Today was such a good day. I started out with a small group traveling some rugged back roads around Madison, Indiana that I’ve often driven, I stopped at large car show and took photos I’ll eventually get around to uploading, I found some new gravel roads and a river crossing I didn’t know about.
And then.
Then I got my initiation to the real world of Jeeping, the dark corner oft referred to in ominous whispers.
Death Wobble.
I’ve been fighting some minor wobbling for a few weeks. Repeating balancing and rotations haven’t worked. I had 5 u-joints replaced this week in hopes that might solve it.
And suddenly, a minor wobble today became a clattering, clanking nightmare of terror.
Now I’m at a hotel a couple of hours from home, having limped there trying to stay under 40, and I’ll be trying to find a route home that takes me entirely on back roads. Bumpier, thus more likely to introduce instability, but slower, and ones where I can pull over in an emergency. And of course it’s a holiday weekend and the mechanic I trust most is nowhere near where I live so I’ll have to get it to him somehow next week.
At least I’m on good terms with the local car rental agencies. Repeat customer and all that.
I admit, I’m getting tired of throwing money into this pit.