Tenny
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Houston, TX
Well this past weekend I went to Indian Valley Reservior, one of my favorite destinations as it's BLM land, pretty secluded campsites, and free! The rock crawling is limited to say the least, but there are a few good hill climbs, and more than enough mud to get you into trouble...
Well anyways, I was making a turn to go down a little hill into the creek, and was making a very sharp turn to do this. Just as I got going down I hear two snaps. I instantly knew something was broken. I tried to back up and realized I had no steering. Thankfully the jeep backed out onto a dry patch. I snapped my steering pump bolts. The bolts were stuck into the pump. I wasn't too far from a campsite when this happened, and a nice couple came over to make sure everything was alright as they were leaving to do some wheeling. They offered help, but I wanted to try and fix it before I asked for help.
I was able to extract the ends of the bolts with some pliers and time, and happened to have 2 bolts that'd fit, in all my excitement I forgot there was a top bolt as well... Sadly these bolts were only grade 5.
So I repaired it and got it running ( and someone got stuck 30 feet from my jeep as I was finishing, so I pulled them out).
After a few hours I decided to go out again, and I end up at the same spot as I was before. This time I went at it from a much better angle so I wouldn't have to turn... As soon as I dropped down the jeep instantly pulled to the left. I put it in reverse to try again and once again "snap"...
I backed it out, ended up in the middle of the mud w/o steering. This time the bolts are there holding it in, but my Currie Draglink end (connecting to the pitman arm) is snapped. I also notice the power steering pump is sagging big time (which I think is the reason the draglink broke, as it put stress on the draglink end in an odd way). Of course when I backed up, I was in about 2 inches of mud this time. I used the winch to pull the tires to the left to get myself out of the mud so I could work on it heh...
So I tried to just get the drag link end drilled out from help of other people camping but was unable to. Into town I must go in search of this part.. Sadly 4WD Parts is closed Sunday and Monday. So I make several calls, and convince my dad into removing his draglink end, and let me borrow it to get myself out (he was actually thinking about getting a flatbed to tow me out). My friends drove me into Woodland (2 hours away) where I met with my dad at OSH and bought grade 8 bolts... Went back put it back together in 15 minutes, and on the road again!
In the end, without my friends and other people there I would have been stuck.
So how about the wonderful pictures right?
Our camp site:
Friends Jeep & our Firewood / Pit...
The Creek:
The Lake:
Bad times:
(Steering Pump Bolt... it was just hanging there...)
Bad times #2 (After fixing #1) :
Draglink End & Steering pump bolts... now bent!
Well anyways, I was making a turn to go down a little hill into the creek, and was making a very sharp turn to do this. Just as I got going down I hear two snaps. I instantly knew something was broken. I tried to back up and realized I had no steering. Thankfully the jeep backed out onto a dry patch. I snapped my steering pump bolts. The bolts were stuck into the pump. I wasn't too far from a campsite when this happened, and a nice couple came over to make sure everything was alright as they were leaving to do some wheeling. They offered help, but I wanted to try and fix it before I asked for help.
I was able to extract the ends of the bolts with some pliers and time, and happened to have 2 bolts that'd fit, in all my excitement I forgot there was a top bolt as well... Sadly these bolts were only grade 5.
So I repaired it and got it running ( and someone got stuck 30 feet from my jeep as I was finishing, so I pulled them out).
After a few hours I decided to go out again, and I end up at the same spot as I was before. This time I went at it from a much better angle so I wouldn't have to turn... As soon as I dropped down the jeep instantly pulled to the left. I put it in reverse to try again and once again "snap"...
I backed it out, ended up in the middle of the mud w/o steering. This time the bolts are there holding it in, but my Currie Draglink end (connecting to the pitman arm) is snapped. I also notice the power steering pump is sagging big time (which I think is the reason the draglink broke, as it put stress on the draglink end in an odd way). Of course when I backed up, I was in about 2 inches of mud this time. I used the winch to pull the tires to the left to get myself out of the mud so I could work on it heh...
So I tried to just get the drag link end drilled out from help of other people camping but was unable to. Into town I must go in search of this part.. Sadly 4WD Parts is closed Sunday and Monday. So I make several calls, and convince my dad into removing his draglink end, and let me borrow it to get myself out (he was actually thinking about getting a flatbed to tow me out). My friends drove me into Woodland (2 hours away) where I met with my dad at OSH and bought grade 8 bolts... Went back put it back together in 15 minutes, and on the road again!
In the end, without my friends and other people there I would have been stuck.
So how about the wonderful pictures right?
Our camp site:
Friends Jeep & our Firewood / Pit...
The Creek:
The Lake:
Bad times:
(Steering Pump Bolt... it was just hanging there...)
Bad times #2 (After fixing #1) :
Draglink End & Steering pump bolts... now bent!
