4bangercraig

It started as a nice relaxing Halloween Weekend at Ocotillo Wells. We had an alesmith keg, our trucks all running strong and dialed in, and two days to wheel our brains out.
On the way out two of us decided to run Pinyon Mountain Road through the squeeze and heart attack hill while the other two trucks headed for camp. We had my buddy's 86 on 33's with back end block lift, front end diff drop, body lift, and no gearing or lockers and my 87 longbed on 33s with no lift- geared and locked. We pulled off, aired down, and ran through the squeeze and the first rocky sections without a hiccup. We came to the top of the dropoff down Heart Attack Hill, looked at it for a couple minutes, picked our lines, and ran it completely without incident.

Then an overload of testosterone and adrenaline met with the question 'aint somebody gonna try to climb it?'

So I picked a line up the right hand side.
And made it alllllmost to the top before I ran out of truck.
Right at the lip of the climb I found air with one tire and sand with two others. After a couple attempts, my throttle stuck and I was left with the engine revving at about 8000 RPMs and my foot on the floorboards.
I checked the entire linkage from butterfly valve to pedal and tugged it and twisted it and floored it and got nowhere. A couple ill-advised attempts to climb despite the throttle issue and I threw in the towel.
So in an effort to avoid trying to back down with no power brakes, we sent the other truck up the left to try and pull me up. (There are really no limits to testosterone-induced knuckleheadedness)
And once again, inevitably, wound up with a truck sitting almost at the top, unable to go forward. So we backed it down.
At this point, I discovered that my front diff housing had sheared in two just inside the passenger side flange. Probably from when I tried to slip the clutch and climb the last rock lip with the engine revving uncontrollably.
Defeated, deflated, and no longer under the spell of invincibility, we backed the truck down heart attack hill with no power brakes and the passenger CV and diff flange sitting on the LCA.
I then loosened my throttle cable to the end of the threads and figured out that if I put my foot under the pedal and pulled it outward, I could get it back to a reasonable idle. Good to go.
And I got a locker, so I wasn't too worried about finishing out the trail in two. And the second truck seemed to be in order.
Only I kept hearing kind of a clicking from his rear diff going down the trail. And then at the last rock section before you hit Fish Creek and twenty miles of easy sand, he sorta ran out of steam, slid back into a boulder, and stayed there. Completely blocking the trail. I walked up beside him and he was in gear, foot off the clutch, with nothing but driveshafts spinning.
Three hours and a couple 2wd crawls back to the dropoff for cell service later, our buddy who had opted out of the trail showed up with the '85 4runner to tow a completely disabled pickup out through 20 miles of Fish Creek while I followed with no front diff and a nagging throttle issue.
Good thing I had that keg.

Carnage report:

'86 shortbed-
both diffs. TCase status unknown

'87 longbed-
front diff housing. Diff and ring/pinion status unknown. Throttle Linkage. Passenger side halfshaft.

In hindsight-
"Has ANYone ever climbed it?"
"Yeah man. I saw a video of it."
"What did he have?"
"A Rubicon on 44's with spools front and rear."

But hey. I'm a little bit harder and a whole lot smarter and that's how I got to be this way.

scuba

There is a reason the park service has deemed that trail ONE WAY. And it's to keep idiots from trying to go UP heart attack hill. Sucks to hear about your carnage. I think your lucky to have made it out of that without major injury.

bobby_duce

any pictures?

Outsane

Always gotta push the limits...

Sound like I should go to Pinyon and run it, just one way

4bangercraig

Thanks, dad. But there ain't no obstacle designation can stop an idiot on a mission! (Of course, had I known at the time it was a designated one way obstacle...) But no regrets. I found the limits of my equipment and it made me a better 4wheeler. It's gonna make me a better mechanic, too.

As for major injury...Hi lifts, roll armor, seatbelts, first aid equipment and training, fire extinguishers, full tool sets, safe spotting. There's a slight but crucial difference between stupid and flat out reckless. Safety first.

And there will definitely be pictures, so stay tuned.

Run it! It's a great trail. When you get to the top of Heart Attack Hill and look down, imagine a red, white, and blue longbed stuck just under the lip at the top on the left hand side with the engine redlining and a bearded man behind the wheel with his head in his hands.

MudHippy

"If you're not breakin' stuff you're not wheelin' hard enough!"

Killer story! Painted a brilliantly clear picture in my head. Looks like "good times" to me. Would've really enjoyed seeing that live!

Been there on the front diff carnage, sorta kinda. Sheared that same side gear shaft/stubshaft once too. Busted the front R&P as well before. And the outer CV. Haven't cracked the housing though(YET!).


Love the attitude! Keep up the good work!

Outsane

I don't see how this going to help me

dropzone

iTrader: (6)

It never hurts to walk a trail before you run it... always read the signs at the trail head etc...

MudHippy

I hear ya on that. A lesson I learned the hard way too. In a different manner though. So I'll add to it this bit of advice:

If the sign at the trail head is missing, or shot to pieces by vandals, and/or is unreadable, definitely proceed with caution. And if you have any doubts, AT ALL, get out and scout it by foot.

Outsane

I just meant the imagining part..

I get out when ever I don't know what is up ahead

BajaRunner

Yeah I donno man, that hill is just freaky. If you make one mistake you're rolling a long time. I kept thinking about going up it, but the rewards don't outweigh the risks, (In my opinion but you can call me a wuss!)

Nice description though.

How was that climb coming out towards Fish Creek? I love that one.

BajaRunner

http://bajarunner.blip.tv/

Here's a video of me going down it a few years ago