Trail Carnage in Moab:
1 gas tank
2 D30 shafts
1 swaybar disconnect mount
1 trackbar bushing
Interstate Carnage:
1 D60 shaft
1 Brake rotor
1 Weight distribution hitch ball mount
1 Trailer axle end cap
1 Unknown hot start diesel fuel problem
1 Unknown fuel pump/ignition old jeep problem
All in all, it was a horrible trip home. Between the troubleshooting stops for things we couldn't fix on the heep and the gas stops for the rigs, we must've spent 6 hours on the side of the road or in truckstops in 2 days. Nothing seemed to happen at the same time, so we'd stop for gas and then an hour later the heep would act up. Then we'd drive for another 3 hours and need gas again, then something would happen 2 hours later.
Ultimately, as smooth as our trip out was, the trip back was just as rough. But even when we were stuck in Colorado, I just mentioned to everyone that Colorado is better than work
The new shaft showed up today and my father in law picked up the new bearing yesterday. A quick trip to the parts store for a rotor and some work with the drill press and the giveaway XJ will be rolling. I'm going to give it a real good inspection once it gets home with me. Dad isn't a wheeler and I'm going to take it with me to give it the finishing touches that Led and Jeff just didn't have time for.
I got a private message from Jeff and I'm sure he'd like it if I kept it private. But I want to say this publicly for everyone to hear:
SHIT HAPPENS. I don't now or ever will hold Led, Jeff, or anyone who worked on the XJ responsible for what happened. There is no way to know what failed or why and judging from the rest of the work on the XJ, I'm sure it wasn't their fault. They thrashed for weeks, strained relationships and busted their ass to make sure this got done. They had big hurdles with parts availability and other things and made it happen. No one will ever need to apologize to me. EVER.
I do totally agree with Ryan. If I would have had trailer space and it was the better option, I would have towed it home. Unfortunately, with Nate's jeep completely out and my heep needing some serious repairs, I just didn't feel comfortable sticking my family in either one of them. The giveaway XJ rode perfectly. The steering is a little touchy in the middle, but once you got used to it, she ran right up to 70 mph straight and true. I really believe that had we not had some chinese brake part fail, we would have made it just like we planned. My wife even said it was comfortable (!).
Thanks again to everyone who helped. Cal coordinated the shaft warranty and it showed up in 2 days just like he said it would. I've been on the phone with Avery a bunch getting parts information and Scrappy called me yesterday just to make sure we were alright. Rob took time out of his trip to fall in behind us at a blistering 62 mph and hung there for almost 2 days. Troy (yellaheep) found us a garage to work in when it was 19 degrees outside.
It's not about this website. It's not about the trails we conquer. It's not about the rigs we build. It's about the people we trade stories with around the campfire.
Josh