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
Thats why my truck dosent move once I get there Its no big deal if you break the quad But if your truck goes down you ve got a problem Your not the first to leave the dunes on a flat bed What trannt are you going with??
I went with a Ford Remanufactured 4r100. Wish I had different options available but I'm a foreman for a traveling construction crew and my truck is my only mode of transportation. So Ford replaced it within 3 days and I'm broke now until next payday. I still laugh about it. Unfortunately I don't have pics of the jump but I'm sure if you've ever been to Glamis you'll probably hear stories about the Dumb@ss that was Jumping dunes with his crew cab diesel and wound up on the side of the rode with a blown tranny.
REALLY NEED A TRANS TEMP GAUGE!!! Anyone know of any single pod pillar mounts out there?
Oh yeah, matter of fact yes I was in 4 wheel when I launched it. I'm almost certain that my truck sits lower now. I think the front springs are flatter now. Oh yeah horrible rattling noise and rough shutdown. I think the engine mounts are busted.
I third that, truck does not move unless someone needs a tow...
I took my PSD out last Thanksgiving (two days after I bought it) and decided to cruise it out to Oldsmobile Hill, yeah, never again. The tranny gauge shot to 210 after a couple miles 4x4 in the sand. I sat there by myself in the back of the truck for two hours waiting for the tranny to cool down a little, I did not know what she could take. In my case, if the PSD breaks down, I have two trucks and a trailer that arent making it home!
Plus, with all the idiots that are on quads on the holiday weekend, it is too easy to not see one in a big truck and cause some problems.
I miss Glamis, When I was stationed at Camp Pendelton I used to go to Glamis through out the whole winter. Thanksgiving weekend was always a blast there. I had a Honda 250R Fourtrax 86. I ran 9 paddle Skat Trak Haulers on the rear and smoothies on the front. Man it was a blast. Now I deal with the little dunes along Lake Michigan.
Straycat... That incident made me start looking into trans coolers. It wasnt even that warm out, maybe 75°. The stop and go traffic in the sand didnt help
ok, first of all i got it from a REmanufacture dealer off of EBAY and im doing the labor cuz i can. the unit isn't NEW but all the parts that operate inside are new and the thing comes with a warranty so.....
if you didn't do it yourself you probably paid 2000.00 for labor
Regardless of cost the circumstances that apply to my situation required that I take it to the dealer considering I'm 700+ miles from my garage. The actual cost for the tranny was something like 2400-2800. I can't remember exactly I saw it on the service managers computer so it was close to 1G in labor. By the way when you get it done at the dealer they replace everything, including the trans cooler and hoses. (so it makes it worth it now)<- Insert more sarcasm
The funny part about the experience is that when I was on the side of the road these guys would come up and presume they understood the situation.
Dude: "Just let some more air out of your tires and I can get you out"
Me: "I don't think so man, the tranny's gone."
Dude: "How can you be so sure?"
(Truck starts, shifted into gear and GRINDING ensues)
Dude: "Wow! I think that's the tranny bro"
Me: "How can you be so sure?" <-insert sarcasm here
Lesson learned I'll stick to my bike and quad from now on.
LOL Everyday is a school day Try to be postive It was probably going out anyway you just gave a little push Anything you can do to make it okay in your head
LOL, I am constantly reminded that there are alot of people who dont know nothin about nothin.......i.e. I went to look at a truck at a dealership, I went through checking all of the fluids and it was low on transmission fluid, I told the guy, 'looks like it needs some A-T-F" he turns to a mechanic and says go get some A-T-F. mechanic says " whats ATF? " i expected the salesperson to tell him but he turns to me and says what is ATF? anyway........I really think you should jump your truck again just to see if your transmission is better than your old one, lol but take a vid next time
Thats sweet. I've jumped a 7.3 with a 6 inch lift and Kings. When is the next time you are going to glamis? I want to see someone else jump a truck besides me.
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