Posted by Tim Holloway [69.54.28.229] on Wednesday, October 16, 2013 at 19:39:39 :
Well, the last one in dosent get to tell the stories, but Dave pretty well summed up my experience with the overdrive breaking loose and snapping the ear off of a U-joint yoke.
We were climbing a steep and winding mountain road (are there any other kinds in West Virginia?)it was foggy and as dark as the inside of a dog. The overdrive had been banging when under heavy load, such as climbing steep hills, but I was mostly able to drive in a manner which minimized it. Then on this last (for me) hill it started banging, then let out a much bigger bang and I had no power to the rear wheels. The truck stopped almost dead in is tracks, as we were climbing and didnt have much momentum. I locked my brake, hopped out and locked my hubs, thinking to go in front wheel drive. I put her into 4 wheel high, gently let out the clutch and moved on ahead! Cool, I thought. I got about another hundred yards, when there was a sickening gringing crunching noise, and again, I was dead in the water. Still unable to pull it to the side, there was no shoulder to pull it or roll it onto. I engaged the front air locker, and again, eased out the clutch. Ahead she moved yet again, and again, after about a hundred more yards, the same sickening grinding crunching noise, I was again stopped dead. With no further options, Dave towed me a bit further up the hill until we got to a wide spot where we pulled it off and took everything that wasnt bolted down off the truck and tossed it into another truck. We came back Saturday to assess the damage in the daylight. Dave and I removed the overdrive and the rear driveshaft. As it turned out, there was an upper mount on the overdrive which had lost a bolt and allowed the overdrive to bang up and down pivoting in the remaining bolt until the ear on the mount with the remaining bolt broke free. That allowed the overdrive to move more, and sheared the yoke off the U-joint severing the connection from the transfer case. The overdrive does not appear to have sustained any damage at all.
Mark gave me a spare rear driveshaft later that afternoon which Charlie and I installed Sunday morning which enabled me to be back on the road for Sundays activities and for the drive back to Joels home on Monday. I guess you could call it the only Flat Fendered D-300 being only 2 wheel drive.
When I got home today, I pulled the lockouts off and was glad to see the damage was limited to just the hubs. As winter is coming, I will just install a set of drive flanges for now and see if Superwinch is still honoring their lifetime warranty.
Anyhow, a huge thanks to Mark M. for all of the extensive planning and groundwork you did, it was all a great time, and the food was exquisite! Thanks also to Dave H. for the great sendoff lunches you provided us with, and all of your efforts connected with making this happen. Lastly, thanks to everyone else in their assistance in getting my truck repaired. A true band of brothers!
Tim
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