A couple weeks back we took the Jeep to Northwest OHV Off Road Park. After repairing both exhaust manifolds we thought it would be a good time to have some fun. We met up with Waco Wheelers at the park in anticipation of an exciting day.
What Happened
The entire day was fabulous. We ran a bunch of 3 and 4 diamond trails. Margaret got some more practice with driving the stick shift. She even went up a challenging rocky hill this time. The problem began on the last trail of the day. We were crawling up the loose dirt and rocks when we heard a loud ping from the rear of the Jeep. When it happened the Jeep stopped moving forward. At first I thought we had gotten stuck on a rock. That was until I eased on the gas pedal and heard another loud ping, this time from the front. At that point the Jeep wouldn't move at all and had to be winched out of the ravine that the trail was in. Towards the end of the video you can hear the break.
Decision To Be Made
Once we got the Jeep out I moved it out of 4WD. The rear drive shaft turned but the Jeep wouldn't move forward. I moved it back to 4H and it would move but a lot of noise was coming from the front axle. We managed to limp it into Bridgeport, TX driving very easily so as not to cause more damage. Once we arrived at the restaurant with Waco Wheelers we decided it would be best to have it towed home. Margaret called a tow company and requested a flat bed since we knew there was damage to the axles. We didn't want them turning while getting it home. Thanks to Randy's Towing and Recovery Service for getting us home!
Arriving Home
The tow company was great. The price was more than reasonable for the tow and they let us ride in the cab so we wouldn't have to find an alternate way to get ourselves home. Waco Wheelers offered to take us if we needed a ride. Once we arrived home it took some work to get the Jeep into the back yard. The front axle wouldn't pull the Jeep at all. It was so bad that even in 4L we couldn't get it to move. I was finally able to get it in the yard by using the rear lockers. Now we have the entire front axle gutted in preparation for repairs. Those details will be in the next update.