[spikemd]

Yesterday, we attempted the Deer Valley trail near highway 4 in the Sierra Foothills near Bear Valley ski resort. It was a beautiful day and we had 4 rovers. My p38 on 33s, RRC on 35s, D90 on 35s and a D1 on 33s. We were running from the southern entrance as a water crossing is closed midway to 88. Hopefully the trail will be fully open next year.

The trail starts off with a significant gatekeeper obstacle which I got stuck on with my front diff perched on the skid plate and left tire in the air. My winch pulled me out without any fuss. We kept moving forward and some big rocks and obstacles everywhere. My sliders (from Martin, leftlanetruckin) took a beating and my right quarter panel kissed a large rock. More trail damage, oh well...about half hour into the run, we came across a couple of jeeps and moved off trail to let them pass the opposite direction. When I attempted the next section, I heard a crunch and things didn't feel right. I got over the last rock and tried to turn left but my wheels stayed pointed forward. Oh no...

 

[spikemd]

My front steering guard was bent and the steering arm was binding. Then we looked to the other side and the steering rod didn't look right. I took off the guard to reveal a very bent rod.

One of the guys in our group thankfully had a tie rod puller and torch. He heated the rod up to red hot and carefully bent it back in sections to close to straight. I was amazed it worked as well as it did. After a few hrs of struggle, I had the p38 back together and the steering worked. The D1 and D90 continued up the trail a bit longer, but my day was done.

 

[spikemd]

Going down with the help of gravity made progress much easier and I didn't suffer any further damage or needed the winch. Surprisingly she drove home without an issues and now I'm on the hunt for a new rod. I have wheeled the p38 pretty hard and it's been awhile since she suffered a failure, a testament to her strength. Get them dirty!

 

[spikemd]

More pics of the trail

 

[TheoR]

Nice pictures. Great on site repairs. Wish I had skills to do that kind of a thing. Thanks for sharing.

 

[spikemd]

Wheeling requires some improvisation on the trail when things go bad. There is also safety in numbers as someone in the group is likely to have the tool you need or can get you of the trail. I always bring tons of tools and now will always have a torch with me!

You will be amazed at how well the P38 performs off road without crazy mods. But I have had to do quite a bit of work on mine to fit 33s. She is a beast and has brought me to Moab, the Sierras, Death Valley, Baja and lots of places in between and has never been towed home. (knock on wood)

 

[JDH]

Nice photos.

Rovertym makes a HD Tie Rod & Drag Link" http://www.rte-fab.com/products?page=shop.browse&category_id=15&TreeId=28

 

[chris no 10]

I'm sure if you look around, you could get a length of tube to slide tightly over yours, thus not only straightening, but when welded on, strengthening! 300$ for a heavy duty one sounds expensive, I bought the complete set on eBay for 90$

 

[spikemd]

I need to give RTE a call. They show the listing for the p38 but the description talks about D1 and the disco suspension is different. I thought about a pipe over as well but might be a challenge with the tie rods and steering damper attachment. Will take a look. Went to a wrecking yard to see if I could find a spare, but all tie rods were shot. Need something soon and wont go off road again without a new one.

 

[William RR]

Unbelievable photos wow!!

 

[Dbrinkmann]

curious what you find about RTE, i am in need as well