Well that will just about do it for my Jeep experience. Out this weekend camping and my 2008 Jeep JK got stuck on the way to the campsite. Stuck in a mudhole about the length of my swimming pool that a 1997 Chevy 4x4 pickup with balding tires and 2 four wheelers in the back drove through with no problems. A 2" lift and 35" KM2 tires are the extent of my mods but somehow are responsible for $6,000 in damages as the dealer, district engineer, Crysler (the missing h is on purpose) case worker all believe that caused the u-joint to break which somehow twisted the axle housing and differential, broke the knuckle, driveshaft and stubshaft.

I kid you not, the mudhole was minor. I am not a mudder and only got the lift to put bigger (better-looking) tires on the jeep. Of course I argued with everyone because that was really my first offroad experience in this vehicle and I was confused about the Jeeps ability. My $30,000 Jeep window sticker proudly boasts "GO ANYWHERE" "DO ANYTHING". The Jeep website shows jeeps climbing rocks, driving through three feet of water, trailing, mudding and proudly states "We test our Jeeps on the toughtest trails in the world to prove one thing: They can take WHATEVER you dish out". WTF? I served it baby food and the thing coughed, choked, gagged and died. Done with Jeep for good!!

Any offers? A mechanic can probably fix it for $2k easily. Funny that the dealer wants $2,500 for the axle housing when I see the whole replacement axle, including rotors & brake pads are selling for $3,000.

 

ouch. Sorry to hear that.
Care to share how you got stuck? like did you barrel through it or get stuck and then stand on the skinny pedal, or did you actually just driv e through and get stuck and stop? I have had some really bad experiences at certain dealerships. Try going to another dealership and explaining the issue and how bad the first dealership was, usually that will go better because they'll try to get your business over the worse dealer. Goodluck, some dealerships can be a real pain in the ass.

 

do u happen to have any pics of the damage.

if u truly babied it then id like to see the damage, im sorry but i cant believe that u babied it to cause that damage. by all means im not trying to argue wth you at all, but i have broken 2 front axles at 6,000 rpm running 37's, lockers, and 5.13 gears which is smaller ring and pinion and have not even come close to the damage that u say has happened.

what damage can u actually see with your eyes, they might be trying to pull a fast one on ya

when u say stubshaft, are u talking about the axle?? if the ujoint breaks, it very possible to break the inner shaft and outer shaft (stub shaft), also, its possible to twist the splines inside the diff or break the ring and pinion. but to twist the axle housing and break the knuckle, sorry to say but u did not baby that or there is a MAJOR defect ffrom jeep

sucks u have had a bad experience, but those commercials are marketing and not for an offroader. those commercials also do not show a jeep running 35s and lifted. dude, just fix it and move on. if u did that much damage, then learn from it, we all have broken something due to our own negligence, but we learn from the mistakes, its a process of learning ur jeep and what its capable of. dont let this discourage you from keeping your jeep

 

I have 14500 miles on my Jeep. I've put a lot of money into it. Although I tend to avoid mud holes I've seen a fair share of rocks in the year I've owned it. As of now, I have to replace my ball joints, $600 in labor at the local 4x4 shop.
I'm not picking a fight, But I've seen some Jeep's take some harsh abuse, and they've kept going. For your Jeep to sustain that much damage from a mud hole, I don't think it was the Jeeps fault.

How fast were you going through the mud hole?
For all those things to go wrong all at once,
u-joint, the axle housing and differential, broke the knuckle, driveshaft and stubshaft.

Wow, that was one nasty mud hole.

 

i havn't done much offroading, but i feel like mudding can just bring a lot of problems such as your case, even though i never would have thought it being to that extent, that sucks man, hope everything works out

 

dude.... AMEN

 

In nearly all cases, it's not the mud's fault.. It's what you do in it, and what's lurking inside it when you hit it. When people get in there and think they are going to throw big rooster tails, they meet the harsh reality of a high pinion dana 30 winding out 35's at 5 grand on the tachometer, somethin's gonna happen.

I'm not saying this is what the OP did, i'm just saying alot of people think mud is just as safe at 1,000rpm as it is at 5,000+rpm

 

ya man that's true

 

Whew. Thanks for all the feedback. I was following another vehicle and didn't even have the Jeep in 4WD because the trail was dry. Hasn't rained here for weeks. The leading truck slowed and drove through the mud which caused me to slow as well. I actually ended up stopping close to the end as the lead truck was slipping but made it through. I put it in 4wd low and started the back/forth once I realized I was stuck. I am sure I was over-revving the engine as thats hard to avoid when the tires are slipping. Next was a loud bang which I assume was the ujoint breaking. I am sure it was my fault but I am disappointed that $6,000 damage can result from being stuck. Live and learn.

 

i would really get a second opinion on the damage done. im sure u broke your axle and maybe even the driveshaft, and very possibly the ring and pinion, but the other damage, naw. plus the dealer is always wayyyyy more expensive than anyone else
i wasnt ther so i understand i cant say what really happen, but id be willing to bet, u were revved up and ur tire caught traction, then bammm, all went to crap. thats how it usually happens is when that spinning tire catches some traction in mud.

but seriously dude, like i said before, learn from your mistakes, we all had to start somewhere, i stil get crazy sometimes with the throttle and what do u know, something breaks. u just have to realize that chrysler is a bunch of crooks and the commercials, like many other products out there are very misleading.

learn from it, fix it (hopefully) , move on, go camping, get stuck again, break something again (hopefully not as bad) and then learn from that mistake, but stick it out and i would bet u will fall in love with your jeep