Lessons Learned: A Story of a Stick versus a Rubicon

NevadaZielmeister

Caught the Bug
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I was torn about sharing the details about this apparent freak accident, but felt it was important to share what I learned with others, in the hopes that others can learn from my mistakes.

I was four wheeling with my friend QuicksilverJK after the morning was spent installing my fenders with Sharkey and QuicksilverJK. I was excited to just get out since I have been trying to save my stock parts for sale next month when I drop my 2016 JKUR to ORE for a whole bunch of upgrades. I figured in my mind, what could go wrong just driving around on forest service roads? Well, this happened:

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I was driving on a forest service road and drove over some sticks that looked harmless. Well, one of them went up into my front driveshaft, then caught the boot and the stick was shoved into the Automatic Transmission Fluid Pan, splitting it from the housing and pealing the gasket open. My first clue something was wrong was smoke coming out from underneath the rig and when I got out to look underneath, the first thing I saw was ATF fluid spewing out onto the frame crossmember. I immediately turned off the engine. Luckily no fire was started since my wife and two children were in the vehicle.

I got to use my new winch and QuicksilverJK and I were able to get to the "main" road. The problem was that there was no cellular phone service so my wife jumped into an already full JK and she went to get help once she was in cellular phone range. Meanwhile, I was stuck in a disabled JKUR with two scared children for 1.5 hours. We went for a little walk and eventually we got too cold, so I went back with them to the JK. That is when I saw two very old trucks driving up to us. Thoughts of the movie "Deliverance" immediately jumped into my mind. I immediately put the kids into the JK and locked the doors. Luckily the two hillbilly types were not interested in us and just drove by. But I had no way of protecting them other than my fists.

They became worried about why we were not driving and where was "mommy". The only other tool I had was the Owner's Manual so I read them that, which calmed them greatly. You can imagine what that sounded like, me reading them from the manual things they could not understand at 3 and 5 years old. But they continued to ask for me to read whenever I stopped reading.

Eventually my wife got help and we reunited to wait for the tow truck and the vehicle was towed to the dealership. The good news is that the repairs were less than $500.

I was pretty disappointed in the Rubicon at that point. This was only my third trip in the Rubicon and it already failed. But I will go with this being a freak incident and not common. I just expected more from a stock Rubicon, that was all.

The lessons learned were many:
-Always come prepared for any off-road adventure. I lacked everything: Fire extinguisher, tow straps, tools, fire making materials, firearm, d-ring shackles, etc.
-Never assume that you will become disabled. Always be ready and have a plan.
-Use whatever preventive steps you can in your build.

I spoke with several friends on this site and the professionals at Off Road Evolution and I came to the conclusion that I needed the EVO MFG Protek Skid Plate system. This has been added to my build. I felt that what Eddy does and talks about in a thread in 2013 was important, to allow easy access to the underside of the vehicle but also allow cooling. I wanted to install HUGE underside plates, but realized that I need to go with what persons who are way more experienced than myself and went with the Protek skid plates.

I REALLY hope that I am not the second coming of Trailbud (“Trailbreak”) and have these kind of freak issues in the future.
 
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Wow! First off I am glad you and your family are ok. Safety is always first and foremost.

Its amazing how something that looks so harmless can cause such damage. It's always a reminder to always be aware of your surroundings and what you are driving over. It's a good thing you caught it before anything really bad happened.
 
I am sorry to hear of your experience but I appreciate you sharing...it is a lesson and reminder for all of us.
 
Wow, how crazy is that! Glad hear that you and your Jeep are okay. To be honest, I'm surprised that the stick missed that dangerously exposed cooler line and went straight for lip of your sump pan. It is the reason why I always recommend something like a ProTek skid on an automatic. Of course, being that you're going to be getting the full EVO treatment, a new front drive shaft will be on order so you should be good there.

As you've pointed out, it pays to always go prepared but at least, you were with a friend.
 
The Protek skids were the first or second thing that went on my Jeep. Break that line and you aren't going anywhere; break the oil pan and you also aren't going anywhere. The lip separation that you had seems like a freak accident to me but, as Eddie said, the exposed line is something for which I am surprised I haven't seen more breaks.

Downed branches are interesting animals and I do my best to avoid them whenever possible. They will jump up unexpectedly and cause a variety of damage. I once had one kick up and go perfectly between the slots on my blazer's grill and right into my oil cooler, spraying oil over my windshield in the middle of a difficult and long uphill climb. Lesson learned.

The important thing is that you and your kids are ok. You have also learned a great lesson about being prepared because any rig, no matter how well-built, can suffer a debilitating break.
 
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That's shitty luck, but I wouldn't be disappointed in your Rubicon over it. I also don't see how this makes the axles suck like you said in the other thread.
 
I had something similar happen to me. The stick went up and sheared the fuel line off where it was clamped to the transmission on the passenger side. Sprayed gas straight onto the hot exhaust.... Can't believe it didn't catch fire.

I now carry a 5/16 double barb fitting a short piece of 3/8 hose and a couple of small hose clamps with me.
 
i did something similar with a Feed back on the highway in my car in college... The feed bag flew out of the truck in front of me and I saw it, but decided to just hit it as I was going fast and didn't want to risk swerving in the rain, well that feed bag wrapped around my passenger side front axle until it jammed the axle against the control arm, and broke the output shaft in the transmission... :eek: A f-ing Feed Bag caused over 2k worth of damage not including the tow and labor (did it myself) :doh:

Lesson learned. If you don't have to run it over, DONT.

Glad everyone is safe!
 
i did something similar with a Feed back on the highway in my car in college... The feed bag flew out of the truck in front of me and I saw it, but decided to just hit it as I was going fast and didn't want to risk swerving in the rain, well that feed bag wrapped around my passenger side front axle until it jammed the axle against the control arm, and broke the output shaft in the transmission... :eek: A f-ing Feed Bag caused over 2k worth of damage not including the tow and labor (did it myself) :doh:

Lesson learned. If you don't have to run it over, DONT.

Glad everyone is safe!

Thank you for that. In regards to your accident, you did the right thing. Having handled 1000's of auto insurance claims, I cannot tell you how many times people have swerved to avoid the "GEICO squirrels" in order to avoid impact. You absolutely did the right thing in just keeping your vehicle straight and running it over. The worst thing I see is when people swerve to the left and into oncoming traffic, which is the worst thing to decide to do.
 
Thank you all for all of your comments. It was an eye opening experience. Seeing that transmission cooler line just made me realize how vulnerable the transmission is. Yes, it will be the Protek skid plate system in my future in a few weeks.
 
Thank you for that. In regards to your accident, you did the right thing. Having handled 1000's of auto insurance claims, I cannot tell you how many times people have swerved to avoid the "GEICO squirrels" in order to avoid impact. You absolutely did the right thing in just keeping your vehicle straight and running it over. The worst thing I see is when people swerve to the left and into oncoming traffic, which is the worst thing to decide to do.

This was on a texas highway, with a rather large grass median... I dont think it would have lost control of the car, but I did have a fresh Sonic Icy and a headache. Contrary to your post, I believe I SHOULD have evaded. The weather wasn't dangerous, it has been raining all day, the road was not slick, just wet, I had good Goodyear Eagle F1's (NEARLY impossible to hydroplane), corner balanced coilovers, and dialed in swaybars on the car... (I used to attend open track days) Needless to say, I would NOT have lost control of the car (after all I was only going 75mph). I should have evaded the feedbag. I was just lazy and didnt think it could cause the the kind of damage it did.

I guess my point here is If you dont HAVE to drive over debris, drive around it.

Disclaimer: I would not recommend ANYONE attempt any sudden maneuver in the rain, especially at highway speeds. Unless you are a skilled driver who has LOTS of experience with how your vehicle transfers weight AND slides.
 
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That's a crazy accident, but I'm glad everything worked out okay and your family is safe.
 
Been trying to find threads on recommended skid plates. I know there's Evo Protek. Can some guide me to other threads on this or recommendations? My Google search judo is failing me right now.
 
Been trying to find threads on recommended skid plates. I know there's Evo Protek. Can some guide me to other threads on this or recommendations? My Google search judo is failing me right now.

Here is a really great thread started by Eddy:

http://wayalife.com/showthread.php?72-EVO-MFG-ProTeK-Skid-System!!

Here was a general discussion:

http://wayalife.com/showthread.php?9572-Skid-Plates-Complete-System-(4-door-JK)

Another VERY good discussion:

http://wayalife.com/showthread.php?869-Giving-Some-Love-to-Factory-Skidplates!!/page2

There are a lot of options out there for other manufacturers. I really like the Genright stuff and the MORE plates, but they are so large and really do make it hard to remove when you need access to your underside. So I went with the EVO protek stuff.

Good luck and happy reading.
 
Here is a really great thread started by Eddy:

http://wayalife.com/showthread.php?72-EVO-MFG-ProTeK-Skid-System!!

Here was a general discussion:

http://wayalife.com/showthread.php?9572-Skid-Plates-Complete-System-(4-door-JK)

Another VERY good discussion:

http://wayalife.com/showthread.php?869-Giving-Some-Love-to-Factory-Skidplates!!/page2

There are a lot of options out there for other manufacturers. I really like the Genright stuff and the MORE plates, but they are so large and really do make it hard to remove when you need access to your underside. So I went with the EVO protek stuff.

Good luck and happy reading.

Thanks so much!
 
I'm glad everything worked out. Recovery is always an adventure in itself. Your "luck" that evening has definitely got my wheels turning on armor. Being a manual I feel less concerned, but still something I do need to take care of.
 
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