Ride Home from Poudre Trip Report...
On Kelly Flats I must have damaged the front driver side axle ujoint and it went unnoticed. On the way home Sunday I heard a "tink" and pulled over. I saw one cap had come off and that's when I pulled the complete axle, Stuffed the rag, tightened it all up and continued towards Home. Only later remembering I actually have a complete spare axle in the rear storage area of the jeep.
After driving about 105 miles and only 9 miles from home, I was approaching the Genesee exit west bound on I-70. At 58 miles per hour going up a steep grade in the slow right hand lane, I felt a sudden drop of the front driver side, a loud bang, and sparks began flying as high as the window as I tried to keep control of the jeep and not roll. The 35" MTR disappeared into the air as I screeched up the lane of traffic with no brakes whatsoever. All I could think about at the moment was keeping control of the vehicle and I was wondering why it wouldn't stop, I was going uphill. I came to a rest after several hundred yards and remarkably was pointed straight and on the shoulder. Suddenly I thought "FIRE" and jumped out of the Jeep. Thankfully there were no flames.
After quickly looking at the damage I began looking back down the hill for where the wheel may have ended up. I was thinking how terrible the scene could have been if the wheel had hit another vehicle. I noticed a small car pulled over about the same area where the wheel came off (approx 350 yds back down the hill)and began to suspect the worse. As I approached the vehicle a lady stepped out and said her car was overheating and was losing power. I suggested she take the Genesee exit and pull into the gas station and ask for help. Then I asked if she saw a wheel come rolling by and she said no, why? She left and a state trooper pulled up and asked what was going on. I explained the situation and he wanted to tell me about his CJ5 project so while I was listening to him I noticed what appeared to be a tire high up on the hill along the north side of I-70. I interrupted the officer and pointed it out so we climbed the hill (70 -80 feet up from the shoulder and there it was. The rotor was intact to the steel wheel and the brake caliper assembly was still attached to the rotor. Neither one of us had before seen anything like it.
My front dif guard came in handy as it and my lower Ball Joint skidded together along on the asphalt protecting my diff and ring and pinion, as it also I'm sure helped keep the vehicle straight.
The tow truck guy said last time he saw something like this the passenger didn't make it. That unfortunately was 3-4 months ago when a jeep lost a front wheel and rolled into the mountain side at the evergreen exit. You may have read about it in the papers and on Colo 4x4 org
I felt very thankful, ignorant, and scared, all at the same time.
The damage is a towing bill, 2 ball joints, a wheel knuckle assembly, caliper assembly, pads, brake line, and the wheel unit bearing. A very expensive mistake. The flange on the short shaft against the axle bearing on the inside combined with the washer and axle nut on the outside, is what keeps the bearing together under power. Don't ever run without the outer in place. On a TJ with front unit bearings, the outer axle is your friend!
