Test Run with Excessive Carnage
I took the rig up with two other XJs for a little test run and camping. We said we'd just take it easy, as all three had some kind of limiting issue.
(This post is really for pictures of the semi-completed project)
It's going pretty smoothly, then rig #3 smashes out the rear window (which is unrelated to the following picture of rig #1)
Coming back down from where the window smash happens, I'm getting near a tree and realize it's going to take my side mirror off. It did, and also cracked the front windshield a bit. Cracks continue to propagate. Another unrelated picture:
We get back to camp and I smell gear oil. Sure enough, my rear diff cover plug popped out. How does this happen? I don't know. I lost a bit of oil and couldn't find the plug. Later in the night, I stumble across the plug! In the morning, I refill the diff and replace the plug. I'm glad I had gear oil with me, never thought I'd actually need it on the trail.
We hit another trail in the morning then decide to call it a day. Or maybe we'll run another trail, it's only early afternoon. We ran another trail. Coming down a steep, narrow pass, rig #3 breaks the pitman arm. Just cracked it right off the steering box. We try to pull it up to the main trail to fix it, but the tires are sideways and there isn't anything we're going to do about it. We decide to try battery welding the arm to the output shaft just to get to the trailhead. I drove back to my house in Arvada to get welding supplies and my old, damaged pitman arm just in case. The old pitman arm went on moderately well over the stripped output shaft splines, good enough to get off the trail. Related picture:
While I'm running errands, rig #2 turns around to get ready to fix rig #3 and plops it on a stump, bending the tie rod pretty far. I don't even know about this until about 8 or 9pm when we're finally recovered and back on the trailhead. The tierod is bent so far the tires are toed in and squeeking and clacking all over the road, we have to do something about it. Yet another trip back to Arvada to get fix supplies from my house, this time the HF pipe bender to straighten the tie rod and my old tie rod. We get back and bend the tie rod enough to get it off and put my old rod on around midnight, nearly 10 hours of carnage later than planned. Although we had two rigs totally disabled, we were able to fix both of them using scrap parts from my rig sitting in my back yard. The moral of the story is to keep all your old parts around, I guess. And don't go on the last run after you're inclined to stop. That's when everything seems to go downhill. Last unrelated picture:
Carnage Summary:
Rig #1 - Cracked windshield, removed passenger side mirror
Rig #2 - Bent tie rod, undriveable toe-in condition, and the typical beat the crap out of it
Rig #3 - Smashed out rear window, cracked pitman arm, no steer condition