Rubicon mini-report

[Jeff Weston]

I'll call it a mini-report 'cause I'm pooped (just had a hockey game) and I have no pics (forgot the digi cam at home ). Anyway, here goes:

The trip started lousy due to a nasty virus infection to the computers at work. Instead of heading up from the San Fernando Valley around noon, my dad ('93YJ w/Warn XCL) and I didn't get out of the office 'til 5:30. My brother ('99TJ) actually got away at 4:00. We always stay the night before the trail at the Stagecoach Inn at Pollock Pines. The rooms are nice and the couple who run the place are 4X friendly and let us store our doors/softops there. My brother made it up by 11:30 and we didn't roll in 'til 1:00 am. Those last two hours were pretty tough.

Friday morning we stowed the doors/tops and stocked up on food and gas just down the street. Pollock Pines is a nice little town with all the things you need. BTW, the road from Georgetown is still closed for construction.

By the time we aired down and hit the trail it was around 1:00. Like many obstacles on the trail, the Gatekeeper seemed a bit different than each of the previous trips. All three of us made it through without trouble utilizing each of our own styles. These styles are probably a reflection of our rigs more than anything. I (35's, ARB's F&R, belly-up, auto) tend to aim and shoot and slowly creep over, careful not to break anything. My brother (31's, ARB's F&R, auto) has to be a bit more cognizant of his lines and bump and slide over at times. My dad (33's, ARB F/Detroit R, manual tranny, Atlas Tcase) uses momentum and throttle a bit more. He's definitely the most fun to watch.

Things moved pretty quickly as we have run the trail many times (finding your way can be half the battle) and didn't have any cameras. When we got to the Little Sluice I mad my first mistake. Instead of dropping off my gear and setting up camp at Spider Lake first, I attempted the Sluice fully loaded (close to 4600#). Extra weight = less traction, duh! For whatever reason I wasn't finding the line to get up and over the first boulder to the entrance. The line I'd used last time quite easily just wasn't happening (the extra weight was really noticeable). Eventually, my brother gave me a tug to get me up and in (otherwise I may have been there all night).

Instead of doing the prudent thing and dropping off my gear now, I decided to hang a hard left and drop back in (mistake #2). I got so off-camber I decided to have my brother keep a line to my cage just to make sure I stayed righted (I was in a spot that I would've dropped down about 3 feet then landed on the dome). Anyway, I continued on a couple feet and removed the line when I got things a bit more level. As I continued on I lost a bead at the worst time and it sent me off a rock and hard onto the bumper and rocker guard. I managed to hit the radio antenna base and push the tub in a bit. When I went out to take a look I also noticed that the draglink I had booger welded up before the trip had taken a good hit. Instead of bending at the now-reinforced factory bend it got really pretzeled where the stabilizer bolts on.

After jacking it up, re-seating the bead and tossing a few rocks to get me off the draglink, I continued on without incident. After setting up camp I got a better look at the draglink and got a bit nervous. I welded some angle on it to get it through the trip. Memories of Robert's experience with his draglink on the 'Con were running through my head. Also toast were both rear lower shock mounts. With the combination of the Tera relocators, they were vulnerable and both got pushed up. Oh yeah, I also noticed the left rear spring had popped out of the bucket and was only caught up on the edge. Judging by all the scrapes on the side of the gas tank skid, it was pushed out by a boulder.

What started as a beautiful, warm day quickly turned into a cold, windy night. Did I mention that there are fire restrictions in effect? We found ourselves looking at the clock and turning in at 9:00, if nothing else, to get warm. That night, the wind blew mightily, reducing the size of my tent by half (I was on the slab with no stakes and only rocks in the corners to keep things in place). I must've been up half the night due to the wind and cold. I had my down mummy bag inside my other bag and just couldn't find the middle between too hot and too cold.

Saturday we headed out around 10:00. I was always careful to not force the steering too hard for fear of braking the draglink. What usually happens when I'm always looking for the easiest line is that I end up taking tougher ones on accident (go figure ). The draglink meant skipping the Old Sluice and heading down towards Buck Island via the slab.

When we got to the Big Sluice we were surprised at its appearance. Being late in the summer there are usually a lot of rocks stacked, but this was ridiculous. Whereas you usually have to weave your way through and over the rocks, most of the large ones were pushed to the right side, with a "highway" down the left. Things got a bit more interesting towards the bottom but were easier than usual overall.

We made it down to Rubicon Springs by noon and had lunch. With memories of cold wind and fire restrictions we opted to push on and head out. By 2:00 we were at the top of Cadillac Hill and headed towards Tahoe. The amount of work that FOTR and the other powers that be have done on the road out is amazing. Hopefully that will keep the greenies appeased.

After picking up our stuff at Stagecoach and gassing up we headed out at 5:00. We had to take the drive home a bit slower than usual (avg. 60 mph) 'cause my dad's YJ has been acting up a bit on long drives in the heat. On the bright side, I registered 17.6 mpg on one leg (gps verified).

Okay, the writeup turned out a bit longer than I had planned but what the heck. It was a fun trip (which ones aren't), though it was quite a whirlwind. Unfortunately, no wheeling for me now 'til I get the steering fixed.

Jeff

[TObject]

Wow, sounds like that was a tough trip. I hope it was fun, anyway. I think I will be looking for a spare drag link for when I get to run Rubicon. How hard is it to replace a TJ draglink on the trail?

[sethmark]

Funny. A Bad day on Rubicon is still better than a great day most anywhere else.

Sorry to hear of the troubles. Its a LONG drive for a headache!

Humpty Dumpty Land: Formerly Tightey Whitey World

[Robert J. Yates]

Seeing your draglink all tweaked out does alot for the fun factor doesn't it Jeff The phrase "Am I gonna make it outta here or what" somehow keeps entering your mindset.

Glad you had a good time - man that drive down the 5 sux doesn't it

98 TJ Sport
D44ARB/D30Detroit/Teralow/Swampers
www.geocities.com/yatezess/

[Jeff Weston]

TO, changing the draglink is a snap if you have a tierod puller. I had the puller but no draglink to swap out.

Robert, you hit the emotions right on the head. This trip was just my turn to have problems. My brothers draglink is also toast but is not in imminent danger of failure as mine appeared to be. As for the 5, it does suck after driving it for the umpteenth time this summer alone. On the way back we took the 99 and it was a whole lot better. Although you pass a number of dairies, there are many more towns to drive through and less traffic and construction. I think I'll go that way from now on.

As for the trail, it was still and always is a blast. I'm just sorry that I'll have to wait 8 months to run it again.

Jeff

[Robert J. Yates]

I've driven the 99 on my way back from Yosemite and Bass Lake but never from that far north - did you save any time?

As for the drag link - you most definitely do not need a puller Seriously, that will just frag your rod end boots. I have found that a hammer works very well and with a few well placed blows and maybe some tension from a small pry bar - the ends drop right out. When I first got my Jeep, I couldn't get the sway bar links off to install my disconnects by using a pickle fork so I went to over to your dad's favorite shop in Pomona Jason basically showed me the hammer trick (N/c for once) and told me that if I was going to own a Jeep, I should invest in a good set of hammers

You ought to call Scotties to see if you can't at least get some stock drag links to tide you and your bro over until the re-designed Currie steering comes out.

98 TJ Sport
D44ARB/D30Detroit/Teralow/Swampers
www.geocities.com/yatezess/

[TJRON]

Robert,
Are you hitting the nut or the side of the thing the end is in? A friend just showed me how easy it is to hit the ear or whatever a few times and have it drop out. Is this what you do?
Ron

[Robert J. Yates]

Not hitting the nut at all Ron. For example where the rod end connects with the knuckle, I hit the knuckle right next to the rod end. To drop the drag link off the pitman, I actually smacked on the pitman a tad and it dropped right out. I was a little leary of this as I didn't want to damage the sector shaft of the steering box by banging on it real hard but the drag link dropped right out with jsut a few small wacks of the hammer. I suppose you could also smack on the drag link itself in area as well - I figure mine got good and loose after breaking the snot out of it though

98 TJ Sport
D44ARB/D30Detroit/Teralow/Swampers
www.geocities.com/yatezess/

[Jeff Weston]

Robert,

Thanks for the hookup, I'm getting a draglink from Scotty's. I may or may not take it to 4XDoc and have them beef it up depending how far out the Currie's are on their setup.

As for the puller, my little tierod puller slips in front of the boot and has yet to damage one. The pickle fork on the other hand ... I've used the hammer technique with fine results too but have been hesitant to do it on the pitman arm. My puller was a pain to get in there last time so I may just hammer it since it worked fine for you.

Jeff

[TJRON]

Yep, that's what this friend showed me.
He is a mechanic and just learned it at the drive line shop he works at. I wish some one showed me this trick years ago!
Ron

[Tumbleweed]

Just an addendum to the BFH trick: use a backing hammer on the backside of the knuckle will also help to "shock" the bar loose. We use this same method on our concrete trucks and they have 2-1/4" rod diameters! It works! Just hold the backing hammer against the knuckle while you hit with the other hammer.