I broke Bonnie on Daniel at URE. Details are on the LCC site.
Thanks to the huge helping heart of David Benke I got her back home but she's virtually undriveable and I need to get her to Ralph Hayes or someone. It looks like the lower RF control arm is bent. She's also stuck in low range. Anybody got a trailer? Or any other ideas?
Thanks.
Om cruiser cruiser ommm.
b
Dang Bill..................sorry to hear about the troubles. I spoke w/ Brock at the outpost and metioned to him just how hard i was pushing on your Tcase to get it unstuck the first time this happened. Hope this works out for you and wish i could help. (a big ratchet strap might be able to move the Tcase to the passenger side enough for you to get out of low)???
Bill, if you haven't found any help by the end of the week, then call me or PM me. I've got exams through Friday here at Clemson, but I'll be home this weekend and I don't have any plans for this weekend or next week yet. I can get a trailer and haul her if you need me to. It'll just have to wait til this wkend or next week. Good luck though!
found an image of Cowgirl Bonnie enthralling the crowd at URE! would still like to see the closeups of what happened to your lower A-arm though? That's pretty amazing that it bent.
Thanks everybody. Alan and Karl thanks for the help. I can't wait for the weekend and have any hope of getting her fixed by the next weekend when we were planning to take her to the Chesapeake and OBX. I doubt RHT can replace the t-case before next year anyway. But just in case my local guy can't get it out of low range how about PMing me some phone numbers so we can haul it over there after he fixes the suspension. Thanks. I'll just take the Stang to Va and forget about sandwheeling this trip.So I'm going to try to get it fixed locally. The suspension should be fixable and the t-case should at least be coaxable back into high, if not fixed.
Marshall I'm glad I was able to live up to your high expectations. My main practical goal wheeling is to learn my limits. I guess I found one, i.e. keep your cool and don't drop too hard on a front wheel.
Rick I don't remember anyone taking any pics, if I find one I'll post it. But it took hours for us to see it and I'm still not sure we found the full story. There may be more, there may have been some movement where the suspension is mounted to the frame. We couldn't see that from the ground. I'll save the parts.
Jason Brock and David both pushing hard as they could didn't work, we tried that before we loaded her on the trailer Sunday. Brock sent me a link to a thread on the blue forum with a number of similar cases, all fixed under warranty. I'm going to take a chance and look under the lid and see if we can't at least get it to shift into high before next week. If that doesn't work I guess I'll haul her to Anderson and see if they will replace it, again.
Anybody got any recommendations for a cheaper, better t-case if T won't replace it, again?
b
haha but seriosly dont forget to let em know (if they dont already) this happened w/ the Tcase from very early on in your ownership of the vehicle. Hope all goes well, and you dont have to setup bonnie with a long travel kit to fix her remember its not breakage.............................
. . . it's an upgrade opportunity. Yeah I know. How much is an inchworm lefty? I mentioned it at the shop and they had never heard of it. New yota t-case is 23 something hundred. It finally slipped back into high this morning as I was pulling into the 4x4 shop. I'll leave it alone until after the Christmas roadtrip (Va Beach and OBX) then try low again. Next time it sticks I'll try to stick it to yota for a new one. If they spring, and they should, then I'll decided whether to try to sell it and buy an inchworm or hang with the OEM.
Brock sent me some links in the Blue Forum and I learned A) it's a fairly common problem, so much so that at one time they were stocking spares on the left coast and B) they are now replacing them with a different part #.
As for the bent suspension: it was the spindle. The arm that grows out of the wheel hub where the tie rod connects was a half inch or inch sprung compared to the left (good) side. Jeff took both sides off and laid them on the floor to check. It was hard to see, but a definite warp. Replacement four plus, plus new steelie one fifty. With UC discount total $403 and change.Not bad. Throw in two or three hours at $62.50 and an alignment and bada bing.
Plus two tire remounts and I'm laughing. I'll put the tire with the eaten up lugs on the spare wheel with the bears and the old spare swamper on the new steelie.
Could have been much worse. Well I guess it still could but that's how it looks at this point in time.
God is good.
b
remember its not breakage.............................