need urgent help! first gen ifs steering box near big bear

[Seanz0rz]

our fellow user patrick (strikersd i believe) is stranded with a stripped out power steering box offroad. he has no steering and desperately needs a box to install to get him off of the trail

autozone wants nearly 400 dollars and 3 days.

if anyone can lend a box, that would be great. temps are below freezing at night. i think i will go up there if i cant get ahold of anyone else. we at least would like to get his vehicle off of the trail, but this seems difficult with no steering.


thank you for your help. please PM me if you have anything that could help him. the email will go straight to my phone.

[Scuba]

Sean let me know if you plan on heading up there, I get off work at 3 and could come assist

[slosurfer]

bummer, hopefully someone can get him one. Sean and Scuba, if you do go up there, be sure to get some pics for the snow wheelin' thread. :)

[Scuba]

I was just up there in big bear with Patrick yesterday!
I cross posted this in ttora, Sean did you post on yotatech by chance?

[Seanz0rz]

i have not posted this anywhere else. truck is nearly reassembled, im thinking of leaving as soon as i get it put back together

[Scuba]

Well hell wait for me! I don't know my way around the back country to save my life..

[Seanz0rz]

leaving now

[Obi..]

So he's good and fixed then or I can try a family member in Lone Pine to see if he still has a '93 box?

[Scuba]

So he's good and fixed then or I can try a family member in Lone Pine to see if he still has a '93 box?


Another member (DLM, David) found an IFS box in a local bone yard and last I heard was on the way to take it out to him. I had a feeling we werent going to be able to find a box today, so I was thinking we would need a few people to head out and drag him out to the road. I was planning on going but they would have been done by the time I got there..

[Seanz0rz]

fixed, home and finally warm

[Good Times]

good job :)

[Obi..]

;) Can I play "Scuba's Advocate" and ask "Pics or it didn't happen."?

Good to know you're all safe and warm now, that stuff is no joke and hypothermia can be quicker than you'd expect.
Hindsight advise is like we do, always bring along a sub-zero bag (our Kelty rules), some dryer lint and used dryer sheets, and a fire pump. Looks like the cell phone overruled all of that though, so good going!

[strykersd]

Yup the 4runner is back on the road! After snapping a CV and the easy snow run yesterday I watch itching to get out and try a real trail. So this morning I took the 4runner out and ran Gold Mountain both ways without an issue, then decided to go check out the gatekeeper on John Bull. I've ran it before but after Scuba damaged his bedside and someone said that the rocks have been re-arranged, I wanted to go check it out. I wasn't planning on running the trail, just getting to the gatekeeper and checking it out. Right before I got to the gatekeeper my power steering locked up at full lock. After messing around with it for a while I got it unstuck but it was making a sound like i ripped the teeth off the gears. Around 1PM, I turned it around, got 50 yards down the trail and lost all steering completely.

While hiking the 10 miles out, over Gold Mountain I started making some calls to see if I could get a power steering box. No stores had them in stock, plus all of them wanted at least $400. Luckily Dave was able to find a used V6 Power steering box at his local junkyard. When I got to the trailhead of Gold Mountain off highway 18 around 4:30 I met up with Dave, Sean, and Sean's dad. We then proceeded to drive back to my 4runner and swap out PS gearboxes. When we got back we discovered that someone moved my 4runner off the trail. Since I didn't have a pen and paper, I used water from the snow and my snow gloves to write out "PS gearbox stripped" on the side of my 4runner if anyone came across it. Whoever wrote my 4runner wrote "WTF?", "Thanks for blocking the trail", and they drew a penis on the side of my 4runner lol. I didn't really care, they didn't seem like bad guys. They broke into my 4runner to move it, but didn't steal my ipod or digital camera, they just set my ipod to repeat on Ludacris's song "You's a ho" lol.

We started working on the 4runner at about 5:30PM. After we drained the fluid we discovered that my power steering reservoir was full of power steering fluid when it was supposed to be automatic transmission fluid, doh. I've never touched the power steering reservoir in the two years I had it so I never knew. Turns out that'll kill your power steering box. We finished around 7:30 before making our way out of John Bull in the mud and snow. We finally got out of there and aired up at 9PM before heading home. I really want to thank Sean and Dave for all there help today!

On the bright side...
-while walking gold mountain I did a trail cleanup and picked up all the trash along the trail
-the V6 PS gearbox is an upgrade from my 4 cylinder one

Moral of the Story
-Don't wheel alone
-Not all cars run power steering fluid

[troyboy162]

..... Whoever wrote my 4runner wrote "WTF?", "Thanks for blocking the trail", and they drew a penis on the side of my 4runner lol. I didn't really care, they didn't seem like bad guys. They broke into my 4runner to move it, but didn't steal my ipod or digital camera, they just set my ipod to repeat on Ludacris's song "You's a ho" lol.....


sounds like Reavers..err i mean Jeepers lol. could have been worse, but really? was that all necessary? could you see the marks where they all put down there budwiesers in the snow to move the truck? lol
http://chromatism.net/current/images/reaver1.jpg

[Scuba]

I was cracking up when I read what troy quoted. LMAO.

Glad they didnt mess with your stuff though. Also glad you were able to get some cell service and get a convoy to come help you out and get out safe :)

[YotaGirl]

Glad to hear you made it out of there OK.

[dlm]

You're welcome. That sucked.:)

[Seanz0rz]

You're welcome. That sucked.:)

:good:


patrick, you are seriously lucky all your stuff was there in one piece. and you are way stupid for attempting john bull by your self in the snow.

dad got some pics, but took his camera with him today, so ill try posting them tonight.

the R&R on the box wasnt too bad. just extra challenge points for the cold and snow. i couldnt offer more than a helping hand and tools as ive never even looked at a PS box on a 1st gen, let alone removed one. i have done my fair share of steering fixes on R&P systems so i know stuff from the steering wheel down to the rag joint. dave did most of the work, thanks dave!

the trip back out was... fun. all those years of watching wrc in-car footage really paid off on some of those parts, and man are my arms sore from awesome wheelman action!!!

truck is covered in mud, some new dents on the skids, and another story to tell. im glad we could help you out patrick, you would have been screwed! if we didnt have a spare part, i dont know what we would have done.

ive learned this the hard way myself: NEVER WHEEL ALONE

[Obi..]

..could you see the marks where they all put down their Keystones in the snow to move the truck? lol



;) Fixed.

[Crinale]

sean: u ever get ur pics from this?

[Seanz0rz]

ill try to grab them tomorrow for you. sorry been kinda busy