Black Dog
Makin' Beer.
This is the definitive guide to taking a perfectly good XJ and sending it to jeep heaven:
Step one (the only step): Drive it into a creek that is way to deep and hydrolock the engine.
Yes, I've finally done it. Let me tell you a long story..... My inlaws got here on Friday afternoon, and that evening we went to a little Mom 'n Pop diner down the highway for dinner. My wifes parents drove their truck and then came straight home to go to bed early, and me and my wife and her sister and niece took my Cherokee so that we could go do a little site seeing on the way home. So we went up this road with a couple creek crossings that I've driven probably 10 times already this spring, and each time the water was progressively higher and I made it through just fine. On this day the water was especially high, and I let my big fat ego take control and decided to show off a bit. We made it most of the way though, but then the jeep just stopped and the engine was dead. My wife asked would to do now and I just said "Everybody out!". They didn't believe me at first but then realized I meant it. The water was piling up on the drivers side so we had to get out on the passenger side. I'm about 5'5" and the water was crotch deep on me, running fast and real cold. My wife's niece is only 14 years old and she doesn't weigh too much and I was a little worried she might get swept off her feet, so I bear hugged her and got her up onto shore. Everybody made it out fine luckily!
There is a piece of property for sale right near there with a bunch of dead vehicles and old buildings, so I ran up there to see if anyone was there for help but the place was abandoned. I managed to find a come along on a trailer but the cable was only a couple feet long so it was useless to us, and the next nearest house was about a mile walk back up the road so we started heading out. The bad thing about living in a rural area like we do is that there aren't too many local services, and I couldn't get a hold of the local wrecker, so the guy who's phone I was using gave us a ride into town and we are really grateful for that. Finally on Saturday morning I got a hold of the tow truck and we went out there and pulled my jeep out of the creek and back home.
The engine is totally dead. When we first got it out of the water I tried starting it and I could hear the starter engage but the engine wouldn't turn over. The battery is gone too, there isn't even enough juice to run the electric locks. The bill for the tow truck was a mere $150 which is a fraction of what I thought it would be, and the driver has a sense of humor. The place where I got it stuck is called Swamp Creek, so in the remarks section of the bill he wrote "Jeep swamped in Swamp Creek". Joke funny ha ha! So I got all the water scooped out but each time I would go outside and look there was more water in it coming from somewhere, I assume it is draining out of the seats or something. I think the interior is completely ruined, so I'm going to strip out all the carpet and get some truck bed liner instead, and maybe add a few drain plugs.
As far as the engine goes, I'm going to try and salvage it if I can. I know I'm going to have to drain and replace all the fluids (engine, tranny, transfer case, diffs, brakes, etc, etc) and give the battery a good charging, and probably take the cylinder head off and clear water out of there. I'll do that and see if it will at least start or turn over for me, I'm hoping I don't have bent\broken rods or anything else. If I do have to pluck out the engine and transmission though what I'd like to do is make it the way it should have been. I'd really like to change out the AW4 for an AX15 and then build a 4.6 stroker, but we'll have to see if the budget will allow that. The tow truck driver thinks I should do a small block V8 in it.
I'm actually not that heart broken that I killed my best mechanical friend. I honestly would have rather ruined it the way that I did than to have it wrecked in busy city traffic or totaled in a hit and run like my old 95 XJ was a few years ago. Seizing an engine while you are fording a creek is a dignified and honorable way for a Jeep to meet its maker. If anyone has any other tips (other than getting a snorkel next time!) for fixing it I'm all ears. My sister inlaw did get a few cell phone photos and emailed them to my wife, so I'll post them here in a few days.
Step one (the only step): Drive it into a creek that is way to deep and hydrolock the engine.
Yes, I've finally done it. Let me tell you a long story..... My inlaws got here on Friday afternoon, and that evening we went to a little Mom 'n Pop diner down the highway for dinner. My wifes parents drove their truck and then came straight home to go to bed early, and me and my wife and her sister and niece took my Cherokee so that we could go do a little site seeing on the way home. So we went up this road with a couple creek crossings that I've driven probably 10 times already this spring, and each time the water was progressively higher and I made it through just fine. On this day the water was especially high, and I let my big fat ego take control and decided to show off a bit. We made it most of the way though, but then the jeep just stopped and the engine was dead. My wife asked would to do now and I just said "Everybody out!". They didn't believe me at first but then realized I meant it. The water was piling up on the drivers side so we had to get out on the passenger side. I'm about 5'5" and the water was crotch deep on me, running fast and real cold. My wife's niece is only 14 years old and she doesn't weigh too much and I was a little worried she might get swept off her feet, so I bear hugged her and got her up onto shore. Everybody made it out fine luckily!
There is a piece of property for sale right near there with a bunch of dead vehicles and old buildings, so I ran up there to see if anyone was there for help but the place was abandoned. I managed to find a come along on a trailer but the cable was only a couple feet long so it was useless to us, and the next nearest house was about a mile walk back up the road so we started heading out. The bad thing about living in a rural area like we do is that there aren't too many local services, and I couldn't get a hold of the local wrecker, so the guy who's phone I was using gave us a ride into town and we are really grateful for that. Finally on Saturday morning I got a hold of the tow truck and we went out there and pulled my jeep out of the creek and back home.
The engine is totally dead. When we first got it out of the water I tried starting it and I could hear the starter engage but the engine wouldn't turn over. The battery is gone too, there isn't even enough juice to run the electric locks. The bill for the tow truck was a mere $150 which is a fraction of what I thought it would be, and the driver has a sense of humor. The place where I got it stuck is called Swamp Creek, so in the remarks section of the bill he wrote "Jeep swamped in Swamp Creek". Joke funny ha ha! So I got all the water scooped out but each time I would go outside and look there was more water in it coming from somewhere, I assume it is draining out of the seats or something. I think the interior is completely ruined, so I'm going to strip out all the carpet and get some truck bed liner instead, and maybe add a few drain plugs.
As far as the engine goes, I'm going to try and salvage it if I can. I know I'm going to have to drain and replace all the fluids (engine, tranny, transfer case, diffs, brakes, etc, etc) and give the battery a good charging, and probably take the cylinder head off and clear water out of there. I'll do that and see if it will at least start or turn over for me, I'm hoping I don't have bent\broken rods or anything else. If I do have to pluck out the engine and transmission though what I'd like to do is make it the way it should have been. I'd really like to change out the AW4 for an AX15 and then build a 4.6 stroker, but we'll have to see if the budget will allow that. The tow truck driver thinks I should do a small block V8 in it.
I'm actually not that heart broken that I killed my best mechanical friend. I honestly would have rather ruined it the way that I did than to have it wrecked in busy city traffic or totaled in a hit and run like my old 95 XJ was a few years ago. Seizing an engine while you are fording a creek is a dignified and honorable way for a Jeep to meet its maker. If anyone has any other tips (other than getting a snorkel next time!) for fixing it I'm all ears. My sister inlaw did get a few cell phone photos and emailed them to my wife, so I'll post them here in a few days.
