One Reason why I haven’t been posting very much lately
September 7, 2008
There’s actually a couple of reasons, but this is one that I wanted to share. What you are looking at in this picture is the driver side wheel of my Jeep CJ-7.
This may not look too familiar to you because there is usually a tire, lug nuts, and brake drum on in front of what you see.
Long story short, my axle broke off, and my tire went traveling down the road without me. Art and I talk a great deal about it on Episode 21 of The Two Guys Tech Podcast, and Art actually even used it for the title “My Wheel Just flew right off”.
The round thing in the middle, with the shiny spot, is the axle shaft, and my guess is that it has had a couple of cracks for a long time, and it just finally weakened enough to let go. I don’t have any experience doing a repair like this, so there is a bit of a learning curve.
Just to make things more interesting, I have been running into three other obstacles. One, I can’t go into the auto parts store and buy one of these, after all it is a 24 year old vehicle.
Secondly, the used stuff I am buying is proving impossible to disassemble, so I’ve been going to a machine shop to take care of it.
The final obstacle is that I keep getting bad or incorrect parts. The first axle was damaged, and the second one is too long.
Now I have to wait until Tuesday to get another axle, then get it disassembled.
I will have to say that I feel really blessed that I was only driving about 20 MPH when the wheel came off, and that there were no other cars around. If it had happened on the highway, I could have killed someone with the tire, or myself with the ensuing accident.
So, hang in there, and I’ll try to get to posting a little more frequently, although I haven’t heard much of an outcry about the lack of wallpaper Tuesday and Friday link posts. If you guys actually enjoy those, let me know.
Also on Port 16:
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September 8th, 2008 at 5:48 am
Glad you are okay Mike.. this could result into a bigger mess .. I was surprised though that you are still hanging on to and investing into this vehicle
September 8th, 2008 at 8:29 am
Thanks for the comment Pearl!
It is a bit of a pain, but the actual repair is only $300. I’m not even close to the point where I’ve put more into my Jeep than I’ve gotten out of her. The grand total now is somewhere around $4,000 in repairs and fixes (including a rebuilt engine, plus $3,000 for the initial purchase price.
That’s $7,000 for a vehicle I’ve wanted all of my life, and have driven daily for the last 5 years. It may be a headache from time to time, but I still think I’ve gotten my money’s worth. Not to mention I own it free and clear.
Of course, I would like to get a mini-van for the wife, then drive my cherokee daily, and turn this vehicle into a toy.
November 7th, 2008 at 10:28 am
Hey there,
I appreciated the info on eSATA connections and I’d like to return any
informational help I can on your jeep repairs. I have owned several throughout
the years and rebuilt a 73 CJ5 from the frame and drivetrain up. It was never a
pretty vehicle, but by far my favorite of all I have owned. There is an eleven year
difference, but except for things like pwr steering and brakes, the vehicle didn’t
change much. For example, that CJ7 has drum brakes in the front? Wow. thats old.
Questions are welcome.
November 7th, 2008 at 11:48 am
I’m glad that the eSATA info was helpful.
I’ve actually gotten past the broken axle, turned out to be more a problem of supply rather than repair. I finally ended up getting some aftermarket axles, which are one piece, so it ended up being an upgrade.
The pic above is actually the rear axle, the front axle is disc brakes (whew).
I’ll make sure to keep you in mind when I run into the next set of repairs.
Thanks Dan!