saving the dead jeep

[Robert B]

so I sent out a few txts last night at 2 AM and got some replies from Big Ed -- Big Rob -- Coon -- Fordboy --and another guy I knew...... you all were busy but still offered various degrees of help or were out od state so I thank you for that and then Matt sent back that he could make it and ended up bringing the horsepower mine has lost over the years to keep it rolling and ran through 3/4 of Hackett in about 20-25 mins towing the jeep out ...... that was much appreciated man :thumb:

[Robert B]

oh and by the way the jeep had a grenade motor so it had no power of any kind beyond what the battery had in it

[Hypoid]

No pictures?????????????


Good on you for getting yor bud off the trail! :)

[Robert B]

it was my dads jeep lol but I will try to get pics and vid tomorrow ...we spent a probably close to 20 hours winching that 1/4 of the trail then matt took over and flew through it lol

[mattzj98]

Just glad I could help!! And I still made the dinner with the lady! Just getting back home now.. man, its been a long long day!

[Java]

Good job, Matt!! :thumb:

[WDoG]

Its good to have people that can come help!

[Coonburger]

I heard matt was going and knew it was a done deal. sorry i couldnt make it out bro.

[WW2AVG]

I was part of the winching crew and I just want to say "Thanks" to Matt for helping us out on Sunday! Once we got Gene to the top of the hill, Matt tied on a tow strap and it was a done deal! Matt really saved the day! Thanks again Matt! Great job!

[Robert B]

ah yes now I feel bad lol but dave (ww2avg) was there both days and Minnesota was with us on the first day and also on the first day had some help from a guy at the bottom that had broken both front axles that I helped get to the top with a tug once in a while

[WW2AVG]

Well, there were many people helping. It was great to see everyone pitch in and help Gene get the Jeep out. It was SLOW going at the start. We faced a couple hills and none of us (Minnesota, Robert B or myself) were able to drag Gene up. Maybe no one could. Hard to say! But, once we got him up that second hill, Matt saved the day! No telling how many more times we would have winched if Matt hadn't shown up! Anyway, great job by all!

[Brad]

Awesome job Matt! :thumb:

[Jackie]

Wow! Great job , Matt. :thumb: And to all the others that gave it a shot and didn't give up - thank you as well. Great team-work.

[mattzj98]

no mentions of me running out of gas and having to syphon robks tank?? lol thanks for the fuel rob, it really helped1

[mattzj98]

Rob* , !*

[xaza]

So, what happened to the Jeep? :frontrange4x4:

[WW2AVG]

Well, I wasn't going to bring up the gas thing, but now that you mention it.... My only suggestion to anyone being rescued by Matt is to make sure he has a FULL TANK before you start! :lmao: Otherwise it went really well!

As far as what happened, I'll leave that story up to Geno to share, but I will share a photo of the oil pan...

[Serious Offroad]

Check this out for a replacement motor:
http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1100299

[Geno]

Hello all, The day was suppose to be a fun day doing the gulches off cedar mtn. road. ( me & Robert , Waggy Dave and Minn. Dave) We did Long water gulch with no issues and then went down to Hackett gulch. running around the bottom area I got some water into my intake and the #1 cylinder, and as we all know water does not compress! And it pushed the connecting rod off the crankshaft and vented my oil pan in 3 places. I am very grateful and lucky to have such great friends that would help me in my time of need. we started to drag my jeep, no power steering or brakes just 4 tires with air up the trail from the bottom , we started at about 3 pm Saturday, we winched and dragged the best we could to the middle of the 2nd big hill coming up by 9.45pm Saturday night, when they convinced me to leave the jeep get home and get a couple hours sleep and go back in Sunday morning. We put out the call for help for a bigger truck/Jeep than mine with f&r locking diffs to pull me on the flatter areas, Matt drove down from Castle rock with his Jeep in tow to help. WE met in woodland park ( myself , my Sons Robert and Jeremy , Dave and Matt) and started to the trail. When we arrived, my Jeep was sitting there waiting for me to get her home. Matt tried to pull me from there and made 2 8in deep trenches for about 100 feet before we decided we still needed to winch another 300 more feet to get to the top of the hill which include 2 sets of up hill , off camber switch backs. once we got to the top of that hill the fun began, Matt hooked on my jeep and we made sure all the D ring were tight and Matt let his Jeep run and we were moving , We were running as fast as the group behind us I guess because I did not see them until we stopped at the first down hill run, and that's were we took gas from Roberts blazer and put 5 gallons or so into Matt Jeep "1" 2 liter coke bottle at a time, mid grade gas tastes different than premumn gas I can tell you for a fact. LOL when everybody caught up they were amazed at how far we had gotten. We then took off again, if any of you have driven Hackett Gulch trail you know its very twisty , tree rutted up hill climb , well I drove it with no power steering and no power brakes and 37 inch tall tires. When we got to the rock sluice Matt went down it and we did not even unhook I went down with him, what a ride!!!, we did un hook and Robert hooked to me rear end to help get down the large slap rock, and Matt then drug me the rest of the way out at a very good speed. I am greatfull and thankfull for all that helped me in my time of need. I an indebted to all of you, and video will follow when Robert can get it on here and I am not tech savy enough to do it. Gene

[CS79bronco]

Glad you got er out without further damage or injury. Great job Matt! Matt should receive a "Rescuer" or "Retriever" badge.

[Jim]

Do you think you'll get away with a new conrod and oil pan for parts?

[Geno]

When I look into the oil pan I see that the connecting rod broke, which means the piston is probably up against the head and if a valve is down , means damaged head. I will pull the oil pan in a couple of weeks to do a full inspection on the bottom and then pull the top end apart, worst case, the crank and block and head could all be scrap. Best case block and head are rebuild useable and I can turn the crank. I might just go with a re-man engine , since Jeep corp. is on a back order for 4.0 liter long blocks. I called 3 different dealers and they all said the same thing, we can not get a new engine from Jeep. It will be down for a little while re-man long block engines are $3500. Probably riding a lot with Robert or WW2AVG Dave this summer.

[Jim]

My mind considers/assumes this... (and I could be fully incorrect)

The broken rod happened when non-compressible fluid (water) was sucked into the motor and tried to be compressed. The cylinder at-issue had the most of it. The rod broke as the crank / rod / piston assembly tried to compress said non-compressible fluid. For this to happen that valves likely were 100% closed, thus I don't think your head will be damaged.

If a valve were open enough (to be bent) the water likely would have been pushed out of the cylinder via the open valve. I'm of the thought the valves will be fine. The head gasket, possibly, could have been compromised (need to be replaced) by the higher than designed pressure in that cylinder.

With scarcity of blocks/remans, you may well be able to be able to replace the basics (conrod and maybe re-use existing piston). Go shade tree with just basic fitment for rod & wrist pin clearances and maybe piston to cylinder wall (if you can't re-use existing piston) and drive it for the season (and evaluate at the end of the season).

While the crank also endured higher pressures I don't think it would have been compromised (the aluminum rod gave out before the steel crank would have deformed).

EDIT: Do you think the piston was stuck at/near TDC and the motor continued to rotate and had a valve open onto the top of the piston? My afterthought is that a bent valve could have happened after (not before) the rod breakage. Would an opening valve been able to push the piston down w/o bending the valve... Hmmm... Could you simply replace the bad valve(s) w/o any machining?

[carpenle]

Can you find a replacement on CL, 4.0's are usually not that expensive. I have seen a reman 4.0 on their for $1,600 and used ones as cheep as $200.

[4wdhunter]

Here's one: http://denver.craigslist.org/pts/3821721253.html

[carpenle]

Here's one: http://denver.craigslist.org/pts/3821721253.html

Seems like fair prices, especially the 231 with sye.

[carpenle]

http://denver.craigslist.org/ptd/3822065939.html Here is that one for $1,600

[xaza]

I got the motor for my Cherokee from S & J Engines a few years ago and have been very pleased with performance and quality thus far. Looks like your TJ is a few hundred more than mine was but still much less than you were thinking.
https://www.sandjengines.com/Engines/Search/JEEP/TJ/2001