Hut Lakes vs. a TJ

Place: Hut Lakes, B.C., Canada (north of North Vancouver>

Date: August 3, 1997

Cast:

Jonathan Yim	TJ
Tanya & Rob Bryce	YJ
Jim Mijali	YJ
Phil Gough & Juno the Dog	YJ
Jeff Franchuk and Cameron	Ford F150
Gord Pritchard and Lloyd	FJ45
Larry Soo	YJ
Special appearances by:
Wilkin Girindra, Kathy & Steve	Toyota Pickup

It's 7:00 in the evening and we're feeding the mosquitoes while waiting for Wil to bring an axle for Jonathan's broken TJ. I'm using this down time to write about the day's events.

When we planned to do the Hut Lakes trail, we envisioned a challenging but routine day-trip. Hut Lakes, while difficult, is not known for breaking vehicles. At least not until today.

Things were going well on the way to the first lake, Hut. The only damage was sustained by Jim whose red YJ bounced sideways, running the front bumper into a small tree. The passenger side of the bumper took the impact, bending backwards, pushing the driving light into the fender. Result: a severely bent bumper end and a mildly dented leading edge on the fender. Not too bad.

Jonathan adds: I was behind Jim when he did this and I was wondering why he decided to run over that tree. I also watched him later as he used Larry's 8274 to try and straighten out his bumper. Having first-hand experience with winch repairs with Larry's winch (he ripped my side- step bracket off because the winch pulled it too far forward), I tried to warn Jim -- then I watched as he butted his Jeep against a tree trying to push his bumper back because the winch pulled the lower edge too far forward.

At Hut Lake, we stopped to enjoy the gorgeous weather. This was one of those days where being in the great British Columbia outdoors is a religious experience. As usual, we were the only ones here. Just as Jeff pulled into Hut Lake, he heard a crunching noise coming from his front end. He had a broken u-joint on the driver-side axle shaft.

Jonathan adds: That was quite strange as someone else mentioned because it was flat trail at that point. Unfortunately, none of us had a spare u-joint that would fit, but I understand Jeff didn't have too much trouble getting his truck out later.

He left it parked at the lake and he and his passenger, Cameron, piled into the Jeeps. Since Rob didn't have his truck with him, Jim was generous enough to let Rob drive his YJ for a while. Minutes later Rob radioed, "sorry, Jim." Hmm...that's not the kind of thing Jim wanted to hear. Rob had the YJ leaning against a tree, halfway up a steep rock face. The rear fender flare was mashed against a tree and in imminent danger of severe damage. We hooked Jonathan's TJ to the YJ and gently pulled it onto and over the rock. The flare sustained no damage but I'm not so sure about Rob's ego.

The second leg of the Hut Lakes trail run is the hardest. The route to Upper Hut Lake has three loose rock sections which are always changing. The first section wasn't too bad. Gord Pritchard was having the most difficulty since his 'Cruiser has only been on the road for a few weeks in its current incarnation. Gord did a substantial rebuild of his FJ45 pickup (which he bought with no motor), installing a V8 and TH700R4 tranny along the way. Although it ran great, it still sported the pizza cutter bias-ply tires and massive spring packs that it came with. As we expected, it needed a huge improvement in articulation. At one particularly rutted section, Gord dragged his driver's side rocker panel and box along a rock face jutting out of a bank. It was bad but the FJ was going to get much needed bodywork in the future anyways. So, no big deal.

Jonathan comments: Gord seemed surprisingly unperturbed by the folded rocker and dent in the bed of the pickup. I remember thinking to myself "Gee, these guys sure don't let much faze them. I wonder what I'd be like if I took serious damage." Maybe I ought to just shut-up when I think to myself.

Gord decided that he had had enough for the day. He and Lloyd hopped into the nearest available seat and we were on our way again. Seconds after we started moving again, Jim said to me, "I wonder whose vehicle we'll have to abandon next?" We had our answer minutes later.

Rob adds: Gord and Lloyd had hopped in with me and Cameron. At the same time, we started talking about the strength of the Jeep axles, and wondering how well the hold up over the long term, etc. I made the comment that the axles are likely okay for the most part, that I'd seen a D35 break before, but never the front D30 (though I have heard of them breaking). Then I start hoping that I don't break something, after just saying that...

Jonathan further adds: Tanya was riding with me and made some comment about damage and I was trying to assure her that we actually do try to *avoid* damage. I like think she had been having fun and was on the verge of taking her '89 YJ Sahara on future runs... Anyway, I was trying to think of a metaphor about damage (sometimes I wish I was stupider so I don't think so much) when I saw Phil head up a particularly challenging looking section. Phil has been considering getting a TJ to replace his very-capable but finicky '89 YJ...

Jonathan was trying to finesse his TJ up and into The Trench, the hardest section of the trail. Maybe finesse isn't the right word.

Jonathan retorts: Thanks, Larry. You're just trying to make me feel better, aren't you?

Finessing doesn't usually result in a loud, metallic BANG sound but that's exactly what his TJ said just before it stopped moving.

Jonathan further retorts: Sure, rub my nose in it too.

The entrance into The Trench requires climbing up a v-shaped rock slope and turning sharply just as your front wheels crest the top. Jonathan's TJ got some bouncing action happening and he didn't get off the throttle fast enough.

Jonathan clarifies: Actually, I made it most of the way up on my first try, and then even further on the second try. Jeff said I was "oh, so close" to being over, so I figured I would try and gently bump myself up with a bit of momentum. The big BANG told me my definition of "gentle" was at odds with my axle's.

Everyone got on their hands and knees to inspect the TJ's undercarriage. We couldn't see any damage so Jonathan tried to move it forward while we continued looking at the drivetain. The rear driveshaft was turning but both rear wheels remained motionless. Something was broken in the rear axle housing.

Rob interjects: At first, we thought it was "just" a broken set of spider gears. That would have been a relative "good thing"...

After Phil winched the TJ into The Trench, we jacked it up and popped the diff cover (in the process, I got doused in gear oil). Diagnosis: a broken passenger-side axle shaft. This is bad news if you've got a Dana 35C (ie: Jonathan) because that meant we could not drive the Jeep out of the woods without repairing or replacing the shaft.

Jonathan adds: Up to this point in my life, I'd considered myself a 0.5 banana grease monkey (on an ambitious day). Now I actually understand the inner workings of my rear axle and helped put it back together so maybe I can upgrade myself to a full banana. I'd prefer to have learned in a different way.

Rob opens up the diff while we await the diagnosis

Jonathan proudly displays the by-products of a Jeep Chrysler product when driven offroad

In any case, the damage was as follows: The passenger side axle shaft twisted itself around and broke along the splines that connect it to the side gear. It fragmented into a whole pile of pieces (which I'm going to epoxy together and make a trophy out of) and these little pieces gouged the side gears and took a big chunk out of the carrier.

We had no welder so a repair was definitely out of the question. As Rob set about removing the gears, carrier and shaft parts, some of us started making a series of calls on the cell phone, trying to locate another axle shaft. Did I mention that this is the middle of a long weekend?

Jonathan adds: At that point I had no idea how much work was ahead of us. I'd heard people say "something" about the c-clip in the D35C but I didn't really understand. I figured most trail fixes generally required a bit of duct tape and we could be on our merry way. I suppose ignorance really isn't bliss.

Gord had to get Lloyd back to town and since Tanya had to catch a ferry back to Vancouver Island, she rode back to Squamish with them so she could retrieve her stock YJ which she parked at a gas station.

Jonathan asks: So, Rob, do you think Tanya'll be bringing her truck out with us anytime soon?

Rob was supposed to be catching the ferry with Tanya but he had volunteered to stay and do the axle removal and installation almost as soon as we discovered the problem.

Jonathan adds: I just love that guy. In fact, the whole group of guys that I offroad with have this unbelievable willingness to help everyone. Beyond a doubt, all of these guys are good samaritans of the highest order. I'd known that all along, and I wish I'd never had to test that belief, but I sure am glad they were all there for me. Thanks really aren't enough, but my heart-felt gratitude goes out to Rob, Wil and Larry for their herculean efforts in saving my ass. Jim, Phil, Jeff and Gord were also pivotal in helping me retain my sanity. (or at least what's left).

Before leaving, Gord left his coveralls with us.

Finally, we had some good news. Our buddy, Wilkin Girindra, returned our call and offered to pick up whatever we needed and bring it to us (about two hours away). Unfortunately, the only replacement parts we knew of were in a dealer rebuilt axle sitting in Dave and Pam's yard. This was unfortunate because they had passed us a few hours earlier on their way to explore trails around Windy Ridge, many hours north of our position. After much discussion on the ethics of grabbing a friend's parts without their permission, we came to a somewhat palatable solution. We were able to contact their daughter, Kathleen. She said it'd be okay if Wil came by to pick up the axle so that's exactly what he did. He's now on his way here.

Jonathan adds: Boy, do I owe them big. Really big. As in "my first born is going to have 15 first names" big.

In the meantime, Rob has removed the carrier in order to clean out the rest of the broken axle shaft pieces. We've helped as much as we could but Rob's pretty much doing all of the work since he has the most experience (and he seems to really be enjoying himself ). He wants to re-assemble as much as the axle as possible so that when Wil arrives, we can quickly slip in the new shaft, zip it up and be on our way.

Waiting for Wil

Rob comments: Fun? Yeah, anytime it's not _my_ broken truck that I am working on, it's fun! Especially when it's in the middle of no-where, we're blocking a trail (and we didn't know if there were any groups ahead of us that we were trapping), and I'm lying on a bed of small rocks! Yeah, I guess it was fun. But more importantly, I got to learn more about these vehicles ... on someone else's toy!

[The rest of this narrative has been written the following day]

Since there was nothing left to do but wait, Jeff took his passenger, Cameron, back home. He left us his lantern and some water which he brought back up from his Ford.

Wil arrived later than we expected, around 10:30p. By that time it was quite dark and I had long ago put on the coveralls which Gord left, not so much for keeping my other clothes clean but to provide a barrier between me and the mosquitoes. Coveralls would have helped Phil: a bird crapped on him while he was sitting under a tree.

Jonathan adds: We were being eaten alive by the mosquitoes... or at least I was. That Deep Woods Off was just extra seasoning for those bugs! I sure felt guilty that everyone else was suffering too.

As a side note: we also found out that the dealer rebuilt axle of Pam & Dave's wasn't put back together very well... the pinion was carving deep grooves into the carrier. I guess I'll be visiting the dealer along with Dave.

Rob learns: I found out a better mosquitoe repellent than "Deep Woods"! Just make sure your arms, etc. are completely smeared with gear oil! I didn't have a single mosquitoe bite on my arms all night!

In the meantime, Gord was having some problems on his way back down the trail. His steering was feeling notchy and gradually got worse until it completed locked up on him. He stopped and repositioned the steering box which seemed to correct the problem. The following day he figured out the cause of the notchiness: a nut had backed off of his front grill and jammed itself into the steering linkage.

Wil had brought along a couple of friends, the Dana 35C axle, some gear oil, some tools and BEER! We used his tailgate as a work table and began to disassemble the fresh axle housing. We had already removed two axle shafts from Jonathan's TJ so it took very little time to pull the shaft and a good side gear from this housing. Once the TJ had the new shaft, it took some grunting to squeeze the spider gears back into the carrier (due to the tight load on the limited slip unit) but we did it. The cover went on, gear oil went in, and we cleaned ourselves up.

Rob adds: I had a choice of swallowing a beer first or working on the axle. I actually waited 'til the TJ was re-assembled before having the cold one. This is amazing, anyone who knows me will attest to that!

The Trench has high walls on either side and is less than two vehicles wide (hence the name) so Jonathan either had to back down and out or climb out the other end, turn around, and then come back through The Trench. Jonathan tried going forward and up. With Phil's winch straining and killing his battery while trying to pull the TJ up the other end of The Trench and Jonathan's tires helplessly clawing at the steep slope, we decided that backing up, however ugly, would be the only way out.

Rob adds: This was a bad choice on my part. I thought that backing down the climb into the trench would be a Very Bad Thing, especially in the dark, so it was my idea that Jonathan should drive forward, through the trench, then turn around and drive back down. As it turns out, backing the TJ down the climb into the trench wasn't as bad as I was expecting. And if we had done that first, it would have likely meant getting home a half-hour sooner.

Jonathan adds: I was totally bagged by the time we were driving out. I was *so* cautious I was just feathering the clutch and not even touching the gas. Just one more incident would probably have pushed me over the edge. Right from when we figured out I had internal axle damage I had figured that I would be driving out in front wheel drive, but Dr. Rob performed miracle surgery and I was driving out in 4WD.

The spotters had to use flashlights on all sides of the TJ. It took a while but he was able to guide his TJ backwards and down the v-rock slop without any damage.

Jonathan remembers: "It took awhile" is an understatement. I was so tired I was barely watching and basically just listening to the spotters on each end of the vehicle for "turn this way" and "okay back up some more".

On the way out, I pulled a "Jim" and ran my driver's side into a tree while trying to negotiate my way around a rock that was feeling out my very sensitive rear diff. It turns out I didn't even get a scratch (I guess the tire was pushing against the tree and not my fender -- and I was going really slow) but at 2am I was a bit beyond caring anyway.

Just under two hours later, we were in Squamish, airing up our tires and choking down $1.29 7-11 "hamburgers", pop, and sandwiches.

Rob adds: ...and we're still alive!

We left Squamish at 2:15a and since there was no traffic, we made it into Vancouver in about half-an-hour, a record time for some of us (those of us who don't also own a sport-bike ). I was showered and in bed by 4:30a.

We might not have done much offroading that day but I rate that as one of the best trips I've been on, not for the offroading but for the camaraderie and teamwork.

Jonathan finishes: Well, I wouldn't call it "one of the best trips I've been on", but the camaraderie and teamwork was on a scale I'd never even considered possible. I've never felt quite that helpless before -- it's not an experience I'd care to have again, but it sure makes me value all my offroad friends all that much more.

I guess my TJ isn't as bulletproof as I'd hoped.

...so, any wagers on if I can get this covered under warranty?

Jonathan (funny how my priority to get a D44 just changed)

..lars