had mine, we stopped on the side of the road next to a field with a slope. I got out to dicuss where we would go next, didn't set the ebrake like an idiot and while talking to my dad, he says hey there go,s your jeep. I turned around to see my daughter and my jeep rolling into the field, I took off running and by the time I had caught up, I was running as fast as I could go and was about at the back tire, I told her to hold on tight and I grabed the roll bar and jumped, pulling myself into the jeep and hit the brake. It scared her to death and she jumped into my lap crying. I felt so bad, making a stupid mistake like that with my child in the jeep. Their was a creek line with some trees she was headed to. That was probably the worst just because it involved my child.
Turbogus
New member
Back when I was a young dumb kid I had my 'Steppenwolf Jeep'
One summer we got a wood gathering permit. We headed out with a J20 and my Jeep into the coast range here in Oregon. We hooked up a car tralier to help haul more wood and the J20 had no hitch so I was elected. We found some pretty slim pickings but on the way out we spotted some lodgepole pines that had been felled and neglected by Pacific Power, so we threw some of 'em on top of the meager load. At the T junction from the service road onto Hwy 20 I pulled up to the stop sign and found myself being pushed by the heavy load onto the highway. A small pucker factor ensued as I saw a chip truck some around the corner that would've squashed me like a bug. Luckily at the last second my all terrains found purchase and brought us to a stop.
Heading out on Hwy. 20 eastbound we noticed that at speeds approaching 50 the trailer began driving the Jeep, an increasing amplitude shimmy began until we slowed down. Detirmining to keep our speed down we continued. Along the way we'd pull over and let traffic by given our reduced speed. When we came to the last downgrade to the Willamette valley we started out at about 35 mph, I allowed our speed to increase gradually keeping in mind the 50 mph limit discovered earlier. When we were about half way down near Hawk Hill road the shimmy began again but at a reduced speed than what I was expecting. I countered by gently applying the brakes but this only served to increase the deflection. All this while I spied three full sized motorhomes coming upgrade. Keeping a monster grip on the steering wheel only lasted another 100 feet downgrade picking up speed when the Jeep went wildly into sweeping lock to lock as it swayed downgrade out of control. One moment in the opposing lane with an impending head on with the lead motorhome the next approaching the shoulder and a couple of hundred foot drop. Our friends folling us in the J20 thought for sure we'd bought it when all at once....
The CJ jumped from an out of control shimmy to tracking straight and in our own lane with the three motorhomes whizzing by in the opposing lane. When we made the bottom we pulled over to change our shorts and detirmined that we had too much tongue weight.
One can draw their own conclusions as to why, but as for me I think the Almightly took a hand.
One summer we got a wood gathering permit. We headed out with a J20 and my Jeep into the coast range here in Oregon. We hooked up a car tralier to help haul more wood and the J20 had no hitch so I was elected. We found some pretty slim pickings but on the way out we spotted some lodgepole pines that had been felled and neglected by Pacific Power, so we threw some of 'em on top of the meager load. At the T junction from the service road onto Hwy 20 I pulled up to the stop sign and found myself being pushed by the heavy load onto the highway. A small pucker factor ensued as I saw a chip truck some around the corner that would've squashed me like a bug. Luckily at the last second my all terrains found purchase and brought us to a stop.
Heading out on Hwy. 20 eastbound we noticed that at speeds approaching 50 the trailer began driving the Jeep, an increasing amplitude shimmy began until we slowed down. Detirmining to keep our speed down we continued. Along the way we'd pull over and let traffic by given our reduced speed. When we came to the last downgrade to the Willamette valley we started out at about 35 mph, I allowed our speed to increase gradually keeping in mind the 50 mph limit discovered earlier. When we were about half way down near Hawk Hill road the shimmy began again but at a reduced speed than what I was expecting. I countered by gently applying the brakes but this only served to increase the deflection. All this while I spied three full sized motorhomes coming upgrade. Keeping a monster grip on the steering wheel only lasted another 100 feet downgrade picking up speed when the Jeep went wildly into sweeping lock to lock as it swayed downgrade out of control. One moment in the opposing lane with an impending head on with the lead motorhome the next approaching the shoulder and a couple of hundred foot drop. Our friends folling us in the J20 thought for sure we'd bought it when all at once....
The CJ jumped from an out of control shimmy to tracking straight and in our own lane with the three motorhomes whizzing by in the opposing lane. When we made the bottom we pulled over to change our shorts and detirmined that we had too much tongue weight.
One can draw their own conclusions as to why, but as for me I think the Almightly took a hand.
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jfrabat
New member
Well, I will chime in with my own scary moments...
#1 Scary Moment (street driving): When I was living in Costa Rica, I was on my way to the office. I noticed a strange feel in the brake pedal, but just thought "I'll look into it during the weekend). Well, unknown to me, the reason for the strange pedal feel was that the link between the pedal and the booster had literally broken in 2, so you can imagine how scared I got when I drove into the office park with literally NO BRAKES AT ALL! I downshifted until I was going fairly slow, and then just rolled the Jeep up a small hill next to the parking lot entrance. Boy, that was a fun experience!
#2 Scary Moment (street driving): While living in Miami, I had replaced the hood hardware with some cheap Chinese ones, as the stockers were all rusted up. I did notice that at highway speed, the hood seemed to "dance in the wind" as my wife mentioned, but I figured between the 2 latches and the hood catch, it was not really a big deal. Well, apparently, I was wrong. One day, also on the way to the office, I went over some railroad tracks on the road, and next thing you know, the hood popped open (I was doing about 45 mph) and slams into the hardtop. I could not see a thing, but managed to keep my composure and stop on the shoulder of the road to close the hood back up. Needless to say, I bought stock hood latches at the stealership, and have not had any problems since...
#3 Scary Moment (wheeling): More than a problem with the Jeep, this one was almost caused by an interface problem (as in the interface between the seat and the pedals/steering wheel; a.k.a., the driver!). I was going down a steep ledge on a rainy day, and I was on 4L and riding the brakes to go as slow as possible. However, between the rain and the dirt surface, I found out the hard way that the wheels need not to be spinning for the Jeep to go down. Next thing I know, the Jeep starts to move sideways, and all I could think was "oh oh!". Fortunately, there was a small rock at the side that stopped me from rolling over, and allowed me to gain control once again.
#4 Scary Moment (wheeling): We were out in the middle of nowhere, my Jeep was broken (e-fan had died on me because of some wiring problems), and I was trying to get back to civilization; but to reduce the distance, we had to take a shortcut that went over some log bridges near the border between Costa Rica and Nicaragua (talk about being out in the boonies!). It was raining, and the bridge was all muddied up from the rains, so the bridge was EXTRA slick, and since the logs were not even leveled, the Jeep keep slipping and sliding all the way through. The bridge was about 45 feel (15 meters long), and about 30 feet (10 meters) high, with whitewater rushing below.
Felipe
#1 Scary Moment (street driving): When I was living in Costa Rica, I was on my way to the office. I noticed a strange feel in the brake pedal, but just thought "I'll look into it during the weekend). Well, unknown to me, the reason for the strange pedal feel was that the link between the pedal and the booster had literally broken in 2, so you can imagine how scared I got when I drove into the office park with literally NO BRAKES AT ALL! I downshifted until I was going fairly slow, and then just rolled the Jeep up a small hill next to the parking lot entrance. Boy, that was a fun experience!
#2 Scary Moment (street driving): While living in Miami, I had replaced the hood hardware with some cheap Chinese ones, as the stockers were all rusted up. I did notice that at highway speed, the hood seemed to "dance in the wind" as my wife mentioned, but I figured between the 2 latches and the hood catch, it was not really a big deal. Well, apparently, I was wrong. One day, also on the way to the office, I went over some railroad tracks on the road, and next thing you know, the hood popped open (I was doing about 45 mph) and slams into the hardtop. I could not see a thing, but managed to keep my composure and stop on the shoulder of the road to close the hood back up. Needless to say, I bought stock hood latches at the stealership, and have not had any problems since...
#3 Scary Moment (wheeling): More than a problem with the Jeep, this one was almost caused by an interface problem (as in the interface between the seat and the pedals/steering wheel; a.k.a., the driver!). I was going down a steep ledge on a rainy day, and I was on 4L and riding the brakes to go as slow as possible. However, between the rain and the dirt surface, I found out the hard way that the wheels need not to be spinning for the Jeep to go down. Next thing I know, the Jeep starts to move sideways, and all I could think was "oh oh!". Fortunately, there was a small rock at the side that stopped me from rolling over, and allowed me to gain control once again.
#4 Scary Moment (wheeling): We were out in the middle of nowhere, my Jeep was broken (e-fan had died on me because of some wiring problems), and I was trying to get back to civilization; but to reduce the distance, we had to take a shortcut that went over some log bridges near the border between Costa Rica and Nicaragua (talk about being out in the boonies!). It was raining, and the bridge was all muddied up from the rains, so the bridge was EXTRA slick, and since the logs were not even leveled, the Jeep keep slipping and sliding all the way through. The bridge was about 45 feel (15 meters long), and about 30 feet (10 meters) high, with whitewater rushing below.
Felipe
prariepunk
Active member
I was a passenger in a CJ5 doing a STEEP hill climb in some slick sloppy mud when the front started to bounce & since we were half way up the hill we just kept on it & tried not to loose momentum. that stopped & we knew there was a "landing" between us & the top. We hit the flat spot & were in a hurry to get to the top but when we hit the incline it popped the nose up in the air & we came to rest on the spare tire instead of flipping like I thought we were gonna. I may have sharted a li'l... We had to have somebody strap up the the front & pull us rubber side down. That's when I learned never to grab the rollbar if you love your fingers too...
superj
Active member
The throttle return spring broke when I came into the driveway a little faster then I normally did. Cristina's jku was right in front of me. I yanked right and threw it in park. Horrible sound came from the transmission. Duh, I should've just turned the ignition to off. Transmission is fine though.
I test drove the jeep after redoing the front brakes today. At slow speeds, felt like normal so I got on the highway. Exiting the highway, the brakes slammed the floorboard when I pushed them!!!! Ruh roh Scooby! I drove home slower and redid the redid the rears also. Worked so Mich better that the brakes start engaging an inch drop the top instead of an inch from the bottom.
I test drove the jeep after redoing the front brakes today. At slow speeds, felt like normal so I got on the highway. Exiting the highway, the brakes slammed the floorboard when I pushed them!!!! Ruh roh Scooby! I drove home slower and redid the redid the rears also. Worked so Mich better that the brakes start engaging an inch drop the top instead of an inch from the bottom.
TrailRatedRN
New member
These are some great stories. Mine are much more tame, but here you go:
My first ever experience as an off road driver was in KY at HnH. They led me straight into a creek. I was quite nervous, but having fun. The bank still owned the jeep, as my dad would say. I came to my first real challenge and a voice comes over the cb instructing me to drive steady up to the hazard and when my front tires hit, give it a punch of gas. I gave it a punch of gas alright. I went airborne. I had a life or death grip on the steering wheel. I hear, 'woohoo' outside and, when the rest of the world comes back into focus, I realize they think I did it on purpose. Lol. A club member told me he could see the entire undercarriage of the jeep. That same day, after my FIRST off road driving experience, we were on the road not ten miles from the site and got the death wobble. Sigh.
My husband went pale a few years later in OH when I almost rolled it. I was attempting a hill with a particularly deep rut on the driver's side that was too slick. I made my tires to the center and edge of the trail to try to keep my wheels out of the rut. As I started to loose traction, I slid to the rut and the jeep went on the 2 driver side wheels. The spotter jumped on the passenger side to add a little weight and bring me back down. I wasn't scared. I don't think I was quite aware of just how far over I was at that time. My husband, who was watching from afar, was quite sure the jeep was going on its side.
No on road scares. Knock on wood.
My first ever experience as an off road driver was in KY at HnH. They led me straight into a creek. I was quite nervous, but having fun. The bank still owned the jeep, as my dad would say. I came to my first real challenge and a voice comes over the cb instructing me to drive steady up to the hazard and when my front tires hit, give it a punch of gas. I gave it a punch of gas alright. I went airborne. I had a life or death grip on the steering wheel. I hear, 'woohoo' outside and, when the rest of the world comes back into focus, I realize they think I did it on purpose. Lol. A club member told me he could see the entire undercarriage of the jeep. That same day, after my FIRST off road driving experience, we were on the road not ten miles from the site and got the death wobble. Sigh.
My husband went pale a few years later in OH when I almost rolled it. I was attempting a hill with a particularly deep rut on the driver's side that was too slick. I made my tires to the center and edge of the trail to try to keep my wheels out of the rut. As I started to loose traction, I slid to the rut and the jeep went on the 2 driver side wheels. The spotter jumped on the passenger side to add a little weight and bring me back down. I wasn't scared. I don't think I was quite aware of just how far over I was at that time. My husband, who was watching from afar, was quite sure the jeep was going on its side.
No on road scares. Knock on wood.
eric m
New member
Well my first one I don't Rember to clearly, it happened on the road in my two month new to me Wrangler...I was on my way home and was on a rather narrow road the driver coming toward me was using all of there and most of my lanes, I dropped a couple wheels off the road to avoid the collision and must have come back up to hard. The next thing I know is I was hanging upside down in my Jeep, with a knot on my temple as big as both my fists, the er doc said the hit should have killed me. Thank God for inheriting the Merillat hard head...oh and the Jeep was fixed fine just bent the windshield frame and front fender. But that's been twelve years ago now.
JPNinPA
Active member
Knowing you are going to be hit head on and you can't do a thing to avoid it.
The other time was driving on a side mountain trail just wide enough for the jeep. Rocks on the upside and trees and a steep drop off on the other. I had to turn the mirrors in to not scrape the rock and trees.
The other time was driving on a side mountain trail just wide enough for the jeep. Rocks on the upside and trees and a steep drop off on the other. I had to turn the mirrors in to not scrape the rock and trees.
rubn1out
New member
Krikey!! dere I was...a windy day...on a shopping safari.... stalking my prey at the mall through the thick jungle asphalt....concrete barriers as tall as red bull cans!! Creeping my way ....slowly and cautiously....I knew I was close...then ...out of no where!! WHAMM!! Attacked by a huge chrome Mallderbeast!! You should have seen it!! The grided chrome teeth! The huge round feet!! The haunting sound of the front paws carelessly wobbling ready to strike!!! OOh the horror!!
mcgrnr0013
New member
had my drivers side tire fall off going about 45 down an old back road, scared the crap outta me. i went and fetched the tire (100+ yards away) and took the three lugs from my spare and put the tire back on and finished my trip to work haha
TrailRatedRN
New member
That's because they are so blind that they don't realize they are changing lanes and so old they don't realize these new fangled horseless buggies have turn signals.
I went through a B class road with some walls on the sides way too fast and hit the left side wall then tipped my super nice TJ on its side. It took 3 hours just to figure out what to do then another half hour to get it out. I was more afraid of my dad getting ****ed than the actual tip.
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