sj_emterock

It was a warm march day, slightly overcast. It was just me and my 4yo stepdaughter takin' a ride in the 'big red heep'. earlier in the week, a co-worker had told me of a local wildlife preserve (D.O.D. ponds) that might present some fun roads. So with a 1/2 tank of gas and nothing better to do with the rest of the day, we made sraight for 'em.

it's was a pretty straight forward wildlife preserve. dirt roads, nothing even remotely extreme. drivin around havin fun on the bumps, a small puddle now and again. it wasn't until i found a small off shoot of the trail that the real trouble began. there was a small little trail that went around in a large circle. nice muddy messes, and a small hill with off camber situations.

three laps around, i made a U turn and came at the trail in a different direction, and that when i saw it.... hidden in the reeds were ruts that led to a 25 foot long puddle.

i was all grins, and i had caught the jeep bug. in my mind my jeep was unstoppable, boy was i ever wrong. i stopped in front of the ruts and turned back to my stepdaughter "You think it's too deep?" i asked.

She simply smiled, and said "Naaaaah." so i shrugged, dropped down to low gear, and took off. The whole world went into slow motion, and everything seemed fine, then the nose of my jeep took a 2 foot dive down! my adrenaline started racing and for a split second i thought i was gonna loose her, but she leveled off and the jeep kept right on going. as long as i kept my momentum i should power right through, but the wave splashed back and the hood and windshield was engulfed by the wave.

the jeep started to sputter and my heart sank in my chest. then.... she died (my jeep, not my kid). i sat there motionless, shocked, horrified, i was gonna have to do the one thing i never wanted to do, call my brother for a tow!

i tried the obvious, just starting it... nothing. i made the call, and after a few curses and tellin him to just shove it and give me a tow, he was on his way. while i waited, something inside told me that if i just kept trying, she would start again.

The minutes felt like hours put my persistance paid off, the 'big red heep' with much argument, gave in and she turned over, i feathered the throttle, and she stayed on. with only a few more feet left, i threw her in gear, and mashed the throttle, the 'big red heep' had pulled through, and we were now on the fast track home.

the moral of the story is........................ well i forgot, but it's in there somewhere!

maverickdan

lucky you didnt bend the rods starting it after it shut off in deep water

sj_emterock

Tell me about it, i'm pretty sure i just got the points wet. after i got out, i pulled the dip stick and i didn't have a water in the crankcase

drgnhrt1979

i have a similar story to tell, but will save it for another day... point is i was not so lucky... i went into full Hydro-lock, and had to pull my plugs to get the water out of the engine. it took me about 45 min to get mine to turn over and stay on... one of my next few upgrades will be a snorkel...

i think the moral of your story would be that a snorkel can be a cheap investment over an engine. Just my though

sj_emterock

SNORKEL! yes, exellent investment. another simpler moral would be... know your limitations. but how do you know what you can and cannot do unless u try? sometimes you just gotta break something to find out.

Skreed

The moral is the pine barrens can gobble up a truck whole.

You must have a massive amount of respect for the mud holes there.

sj_emterock

See, now that's the real funny thing about this whole story... i wasn't in the pine barrens. i was at a local wildlife preserve in carneys point twp.

96xj4x4

i can really relate with this story lol. theres been tons of times i thought the heep done but then she just mustered up the strength and pulled through for me. gotta love it!

dude409

i think the moral of the story is in a past life you were a story teller...

drgnhrt1979

you mean a Bard?

_StationWagon_

haha ... yup, a good ol' bard ... with a huge pair . I never, ever lead a trail. Especially not into water. Ever. Call me chicken, but I don't have a snorkle, plus I like my carpet. And I can't swim.

You got lucky Shakespeare. I think you learned your lesson ... I won't even go into how irresponsible that was, especially with a kid in the Jeep.