Hey Jeepers,
I ultimately had a great time hitting the trails at Hidden Falls Adventure Park in Marble Falls TX, with @b0xcar and @Bob in Texas last weekend--but not before we and 1 other Jeeper spent the better part of an hour, with multiple tools, prying and hammering, to disconnect my Driver-Side "quick disconnect."
Firstly, though this set of disconnects has (2) zerk-fittings for lubing, at both ends, the garage that installed them a few months back had not taken the few seconds required to render a complimentary, initial lube. I had honestly never noticed that they had zerk-fittings on them, nor that they required lubing.
Secondly, the Driver-Side disconnect had been sledge-hammered into place. There's no other explanation as to how the tech got the vertical rod onto the bottom, horizontal spindle/bolt--knowing full well that a person on the trail attempting to release the disconnect by hand (what it's designed to do), would find it impossible, which I certainly did.
Today, with a grinder, I ground the vertical spindle/bolt on the Driver-Side extensively, and also ground-out the rubber fitting in the base of vertical rod. I then greased-up all components (the zerk fitting on the base of the Driver-Side is inoperable). And still, I had to hammer the assembly back into place. The spindle/bolt is larger in diameter than the one on the Passenger-Side.
What seems to compound matters, is that it appears these disconnects may be installed improperly (?).
*Please see the attached photos.
On the Driver-Side, the vertical component of the disconnect is almost vertical. On the Passenger-Side however, the vertical component is at a strange angle, and forces the rubber fittings into contortion. On the Driver-Side, the nut on the horizontal spindle/bolt is toward the outside, and the carter-pin hole is toward the inside. On the Passenger-Side, the nut on the horizontal spindle/bolt is on the inside, and the carter-pin hole is on the outside.
Something seems very wrong here
I am deeply distraught, my countenance has fallen, and I'm experiencing an acute case of psychic-entropy as the result of this heinous discovery
Thank you in advance for your thoughts, and for your collective heart-felt consolation
Jeepers.....
I ultimately had a great time hitting the trails at Hidden Falls Adventure Park in Marble Falls TX, with @b0xcar and @Bob in Texas last weekend--but not before we and 1 other Jeeper spent the better part of an hour, with multiple tools, prying and hammering, to disconnect my Driver-Side "quick disconnect."
Firstly, though this set of disconnects has (2) zerk-fittings for lubing, at both ends, the garage that installed them a few months back had not taken the few seconds required to render a complimentary, initial lube. I had honestly never noticed that they had zerk-fittings on them, nor that they required lubing.
Secondly, the Driver-Side disconnect had been sledge-hammered into place. There's no other explanation as to how the tech got the vertical rod onto the bottom, horizontal spindle/bolt--knowing full well that a person on the trail attempting to release the disconnect by hand (what it's designed to do), would find it impossible, which I certainly did.
Today, with a grinder, I ground the vertical spindle/bolt on the Driver-Side extensively, and also ground-out the rubber fitting in the base of vertical rod. I then greased-up all components (the zerk fitting on the base of the Driver-Side is inoperable). And still, I had to hammer the assembly back into place. The spindle/bolt is larger in diameter than the one on the Passenger-Side.
What seems to compound matters, is that it appears these disconnects may be installed improperly (?).
*Please see the attached photos.
On the Driver-Side, the vertical component of the disconnect is almost vertical. On the Passenger-Side however, the vertical component is at a strange angle, and forces the rubber fittings into contortion. On the Driver-Side, the nut on the horizontal spindle/bolt is toward the outside, and the carter-pin hole is toward the inside. On the Passenger-Side, the nut on the horizontal spindle/bolt is on the inside, and the carter-pin hole is on the outside.
Something seems very wrong here
I am deeply distraught, my countenance has fallen, and I'm experiencing an acute case of psychic-entropy as the result of this heinous discovery
Thank you in advance for your thoughts, and for your collective heart-felt consolation
Jeepers.....