jeepercreeper
08-16-2008, 10:26 PM
So today Mike (roadkilgrill) and I went out to make a new trail...well I found a spot that would make a fun little run off of an old trail so we went and cleared it out and established it as the first of our trails to come...
anyway, after we played on that for a while we were going to head to another trail he knew of, so I followed him. About a mile down the road I see something fly from under Mike's Jeep and I took immediate action so it wouldn't hit my Jeep and I pulled over to retrieve it. I ran back and in the middle of the road was a U-joint cap. Mike heard it pop so he pulled over to investigate. Turned out to be his passenger side axle shaft u-joint. So he limped it over to my house and we went to the parts store.
Of course he bought 2 u-joints because it just makes sense to change the other side while your at it. So we got back and tore into it pretty good. The broken side was a real pain in the arse because the ear on the outer shaft seemed to be bent. I'm not real sure if it was bent and that cause the joint to break, or if it bent from driving it after the joint broke or if I bent it when we used my used my u-joint press to try and get it apart before we remembered to take the little "c-clips" out:eek: Anyway, we that one apart and back together and then the driver's side as well with no issues.
The funny part is, Mike just got rid of his spare axles a week ago (YJMike picked them up last Saturday). Also, I had planned on changing MY u-joints this evening. So after we got done with Mike's Jeep, we pulled mine in the garage and changed the driver's side because I have been hearing some noise and suspected it of going bad. It actually came out fairly easy and seemed to be in pretty good shape. Everything went back together with no problem and I'll test it out tomorrow to see if I still hear any suspicious sounds...
NOW, I must give this testimony about the dangers of a Hi-lift jack!!! I almost killed myself tonight when I was attempting to get my Jeep off the jackstand. Now I know it is my own fault for being dumb in many ways. First, I still had my sway bar disconnected. Second, I was attempting to jack from the bumper near the steering gear skid which made only the very point of the Hi-lift contacting (more like teetering) the bumper. And third, I had the cotter pin holding the handle removed because we had been using the handle as a cheater bar. So when I went to lower the Jeep because the jack wasn't stable and it was about to pop out, I lost my grip on the handle...it sprung up and flew out...did a flip in the air heading straight for my windshield...and I believe bounced off the garage ceiling and smacked right into the hood of my Jeep leaving a sweet dent and a nice gouge in the paint.
So, I lowered the jack and hooked the sway bar back up. Mike held the brakes and I got it off the jack stand safely. I will be buying a new floor jack soon (hopefully tomorrow). I'll wait to do the other u-joint until I get the new jack:D
Oh yeah, I also saw the biggest rattle snake I have ever seen in my whole life crossing a road today! It was huge! it turned around and rattled it's tail at my Jeep and kept going backwards across the road. I took a couple pictures but I still can't find the stupid USB cable for my camera!
anyway, after we played on that for a while we were going to head to another trail he knew of, so I followed him. About a mile down the road I see something fly from under Mike's Jeep and I took immediate action so it wouldn't hit my Jeep and I pulled over to retrieve it. I ran back and in the middle of the road was a U-joint cap. Mike heard it pop so he pulled over to investigate. Turned out to be his passenger side axle shaft u-joint. So he limped it over to my house and we went to the parts store.
Of course he bought 2 u-joints because it just makes sense to change the other side while your at it. So we got back and tore into it pretty good. The broken side was a real pain in the arse because the ear on the outer shaft seemed to be bent. I'm not real sure if it was bent and that cause the joint to break, or if it bent from driving it after the joint broke or if I bent it when we used my used my u-joint press to try and get it apart before we remembered to take the little "c-clips" out:eek: Anyway, we that one apart and back together and then the driver's side as well with no issues.
The funny part is, Mike just got rid of his spare axles a week ago (YJMike picked them up last Saturday). Also, I had planned on changing MY u-joints this evening. So after we got done with Mike's Jeep, we pulled mine in the garage and changed the driver's side because I have been hearing some noise and suspected it of going bad. It actually came out fairly easy and seemed to be in pretty good shape. Everything went back together with no problem and I'll test it out tomorrow to see if I still hear any suspicious sounds...
NOW, I must give this testimony about the dangers of a Hi-lift jack!!! I almost killed myself tonight when I was attempting to get my Jeep off the jackstand. Now I know it is my own fault for being dumb in many ways. First, I still had my sway bar disconnected. Second, I was attempting to jack from the bumper near the steering gear skid which made only the very point of the Hi-lift contacting (more like teetering) the bumper. And third, I had the cotter pin holding the handle removed because we had been using the handle as a cheater bar. So when I went to lower the Jeep because the jack wasn't stable and it was about to pop out, I lost my grip on the handle...it sprung up and flew out...did a flip in the air heading straight for my windshield...and I believe bounced off the garage ceiling and smacked right into the hood of my Jeep leaving a sweet dent and a nice gouge in the paint.
So, I lowered the jack and hooked the sway bar back up. Mike held the brakes and I got it off the jack stand safely. I will be buying a new floor jack soon (hopefully tomorrow). I'll wait to do the other u-joint until I get the new jack:D
Oh yeah, I also saw the biggest rattle snake I have ever seen in my whole life crossing a road today! It was huge! it turned around and rattled it's tail at my Jeep and kept going backwards across the road. I took a couple pictures but I still can't find the stupid USB cable for my camera!