Death Valley Off-Road Adventures

That is crazy about the diff. I've definitely done that in my 1st gen - gassed it in 4lo/rear locked with the brake on...probably why my parking brake is so worthless now lol. One time it actually folded the brackets holding the brake cable on the back of the rear axle, had to hammer them back down.

but like turbodb mentioned, 1st gen e-brakes are notoriously weak so I dunno. Kind of seems like it was ready to give up the ghost though by the description, may have even happened at a worse/more remote spot later on.

 

Making me nervous with that spline lug tool- I have what looks like the same one for the lugs on my FN wheels. Wonder if there's a better or stronger tool to substitute.

 

Just carry two. I've had my tires on and off doing trail repairs more then most and I've never had the socket snap like that. I do have a spare but it stays in the bottom of the glovebox.


@Zebinator

Good write-up and critique of the incident. Stoked you and your wife got to still enjoy DV. Also stoked Bishop Auto treated you well. Nate is a very smart guy. He's the guy I go to when I have questions about trouble shooting things.

Tick this one off to shit happens. It doesn't matter if you've got 30 years off-road experience of 30 minutes. When it's your rigs time to break it will and it will do it at the most inopportune time. The only thing experience gives you when that happens is the ability to remain calm and figure out a plan of attack to get out of the situation. Learning to wrench goes a long way in that. I've had so many broken parts over the last 5 years it's comical. You just got yours out of the way so you should be good for another few trips. lol

 

I think the advice given earlier to always check the torque, especially after having worked on the wheels with air tools, is great. Carrying a second tool is also advisable.

 

Same on the socket. Ive used the Impact gun on it no problem. Still I'll get another one. For a Lug Wrench I have one like this. Mines a gorilla but looks the same with 2 double sided sockets. It extends so like a breaker bar but stores small. https://www.amazon.com/EPAuto-Teles...orilla+telescoping++lug+wrench,aps,133&sr=8-3
FWIW I was up in Mammoth about 10 days ago. Heres a shot from the top of Daves run. My buddy and I were one of the first ones to go for it (it was still a bit icy at that time). A little snow came down the next day. Crowley Lake and the White Mtns in the far background, Sherwins on the right. Need more snow. Good Times!

 

So, in the theme of the last few days, here's my next DV installment, and what will likely be my last trip to the park until next fall since the temps are really warming up. Like @Zebinator, this trip didn't go as planned for us. We definitely had some cool experiences, and of course, even the breakdowns make for good memories/stories in the future. Once the frustration of the present has passed!

The story (part 1) as usual is over on my trips page: After a Day of Fun; Disaster! - Stranded #1 and a few teaser photos here go get you excited.

Dogfight!


Checking out the line at Chicken Rock.


Our first ore cart on tracks!


A dusty (windy) afternoon over Butte Valley.





full story, more pictures, and of course... the disaster:
After a Day of Fun; Disaster! - Stranded #1​

 

I want to get up to this area. Not sure I'll get my wife to go around chicken corner with out some heavy sedation, however. Reminds me of a story about a Pike's Peak racer who, in order to stay on the racing line, had to block the view of impending death by turning his head so his helmet kept him from seeing the edge of the cliff...

 

She can get out and either spot you or just walk it and get in after you've negotiated chicken rock.

 

For those of you interested in DV history, I found this grave marker in the Lone Pine Cemetery:

 

His home is cool as is Augereberry Point.

 

Great write-up @Zebinator!

I would have done the same thing. I'm a calm and collected dude most of the time, but once another motorist shows up and I'm holding up traffic, I become a bumbling idiot.

I too run spline nuts all around, I don't think they are especially uncommon, and I actually prefer them to hex nuts. But I do always carry at least two sockets, probably more--I keep losing them to various hiding places in the truck. I'll add checking for at least two, and re-torqueing the lugs, to my "pre-trip checklist." Sorry for your misfortune but glad you salvaged the trip, and thank you for sharing the story with us!

 

Thanks! +1 on the bumbling idiot factor in those situations.

I ordered some standard lugs the other day. For my intended use I want to de-special-tool things as much as possible. In fact - that's kind of been my guiding principle with mods to the truck - keeping the running gear pretty stock for two reasons: 1, my belief is that a stock truck doing mostly truck-things (remember that ad with Paul Hogan? LOL) should break break stuff in increasing order of difficulty to fix and part cost... but modifying by adding weight, power, torque, increasing lever arms and the like increases the chance that the stuff that breaks will be harder to deal with... chassis, transfer case, etc. And 2, if something does break, I'll be more likely to find replacement parts.

I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with splined lugs, but I'd check what your sockets look like. The freebie that came with the lugs looks to be much lower quality than the replacements I bought...

 

@Zebinator, depending on your wheels a tuner (splined) lug may be the only option. On my SCS wheels I was not able to fit even a thin walled 19mm socket into the lug opening on the wheel.

 

That would be sad, if so! /throws wheel on milling machine/

I looked at the MT website and they said "any standard bulge cone lug" but who knows what "standard" actually means. LOL.

 

But look at the lug wrench that came with your wheels. Not at all the same as what ripped. Which is not to say it couldn’t be damaged.

 

Usually the thing with splined lugs from my experience is that nobody can find the splined socket when its needed. Has happened more than once when with a group of rigs. Another thing to consider is a few extra lug nuts in the tool bag for spares. And another thing to consider that may, or may not apply to you..but may to others. Make sure to have proper lug nuts for the spare tire(s). I have the correct style lug nuts (for a steel rim) ziptied to the 2nd spare that I'll sometimes have with me.

 

I had 19mm thin nuts on my wheels, which are mystery aftermarket aluminum wheels. Thin-profile sockets just *barely* fit into the recess bores, I usually had to wiggle them out with a dead blow hammer which was a PITA. Then one day, luckily at home, my socket got completely jammed in there, part way through loosening a nut. Couldn't even hammer it out (tapping from the side to wiggle it free). Wound up tightening the rest back on with another socket and driving around the block a few times dragging the brakes. Aluminum has a much larger CTE than steel. The stuck socket came out easy once the wheels were nice and toasty.

There was one spline nut on each wheel, those were always easy. I used to think they were specialty security nuts, but they're not really for that purpose. They are very common. No tire shop has ever asked for my spline socket, and I damage my tires a lot. In fact at one point I lost one of the four, so that wheel had all hex lugs for a while. Next time I had tire work done, the truck rolled off the lift with 4 splines again... guess the shop assumed they lost it, or maybe just donated a spare one to help me out.

Anyway once I realized I could just use splines all around, I haven't looked back. I'd say they are holding up better than the thin hex nuts did; they are less prone to damage from rounding the bolt heads, and they're capped which keeps dirt from the exposed threads. But I'm also more careful with them because now I have a complete set, instead of 24 beat-up hex nuts of different designs and varying quality. If they did get damaged somehow, such that you couldn't get the socket on them, then you'd be hosed for sure. Just like if the socket cracks.

A takeaway here is to use high quality lugs and sockets, and to have spares... This is one of those things I don't trust to Amazon, too easy to get counterfeit products there. I bought brand-name from a reputable supplier, like maybe summit or jeggs, I forget.

Not trying to argue that one way is better than the other here, just sharing my experience. No matter what, finding non-removable lugnuts sucks, whether you're on the trail, at home, or even at the tire shop! I've paid the idiot fee a couple times myself, to have shops drill off security nuts that were either damaged or orphaned by a missing socket. Since then I proactively remove security nuts when they come installed on our vehicles; haven't lost any wheels yet...

One more thought: I started applying antisieze to my lugnuts (the threads, not the seat) and I don't find myself having to jump on the tire iron any more to break them loose. Haven't trashed any wheel studs since then either. I'm convinced this is a beneficial practice.

Are the cone style nuts correct for steel wheels, or have I been doing that wrong too?

 

Of you are talking about the from factory cone style then yes they are compatible

 

I've been using a touch of wheel bearing grease on the threads of the wheel studs for decades. Not a lot, just a dab. It allows the lugs to spin on and off much easier., and inhibits the formation of corrosion.

I have never had one loosen inadvertently.

It is definitely a beneficial practice.

 

Dont agree with that. I've never done that and have never had a problem getting a lug nut off. Its only when some jackass over torqued it becomes hard to break loose.
The tech folks at Tire Rack state: "Torque specifications are for dry threads only. The fastener threads should be free of oil, dirt, grit, corrosion, etc. It is important NOT to lubricate hardware threads or seats.
The only exception I might consider is if you live in an area where they salt the roads in the winter then maybe because of the high corrosion / rust.