cewtwo
New member
I ran my first 5K running race this weekend. I finished 54th with a PR of 28:16.37. It was fun. I'm going to schedule a 10K trail run later this summer.
Well, we got the Jeep back together. We decided to do a major modification to the transfer case and drive train rather than just put it back together. We installed a "Slip Yoke Eliminator" and a custom "Constant Velocity" driveshaft. Doing that also allowed us to moved the back axle forward about an inch so it is centered in the fender well. With the driveshaft installed, we were also able to get the rear differential lined up almost perfectly.
The new driveshaft...
The drive shaft installed...
Now, we had to field test it...
We went up to Slaughterhouse Gulch. It is a trail in the foothills near Denver. Popular and used by many people.
The Jeep did great. Everything that was modded worked better than imagined. The inside of the cab was quiet.
Most of the trail was wet. The entire trail had water runoff from the Spring melt. Caution was required as areas were starting to run off with the water.
The trail loop itself went without incident. It was on the access road headed back out that we discovered someone else with a problem. There was a curve in the trail that had a huge SUV buried in a mud hole. The driver side tries were not visible (they were buried in water and mud).
We stopped and offered to help.
It was a young couple that were in this situation. They looked at our Jeep and said that 4 other people had tired to pull them out. They had been there for 5 hours. He said that a friend was on his way to try to find a tow truck to help them out.
I looked over the situation and told him that we could pull the truck out. He looked at the Mighty YJ again. He said his truck was 7500 pounds. Would we be able to pull him? He said that he didn't think so. He said that he and his wife had been trying to drain the bog. They weren't getting very far.
I was with Tom. I asked Tom if he thought we could. He said no at first. We discussed a couple of scenarios and then we decided to give it a try.
The truck was high-centered at two points. I thought we could get the Jeep behind his truck, use a tree strap and the snatch block on the passenger side front bumper hard point to pull it out level where the other tires could get traction and he could drive out.
Tom said that the weight of the vehicle would require the Jeep to be in front of the other. We could use a strap to tie the back bumper (of the Jeep) to a tree and we could use the snatchblock on the same hard point but bring the winch rope right back to the Jeep's front buffer effectively doubling the capacity of the winch. That is what we decided to do.
The picture above shows the process just after we started it. Now, those of you that experience back country riding know that activities like this can draw a crowd. We had a small group of people that were assisting, observing and/or just offering advice. It became an event.
It was a slow process, but we knew that we had set it up correctly. The truck slowly rose out of the water. We knew that we had broken the suction of the mud and water on the buried tires. The passenger front tire touched the ground. I thought that it would get traction and pull right out. That did not happen.
We stopped the process and looked things over again. The driver could not steer the front at all. The driver side tire appeared to be locked in place. That would make it much harder. We were sure now that he had a broken axle.
We talked about it and decided to continue the pull. Slowly the Jeep pulled the SUV completely out of the road hazard they had found. The pull was compounded by the frozen tire, but it came out.
It did come all of the way out.
I suggested that he pull the tire and the wheel from the driver side. He could remove the brakes then the axle (he may need to pull the pumpkin cover). I told him to make sure he stuffed a rag in the open axle tube and make sure the bearing went back on. That should free the tire and allow them to drive out. He said that he would wait for the tow truck that was coming (he was sure of it). I think he was embarrassed to admit that he didn't bring a toolkit.
He said that they would be OK now and thanked us profusely. I told that I was in a similar situation once and noone helped me. So, now I help when I am able.
We made sure that they would be OK and took him a little ways down the trail until his cell phone got a signal. We left him there with about a quarter mile to walk back.
BTW - The others that had tried to pull him out used "Snatch Straps" and not a winch. Makes a big difference.
Our test run went well. I hoped we helped another 4-wheeler have a better experience.
Well, we got the Jeep back together. We decided to do a major modification to the transfer case and drive train rather than just put it back together. We installed a "Slip Yoke Eliminator" and a custom "Constant Velocity" driveshaft. Doing that also allowed us to moved the back axle forward about an inch so it is centered in the fender well. With the driveshaft installed, we were also able to get the rear differential lined up almost perfectly.
Now, we had to field test it...
We went up to Slaughterhouse Gulch. It is a trail in the foothills near Denver. Popular and used by many people.
The Jeep did great. Everything that was modded worked better than imagined. The inside of the cab was quiet.
Most of the trail was wet. The entire trail had water runoff from the Spring melt. Caution was required as areas were starting to run off with the water.
The trail loop itself went without incident. It was on the access road headed back out that we discovered someone else with a problem. There was a curve in the trail that had a huge SUV buried in a mud hole. The driver side tries were not visible (they were buried in water and mud).
We stopped and offered to help.
It was a young couple that were in this situation. They looked at our Jeep and said that 4 other people had tired to pull them out. They had been there for 5 hours. He said that a friend was on his way to try to find a tow truck to help them out.
I looked over the situation and told him that we could pull the truck out. He looked at the Mighty YJ again. He said his truck was 7500 pounds. Would we be able to pull him? He said that he didn't think so. He said that he and his wife had been trying to drain the bog. They weren't getting very far.
I was with Tom. I asked Tom if he thought we could. He said no at first. We discussed a couple of scenarios and then we decided to give it a try.
The truck was high-centered at two points. I thought we could get the Jeep behind his truck, use a tree strap and the snatch block on the passenger side front bumper hard point to pull it out level where the other tires could get traction and he could drive out.
Tom said that the weight of the vehicle would require the Jeep to be in front of the other. We could use a strap to tie the back bumper (of the Jeep) to a tree and we could use the snatchblock on the same hard point but bring the winch rope right back to the Jeep's front buffer effectively doubling the capacity of the winch. That is what we decided to do.
The picture above shows the process just after we started it. Now, those of you that experience back country riding know that activities like this can draw a crowd. We had a small group of people that were assisting, observing and/or just offering advice. It became an event.
It was a slow process, but we knew that we had set it up correctly. The truck slowly rose out of the water. We knew that we had broken the suction of the mud and water on the buried tires. The passenger front tire touched the ground. I thought that it would get traction and pull right out. That did not happen.
We stopped the process and looked things over again. The driver could not steer the front at all. The driver side tire appeared to be locked in place. That would make it much harder. We were sure now that he had a broken axle.
We talked about it and decided to continue the pull. Slowly the Jeep pulled the SUV completely out of the road hazard they had found. The pull was compounded by the frozen tire, but it came out.
It did come all of the way out.
I suggested that he pull the tire and the wheel from the driver side. He could remove the brakes then the axle (he may need to pull the pumpkin cover). I told him to make sure he stuffed a rag in the open axle tube and make sure the bearing went back on. That should free the tire and allow them to drive out. He said that he would wait for the tow truck that was coming (he was sure of it). I think he was embarrassed to admit that he didn't bring a toolkit.
He said that they would be OK now and thanked us profusely. I told that I was in a similar situation once and noone helped me. So, now I help when I am able.
We made sure that they would be OK and took him a little ways down the trail until his cell phone got a signal. We left him there with about a quarter mile to walk back.
BTW - The others that had tried to pull him out used "Snatch Straps" and not a winch. Makes a big difference.
Our test run went well. I hoped we helped another 4-wheeler have a better experience.
