Oh Boy! What a &%#$@ Monday....

[herb101]

I hate Mondays....
(long rant coming with a little on topic topping)......

Started at about 7:30 am - turned the key and nothing...Blazer would not start AGAIN. Runs fine, but dies and drains the battery when it sits. SO.....

I take the Jeep to work. Annoying vibration and the bikini is peeling off of the windshield channel AGAIN. Get done with my first client and I'm on the way to the next - all the way across town, so I take I10 - right through the construction zone (what in San Antonio is not a construction zone?). Just past the choked-down barricades the vibration worsens and I feel the flat front tire (I think - and I wish!) as the Jeep dips down about 6 inches in the front. I look for a place to pull over and find none, so I park it in an entrance ramp median between the ramp and the freeway. I back it up a bit to give me more safe room to work on the tire (no spare or jack BTW) and BOOM - the front drops another foot as the driver side front tire falls off!!! Not all the way off, but the Jeep is now draging the rotor while the tire supports most of the body way through the fender!

Fast forward to the two tow-services and the 7 hour wait (GRRRRRRR!!!!!) to have the Jeep home - I get a look at the wheel....lug holes are elongated and the perfectly good, nearly new Pro Comp 35" Mud Terrain has had the rubber scooped out down to the cords around the inner rim flange! &^$#%

So, anyway - I upgraded the alternator on the Blazer to a mid 90's F-Body 140A unit with internal regulator. Short seems to have been in the old alternator and now everything works - my lights are brighter, my wipers are no longer speed sensitive variable speed, the radio works better, I have dash lights now and it fires up FAST.

I need to work on less destructive motivation to get Blazer upgrades done.....

Herb

[Yukon Jack]

Nothing worse than being stuck on the side of a busy highway!

[bouncytruck]

So, how did that happen to the Jeep? The good news is you can sell the Jeep now and just drive the Blazer.

[Jtrux]

You're right about the I 10 traffic, it sucks!

[herb101]

Originally Posted by bouncytruck

So, how did that happen to the Jeep? The good news is you can sell the Jeep now and just drive the Blazer.

I think someone was trying to liberate me of my tires and wheels. About a week prior, I had a similar issue with loose lug nuts on the rear. I replaced all of the rear lugs and checked all four wheels for tightness and fronts were fine at that point.

The Jeep is actually going to my son once I de-tune it a tad (BIG tad). The 401 is coming out to go in a 75 CJ5 (to sell or die in) and he'll be getting an injected 4.0 six in it's place. Sadly, my daily driver has been shifting between the Blazer and the Jeep - depends on what's broken on which and how easy it is to fix. I am trying to fold in a few more for the DD rotation - the Scout is getting some head work (seals) and new gaskets and the Willys needs a new pressure plate. Once those are done, I'll have a 1 in 4 chance for a DD each day.

Herb

[herb101]

Originally Posted by Yukon Jack

Nothing worse than being stuck on the side of a busy highway!

The real bad part was the quoted 2-1/2 hour wait for the tow rig - that seemed like a long time when they said it.

After 4 hours, I just left the keys with it and found a way home. The fist tow company got there and tried to recover it but couldn't because of the missing wheel (the one I told them about when I called!!).

Second rig was called from another company and they got it home to me by about 7PM - incident happened at about 10 AM.

Herb

[Chris27]

I think someone was trying to liberate me of my tires and wheels.

I had something similar happen to me on my '70 Jimmy. I was driving to work in the morning around 6:30am (winter), noticed a strange noise from the front end going down the highway. Just as I was thinking "I should pull over" My left front passed me! The wheel shot across the median (4 lane highway) barely missed a car, then turned back towards me! I was on the brakes, left side on the ground throwing sparks, and when I stopped, my wheel came to rest right beside my driver's door! When I got out, one stud was broken off (probably the one that had the lock on it ). So I borrowed two lugnuts from the other 3 wheels and put the wheel back on. Checked the other lugs and they were all loose except for the locks! That was an interesting day! Could have been a lot worse!

[69TowRig]

My dad had something similar happen to him one winter, all the lug nuts except for one were holding the driver's front wheel on his Bronco, and that was was really loose when he realized what was going on.

[LUV2XCLR8]

Man oh man, that's having a bad day for sure.

[bouncytruck]

I haven't had anyone try to steal my wheels, just the whole truck. Luckly, my wife was up with the baby and heard a car outside. She looked out and saw someone trying to open my truck. She flung open the window and started yelling. I jumped up and yelled at them too then ran outside in my underware to chase them down the street.

[jaros44sr]

Originally Posted by bouncytruck

I haven't had anyone try to steal my wheels, just the whole truck. Luckly, my wife was up with the baby and heard a car outside. She looked out and saw someone trying to open my truck. She flung open the window and started yelling. I jumped up and yelled at them too then ran outside in my underware to chase them down the street.

Bouncytruck, could we get a re-enactment w/pics. of them trying to steal your truck and you chasing them down in your underware

I had my '62 chevy stolen from in front of my house, found it destroyed at a train station. P!ssed off, went into the Marines. My Father had restored it by time I got out of boot camp.... Cool Dad!

[Jtrux]

I'm surprised Critter hasn't chimed in since he seems to have bad luck keeping his wheels on his cars too. If he reads this he'll say something i'm sure of it.