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 Post subject: Chinaman's Gulch, CO 25 May 08
PostPosted: Mon May 26, 2008 1:51 pm 
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We, Troy (tjkj2002), Marty (Rock Lizard), and I went in two KJ's, Troy's and mine, to Chinaman's Gulch. Located very near Buena Vista, CO. This trail is rated pretty tough (7/10) on Trail Damage website ( http://www.traildamage.com/trails/index.php?id=1 ). Visit the link and see videos and pics of what this trail offers. Since it was just the three of us, pics were limited. We missed out on the obstacle that caused a Rubicon with 35's to slide and slam down hard many times trying to make it up the obstacle. You literally drop 2 ft down onto a large boulder (on your belly) if your tires slip and he did about four times. A tree to your right makes it another body damage piece if you slide back or to the right.

This was the first opportunity to test the Jeepin By Al 4" Lift and boy did it get tested!

The trail started out with some nice tippy spots.

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and then immediately led to this rock garden.

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so I climbed and swerved my way through it.

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soon we were hanging ten and stuffing our wells. How low can you go? Is that a Double stuffed Oreo or an MTR?

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Then it was poser time (isn't it always poser time?)

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If you look closely, you can see some motorcyclists. Their buddy was driving an XJ with 35's and he bent his tie rod while driving hard into a rock w/o a spotter.
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Thos tires looked ready to puncture, but they wrapped well.

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Stopping to soak in the beauty

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A couple of fun obstacles
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Troy's front tire is actually 3 ft off the ground in this pic!
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Me just trying to pop some springs out

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A waterfall to remember

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Troy ups it in one try (lockers are nice)

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I am ready to spin my tires in the sand as I try. HEY! Where'd that audience come from? They were amazed the KJ was on this trail and trying this obstacle. Of course, I just have the Trac Lock and took three tries. They clapped when I got up.

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Coming down a sharp drop

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Great views

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Remember this earlier on when we were going up it? Now it is time to go down it. Danger looms!

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As Troy was going down this obstacle, he grenaded his Driver's side CV. CV snot sprayed everywhere. He lost his brakes (due to the CV snot on the calipers) and no more 4x4. He got his rear bumper jammed on a rock and I had to tug him back to get free enough to turn his wheels. All the while we had about 11 buggies and other 35+" wheeled vehicles behind us not really offering any help. W/O 4x4 capability, Troy kept getting stuck on rocks (rear diff hung up). Finally, he blows a bead on his front right tire. The people behind us were not very sympathetic but did do the ether-lighter trick to rebead his tire. They acted a bit rude. I said to one guy, "Sorry to hold you guys up." He says, "You're right." What the hell!? Like they never broke down on a trail before with no room to pass?

When we limped back to the local gas station, we had to wait three hours for a jack, jack stands, and brake cleaner fluid. As Troy finally was able to get to the CV, there was not one ball left.

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We finished the trail around 4:30pm, but did not leave for home until 8:40pm. He removed the CV, front drive shaft, drained the front diff, swapped his front and rear passenger-side tires due to imbalance (lost a bunch of lead weights), and drove home after family members of Marty's drove 2+ hours out to us (after running out to the store to get the socket and brake cleaner) with the needed equipment (including the 35mm socket, I think that was the size, to remove the CV. Nothing open anywhere near us that would have the needed socket.

We were due for a trail breakage here in Colorado a shame it was so close to the end of the trail.

From what I can gather, we (LOST Rockies-Colorado) have had a shock mount bolt break (simple fix) and Troy's CV as the only breakages on Colorado trails over the last three years.

The Jeepin By Al 4" lift did it's job and held up. Only one issue. Must have bigger bump stops for the rear. The springs did fall out three times. The obstacle I mentioned at the top where we got no pictures, both of my springs popped out at the same time right after I made it up that obstacle (no strapping or falling those two feet). We are still trying to figure out how both came out at the SAME time.

Awesome trail!!!

I did this with my front tires being nearly bald (less than 1/8" of tread and in some spots the tread is flat. Maxxis Big Horns are coming soon.

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PostPosted: Mon May 26, 2008 2:08 pm 
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Can't believe there are still people like that (the rude guys who had to wait). On the one hand, I hope you cleaned up the grease from Troys CV but on the other, I hope it made the rocks all slick so they had trouble getting over them. :lol:

Joe, why not use limiting straps rather than longer bumpstops? Or are you compressing the springs too much at full stuff?

Great looking trail, also. Thanks for the pics.

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PostPosted: Mon May 26, 2008 2:09 pm 
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Looked like you guys had a great time! Till the CV, how does that saying go again.... doo doo happens! You both have real nice KJ's by the way! How did the 4" work out for you? Looked Good


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PostPosted: Mon May 26, 2008 2:29 pm 
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good pics, sorry to hear about the jerks on the trails :roll:

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PostPosted: Mon May 26, 2008 2:48 pm 
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So how exactly did the CV go KABOOM? The trail right there doesn't look particularly nasty, and I am not by any means saying it is cake or even easy for that matter. I know the trails are always tougher in person and it is hard to tell from the pics. I am just curious because some of the other pics look like they could have been more trouble for the front end to handle. Sorry about the bum ending to what looked like a really fun ride. Some people are just selfish idiots. Everyone sooner or later has trouble on the trail and I for one always want to lend a hand because I know I would and do really appreciate help on the trail. Anyway, the lift looks like it worked great. How big of bumpstops do you think you are going to have to run in order to keep the springs seated? 4"? That is crazy that both the rear came out together. ???? :?

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PostPosted: Mon May 26, 2008 2:49 pm 
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Yeah, those guys we held up were real asses. We were only about 100 meters from reaching the end of the trail when his CV went. I don't know the exact amount, but I would say there is less than 1 cup of CV grease in that boot when full, so there wasn't much of a mess. With Troy driving his jeep, Dave following with the strap, and me running on foot most of the trail and spotting him so he wouldn't get stuck in 2wd, and wanting to get out of everyones way so we could get to work on the fix, we unfortunately didn't get to clean up what little mess there was. We got no help from those guys. With the amount of time they sat waiting, instead of drinking their beer, swearing in front of their kids about us, and sitting there doing absolutely nothing, they could have helped to speed things up. They just kept bitching for us to get off to the side so they could pass. When we finally got to a spot to let them pass, they complained about the little bit of CV grease we left on that obstacle. Gee, since they sat there waiting for 15 minutes, the least they could do was get a rag and clean it up since we were trying to get out of their way. I don't like leaving trash of fluids on the trails, and if it was possible, we would have cleaned it up. The crowd was made up of some big tube buggies that ran an offshoot of the trail called Carnage Canyon, so apparently they are too good to help anyone else, even if it was taking a rag and wiping up a little grease. August 2006, we ran another rough trail, and spent 4 hours helping a busted down buggy move 100 meters and not one of us complained. We had one person on each front tire since the steering was gone, one KJ pulling down the hill, another KJ strapped to the back to pull the buggy back a little when the wheels jammed against a rock, and Troy and I ran all the way down to the trail head and back just to get the guys spare tire since his wheel had shattered. And we cleaned up all of the tranny fluid he spilled. That buggy shattered an aluminum rim, stripped the gears in the steering box, sheared the yoke right off the front Dana60 axle, trashed the driveshaft, and split the TCase/tranny, and blocked the entire trail for four hours, and we were happy to help. Just shows the two classes of wheelers out there I guess.

Here are some pictures when we helped that buggy August 2006:

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PostPosted: Mon May 26, 2008 2:55 pm 
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Great pictures!

Was that CV original? If so thats not bad for as much wheeling as you do. Must be a sign you need to start the SFA project :D :D :D

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Mon May 26, 2008 3:01 pm 
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incubusmike wrote:
So how exactly did the CV go KABOOM? The trail right there doesn't look particularly nasty, and I am not by any means saying it is cake or even easy for that matter. I know the trails are always tougher in person and it is hard to tell from the pics. I am just curious because some of the other pics look like they could have been more trouble for the front end to handle. Sorry about the bum ending to what looked like a really fun ride. Some people are just selfish idiots. Everyone sooner or later has trouble on the trail and I for one always want to lend a hand because I know I would and do really appreciate help on the trail. Anyway, the lift looks like it worked great. How big of bumpstops do you think you are going to have to run in order to keep the springs seated? 4"? That is crazy that both the rear came out together. ???? :?


His right wheel was stuck against a rock and when he tried to turn,*SPEW*

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PostPosted: Mon May 26, 2008 3:55 pm 
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That 19th pic is great with Troy's rig in front and the snow covered mountains in the background. Great pics. I love mountain scenic trail shots and I sure do miss being in the mountains.


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PostPosted: Mon May 26, 2008 5:29 pm 
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Great Pics... Those are 2 good lookin KJ's.... Sucks about the damage...But I suppose troy's got the spare parts to fix it up REAL NICE :roll: 8) :D


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Mon May 26, 2008 6:49 pm 
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Great pictures and what others have already said. Maybe this will speed things up on the SFA??? :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

And to the jerks who had no time to help you all out, their day will come! :twisted:

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PostPosted: Mon May 26, 2008 7:11 pm 
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What a trail run,this was the 3rd time I ran that trail and it gets harder every time.TokyoJoe got to flex his JBA 4" lift,which seems to have a bit to much flex since he popped the rear coils a few times.Still a great trail but it has claimed a Borla muffler(mine),CV(mine),roof rail(USAFCOPs),and alot of OEM bumber parts.

The 21st pic from TokyoJoe's post is the obstical I blew my CV on,it's pretty cake going up it but going down is a total nightmare,the pics do not do any justice to this obstical.I was slightly hung on my rear diff,and rear bumber on the right boulder and Marty(RL) was spotting,he told me to turn the wheel,I yelled I couldn't since they where jammed agaist a rock.Well he didn't hear me and motioned me forward and as soon as I applied a little gas the CV went BOOOOOOOOOM.Nobody's fault,it was bound to happen sooner or later since my CV are the original CV's and I'm actually sitting higher than TokyoJoe(see pics below).Oh and I got both CV shafts out and the front driveshaft and it will remain that way till the SFA is done,no fixing,I'm not throwing any money in the IFS anymore.Since having the CV's and driveshaft out there is no gain in mpg's or power so selecteable hubs you all want will not gain you anything on a KJ.

The JBA 4" lift worked good,found some small issues but nothing major,shorter rear shocks and longer rear bumpstops are needed.


I learned a few things on this trail........

1) CV's SUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
2) Truggy/buggy owners are complete a-holes
3) A 2wd KJ,even with a rear ARB locked,is totally and utterly worthless offroad,you have no idea the amount the front axle helps power you in 4low when you can't use 4wd.

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Image
All of my pics(not many) are pretty much the same as TokyoJoe's besides the 2 above.


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PostPosted: Mon May 26, 2008 7:17 pm 
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Bald 245's and your 265's. I should be just a touch higher once i get my new 265's.

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PostPosted: Mon May 26, 2008 7:22 pm 
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Tokyojoe wrote:
Bald 245's and your 265's. I should be just a touch higher once i get my new 265's.
You better be :lol: :lol: :lol: !

You should be almost dead even when you get your new tires,guess I better get my 35's on!!!!!


Oh and I forgot to post that this was the only time I forgot to bring my 35mm socket :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: ,oh well.


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PostPosted: Mon May 26, 2008 7:51 pm 
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tjkj2002 wrote:
Tokyojoe wrote:
Bald 245's and your 265's. I should be just a touch higher once i get my new 265's.
You better be :lol: :lol: :lol: !

You should be almost dead even when you get your new tires,guess I better get my 35's on!!!!!


Oh and I forgot to post that this was the only time I forgot to bring my 35mm socket :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: ,oh well.


That was the biggest question about the whole run that I had to have answered. YOu carry a ton of stuff w/ you and you forgot THE socket??! :shock:

BTW, When I blew my front diff I drove 2wd for about a year and noticed a considerable improvement in the amount of miles I could get out of a tank during that time.

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PostPosted: Mon May 26, 2008 7:57 pm 
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tjkj2002 wrote:
Oh and I forgot to post that this was the only time I forgot to bring my 35mm socket :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: ,oh well.


Is it the way it always is...when you don't need something you have it, but that one time when you need it, its not there.

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PostPosted: Mon May 26, 2008 8:07 pm 
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well it looks like it might be time to start your build :wink: :wink:

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PostPosted: Mon May 26, 2008 9:52 pm 
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wow, thats a lot of flex from those shocks! looks good tokyojoe. Enjoy it! I shocked Troy is a bit taller even with your bald tires. :shock:

Troy, stinks about the CV, they suck changing anywhere, but i think the drivers is easier to change, so good thing for that.

Break it on the Trail!!!

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PostPosted: Mon May 26, 2008 10:54 pm 
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Looks like a good time! I always wondered if you would have any troubles with the cv troy. Sucks you had one blow right before the sfa swap. :?

Thing that sucks about those a'holes, they will probably talk bad about kj's and kj owners b/c they are worthless idiots. :roll:

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PostPosted: Tue May 27, 2008 12:27 am 
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Tokyojoe wrote:
incubusmike wrote:
So how exactly did the CV go KABOOM? The trail right there doesn't look particularly nasty, and I am not by any means saying it is cake or even easy for that matter. I know the trails are always tougher in person and it is hard to tell from the pics. I am just curious because some of the other pics look like they could have been more trouble for the front end to handle. Sorry about the bum ending to what looked like a really fun ride. Some people are just selfish idiots. Everyone sooner or later has trouble on the trail and I for one always want to lend a hand because I know I would and do really appreciate help on the trail. Anyway, the lift looks like it worked great. How big of bumpstops do you think you are going to have to run in order to keep the springs seated? 4"? That is crazy that both the rear came out together. ???? :?


His right wheel was stuck against a rock and when he tried to turn,*SPEW*

That was what I figured. I assumed the tire had to be stuck and forced to blow the CV up. That sucks. Well, onto the SFA swap I guess right. :wink:

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