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VERY pretty!

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That’s better than Toad Suck, Arkansas!

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Damn! That’s a gif, right there.

/not jealous, just lazy
//ok, maybe a bit jealous

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Oh, total cost so far on this claim has been over $10K. This doesn’t include the xfer case and tranny. If they total it, I buy a new Jeep. If they fix it, I get my old Jeep back with a new drivetrain. It’s a pain in the ass, but still a win/win.

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Week frikkin SIX.

Tom test drove my Jeep for 2 days after he had his guys bolt the new front end together. No problems. Until *I* got in it. I put it into 4WH and turned the wheel to the lock and drove it in circles in the parking lot to make the front end hop and check for funny shit. Those of you unfamiliar with a Jeep may not know this, but due to it’s drivetrain being built with U-joints as opposed to CV-joints the front tires do not turn at an even speed when turning in 4WD. This causes the front wheels to “skip”, “hop”, “chirp”, or “gallop” while turning on pavement; which is why Jeeps eat tires if you’re stupid enough to be in 4WD on actual roads. It’s also an easy test to see if the transfer case is putting power to the front wheels. What it *doesn’t* normally do is break shit in the transfer case and transmission. We put it on the lift, and jacked it off the wheels and ran it. There are some seriously ugly noises coming from both the xfer case and the tranny. The new front end works great tho! LOL

Pretty sure all of this is due to the front-end fly-apart 2 weeks ago. Even in 2 wheel drive, the drive train spins from the front end into the transfer case and all that mass came to an abrupt halt when my front drive shaft snapped the pinion after the front differential seized up and did the fail and flail dance. The claims manager at my insurance company seems to agree.

Will they total it? Dunno. And I really don’t care as long as I’m back in a Wrangler eventually. This world has too may places that few ever see excepting those that can get a vehicle to the trailhead. They’ve upgraded me to “small SUV” and extended my rental coverage from 30 days to “whenever”. There are no 4WDs available in the state of Texas with Enterprise, but they have them in northern states. I’ll be upgrading at some point as I pass through Colorado, Wyoming and Idaho in the next few days. The VW Beetle I’m in now is nice enough, but is incapable of reaching my friends’ homes; this whole trip is based on seeing places and visiting friends that are far off the paved roads.

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Man how I used to hate seeing that… I’d have to spend half an hour with a file grinding the nicks outta my gaffs after climbing one of those poles! LOL

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I honestly don’t know beyond it being in Lewisville. After the fly-apart I insisted they drop it off at TCM Automotive in Arlington. I’ve known Tom (the owner) for over 15 years and he’s not once disappointed me with the quality of his work or his treatment of customers. The fact that he’s a retired NASCAR mechanic doesn’t hurt, either.

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I have yet to see Yellowstone, and I wind up in Pocatello (<2hrs away) every year. I need to fix that.

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I got incredibly lucky and was able to push my vacation out a week (practically unheard of in my line of work) so hopefully the extra time will allow me to pick it up and drive it a bit before I head out.

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Update on the Jeep: I picked it up on the 12rd, drove it around for maybe 150 miles in DFW (got to wander around Fry’s for an hour! 🙂 ) and set off back home on the 14nd. Made it 80 miles before finding out first hand what happens when someone forgets to put oil in a differential housing. Lots of noise, but luckily I had slowed down from 75 on a rain-soaked highway and got off onto the shoulder before the front wheels locked up. So yes, still waiting on the jeep. Again. I have 10 more days before my annual Rocky Mountain Roadtrip starts.

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Aww man… I HATE hearing of a pet’s passing. My condolences as welll. 🙁

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Those I accept. 😆 The rental is nice, but hardly a jeep.

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Aww. Hate to hear about the pet 🙁

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Get used to the big files, and the bill when you find you need more ram if you decide to let the computer get fancy with your desires.

Grats on the new toy! I wanna see the experiments! 🙂

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Most times I prefer enfuse, with some post-processing. If I need a tonemapper, I can add it after. enfuse doesn’t fark with color like a tonemapper does.

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