Left Friday night at about 6:00pm. Met up with seanR in Rochelle, IL at about 7:00pm We drove until we got near Des Moines, IA and spend the rest of the night at a rest area. On Saturday morning we left early and drove until we got to Idaho Springs, Colorado. On Sunday, we drove the rest of the way and got to Moab in the afternoon, after having a nice drive in on Highway 128.
Anyways, the fun part started when I got halfway through Iowa, and my rear main seal let go. I started losing oil pretty badly. Every time we stopped for gas, I would have to add more oil. I ended up going through 5 quarts of oil on the way there (good thing I had plenty with me). The back hatch of the Jeep was covered with oil, along with the whole undercarriage. I probably left a nice trail of oil along I80, I76 and I70 :p
Anyways, I spent all day Monday replacing the rear main seal on my Jeep in the campground with some help from seanR and Mike (Sidriptide). Unfortunately, when we were done, it was still leaking oil.
Since I had to drive it home again at the end of the week, I decided not to waste another day fixing my Jeep, so I brought it into “Moab Offroad Accessories”. I dropped it off Tuesday morning, and then rented a YJ from them as well. The YJ was actually very cool to drive…..I took the top off 🙂 BTW, The YJ was lifted (not sure how much), running 33×12 BFG MT’s, and locked front and rear (Detroit’s). I took it to a few trails; Klondike Bluffs, Gemini Bridges, and a trail inside Arches national Park. I also took it around part of Arches National park.
Later that day, I dropped off the YJ and picked up my XJ…..and it looked like the oil problem was fixed.
Anyways, I wheeled my XJ the rest of the week. On Wednesday I ran “Seven Mile Rim” and “Wipeout Hill”. On Thursday I ran Klondike Bluffs again, but this time with my XJ Thursday night I rode with a friend in his XJ on “Fins & Things” on a night run. This trail had a lot steep ups and downs and was even better at night 🙂
Friday, I ran the trail “Top of the World” which was a very cool trail, which led us to the top of a cliff. The edge of the cliff was a straight down drop off that was over 2000 feet high. It offered a great view of the surrounding area, even into Colorado.
I left Saturday morning, after spending the night at the local Motel 6, so I could get a good nights sleep and I got home Sunday evening at about 6:30pm
Unfortunately, on my way home, I lost some oil again, but this time not out of the rear main seal…..and not nearly as much, only about half a quart. The XJ is now going into the garage until it is fixed. Going to run a compression test on it this weekend, and check the PCV stuff. Hopefully it will be ready to wheel again soon!
Anyways, aside from the rocky start this week, I had a great time and am looking forward to going back to Moab again in the near future. This year I basically ran the easier trails and took in the scenery. But next year, I hope to hit some of the harder trails!
Pictures to come once I get them uploaded.