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Likely failures? Minimum parts, minimum tools...

WrenchMonkey

NAXJA Member #771
NAXJA Member
Okay, here's a topic that I've seen mentioned, but not discussed much. I think it'll sound pretty familiar...

Unloading the jeep after this weekend's trip, I realized I probably had 300# of tools and parts in the back, that I never use. I've been loading up using xjtrailrider's list, and while I'm still impressed at how incredibly thorough that list is, in reality, it's gross overkill for me.

Like a lot of guys here, I tow to the trail. So I could leave a lot of that stuff out of the XJ. Some of it I can pack in the tow rig, and other stuff I can just leave at home. There's no way I'm going to drop the tank to swap fuel pumps on the trail. I'll take it home and do it there.

So instead of bringing every part and every tool I might need (which has grown to about every tool and spare I own), I'm going to prioritize. I want to make a list of likely failures, and carry just the specific tools and parts needed to fix those failures.

So I'm only going to prepare for a trail repair, if it's something:
(1) I realistically might break on the trail.
(2) I realistically could fix on the trail.
(3) I would realistically need to fix on the trail.

I'm not going to carry spares for stuff that won't break, or for stuff that would be harder to fix than to drag the jeep back to the truck, or for stuff that wouldn't stop me from driving back to the truck.

So what's left? What do I need to prepare for? Flat tires. Blown radiator and steering hoses. Serpentine belt. Broken axles/driveshafts/ujoints. Steering and suspension mounting bolts.

Now I know the danger here is that you always break what you don't plan on. But really, what else will stop me in my tracks?

(And if you guys help me with a list of likely failures, I'll organize a list of the tools needed for just those jobs, and post it up.)

What do you think?

Robert

(This list will also depend somewhat on rig and terrain. For sake of arguement, we'll use my rig, since I think it's pretty common: 4.0, aw4, 231sye. 5" w/DBs, 35s, D30/44, 297 ujoints, and lockrights f/r. The terrain is woodland trails: A nice mix of rocky creekbeds, some mild mud, and dirt/loose-rock hillclimbs.)
 
To get things started, in over five years of wheeling, my damage has consisted of:
-A bent track bar (stock)
-A destroyed driveshaft, t-case mainshaft, and tailhousing (all stock)
-A bent tierod (stock)
-A broken trackbar bolt ($kyjacker p.o.s.)
-Two flat tires (one valve stem, one sidewall)
(Note: All of the above have since been replaced with much stronger/better parts.)

The bent trackbar I could drive on, the broken bolt needed to be replaced on the trail.
The bent tierod needed to be straightened and sleeved, again, trailside.
The blown driveshaft could've been swapped out, but the tcase wasn't a trailside fix.

So all I've ever really used, in more than five years, was a jack, 3/4" and 9/16" sockets and wrenches, and a hilift handle. Oh, and a 1/2" x 3" bolt.

Even daily driving it, the only time I remember needing a tow (in six years and 60k miles) was when the idler pulley went out, and I lost the serpentine belt.

So you can see why I'm doubting the need for the 300# of everything I've been packing...

Robert
 
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Hey Robert, saw you were on here!

I concentrate on stuff I can use to help others who often bring raggedy heaps to the trail. That means packing the usual tools and recovery equipment, but also having plenty of CO2, a die grinder with metal cut off wheels, welding rods suitable for makeshift welding, a jump box big enough to crank a motor for a long while, and hydraulic ram to unbend stuff. Like Robert, think we tend to overdo it when it comes to packing specific replacement parts. Of course, if I was running D35, I'd be thinking about that one a little bit.
 
wilson1010 said:
Hey Robert, saw you were on here!

I concentrate on stuff I can use to help others who often bring raggedy heaps to the trail...

Hey! I resemble that remark!

But really, I think you're talking about exactly what I trying to get away from. I'm happy to pack everything and the kitchen sink in the tow rig. But looking at the pics from last weekend, the Cherokee was actually squatting from the weight. I could get by without a whole LOT of that stuff.

I mean, what has broken on your cherokee that would have left ot stranded on the trail?

Robert
 
Well, I have to agree with you on that one. I never broke anything that had to be repaired back in the woods, and it does seem like most repairs I've been involved in are done back in the parking lot. We have straightened out a tie rod or two back un the woods and rebeaded a couple of tires. I took some barbed wire off an atv with my right angle grinder.

But we don't usually go anywhere that is truly desolate. A really interesting illustrated story of a near fatal mechanical failure in the Utah desert is on Bill Caid's (famous 4 wheeler and photographer) web site. Here is a link to the day page related to the failure, but I urge you to read his many 4 wheeling adventure. It gives one something to dream about:

http://www.billcaid.com/2008/UtahTour20080510/Day7/Day7.html
 
Rough wheeling with a stroker has led me to carry a full set of axles front and rear for my D44's. I also carry a spare set of hubs, as well as a bag of all the motor sensors. Oil, ATF, gear oil, sealant, and water are also on board.

Last year on Poison Spider I peeled several teeth off of a rear pinion and had to tear the rear axle down and remove the ring gear so I could drive out on front wheel drive only.
 
I havent been wheeling long, but i have seen others break alot of stuff and the only thing i have broken to date would be a rear drive shaft u-joint. But i look at it this way...

i dont mind carrying a trunk full of spare parts ( axles, hubs, ds, ujoints and hoses ) along with fluids and tools. Because if you break, the ONLY thing that will break is the thing you DIDNT BRING with you, its murphy's law. That and if i have something that some one else doesnt and they need it to get off the trail, it just makes life easyer all around.
 
wilson1010 said:
But we don't usually go anywhere that is truly desolate. A really interesting illustrated story of a near fatal mechanical failure in the Utah desert is on Bill Caid's (famous 4 wheeler and photographer) web site.

Yeah, that's the kind of thing that I assume xjtrailrider was packing for.

But that's not my idea of fun. Or rather, that kind of excursion tips the risk-to-fun ratio too far the wrong way.

I don't feel any need to put my life on the line, to have a good time.

Robert
 
friscokidd said:
Because if you break, the ONLY thing that will break is the thing you DIDNT BRING with you, its murphy's law.
Yep:
Robert 771 said:
Now I know the danger here is that you always break what you don't plan on.


friscokidd said:
i dont mind carrying a trunk full of spare parts ( axles, hubs, ds, ujoints and hoses ) along with fluids and tools.
Yep:
Robert 771 said:
Flat tires. Blown radiator and steering hoses. Serpentine belt. Broken axles/driveshafts/ujoints. Steering and suspension mounting bolts.


friscokidd said:
i have seen others break alot of stuff
^^ That's more what I was interested in: what have you seen?

Thanks,
Robert
 
old_man said:
Rough wheeling with a stroker has led me to carry a full set of axles front and rear for my D44's. I also carry a spare set of hubs, as well as a bag of all the motor sensors. Oil, ATF, gear oil, sealant, and water are also on board.

Last year on Poison Spider I peeled several teeth off of a rear pinion and had to tear the rear axle down and remove the ring gear so I could drive out on front wheel drive only.

Yeah, I carry D30 shafts and hubs, but with my tired old renix, I don't think my D44 is in much danger.

The engine sensors are probably a good idea

What would have happened if you just pulled the driveshaft and limped on that busted pinion? Just risked screwing up the ring gear, too?

:dunno:

Robert
 
I carry a spare alternator. I had one fail at night, had to winch a couple of times, my junk quit running due to low voltage. That was a bad night.
 
razdrvr said:
I carry a spare alternator. I had one fail at night, had to winch a couple of times, my junk quit running due to low voltage. That was a bad night.

I've considered it. Mine is only a year old, and when it went last time, I was able to drive 10 miles home, then restart it, drive 5 miles to the parts store, the restart and 10 miles back to work, all on the battery.

I figure that'd get me off the trail...

Robert
 
I had an ignition module get wet and crap out. I later discovered the housing had a crack in it.
 
I look at it like this:

Can I reasonable repair this on the trail?
if no, I throw it in the tow rig
if yes I ask:
by the time I tear it all apart, can someone have gotten to my tow rig, and come back?
if yes, I throw it in the tow rig.
If no, I look at it and decide if ive ever needed it before, and how new that part is on my rig...

if its new enough, the spare goes in the tow rig... if its old, the spare goes in the jeep...
typically, I carry a spare rear driveshaft, a spare set of hubs, and misc other parts in the jeep...

at competition, I dont carry anything at all - just a first aid kit and fire extinguisher... EVERYTHING is in the tow rig...

for most trails - most of my parts stay in the tow rig, if the trail is REALLY long, and dificult, I throw a few extra things in there, front axle shafts, rear axle shaft, fluids, a few more tools...

I pack differently for each trip and distance from the tow rig :eek:
 
I was kinda thinking about packing all of that stuff I probably wont want on the trail into a metal footlocker I have, then chaining it to a tree at the trailhead. I keep my tools with me at all times though, maybe some u-joints and such. Most of my buddies pack way too much shit
 
I know exactly what you are trying to do. I recently put my XJ on a diet and removed the steel Tuffy drawer from the back and prioritized my junk. I pack it in 2 small Rubbermaid Action Packers and only throw them in for a wheeling trip. I used to haul that 300 lbs all the time, and my XJ serves as a DD fairly often. I drive to the trail, so I carry a little more than someone that tows would.

In one tote I carry gear oil (1 gal), trans fluid (2 qt), motor oil (6 qt), coolant (1gal), brake fluid (1pt) and a couple cans of brake clean. I keep this stuff seperate in case something leaks.

The other tote holds misc. nuts/bolts/snap rings/cotter pins/etc, ujoints, RTV, rags, funnel, a length of rubber fuel line, safety glasses and a small 4-way lug wrench. I carry a TPS, IAC and a couple other sensors I can't remember off the top of my head.

I also throw in a small toolbox with the essentials, and have a CO2 tank on board. Depending on where I'm wheeling, I throw in spare D30 shafts and 8.8 shafts. It looks like more than it is, but it is a lot less than I used to carry.

HPIM1168.jpg




Edit: specialized tools I carry - D30 hub socket, RE superflex tool, 10mm hex socket (t'case plugs) and a spark plug socket.
 
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IllianaXJ said:
I know exactly what you are trying to do. I recently put my XJ on a diet and removed the steel Tuffy drawer from the back and prioritized my junk. I pack it in 2 small Rubbermaid Action Packers and only throw them in for a wheeling trip. I used to haul that 300 lbs all the time, and my XJ serves as a DD fairly often. I drive to the trail, so I carry a little more than someone that tows would.

In one tote I carry gear oil (1 gal), trans fluid (2 qt), motor oil (6 qt), coolant (1gal), brake fluid (1pt) and a couple cans of brake clean. I keep this stuff seperate in case something leaks.

The other tote holds misc. nuts/bolts/snap rings/cotter pins/etc, ujoints, RTV, rags, funnel, a length of rubber fuel line, safety glasses and a small 4-way lug wrench. I carry a TPS, IAC and a couple other sensors I can't remember off the top of my head.

I also throw in a small toolbox with the essentials, and have a CO2 tank on board. Depending on where I'm wheeling, I throw in spare D30 shafts and 8.8 shafts. It looks like more than it is, but it is a lot less than I used to carry.

HPIM1168.jpg




Edit: specialized tools I carry - D30 hub socket, RE superflex tool, 10mm hex socket (t'case plugs) and a spark plug socket.
That's agood supply of parts,the only thing that let me down, while camping outside of Tonapah Nev. in winter, alone, was my battery. Woke up, snow on the ground and my Kragen" Heat Beater" had frozen. Luck would have it ,there was a peice of farm equipment with a small battery in it we used for a jumper. Saved our butt! There wasn't anyone coming down that dang road for days. Anyways, that's all I can add to the list.
 
my2monkeys said:
...the only thing that let me down, while camping outside of Tonapah Nev. in winter, alone, was my battery... Luck would have it ,there was a peice of farm equipment with a small battery in it we used for a jumper. Saved our butt! There wasn't anyone coming down that dang road for days. Anyways, that's all I can add to the list.

Your might not believe this but, I was a long ways from the pavement, camped overnight, battery was dead in the morning. I had a 4 cyl Nissan Pathfinder. My friend and I actually pull started it like a lawn mower. Jacked up one rear tire, wrapped a rope around the tire one of us would pull the rope the other worked the clutch, clutch out when we pulled, then pushed it in real fast because the car won't start unless the clutch is in. Took us about 20 minutes of this before it started. I doubt it could be done with a 6 or 8 cylinder.
 
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