May 5-7 2017 Tadpole Rally!

[River Monkey]

Aquaman saved the day with the tents! BUT very glad we got to have a real campfire before heading home . Great to see everyone and enjoyed making new friends too!!

[PineRock]

Recap of the TADPOLE RALLY.... WOW! A big thanks to Gary and Joyce! They sure put on a fantastic rally yet again. Although the weather didn't cooperate completely it didn't slow this rally down a bit. It did turn off nice for the Corn Hole Tournament and the rest of the weekend. The food was wonderful as usual and the fellowship with all the FROG's was great. Made some new friends that we'd love see again.
MB

[packrat48]

After reading about last years rally I had planned to sign up this year. surprised to see on forum in January that it was full was never posted on FROG events page. I see one on forum for Utah that isn't on FROG also

[Cowracer]

The good news is... We finally made it home.

The bad news? Well a picture is worth a 1000 words (775 Canadian):



Yep, that's the rear driveshaft for my truck. We were bopping along, enjoying the sunny day and discussing the next fuel stop when the front U-joint on the rear driveshaft had a total come-apart. We were at freeway speeds (prob 65-70) when I picked up a vibration. As I was trying to make the shoulder, it let go. Sounded like an explosion. I knew almost instantly that we had real problems. I could hear the driveshaft banging around under the truck. We finally made it ok to the shoulder, and I hopped out, knowing what I would see. The carnage was extensive. Found the front slip-yoke wedged between the exhaust pipe and frame rail. The splines on the front of the driveshaft are beat to hell. The front yoke is totally destroyed and the rear yoke is probably a write off as well. There is a 2 inch gash in the floorboard where the driveshaft tried to get into the cab with us. Dunno if the shaft is bent, but I wouldn't bet against it. The U-joints were a few years old, but in good shape. I don't know what failed. It looks like the ear of the yoke that holds the u-joint cap fatigued and broke clean.







So now we are stuck on the side of the interstate, in God-knows-where Illinois. GPS said we were about 210 miles from home. Too far to call for help (despite the fact that I have friends that would drop everything and come running) I know from experience that no parts store nearby is going to have what I need to get going. Trucks are whizzing by, shaking both the truck and the camper. All in all, not a good situation. Desperate times call for desperate measures. I decide to engage 4wd and limp it up the road on the front axle. If nothing else, I can get off the side of the road and figure out what the path forward is. Getting the remains of the driveshaft off took a bit of doing. I had to be very careful because everything was hot enough to burn, but eventually, I got the shaft off.

But now I have a new problem. I cannot get the electric shift for the transfer case to budge. I call my Ford-expert buddy for advice and he says that Fords sometimes must see a vehicle speed of 5 MPH to shift the transfer case into 4wd. I'm on a dead-flat road with no driveshaft. I couldn't get one half MPH out of it with everything I got. He assures me that if I can somehow get it into 4wd, I should have no problems getting it home, if I take it easy.

I look into seeing if I can somehow manually jumper the motor to see if I can get it to shift the transfer case to 4wd. I wound up under the hood and getting back down, I my foot slipped on the bumper and fell flat on my back to the ground, which is a big distance on my truck. Nothing broken, but now I am bruised up and bleeding from my elbow and arms. In the end, I decide throw a 'hail-mary' and remove the transfer case shift motor to see if I can somehow shift the t-case with pliers or something.

Getting the motor assembly off was not too bad, and I see a nice round inch-or-so in diameter shaft sticking out with a couple of flats milled on it. OH JOY! A 14mm wrench fit perfectly on it and with a little muscle and trying, I get it to turn a notch. That should be 4wd in the high-range of the case. But now the motor wont line up on the shaft, so I cant put it back on. No matter. I decide to just leave the motor assembly off. We pack up all the tools and parts, I clean up as best I can and we give it a try.

My buddy knew his stuff, because it drove pretty much exactly as it on rear-wheel-drive. After gently trying it out, I realize that I can go a bit faster than the 25-30 I thought we would have to drive. I let the speed creep up and we go on down the road at 55-60 and other than a little oil weeping out where the shift motor would be, it was surprising how well it was going. Near the house, there is a up-hill stop, and I totally forgot I was on front-drive only and toed into the throttle a bit too hard. Man! She'll light up the front tires quickly with a camper on the back.

In the end, it cost up about 3 hours, my shirt, and a pair of jeans (covered in grease) but we got it home and all put up. I'm bruised and sore. But despite EVERYTHING that didn't go as we wished this weekend, it cannot even begin take the shine off this trip.

Kenny and Karen, Terry and MaryBeth, Timmy, Rob and Michelle (and Penny), Scott and Vicki... What a group! Most people will never know friends like these. And we got new friends! Keith and Tracy and Jeremy and Shannon.

Finally, Joyce and Gary, thanks so much for doing all this and making every single thing about it fun.

Fair winds, friends!

Tim

P.S. if you don't already... PLEASE make every effort to get over when there is someone broken down on the shoulder. It was truly terrifying laying under the truck with cars and especially semi's screaming by 3 feet away at 70 MPH. If you would have shouted "BOO" at me while I was working on it, I probably would have needed a clean pair of underwear. As it is, It took hours for me to finally calm down afterwords. Give 'em a break and give 'em a lane. Thanks!

[Kenny kustom]

That ujoint looks bone dry...

[Cowracer]

Originally Posted by Kenny kustom

That ujoint looks bone dry...

Nah.. Just greased them a couple weeks ago when I replaced ball joints on the front end. Looks dry in the pic, but its not.

Tim

[AquaMan]

Originally Posted by Kenny kustom

That ujoint looks bone dry...

Most are are permanently lubricated now and doesn't matter what the outside looks like.

[AquaMan]

Good to hear you got home Tim! Put that trophy on a shelf now! [emoji16]

[SYE]

Originally Posted by Cowracer

The good news is... We finally made it home.

The bad news? Well a picture is worth a 1000 words (775 Canadian):



Yep, that's the rear driveshaft for my truck. We were bopping along, enjoying the sunny day and discussing the next fuel stop when the front U-joint on the rear driveshaft had a total come-apart. We were at freeway speeds (prob 65-70) when I picked up a vibration. As I was trying to make the shoulder, it let go. Sounded like an explosion. I knew almost instantly that we had real problems. I could hear the driveshaft banging around under the truck. We finally made it ok to the shoulder, and I hopped out, knowing what I would see. The carnage was extensive. Found the front slip-yoke wedged between the exhaust pipe and frame rail. The splines on the front of the driveshaft are beat to hell. The front yoke is totally destroyed and the rear yoke is probably a write off as well. There is a 2 inch gash in the floorboard where the driveshaft tried to get into the cab with us. Dunno if the shaft is bent, but I wouldn't bet against it. The U-joints were a few years old, but in good shape. I don't know what failed. It looks like the ear of the yoke that holds the u-joint cap fatigued and broke clean.







So now we are stuck on the side of the interstate, in God-knows-where Illinois. GPS said we were about 210 miles from home. Too far to call for help (despite the fact that I have friends that would drop everything and come running) I know from experience that no parts store nearby is going to have what I need to get going. Trucks are whizzing by, shaking both the truck and the camper. All in all, not a good situation. Desperate times call for desperate measures. I decide to engage 4wd and limp it up the road on the front axle. If nothing else, I can get off the side of the road and figure out what the path forward is. Getting the remains of the driveshaft off took a bit of doing. I had to be very careful because everything was hot enough to burn, but eventually, I got the shaft off.

But now I have a new problem. I cannot get the electric shift for the transfer case to budge. I call my Ford-expert buddy for advice and he says that Fords sometimes must see a vehicle speed of 5 MPH to shift the transfer case into 4wd. I'm on a dead-flat road with no driveshaft. I couldn't get one half MPH out of it with everything I got. He assures me that if I can somehow get it into 4wd, I should have no problems getting it home, if I take it easy.

I look into seeing if I can somehow manually jumper the motor to see if I can get it to shift the transfer case to 4wd. I wound up under the hood and getting back down, I my foot slipped on the bumper and fell flat on my back to the ground, which is a big distance on my truck. Nothing broken, but now I am bruised up and bleeding from my elbow and arms. In the end, I decide throw a 'hail-mary' and remove the transfer case shift motor to see if I can somehow shift the t-case with pliers or something.

Getting the motor assembly off was not too bad, and I see a nice round inch-or-so in diameter shaft sticking out with a couple of flats milled on it. OH JOY! A 14mm wrench fit perfectly on it and with a little muscle and trying, I get it to turn a notch. That should be 4wd in the high-range of the case. But now the motor wont line up on the shaft, so I cant put it back on. No matter. I decide to just leave the motor assembly off. We pack up all the tools and parts, I clean up as best I can and we give it a try.

My buddy knew his stuff, because it drove pretty much exactly as it on rear-wheel-drive. After gently trying it out, I realize that I can go a bit faster than the 25-30 I thought we would have to drive. I let the speed creep up and we go on down the road at 55-60 and other than a little oil weeping out where the shift motor would be, it was surprising how well it was going. Near the house, there is a up-hill stop, and I totally forgot I was on front-drive only and toed into the throttle a bit too hard. Man! She'll light up the front tires quickly with a camper on the back.

In the end, it cost up about 3 hours, my shirt, and a pair of jeans (covered in grease) but we got it home and all put up. I'm bruised and sore. But despite EVERYTHING that didn't go as we wished this weekend, it cannot even begin take the shine off this trip.

Kenny and Karen, Terry and MaryBeth, Timmy, Rob and Michelle (and Penny), Scott and Vicki... What a group! Most people will never know friends like these. And we got new friends! Keith and Tracy and Jeremy and Shannon.

Finally, Joyce and Gary, thanks so much for doing all this and making every single thing about it fun.

Fair winds, friends!

Tim

P.S. if you don't already... PLEASE make every effort to get over when there is someone broken down on the shoulder. It was truly terrifying laying under the truck with cars and especially semi's screaming by 3 feet away at 70 MPH. If you would have shouted "BOO" at me while I was working on it, I probably would have needed a clean pair of underwear. As it is, It took hours for me to finally calm down afterwords. Give 'em a break and give 'em a lane. Thanks!

Time for that Duramax

[Cowracer]

Originally Posted by AquaMan

Good to hear you got home Tim! Put that trophy on a shelf now! [emoji16]

Shelf my butt... I'm wearing it to bed!



Tim

[dblr]

Tim, as always you have such a way with words you turned a bad situation into a great story. Glad you made it home safe it's always good to do that and not pay the tow guy, your wounds will heal on both you & the truck and yes that was a heck of a fall distance off your truck.

I agree with you on moving over a lane with breakdowns as with LEO's and construction zones.

[Kenny kustom]

Originally Posted by AquaMan

Most are are permanently lubricated now and doesn't matter what the outside looks like.

Ok... you can clearly see inside the cap. Not a spec of grease or a needle in sight.
No such thing as permanently lubricated. If it doesn't have a grease zerk, it will die.

[SilhouettePenny]

I agree with dblr, you cold take the world's worst crap and write a two page dissertation on how to save the rain forests with that experience.

For those of you who have not met Cowracer, looks are definently deceiving. Only Tim can take a dangerous & dispirate situation and turn it into the next rally's BEST campfire story, I for one can't wait. Assuming he lowers the Excursion and changes the tall tires, he might actually make it to the campground.

You're my roadside repair hero Cowracer, with a pair of rusted pliers and some bailing wire you un-crippled a completely disabled vehicle and still drove it 200+ miles. Thank god you don't steal vehicles for a living, absolutely NO anti-theft device could stop you!

[Cowracer]

Originally Posted by SilhouettePenny

You're my roadside repair hero Cowracer, with a pair of rusted pliers and some bailing wire you un-crippled a completely disabled vehicle and still drove it 200+ miles. Thank god you don't steal vehicles for a living, absolutely NO anti-theft device could stop you!

Being stranded in the middle of nowhere is a powerful motivator. I should just gone on that cruise to Denver instead.

Tim

[PineRock]

Originally Posted by Cowracer

Being stranded in the middle of nowhere is a powerful motivator. I should just gone on that cruise to Denver instead.

Tim

And you probably need another day at the spa.[emoji23][emoji23]

[Cowracer]

Originally Posted by PineRock

And you probably need another day at the spa.[emoji23][emoji23]

That's OK. I'd go do another Spa Day in an instant!

Tim

[River Monkey]

One more pic! Too cool to not post

[AquaMan]

Originally Posted by Kenny kustom

Ok... you can clearly see inside the cap. Not a spec of grease or a needle in sight.
No such thing as permanently lubricated. If it doesn't have a grease zerk, it will die.

I disagree, and it's a CAP, you can't see inside one until you remove it from the flange.

[Labdudette]

Originally Posted by River Monkey

Aquaman saved the day with the tents! BUT very glad we got to have a real campfire before heading home . Great to see everyone and enjoyed making new friends too!!

I love your avatar!

[SilhouettePenny]

Originally Posted by AquaMan

........ until you remove it from the flange.

WHAT flange, Cowracer did his best to explode the entire mounting assembly. No bracket left, no gusset and barely enough metal left to determine what it was. Good job Tim.

I know you're gonna fix it because you had the tranny rebuilt recently, so did I. Almost $5k for a custom built towing 4R100 with a 23 qt total deep finned aluminum pan.

How goes the repairs Cow?