Posts: 57 Join date: 2009-01-04 Location: Tri-Cities WA
Subject: Pack Em Full 6/29/2009, 3:17 pm
For those of you non packing your wheel bearings is necessary type...Read on!
My buddy, his wife & my family & I went camping Father's Day weekend to our favorite spot near Carson City WA. He was about 3 hours ahead of us and heard a Bang at Biggs Junction OR...He got out of the truck and looked everywhere for damage. Not finding anything noticeable they ventured on another 70 miles to Paradise Creek. After unloading the truck and setting up camp they climbed in the truck and started back down the mountain for firewood. Bang again but this time the left front wheel was making a racket...They hobbled back to camp and found a toasted bearing. Being out of cell phone range he couldn't call us to pick up parts & tools. The next morning Robbie & I headed to Hood River OR to find a NAPA which was better than what he wanted to do...Drive back to the Dry Cities for his tools and parts. I wasn't up for a 7hr hour round trip drive and talked him into the Hood River idea. After retrieving bearings, grease pork rinds and tools we couldn't for the life of us get the outer bearing off...It had galled itself the the axle. We happened to bring 2 vises (to hold wood for the kids while they carved) which we used as pullers...Until they broke! With nothing but time on our hands we went to Carson City and bought a hacksaw, WD-40 and called a friend to warn them that we may need rescued. The plan was if we couldn't fix it...Our friend would pick up our camp gear and Robbie would have the truck towed the the nearest location for repair. By Saturday afternoon we had cut away enough of the bearing that it gave up the fight and we were able to complete the job...Time for S'mores!
Next year we plan to install a lift kit!
Robbie was pretty resourceful by using branch limbs to keep the calipers open.
Not something you want to see your buddy do while camping.
Posts: 114 Join date: 2009-02-25 Age: 37 Location: Moses Lake
Subject: Re: Pack Em Full 6/29/2009, 5:19 pm
Kind of a bummer for the trip. Cool you got it fixed. Buy yourselves a propane blow torch, the one that uses the small bottles and if it ever happens again alot of times you can heat the race and it will expand and be easier to remove.
_________________ Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." ~Mark Twain
Posts: 57 Join date: 2009-01-04 Location: Tri-Cities WA
Subject: Re: Pack Em Full 6/29/2009, 5:33 pm
XCR500Rider wrote:
Buy yourselves a propane blow torch, the one that uses the small bottles and if it ever happens again alot of times you can heat the race and it will expand and be easier to remove.
Yes true...We talked about doing that but decided to use the saw and chisel method. Robbie is a industrial mechanic and had concern that the torch wouldn't have been able to heat the race to the appropriate temperature for this particular application based on his professional opinion.
I still think we should have tried it...At the minimum we could have started the camp fire a lot easier.
Posts: 114 Join date: 2009-02-25 Age: 37 Location: Moses Lake
Subject: Re: Pack Em Full 6/29/2009, 5:58 pm
It's just cool that you guys got it fixed without having to tow the truck.
_________________ Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." ~Mark Twain
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Subject: Pack Em Full 
6/29/2009, 3:17 pm
