Calgary Jeep Association

General Forums => Chit-Chat => Topic started by: Pookapotamus on January 02, 2010, 08:52:37 AM

Title: kinda crappy holidays
Post by: Pookapotamus on January 02, 2010, 08:52:37 AM
well my holidays were kinda crappy this year because of this:

(http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii191/pookapotamus/posts/IMG00074.jpg)

we were on our way to north battleford sask and got way out in the middle of nowhere when we started to hear a clunking sound from the front end, we had the death wobble twice earlire on our trip when we flew over rail road tracks (this death wobble has been an ongoing problem for a while) so i figured it was some thing to do with that and stoppet the jeep and got out to check. i grabbed both front tires and shook the snot out of them trying to feel for any play, i could feel nothing! so we continued on our way as the clunk was really minor. we got another 100km and all of a sudden the clunk gets really loud so once again i stop the jeep and shake every thing for a clue to whats going on, and again cant feel anything i even crawled under the jeep and checked the drive shafts and still could not figure anything out.

so me and Mrs. Pook decide to head for the nearest town that has a garage (thanks to my new gps ;D )all the while the clunk is getting horrible and i am panicing as to wtf is wrong with the front end, was thinking pinnion bearing bit the big one. when suddenly the front tire makes a break for freadom and passes us! the jeep dropped onto its rotor and we slid to a stop watching the front tire playing in the snow in the ditch. so now it is painfully obvious that the lugnuts came loose and i am cursing myself for not catching this. so long story short Mrs. Pook rounded up the renagade tire while i jacked the jeep up and stole nuts from the other tires to bolt it back on, took it to a tire shop bought some new nuts and off we went.


i am pretty sure the rim is buggered from the hammering it took as we drove on it for a good 20 km with loose nuts. but at least we were lucky that we were only doing 60 when the tire came off and there was no traffic comming the other way for the tire to hit. and that none of the studs were damaged. although i need a new rotor as i lost a good half inch from this one after is scraped on the ground.

so i hope everyone else had a better holiday than me this year and i wish everyone the best of luck in the new year!
Title: Re: kinda crappy holidays
Post by: specialk on January 02, 2010, 09:08:45 AM
Glad to hear you guys are ok.  What rims?  The new ones? 

Need to borrow my torque wrench buddy?  ;)
Title: Re: kinda crappy holidays
Post by: Pookapotamus on January 02, 2010, 09:29:37 AM
no they were the old crappy rims, and i have my own torque wench, just cant figure out how these came off?  ???
Title: Re: kinda crappy holidays
Post by: cLAY on January 02, 2010, 10:34:45 AM
You also need a new sway bar link. DD it without the sway bar hooked up isn't a good idea......
Title: Re: kinda crappy holidays
Post by: Pookapotamus on January 02, 2010, 11:16:20 AM
ya clay thats been off for a couple of months just never got around to buying new ones ::)
Title: Re: kinda crappy holidays
Post by: dunl on January 02, 2010, 11:32:23 AM
You're safe, Mrs. Pook is safe....you might feel kind of stupid (and anyone would), but the main thing is you guys are safe. 

That's the good thing.  :)
Title: Re: kinda crappy holidays
Post by: morerpmfred on January 02, 2010, 11:32:39 AM
Good thing you have the tools and the ablity to do a field repair and there was no real disaster like a rollover or headon.
Title: Re: kinda crappy holidays
Post by: XJHERO on January 02, 2010, 12:02:21 PM
snug up all the nuts than use the torque wrench after the wait of the jeep is on the rim.
Title: Re: kinda crappy holidays
Post by: esi on January 02, 2010, 12:10:35 PM
I've had rims start to loosen. It seems with alluminum wheels and the thread pitch of the studs, that you have to check the lugs a couple of times after taking a wheel off. if you need studs I have some spare studs around
Title: Re: kinda crappy holidays
Post by: cLAY on January 02, 2010, 01:17:58 PM
No front trac bar hooked up and the wheel came off..... You and your wife are lucky, REALLY lucky....... :-\
Title: Re: kinda crappy holidays
Post by: hps4evr on January 02, 2010, 04:53:55 PM
wow. thats a gooder! like others have said, it could have been way worse. my dad lost a rear wheel on his truck years ago. as the tire came off it went behind and the box of the truck came down hard on it. pretty much crumpling the box side. he'd been driving for about an hour and was just turning onto our street when it happened. i kinda laughed. but it could have been bad if it was on the highway.
happy new year :)
Title: Re: kinda crappy holidays
Post by: MB.Muffin on January 03, 2010, 11:41:59 PM
I'm sorry you had a crappy holiday.... but i've experienced losing the tire AND having to chase it... but I had to chase it thru Calgary traffic on 68th Street and 16th Ave. Not Fun... But all the same it was pretty funny when it happened to me lol.

hope you get it all fixed up. :)
Title: Re: kinda crappy holidays
Post by: Zombie on January 03, 2010, 11:42:52 PM
snug up all the nuts than use the torque wrench after the wait of the jeep is on the rim.

I agree with the snug them up making sure the lugs are centered in the lug holes(happends with aftermarket wheels with larger hubs) but torque the wheel without any load on it. use a wheel chock while it is in the air.
then about 50 km later check the torque. if the rotors are warm, the nuts will tighten a little more than the rear(I figure this has to do with the heat stretching the studs a little or something like that).


Glad you are ok though.
Title: Re: kinda crappy holidays
Post by: LifesGrand on January 04, 2010, 05:01:21 PM
Glad your ok...

http://forum.calgaryjeep.com/index.php?topic=13963.msg86478#msg86478
Title: Re: kinda crappy holidays
Post by: YoungFluff03TJ on January 04, 2010, 08:55:42 PM
Aw man that sucks. Saw a guy over summer who had the same problem on his way home from Mclean :(
BTW I have 2 sway bar end links from my TJ that I had on for about 2 months before I lifted it. In case you wanna snatch them up ;)