August 2000 Rubicon - Page 2

Coming down the Big Sluice (?).  This turn required a lot of flex (and the right line) to keep the wheels down.

Everything started ok, Shane takes a more aggressive line than I did, notice the front tire positions.

I don't know if the driver froze, but the whole thing happened in slow motion.  The Samurai started going over and everyone was yelling for the driver to hit the gas.  They rode it all the way down.  If you are ever in this position and you feel the back end coming up, don't stop, hit the gas and drive it out.

Thanks to a great roll cage (just installed) both driver and passenger were ok.  We flipped the Samurai over and it started right up.

Everyone else made it down the curve with no problems.

A bridge close to Rubicon Springs.  We were going to go up Cadillac Hill but we heard there were about 80 Jeeps headed our way for the Jeep Jamboree.  We all made a beeline for the Big Sluice and managed to get up and past it before we ran into the traffic jam.  We waited almost an hour for the group to pass (many of them had open differentials and dealer stickers still on them).

My favorite trail, we headed up the Old Sluice on the final leg of our day trip.  This trails is tight, well shaded and very rocky.

Near the top someone lost a valve stem, then the whole bead.  We also had to stop to change out a torn steering joint.  I think everyone had a great time on this section of trail.  (Hammer It!)

Conclusive proof that there isn't enough chlorine in the gene pool.  I saw this vehicle on the first day and it looked brand new.  The driver gassed it until he blew a u-joint.  When he backed out of the crack (nearly running over his friend hanging onto the rear bumper) the Cherokee spewed out thick blue smoke for several minutes. 

Base camp, Spider Lake, day 3 . Here's the group shot.  Nearly everybody is in the picture.  Scott Gomez cleverly waited till everyone parked then moved his Zuk right up front (I was out of film so it's not in this shot).

    The trip home was interesting.  I headed out early and made good time.  Upon getting off of the trail I shifted the Zuk into 2 wheel drive with a screwdriver and proceeded down the mountain.  Anything above 20mph resulted in a horrible vibration.  It took a while to discover the rear t-case flange was coming loose.  I did not have a wrench big enough to tighten the nut so I removed the rear drive shaft and drove out in front wheel drive (still had a vibration which turned out to be a u-joint on the main shaft).  

    We met up with my wife at her parents house, hooked up the Zuk and hit the road.  We made it to Tulare and pulled into a Motel 6 for the night.  We woke up around 7am and started to pull out of the parking lot and noticed the wheels locked to one side on the Samurai.  At first I thought I forgot to unlock the steering wheel.  Upon closer inspection I discovered someone had stolen one of the links to my Calmini steering linkage! We pushed the Samurai off the road and went to rent a car dollie to get it home.  

    I was amazed to discover it would cost $500 to rent the dollie (one-way to Phoenix).  I tried calling some machine shops but everyone was closed (it was Sunday).  By this time it was 10am and it was looking like we would be stranded in Tulare.  On a whim I checked the phone book for a Home Depot (I wasn't expecting one in this small town).  Amazingly there was one just 3 blocks away.  We bought a drill, some drill bits, a piece of .25 x 1.00 x 72.00 piece of steel, a clamp, hacksaw and some hardware.  Luckily all the drilling and sawing noises didn't attract the motel management ;)  An hour later we were on the road again. 

     We stopped every 100 miles to make sure my patched steering linkage was holding. I believe all of the drive train breakages were caused by the t-case vibrating.  At home I discovered the main drive shaft (tranny to t-case) had taken a chunk out of the transmission housing.  I would strongly suggest anyone with a GRS II to disconnect the rear drive shaft while flat towing.