OKay so maybe not so much the dunes killed my tranny but it definately didn't help. I set out with my crew members that stayed the weekend at the hotel. I'm a foreman for a traveling construction crew and decided I should show these guys a little of what I used to do when I was growing up in the desert. In case you don't know what Glamis is I'll give a brief description. Southern California Imperial Valley, Glamis Beach is located 21 miles out of brawley on highway 78. It's desert landscape covered with rolling sand dunes presents oportunity to beat your quad, dirt bike, sand rail, baja truck and anything else you can roll on.
It started out with a little playing, running up to the top of a dune and backing off the top. Then I found a small fifteen foot dune with a long straight away ahead of it. With alot of encouragement from my passengers and a little adrenaline I decided it was time to jump the dune at about 40 mph. Needless to say the 5-6 feet of vertical was an impressive sight to see considering the size of my CC 7.3L F250.
But alas the sand and heavy foot began to take it's toll. I got out to check the suspension considering I installed it myself I was ensuring everything was still in it's place. Suspension was fine but ATF was pooring from the front seal on the tranny. BY POORING OUT I MEAN A STRONG STEADY FLOW!!! I made it back to pavement and started back to my Hotel in El Centro. Made it about 7 miles and got caught in a traffic jamb. Mean while on the phone I decided to park off the side of the highway and call for a tow. I wasnt thinking clearly and slammed on the brakes and pulled the wheel to the right to avoid a tree. Luckily thanks to the adrenaline still pumping I was heavy on the foot and finally decided to shut her down when the wheels stopped spinning and the tranny started grinding.
Tacos on the way to the Glamis.... $4.00
Cell phone bill calling the tow truck.... $5.85
New Tranny... $3750.25
Launching your Crew Cab 7.3L off a sand dune... PRICELESS
It started out with a little playing, running up to the top of a dune and backing off the top. Then I found a small fifteen foot dune with a long straight away ahead of it. With alot of encouragement from my passengers and a little adrenaline I decided it was time to jump the dune at about 40 mph. Needless to say the 5-6 feet of vertical was an impressive sight to see considering the size of my CC 7.3L F250.
But alas the sand and heavy foot began to take it's toll. I got out to check the suspension considering I installed it myself I was ensuring everything was still in it's place. Suspension was fine but ATF was pooring from the front seal on the tranny. BY POORING OUT I MEAN A STRONG STEADY FLOW!!! I made it back to pavement and started back to my Hotel in El Centro. Made it about 7 miles and got caught in a traffic jamb. Mean while on the phone I decided to park off the side of the highway and call for a tow. I wasnt thinking clearly and slammed on the brakes and pulled the wheel to the right to avoid a tree. Luckily thanks to the adrenaline still pumping I was heavy on the foot and finally decided to shut her down when the wheels stopped spinning and the tranny started grinding.
Tacos on the way to the Glamis.... $4.00
Cell phone bill calling the tow truck.... $5.85
New Tranny... $3750.25
Launching your Crew Cab 7.3L off a sand dune... PRICELESS