[Road Bull]

Originally Posted by Dirtco

Whats left of the spindle that holds my spare tire carrier!

I could be wrong, but just judging by that picture, and that rust, it appears that the spindle might have suffered a crack some time ago and had been corroding with just that last little bit holding the line till it too failed. That sucks, what a PITA.

But hey... WAY better to happen on a trail than on the highway. Imagine what a CF that might have created.

I can't believe I am already seeing snow pics, but, Winter is coming!

[Black798]

Originally Posted by Road Bull

I could be wrong, but just judging by that picture, and that rust, it appears that the spindle might have suffered a crack some time ago and had been corroding with just that last little bit holding the line till it too failed. That sucks, what a PITA.

I agree it looks like there had been a crack there for awhile and it finally gave out. Looking back on your Moab trip video it looks like it was moving around a good deal so I wonder if it was cracked then. The only way I could see it cracking like that though is if you really tagged the rear tire coming down a rock face

[Dirtco]

Originally Posted by Road Bull

I could be wrong, but just judging by that picture, and that rust, it appears that the spindle might have suffered a crack some time ago and had been corroding with just that last little bit holding the line till it too failed. That sucks, what a PITA.

But hey... WAY better to happen on a trail than on the highway. Imagine what a CF that might have created.

I can't believe I am already seeing snow pics, but, Winter is coming!

The rust was from the snow on the drive home, it wasn't rusty when it broke. But I do agree with you, I think the smooth crack was a stress fracture and the rough break was from the carrier flexing back and forth afterwards (like bending a paper clip back and forth).

Yeah, there could have been far worse places to have it break!

Originally Posted by Black798

I agree it looks like there had been a crack there for awhile and it finally gave out. Looking back on your Moab trip video it looks like it was moving around a good deal so I wonder if it was cracked then. The only way I could see it cracking like that though is if you really tagged the rear tire coming down a rock face

It's always moved around a little bit, but that's mainly the rear frame flexing independently of the body (I really need to get some HD rear body mounts). I've never hit the carrier on a rock, so it would have to be some kind of a stress fracture. I was getting on it pretty good out at the sand dunes, so it's possible that started it? I guess at this point it really doesn't matter...

[Dropzone]

i wonder if adding the water jug, granted only about another 17 lbs was the proverbial straw.. glad you found it.
Looking forward to seeing what you come up with to fix it..something double shear?

[Kotrin]

Originally Posted by Dirtco

We completed the trail and headed back to the main ......

I was there 15-16th, it was supposed to be till 23rd, is that Toyota event every year? We are planning to do it again next year along with MOAB before my time is gone. Unfortunately due to stress of toy hauler and such we have to re-analyzer how we go (aka going to cost more). It was really neat to experience it even for just two days and we ran into a lighting/hail/snow storm also up outside of Silverton. Super scary going down from 12,700 feet with the conditions and road being white out. Very cool to see how it changes in seconds.

I can relate 100% about the swing away, though mine was different. Currently rebuilding my entire rear end cause I slid off on a narrow trail, caught a 8" diameter branch it slid off my back rack area and got caught inbetween the end of the 4Runner and my swing away. I couldn't move except forward than I heard the strain and CRACK as I broke the branch. Further along my trail I could finally stop and access the damage...My swing away was almost laying down, almost bent a complete 90Degree's. My dad drove up behind me and as I pushed up on it he used his truck to push it forward. Once we had it almost back to 75 Degree's, a few ratchet straps and some more pushing, worked till I got home 7 days later.

I look forward to the new design/setup you do

[Chuckles89]

Dang!

[Dirtco]

Originally Posted by Dropzone

i wonder if adding the water jug, granted only about another 17 lbs was the proverbial straw.. glad you found it.
Looking forward to seeing what you come up with to fix it..something double shear?

Honestly, it was just a matter of time. When I built that spare tire carrier I had 35" tires, and a 255 spare on an aluminum wheel. Fast forward a couple years and I have a 36" Irok on a steel wheel that weights probably twice as much. Add a couple years of hard wheeling, the Rotopax, some sand dunes and boom!

Yes, I'm looking at a larger spindle and double shear. Unfortunately I'm going to have to rebuild the entire carrier too. I need the latch side to engage the bumper better and by the time I change both of those I'm better off starting from scratch.

[fourfive]

Originally Posted by Dirtco

Yes, I'm looking at a larger spindle and double shear. Unfortunately I'm going to have to rebuild the entire carrier too. I need the latch side to engage the bumper better and by the time I change both of those I'm better off starting from scratch.

No pressure but I have a feeling your new carrier is going to turn out pretty cool.

[Kotrin]

Originally Posted by Dirtco

Honestly, it was just a matter of time. When I built that spare tire carrier I had 35" tires, and a 255 spare on an aluminum wheel. Fast forward a couple years and I have a 36" Irok on a steel wheel that weights probably twice as much. Add a couple years of hard wheeling, the Rotopax, some sand dunes and boom!

Yes, I'm looking at a larger spindle and double shear. Unfortunately I'm going to have to rebuild the entire carrier too. I need the latch side to engage the bumper better and by the time I change both of those I'm better off starting from scratch.

Sounds also what i've been doing for the last 5 day's..


Are you going to post the build or just finished product?

[EatonKyleH]

Better have a margarita tap on that new swing out.

[Dirtco]

Originally Posted by Kotrin

I was there 15-16th, it was supposed to be till 23rd, is that Toyota event every year? We are planning to do it again next year along with MOAB before my time is gone. Unfortunately due to stress of toy hauler and such we have to re-analyzer how we go (aka going to cost more). It was really neat to experience it even for just two days and we ran into a lighting/hail/snow storm also up outside of Silverton. Super scary going down from 12,700 feet with the conditions and road being white out. Very cool to see how it changes in seconds.

I can relate 100% about the swing away, though mine was different. Currently rebuilding my entire rear end cause I slid off on a narrow trail, caught a 8" diameter branch it slid off my back rack area and got caught inbetween the end of the 4Runner and my swing away. I couldn't move except forward than I heard the strain and CRACK as I broke the branch. Further along my trail I could finally stop and access the damage...My swing away was almost laying down, almost bent a complete 90Degree's. My dad drove up behind me and as I pushed up on it he used his truck to push it forward. Once we had it almost back to 75 Degree's, a few ratchet straps and some more pushing, worked till I got home 7 days later.

I look forward to the new design/setup you do

Yes it's every year, but this year the time and location changed. It's an amazing area to explore, I can't wait to go back and explore more of the trails and area! Depending on your travel set up you can take the RimRocker trail network from Montrose into Moab, something to think about.

Sucks about the carrier, but at least you got it home!

Originally Posted by Chuckles89

Dang!

You should have seen the look on my face when I got out of the truck and the whole carrier was gone!

[rkntoy]

Originally Posted by Dirtco

Just got back from the Colorado Toyota Jamboree, and as usual it was quite the weekend! This year the event was being held in Montrose, so there were some new trails in the area to explore. We decided to head down to Ouray and run Black Bear over to Telluride on Thursday, followed by Imogene Pass.

Was supposed to be down there and get to meet some people - but came down with pneumonia in Moab on the way. I hate getting sick on trips.

[Dirtco]

I guess it’s time to get this thread up to date…

The first step after my last trip was to find a tire carrier spindle that was stronger, and would hold up better than the last one. I looked around and only found a couple stronger versions of what I had. I finally decided on a Comp4x4 HD double sheer spindle, the website said it was in stock and I figured I would have it in a couple days.

It turns out that Comp4x4 has awful customer service, well not awful but nonexistent. I placed my order on a weekend and I didn’t hear anything from them well into the following work week. I tried calling but they don’t answer, I left messages but never got a call back, I sent emails and never got a reply. After a couple weeks I was getting ready to dispute the charges with my bank when the package magically showed up. I don’t even care about the wait, I just wanted some to acknowledge that they got my order and give me some kind of a time frame.

Anyways, the product itself seems nice and an upgrade over the last spindle I had.





The lower shank of the spindle (where the last one broke) is 3/8” thicker.



They include all the seals, double sheer bracket and a nice aluminum cap to top it off.

[Dirtco]

Next on the list, fix the front wheel drive. Everything pointed to a bad ADD actuator, so I bought one from Toyota and installed it. Unfortunately that didn’t fix the problem, and I was going to have to dig deeper. I decided to park the 4Runner and take the Tacoma out for an easy afternoon trip.

[Dirtco]

A couple days later I pulled both CV axles and removed the ADD jack shaft assembly. That’s when I found the problem, I broke another stub shaft that connects the differential to the ADD collar. It’s weird because the problem was intermittent on my last trip, after looking at the parts and recalling the time line of events I can only come up with one explanation, my truck is possessed!

Okay, not really. Looking at the broken stub you can see the splines are twisted, I’ve seen this before on the inner stub shafts of CV joints. I think I twisted the splines and cracked the stub shaft earlier this summer. When I got to the wall on Poughkeepsie Gulch it was wet and snowing, I gave it a bump to try to make it up when I thought I heard a pop. I backed off and inspected the the CV on the passenger side and I noticed the boot had twisted a little. I got it back on flat ground and had Kyle verify I was getting power to that wheel in 4wd, which I was. My only thought is that it broke at enough of an angle that when the ADD actuator put pressure on it the broken pieces would mesh together (on flat and easy sections of trail). The following day when I ran Pearl Pass it was rocky and uphill, which forced the two sections to slip past each other, wearing the ends down enough for me to lose front wheel drive all together.





I used a 1/2” by 1/8” piece of steel to get past the differential center pin and knock the broken piece out of the differential (from the driver side).