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Hut Lakes vs. a TJPlace: Hut Lakes, B.C., Canada (north of North Vancouver> Date: August 3, 1997
Cast:
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: 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.
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 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. 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. 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
[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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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
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