Stranded in Butte, Montana :-(

[TPICherokee]

My Cherokee was running so well on this trip but I think I jinxed it when I said, "Hey, this thing is running pretty good..." Before I left I broke the ring gear and obviously had it replaced, well nobody told me that the positraction might have been comprimised (I am not sure if it was, it just sounds good). The spider gears took a dump and it still moves, sort of. Now it just sounds like the tires want to stop about every 100 yards (or 2 feet depending on if I am turning) makes some horrible noise and keeps driving. Now I am in search for a truck and a trailer to get this thing home. Called U-haul yesterday and they said that my truck was too heavy and long and wide for their trailers. Now off to call Ryder and the other places. Ho-humm... You know this didn't frustruate me as badly as I thought it would have...

Brent

[ July 24, 2003, 07:10 AM: Message edited by: TPICherokee ]

[gwinn]

That's sucks! :( U-haul has a silver auto-transport trailer that should work, it can handle a truck with stance up to 79". Do you have a Dana--60? If so that may be too wide. Good luck Brent!

[Glenn_tx]

Dang, that sucks.

You may consider purchasing a used car hauler/trailer and renting a truck one way. Sell the trailer when you get home for whatever you pay.

[Heimeken]

Sorry to hear that brent, good luck. Maybe there is a member in the area that can help.

[doubletime]

I have loaded a full size 1 ton Chevy into a 26' U-haul and carried it over 200 miles. We just didn't bother telling the U'haul guy we were going to do it. Yes, it was a tight fit. My friend had to exit the cab via the rear slider after setting the parking brake.

What about checking local salvage yards for a replacement axle? Might be cheaper than renting a u-haul and you'd have a spare axle when you got home.

OK, I'll be quiet now....

Pete

[TPICherokee]

Every U-haul I have called said that their trailers are too small for my truck. I put a rear axle out of a J-truck (3" wider on each side than the regular Cherokee Chief). I finally found a truck and a trailer for $952 one way (OUCH!) so I am looking into other avenues.

I am calling wrecking yards just trying to find a rear axle and swapping them (not looking forward to that!). Cherokees W/T are hard to find... does anyone know if a rear axle from a Wagoneer N/T would work? There are lots of those...

Brent

[Tad]

Wow, that bites Brent.
Not sure about the NT axle, I'm sure it bolts in if it's not from a older post mount.
Not sure if that's going to bring those tires in to close or what.

[Sitting Bull]

Wow, that's weird. I just rented a U-haul trailer when I took my Jeep to Tellico, they didn't give me any fits.

HOWEVER, when I first went to pick it up in Alabama a few years ago, they wouldn't let me rent a trailer for the same reasons your stating. So I went outside and measured the trailer, and assured myself it would fit. Then I went to the next U-haul place, and they asked what I was wanting to haul with it...

them...what type of vehicle?

me...A Jeep

them...what kind of Jeep?

me...I dunno - A JEEP-jeep

them...well do you know what year it is?

me...a 77

them...ahhh, it must be CJ-7 then (at this point he does some typing and checking, then hands me the keys and tells me which trailer to pick up).

By doing it that way, instead of flat-out lying to them, I figured I'd still be covered on the insurance in case something bad happened...

You might want to try this approach.

[Sitting Bull]

Cherokees W/T are hard to find... does anyone know if a rear axle from a Wagoneer N/T would work? There are lots of those...[/QB][/QUOTE]
------

Well, the bodies are the exact same, so the distance between the inner rear wells are also the same. That being said, as long as you don't have very wide tire it would be fine. If you do have wide tires, get some donuts or cheap spares from the junkyard.

Don't forget that by swapping the axle, brake bleeding work will be in your near future once you get home and swap it back.

[Retro93]

Originally posted by TPICherokee:
My Cherokee was running so well on this trip but I think I jinxed it when I said, "Hey, this thing is running pretty good..." Before I left I broke the ring gear and obviously had it replaced, well nobody told me that the positraction might have been comprimised (I am not sure if it was, it just sounds good). The spider gears took a dump and it still moves, sort of. Now it just sounds like the tires want to stop about every 100 yards (or 2 feet depending on if I am turning) makes some horrible noise and keeps driving. Now I am in search for a truck and a trailer to get this thing home. Called U-haul yesterday and they said that my truck was too heavy and long and wide for their trailers. Now off to call Ryder and the other places. Ho-humm... You know this didn't frustruate me as badly as I thought it would have...

BrentThat's curious about the UHaul. I just towed a '79 Cherokee from California to Kentucky on one of their car trailers. No problems. It fit just fine. Oh..I wouldn't recommend a Ryder trailer unless you like sitting beside the road waiting for one of their light duty "trailer tires" to be changed.

Another thought. Tell UHaul that you want to tow something smaller...like an S-10. Then load your Cherokee up and go. :D

[ July 24, 2003, 10:52 AM: Message edited by: Retro93 ]

[gwinn]

I just towed a '79 Cherokee from California to Kentucky on one of their car trailers. No problems. It fit just fine. Unfortunately Brent has the Dana-60 which is too wide to fit on the U-Haul silver auto-transport (which is their widest).

Brent, what is the width from the one tire to the other. If you got the stock wheels with a stock width tire, could you make it 79" or smaller?

[Geeeep]

I'm not sure what the inside dimensions are but I've seen people put vehicles inside of larger moving vans. Just get someone with a rollback to drag it up and back up to the truck.

Ryder rents a straight truck, 24' says it has a capacity of 26,000 lbs.

[TPICherokee]

Here is the latest..... Went to Missoula (approx 100 miles) in my rental Corolla :D Found a scrap yard 60 miles away from there that had a Wide Track Cherokee Rear end. Got there and checked them out and the one that would work someone had beat all of the wheel studs out of it. :confused: WHY?!!?!? So I did some measuring and figured that the NT axle would work and if not then who cares, I had to try.

We loaded it up in the Corolla (hehe) which also had all of our luggage, my tools, cooler, sleeping bags, etc, etc... It was crammed.

We then headed to Sears and got a jack and jackstands but as all of you know those jackstands are a joke with a lifted vehicle so off to the lumber store to get 12 feet of 2x10 cut in one foot sections for the jackstands. By now the Corolla was riding on the rear bumpstops. Hehehehe.. I am a good reason that people shouldn't buy used rental cars. (Plus it still went 110 mph on the freeway fully loaded - it took forever to get there)

For the next 2.5 hours, I removed the old axle and installed the new one in the K-Mart parking lot. Lots of people drove by REAL slow - probably wondering Great Googley MoogleyGreat Googley MoogleyGreat Googley Moogley I was doing. One guy stopped by and helped out, a couple others offered.. Montana is a cool state, people are nice.

Was getting everything wrapped up.. bled brakes, tightened u-bolts, tightened wheels, etc, etc, etc... I then got to the u-joint straps and I broke on in half.. :mad: It was now a 'J' instead of a 'U', By this time it was 7:30 and Checker (Kragen, Shucks, same thing) closed at 8. I installed the 'J' bolt as tight as I felt comfortable. We busted balls to get the old differential in the truck, all of our gear off of the ground (already returned the rental) and limped the Cherokee over to Checker (about .5 miles)... of course they didn't have it.. I will try NAPA tomorrow. Hopefully they will have it and then I will drain the fluid and put new in and try to make it home.

This differential is a lot quieter than the one that was in there (broken spider gears in the positraction). Thanks for all of the advice!

Brent

[ July 24, 2003, 09:02 PM: Message edited by: TPICherokee ]

[Glenn_tx]

What an ordeal. Take some pix of the NT on there.

Glad your headed home.

[RustyJeep]

You probably already thought of this, but why not just pull the front shaft and use the ubolt from that yoke? Then GO GO GO...get home!

[TPICherokee]

I did think about that but I put a one ton pinion, u-joints and driveshaft on my rear shaft because I am kind of a lead foot and my first to second shift on my transmission barks the tires when it shifts (I wonder why the spider gears grenaded?) So the front straps are too small :-(

Brent

[Heimeken]

That is so cool Brent, you are my hero!

[fulsizjeep]

Hang in there Brent. Sounds like you have figured out the solution and are on the road again. That is a bummer about the D60. The NT axel should work fine for your ride home. Let us know how things turn out. Good luck man! ;)

[Stuka]

you know...since ou have a NP208....why not just drive in FWD? I drove my cherokee like this when i bent the rear shaft. Granted go easy on the gas, as the front shaft isnt as strong. But it should be strong enough to limp ithome. Once on the freeway it wont hurt anything, just becareful with your heavy foot ;)

[TPICherokee]

I thought about that but the NP 208 I have is out of a Chevy and it has a rear slip yoke, not a u-joint mount like the AMC/Dodge version. Also that rear end was so buggered up it wouldn't work anyway, I tried running it in neutral and it did the same thing (noisy). It's off to NAPA now to see if they have my strap, cross your fingers...

Brent

[Sambo]

lmao you should have took an extra axle like heimekin :rolleyes: ;)

[Retro93]

OUCH! ;)

[TPICherokee]

Maybe I should have. Just got back from Napa and they had the strap. Now I will check the oil in the diff and be on my way home! Woo-hoo... I guess I shouldn't celebrate yet, huh?

Brent

[scott taylor]

**** DUDE!!!! What an adventure(please make it STOP)... best of luck getting it back home...

[Tad]

That was just cruel Sam smile.gif

[ColeTrickle]

Daggum dude!
Just got back home.
I thought I was the only one with problems getting back. Vapor lock and a malfunctioning pusher fan was the only problems I had.
Hope all is well.
;)

[timmirvin]

It is threads like this, that:
#1 Just make me want to go to events even more
#2 Remind me that the extra time and money (especially $$) it will take to buy a trailer and make Harley my tow rig will be very very worth it smile.gif smile.gif smile.gif

[timmirvin]

As I think back at all the repairs I have made over the years on the road/away from home....maybe this would be a good poll for this evening.....

[TPICherokee]

It kind of amazes me that someone (me) could take a $200 junkyard narrowtrack rear end, not check the wheel bearings or the gear oil (I filled it, didn't change it) and drive 600 miles home with zero problems.

I am home now and everything seems hunkey dorey. I appreciate all of your concern.

Does anyone in the PNW want to buy a used NT axle? I won't charge too much for the delivery fee from Butte to Gig Harbor, lol. I am not sure what gears are in it, but they suck. I was in Drive going 80 mph at about 2500 rpm. If I wanted to use overdrive, I would've had to be going about 110 (no, I didn't try).

Thanks again guys, oh yeah, and no trailer for me, this was too much fun.

Brent

[gwinn]

Sounds like the makings of a memorable vacation! smile.gif

[tomd]

For the next 2.5 hours, I removed the old axle and installed the new one in the K-Mart parking lot. Lots of people drove by REAL slow - probably wondering Great Googley MoogleyGreat Googley MoogleyGreat Googley Moogley I was doing. One guy stopped by and helped out, a couple others offered.. Montana is a cool state, people are nice.
Thats right!

I just now saw this, that sucks, glad you could get it put together and home though.

[Wesdog]

Probably a dumb question and I don't know much about axles but couldn't you get a used D60 open carrier with spider gears from a junkyard and swap out the broken posi to get going? I suppose you would need to adjust the ring and pinion. That assumes good axle shafts/bearings. I have a D60FF rear with posi so I'm asking in case I get in this situation?

Wesdog

http://www.fullsizejeeps.com/jeeps/files/Misc-Pictures/wesdog_avitar1.jpg

[TPICherokee]

I could've done this but I didn't have any tools to set it up or really want to take a gear oil shower in the k-mart parking lot...

Brent

[raider]

Brent, I guess it wouldn't be the best time to ask if you could find me a part, eh? Seriously, sorry to hear about your breakage and hope you get home okay. We also had our own misadventure and were stranded in Ouray until thursday. I broke the driverside rear spring hanger which caused my axle to pivot forward about 2 inches. had it towed to Montrose and after a couple of days we located one in Grand Junction. Five bills later we were on our way home. Good luck and drive safely!

[Max Power]

Wow, amazing story... Brent, I don't remember the story of how you broke a d-60 ring gear. would you mind enlightening me/us? I kinda thought that they were big and pretty tough, I figgered the u-joint would let go way b-4 the ring gear.

thx
Robert

[gwinn]

Good to see you made it back home also, Bill. Sounds like you've got a vacation to remember. As far as I can tell, Reuben is the only one who hasn't checked in.

[billyrb]

Talk about a true jeep enthusiast!

[TPICherokee]

It wasn't the week for Cherokees, huh? Bill, Reuben and I all had Cherokees. And they all broke something... I broke a the spider gears, Reuben blew his power steering box and Bill broke the shackle.. weird. Maybe all of you people with your wussy narrow-tracks were jealous and sabatoged all of the wide-tracks, lol!!

Brent

[ July 26, 2003, 09:05 PM: Message edited by: TPICherokee ]

[Tad]

Your're home?

Debbie has not killed you?

Good luck and great meeting you both.

Check you're email when you have time, I got an auto reply to the questions you sent.

[Stuka]

I have a question...if you have a D60 in back normally...how did you mount your tires on a 6 lug D44?

[TPICherokee]

ahhh, I just read gwinns post about that. I have a rear axle out of a J-10 which is a Dana 44 but it is 3" wider on each side than the W/T Cherokee Dana 44. That is why it was too wide for a U-haul trailer supposedly... That is how I mounted everything on 6 lug axles.

Brent

[gwinn]

ahhh, I just read gwinns post about that. I have a rear axle out of a J-10 which is a Dana 44 but it is 3" wider on each side than the W/T Cherokee Dana 44. Oops, I assumed it was a D60 from a J20! I knew it was phat! Oh well, my bad! redface.gif

[Crazy_Jeepman]

Glad you made it! I guess I do not understand I have loaded quite a few J10 and J20 trucks on Uhaul trailers, as well as WT Chero's with no problems.

[TPICherokee]

There might be different sizes of U-haul trailers and since I was in Montana (not too many truck rental places) maybe they didn't have the correct size. I did find a Budget that was willing to rent me a truck and a trailer for $952 plus a $100 deposit. That's when I decided to just fix it.

Brent

[Chero77]

Awesome story!

[eugene75]

Phew, I need a drink.....root beer should work. What a tale!!!

[Narnian]

Ya know, I rented a car-carrier trailer from U-haul eight weeks ago, and TOLD them I was towing a gutted J20. It fit just fine. I had no trouble getting the D60 on there. I admit there was no room leftover, but it fit. $50/day returning it to the place I rented it.

Glad you made it home. I think I have to agree with you . . . there MUST have been a conspiracy against the Cherokee Widetracks!

[ July 29, 2003, 12:42 PM: Message edited by: Narnian ]