Topic: Hammers - Turkey Weekend: UPDATES w/Pics!

[BigMike]

I'll be there with my rig from Friday evening through Saturday. Hope to meet alot of people there!

[rockhound]

IF I drove out for the day, how could we hook up? Do you have a CB ? I 've been there once, made it to the sign. That was before I had duals. Still don't have sliders, and that's the only thing stopping me.

[BigMike [OP]]

I am trying to borrow a CB from TURBO. I usually run channel 4. I dont remember if my cell phone works out there, its been a couple of years since I've been there...

I am going to leave Fresno sometime in the early afternoon (1-4pm hopefully) so we will get there after dark on Friday evening (6 hr drive). Then we're gonna play all day Sat. and leave in the evening to come back home.

As of right now, I've got no body protection at all. Yet I still want to drive around and do some wheeling. So Im sure as hell not going to do Sledge, or Jack, or the like, but maybe I'll just find some rocks to play on that are to big for my bald 33s.

Despite it being Turkey day right now, Im gonna head to the shop and work for a couple of hours. I've gotta fix an oil leak from hell, change my back brakes, change my diff gear oil, and a couple other small things before Im ready to go.

I'll post back here before I leave and let you know about my CB situation.

Last year Marlin said there were about 60 - 70 rigs out there. And there's no formal event, just everyone is driving all around and having a good time

[rockhound]

I have no body protection either. But I'm a lot closer and no maintenance to do beforehand.
I know it's cold up there and i don't have a motorhome, so I'll probably stay at a motel or just go up for the day . Hope to see you there. I'll try channel 4, but if not I'll look for your rig.

[RE:Todd]

We'll be on the left side as you come on the lakebed.  34' Motorhome pulling an open trailer, white F250 Super duty pulling a 28 foot enclosed, white Super duty pulling a 35 foot gooseneck enclosed, Tahoe toy box pulled by a Cummins, etc. etc.  Look for the Yellow FToy, Leopard print 82, Blue Fugly Bugly, and Mickey bombs at night     

[rockhound]

       

[BigMike [OP]]

Mickey bombs at night

Can't wait to check that out!

I fixed an oil leak and took care of a couple other misc things and my truck is ready to go!

I'll try channel 4, but if not I'll look for your rig.

Shouldn't be to hard, just look for the truck with the smallest tires

[BigMike [OP]]

Ok guys, I am just now leaving Fresburg. It's around 5:45 pm now on Friday. We should be there sometime around 12am - 1am or so.

I will be on Channel 4 all day tomorrow unless im with some people who are running something else, so if you want to give some shouts out to me, do so early on. I'll wake up (~8am) and leave my radio on while at camp.

Hope to see alot of people out there - cya!
BigMike

[BigMike [OP]]

Ok guys, time for the trip report updates!


We drove out Friday night after I posted here, and we got there right at midnight. Marlin and TURBO took Andy's buggy and towed it behind his Tundra V8. I ran in front of Marlin to help break wind for him () and we got there pretty quick. My girlfriend came with me which was extra nice . My oil leak from hell I thought I repaired Turkey day morning (resealed oil pan) is still there. Might be my rear main seal, but I remember checking it and it was good so Im still not sure where its coming from..

We drove into the dry lake bed area and there were campers EVERYWHERE. I would say over 200 campers/motorhomes, seriously. We found the Tin Benders camp and pulled up. I got to meet Re:Todd, Lemoore-on, cgbemis, and a couple others from Pirates. I also met the main guy behind CTM axles.

So I was driving around looking for our friends from the Wicked Wheelers, found them sleeping, so headed back to the Tin Benders area when my clutch gave out. Actually on the way in from Barstow I noticed that the pedal would feel strange every now and then. Felt like it didnt want to come back up when released....and then when I was parking my truck to go to sleep, it quit entirely. No clutch what so ever. I still had to move my truck, so I put it into Tripple crawl and moved it around in 5th gear without the clutch.

So I woke up Sat. around 8:15a and checked it out. The clutch master cylinder resivor was bone dry, and sure enough the slave cylinder was completely drenched with clutch fluid so it came off first.

[BigMike [OP]]

This slave was just something that I found in Marlin's backyard at the shop. It came from a 3.4l bellhousing. Although it wasnt a perfect fit, it worked. It was one of those things that you say "I'll just use this until I get it replaced" but man I've learned that once something is working you forget about it and dont touch it until it stops working. It's like a curse; im sure many here know what Im talking about

The slave actually sits a bit sideways and the plunger rod is slanted sideways to operate the clutch fork. I knew about it but forgot to do anything about it as its been working perfectly all this time. So I figured that the rod had damaged the piston and the seals went bad.
So we dug through Marlin's rescue box (those who Marlin has helped knows what Im talking about) and we found a complete clutch slave rebuild kit

So I took the boot off -- and it was clean, no leakage at all. This was a bad sign because the clutch master is not leaking, no leaks on the firewall or under the dash near the pedal. It must be the slave but it's not. Now the only explanation is that I never toped off the fluid when I did the 3RZ conversion and theres some slow leak and it got low and just pumped air in....?? But Im no fool with engine conversions and I am certain that I topped it off.

Anyways, I just figured it got me 6 hrs from home, so the leak must be slow enough that I can still drive it around and enjoy the day, so I was putting it back on when this happens.......

[BigMike [OP]]

The flaring on the stock '81 clutch line that I had bent to fit how I wanted to (since the 3RZ's clutch is relocated to the drivers side) broke off when I was tightening it back on. Bingo! So the leak was from a small hairline crack on the clutch line. Its a good thing I found this out while in camp and not on the highway or trail!! That could have been bad..

So back in Marlin's rescue box we were unable to find a replacement clutch line. Marlin was certain he had one and he kept digging around when I pulled out a rear brake line hose. It has the same fittings on both ends so on it went

It actually wasnt to bad, just a bit long but hey it works and I got to run Claw Hammer!

I also wanted to correct the angle of my slave cylinder since it was off, so Louie from the Wicked Wheelers dug through his bolt bin and found a 8x1.25 bolt that was long enough to allow me to place some spacers between the bellhousing and the slave. It was long enough alright, so we had to put some 10mm bolts on it to correct its length and then it bolted right up, the plunger rod is now perfectly dead straight with the shift fork, and the fun begins!!

[BigMike [OP]]

We had 6 rigs in our group, in order:

Louie from Wicked Wheelers, Oakhurst, in his full size Top Truck Challenge Chevy Blazer "RokBlaz" on 39" tires with a 350 V8 > Auto > Dual Ultimate 
Marlin and TURBO in Andy's buggy with an Automatic and single 4.70:1 case
Holly (Louie's daughter, 16 yrs old? who is an amazing wheeler) and her friend Jessica in a Toy Truggy "Evil Toy" with Dual Ultimate
Myself with my girlfriend and Tripple Ultimate
Angelo and his wife from Fresno in his gray 3rd gen with a Dual Ultimate
and Bobby from Corsegold in his 2nd gen "ROKOTA" with a Dual Ultimate

Everyone was locked front and rear, including myself, but of course I've got bald 33s, crappy springs, and no body armor at all and Im at the Hammers
So I told everyone to just go on and have fun since Im gonna be a major dead weight for them and they should just have fun and do something really hard, but everyone was, for some reason, really cool with my truck being there and they decided to do a more simple run called Claw Hammer.

I said I want to go, but I dont want to beat up my truck. Sure my trucks' body isnt perfect, but I am not going to knowingly beat up my body especially when I dont have any bumpers and Ive not bobbed the bed yet. Sure its gonna get dented many times in the future, but this is my first Madden Voyage for my truck so Im gonna take care of her........to which they replied 'oh 33s should be ok for this trail'

So off we went

[BigMike [OP]]

I know this is alot of :bull crap: so I'll stop narrating and just let the pictures speak for them selves


I did take one small dent, check the above pic, right below the drivers door on the bottom of the cab. Oh well, it was fun and that's my reminder of my first ever 4WD run with my baby

[BigMike [OP]]

The trail this time was actually pretty hard according to Angelo. This is the 5th time he's ran it, 2nd time this year, and he said this is the most torn up he's ever seen it. He said its usually a trail that you just take to kill some time, even as a night run its not so bad, but because of recent storms in the area, as many of you know with these types of canyon trails, the trail changes nearly everytime you go there.

Louie wasted a chromolly tie rod on his Blazer and we had to get that winched straight. He towed it there so he's ok. It actually took us almost all day to get through that trail which normally is just a couple of hours. Sure the two buggys had little trouble and my truck being stock didnt help out much either, but I thought I did surprisingly well considering the conditions of the trail... and these tires aren't so bad. They are really bald but they still hooked up. I ran 13psi all around and would have gone lower but I was concerned about ground clearance...

[BigMike [OP]]

At lunch time everyone gathered around the coolest rig

[BigMike [OP]]

The very top of the canyon was the hardest part this time. Last time Angelo said it was nothing, but this time it was all tore up.

Of course Im talking this way because for me it was all tore up no one really had much trouble except for me but im sure I had the most fun

It took me a couple of tries to get out of there. TURBO had to throw a bunch of rocks for me there. Man what a difference having 33s is compared to some real tires, and also I used to take bumpers for granted. MAN I've really learned the importance of body armor now. I only got that one small dent, but man I was all of the time and went so slow in so many places because I didnt want to waste my truck.

But it was extremely fun for me and its gonna be so cool once my truck is built up to come back to this place and just haul up it in just a couple of hours. I like the fact that everything is so challenging for me right now. I'll always remember this and I'll have alot of respect for my work once my truck is better setup.

Thanks for reading- Cya
BigMike

[Mike D]

Man why doesn't washington have any trails like that

[KYOTA]

Looks like fun Mike, I cant wait to get back down south for some DRY wheeling

[Marketing]

Nice Pics

[Prismo]

Looks like fun Mike. Glad you guys had a good weekend.
Mike D., we have some trails of that sort in Washington........east of the mountains.

[rockhound]

Way to go Big Mike. I wish I had gone now.    I was lazy all weekend.  
Didn't want to drive 3 hrs., didn't want to damage fresh body work  afraid to seperate the slip yoke , again.
So after I finish the body work  ,add boulder bars, get a long slip yoke .
i'll feel more better about the next chance to wheel with ya', till then I'm just a poser.

[BigMike [OP]]

So do you live near LA ? If you live more towards Bakersfield then you should come up HWY168 once the snowy season begins. Im gonna be there alot this year!

[rockhound]

 I am 1 hour south of LA. I haven't wheeled in snow much, but when I have it offers a new perspective.
Been Wheelin' for years, I'm sure I'll get another chance to meet up.
It's good to see you wheel it over treacherous terrain and come out with minimal damage.
The challenge offered by equipment is relative to the degree of your modifications. (And driver skill) You are having fun now with limited equuipment. As you modify, you are less challenged by familiar trails, and more capable to seek out new and more challenging runs.
That's the addiction.
I wheeled stock and loved the challenge.
Somehow, modifications and more challenging runs seem to be a natural progression.

[Pancho]

very nice Mike Next time try to make it up.

[BigMike [OP]]

very nice Mike Next time try to make it up.

Up to where?


EDIT: Hey wait, is this Francisco? With the WRX? How's it going man! How's your truck running?