Re: [ihc] My day in the sun

["Ryan Moore" <baradium@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "John Hofstetter" <hofs@domain.elided>
To: "ihc-digest" <ihc-digest@domain.elided>
Sent: Saturday, March 06, 2004 21:54
Subject: [ihc] My day in the sun


> Our friend, the Blue Ribbon Ambassador, Del Albright is down here in
> Southern California representing BRC at the annual Tierra del Sol Safari
> which is held in and on a huge piece of desert land that has been
designated
> as an OHV park. Around a 100 square miles, which I think is larger than
some
> of the states from which you guys hail.
>
  haha, very funny :-p

> So, we go down to join Del and the head of the San Diego based club, John
> Stewart, for a trail ride through the course they had set up.
>
> The Scout was doing great, up, down, very hard left, very hard right, very
> hard left and up, very hard right and down. You get the picture.
>
> Wanda and I come over a hill, out on to a flat, and the Scout no longer
will
> steer toward the right. It'll turn left, it'll go straight, but will not
go
> right at all.
>
 not good...

> I had torn the front shackle mount out of the frame on the front left
spring
> hanger. I didn't know you ever tore out front shackle mounts. I guess I
know
> that now.
>

Doesn't sound right, does sound like something an offroader would find
though... maybe you hit the shackles on something at one point?

> So, I took the Hi-lift jack that I had won at RMIHR off the front of the
> Scout, jacked up the front left side, and the guys put a 4 inch slab of
> sandstone between the frame and the spring eye. We let down the jack and
the
> rock spit into pieces. Jacked it up again (By the way, how come nobody
ever
> told me that Hi-lift jacks only work if lubricated properly?) and put a 4
> inch piece of granite in there. The rock was kind of pointed on the top
and
> that point fit into the hole in the frame, so actually it was pretty
secure.
> We ran the winch cable down and used it to pull the spring into position.
>

Sounds like one way to do it!

> This got us out to the vendor area where the B F Goodrich racing support
> team welded the shackle mount back into its place. Then the guy from BFG
> looked at the right side mount and it was cracked loose and was about to
go.
> So he welded that side up.
>
> It's still early afternoon, so Del and we head out again. We come over the
> top of a high steep hill and as we start down, I have no brakes. The brake
> pedal is hard, but I'm getting no stop at all. I can't push hard enough on
> the brake pedal if the assist isn't there to even slow the vehicle down.
So,
> with a 100 square miles to play in, a Bronco is crossing my trail at the
> bottom of the hill I'm hurdling down. Not much I can do except honk and
> holler, but I got his attention and because he was sure that I was crazy,
he
> slowed enough to allow me to get by.
>

Probobly a good thing he did....


> The Scout stops when it gets ready to stop, and I get out to check the
> brakes. Remember the pedal is completely hard. I pop the hood and there is
> smoke and flames coming up out of the engine. Fortunately, I remember
where
> I mounted my fire extinguisher, I grab it, and put out the fire. It flares
> again, and I put it out again. Again, and yet again. Some liquid is
dripping
> down onto Stan's header and bursting into flame.
>
> I can't find any leaks to be the source of the liquid. Del is underneath
the
> Scout to check for leaks not visible from the top, I start the engine and
> start looking for the brake problem. Aha, that check valve at the booster
> has literally blown its top. No vacuum getting into the booster. AND, I
> think that must have been where the liquid came from that was bursting
into
> flames.
>

Um.... there's a problem with that... there's not *supposed* to be any
liquid going out of that hole!  If there is (and thus it was going in your
intake) you need a new booster (and along with that a new m/c).  Unless you
made me think about the wrong hole...

> I put a lot of black Permatex around the edges of a quarter, and put it
over
> the opening, tell Del that I've had enough and that he undoubtedly has had
> enough, and head for home. No problem on the way home except that I'm so
> tired I keep almost falling to sleep.
>

Still no leaks?  and if I read that right no power brakes?  But you just
told us how you can't stop it without power assist?

> Del and I both agreed that finding problems there with all that help
> available was good preparation for Death Valley. If the Scout had broken
> badly up where Wanda was hurt, it would still be there.
>
> So there's a silver lining to every cloudy day. Except that there wasn't
> even a cloud so I guess that made the silver lining a little harder to
find.
>
> I wonder if the Hell-for-stout extended length shackles that I have on the
> Scout don't increase the leverage on those front mounts. As I've already
> said, I'm well aware of the rear mounts breaking loose, but I've never
seen
> the front ones break out.
>

I don't see how the shackles could affect the leverage that much to hurt
your mounts... guess it's possible though...

> Del has some photos of the rock fix and the dynamite guys from BFG, and
when
> they are up and available, I'll let you know where.
>
> John
>

-Ryan



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