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July 28, 2007
As it turned out, I should have replaced that oil pressure gauge AND the transfer case!!!! We ended up leaving around 9:50am from Ted's Place. No more than a half mile up the ROAD (not the TRAIL, but the ROAD), the Big Scary Jeep starts leaving a trail of white smoke. I also smelled a hint of burned oil. I pulled over and popped the hood to find the engine compartment covered in oil and the top of the intake manifold bathed in oil. HUH???? To make a short story boring, I should have also replaced the oil pressure gauge, as the pressure tube that runs from the engine to the gauge had cracked. I removed the gauge from the panel, cut out the offending tubing and re-mounted the gauge, leaving it in the engine compartment, but safely sealed against further oil leakage. Back onto the road and up to the trailhead. We hit the trailhead, air down and head up the trail. I have a slight banging noise that I can't figure out. It doesn't sound like u- joints, but it's definitely speed dependent. About 1/3 of the way up Heart Attack Hill, the banging gets much worse and the completely goes away. And so does all engine power. The ENGINE runs, but power is not getting to the wheels. Driveshafts were intact, so it has to be something in the transmission or the t-case. I back down to a point where the truck won't move so I can take a look. Since the transmission parking pawl is my E-brake, I can't otherwise get out the truck! Nothing outwardly wrong, except that I can't go anywhere. Ray straps me up to the top of each hill and I coast down, happy to at least have power steering and brakes! We make it back the trailhead and I grab my gear and jump in and ride shotgun with Ray. We ran the rest of the trail uneventfully. Ray even provided some action attempting the beginning of the Chutes. On the way back down, I call AAA and arrange for a tow back into town. Surprisingly, they send a wrecker from RED FEATHER, but he arrives on time and brings me back down to town. He was even stoked that I had tools with me and that I was willing to drop the driveshaft so he could flat tow me. I guess I have a use for that QT that Scott gave to me. :-/ More pix here: http://bigscaryjeep.com/kellyflats Ethan
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