OUCH

[Snitty]

1048063

ON our outing today to take pictures of BigBlackJeep.... we did a little messing up.... We were doing some nice articulation pics... some climbing pics... and some "slippery-near-45-degree-incline-that-is-not-intended-for-driving-on" driving and ended up a good way up it and sliding back down it.... Well... toward the top, he got some sort of grind... we think a transmission/motor bolt gave way.... and on the way down, the brakes didn't help at all... only to finally catch when he hit bottom when I heard some ear shattering metal smashing sound. Now... 1st gear is in the 5th gear position... and the entire transmission is shifted to the passenger side... I guess we get into the shop to check'er out in the morning. We'll get pics to you guys soon[addsig]

 

[MudderChuck]

1048073

I guess it´s possible to over articulate, just ask some guy that just tried the splits. I once did a post about strapping down the transfer, and the motor. Got alot of hoots and hollers from some of the guys, didin´t think it was neccessary. If your interested after you get the transfer bolted back down, I can tell you how I did it and why.



Goog luck, Chuck.[addsig]

 

[jeepmaster]

1048082

im interested, ive never heard of those being strapped down. sounds pretty bad snitty. and i cant wait to see the pics.[addsig]

 

[BigBlackJeep]

1048088

Yeah, the Jeep made some interesting noises on the way home. It would make a grinding noise when only in two-wheel drive, but would be alot quieter in 4-wheel. We shall see in the morning what all is broken. So, once again we will be fabricatin pieces I have a feeling....



Oh well, we shall have the damage report soon to you guys and how we fixed it. Hopefully its nothing too serious...

-A Jeep that never gets broken isn't being used enough..-



[addsig]

 

[MudderChuck]

1048099

Hope it sounds worse than it is. Be sure and check for a loose pinion and a bent driveshaft.



Drag racers, mud racers, desert racers and rock crawlers have been strapping them in since I was a kid. It´s cheap insurance, when a mount, a pedistal, mounting bolts, a case breaks or seperates. It´ll help get you home without the whole drive train trying to do the booga lou and helps reduce the above problems. All it reguires is a few 3/8" bolts, an old tow strap or tie down or two, large washers, a hand drill, a little planning and an afternoon. Check the results occasionally for chaffing replace as necessary.[addsig]

 

[MudderChuck]

1048100

And saves the bolts between the transfer and transmission.[addsig]

 

[BigBlackJeep]

1048153

Well, damage was kept to a minimum so far. The bolt that holds the transfer case down was MIA and the entire transfer case was shifted over approx. 4 inches. The rear driveshaft was about 25 degrees out of parallel with the frame.

All of the engine/transmission/transfer case bolts and joints looked good. We figured with the SOA we got some added wheel-hop in the rear which made the transfer case jump off the mount. It is now bolted down with grade 8 bolts so that shouldn't happen again.

MC- How did you do the T-Case strap down? We have a couple ideas but would like to know how you did since we can assume that your way worked. (Ours would prolly work too but would still like some more ideas

)



We will be install traction bars soon to try and prevent the wheel-hop and help control that rear axle!!



-One truely appreciates their Jeep when all the mud and dirt that you had so much fun putting on there falls DIRECTLY into the eyes when working/struggling underneath it- [addsig]

 

[BigBlackJeep]

1048202

Well, turns out there was another casualty.... The axle perch on the driver's collapsed in the front which also turned the rear pumpkin up to a near 30 degree angle. This made for some SEVERE vibrations and I ended up taking out the rear driveshaft and 'converting' my Jeep to front wheel drive. It was a slow and tedious ride home since I didn't want to lose all my fluid.....

Well, back in the shop AGAIN.... Live and learn....



The perches we made looked plenty strong enough at the time.. oh well, some more steel and some more grinding and more weldin, we will get BBJ going again.



-I have learned a lot of lessons through this experiance, one of those being when in doubt, weld on more steel!!!!

-[addsig]

 

[Snitty]

1048244

to kill confusion there.... that is the front side of a rear perch[addsig]

 

[MudderChuck]

1048246

Gussets, little triangular peices of steel put at right or 45 deg angles often work better than adding more weld. The mounts often rip just above the weld. The weld often softens the metal perch. Spraying with a window sprayer full of water and welding with a wire welder MIG/MAG often helps with the temper problems.



The tie down is mostly common sence. Feel around the top of the transfer, to avoid sharp edges and vents. Lay the strap over the top, so it won´t slip (front to rear). On the YJ find a point about 2/3 the way across the cross member on each side of the cross peice, fiddle with the strap untill it lays resonably straght on top of the cross member and drill a couple of 3/8" holes, burn a couple of holes through the strap (soldering iron) a little shorter than the holes you´ve drilled, use a couple of large fender washers on top of the strap and tighten the whole works down. Not over tightening, you just want to add some down force and prevent latural movement some. I also found a chaffing preventer for a loading strap (like a sock with two open ends) and positioned it across the top of the transfer. Usually lasts a couple of years until the strap wears enough for replacement. Kinda eye ball engineering, took me a couple of trys to find a spot where it wouldn´t shift around to much or crush anything.



Engine is a little more of a problem, I´m not gonna recommend my solution for the Jeep. Welded a couple of short peices of chain in there with a little slack (I was in a hurry) and had a loose motor mount.[addsig]

 

[MudderChuck]

1048248

Have also seen a craddle under the spot, where the transfer bolts up to the transmission, that runs around the frame to help support those bolts on other manufactures 4X´s used in racing. Aluminum isn´t nearlly as strong as steel and sometimes breaks before the bolts. Most times it´s best to replace the bolts with the same ones that the manufacturer recommends, as they are most times designed to break before the case does.[addsig]