Hey guys, brand new to the forum. I have a 07 JK 2 Door with a 2 inch leveling kit and 33s. It is a stick shift. Was at the George Washington National Forest and rode along with some buddies in their 4Runners this weekend, planning on going up myself with the Jeep soon. Although mostly just dirt fire roads and some mild rocks, there a few mud pits. What is the recommendation for driving through mild mud pits with a manual transmission? Trying to learn more on the subject. From what I understand I want to have it in 4 Low, not touch the clutch at all during the crossing and just giving it some gas in 1st gear. Anything to add to this? My worry is that I alway want to have my foot on the clutch because I don't want to stall out. Is it fairly hard to stall out in 4 Low because of the gear ratios? Any info will help. Thanks

 

Depending on your gearing, 1st gear is usually too low for mud where you want momentum so you'll be reviving like crazy.... I usually use third gear in a mud hole with 4.10 gears. 2nd gear might be ok. You don't wanna use the clutch because you don't want debris to get in there so select the gear before you enter. And yes it's *almost* impossible to stall in 4 low.

 

If you do stall, a neat feature is the you can start the engine while in 4low and in gear without pressing in the clutch pedal.

 

From someone who has been on those same roads with a manual- stay out of the mud. It tears up the road and depending on the last rain, it can catch you off guard. Yes. 4lo and 1st if you must cross.

These are roads in VA, not trails, so they should be treated as such. Keep in mind as well that some of the roads are seasonally closed or may be closed for a light snow. Some of these roads become bicycle or hiking only after a certain time period. Know before you go and follow the Tread Lightly/ Leave No Trace guidelines.

 

Thanks for the insight guys! Yes, it is very important to tread lightly and leave no trace! I don't like mud, makes me nervous, so I will try to avoid. Most sections of the GWNF roads have little by-passes that can be used and I think mainly I will use them to stay on the safe side.

 

 

Sometimes you have no choice but to push in the clutch. Example, I was going through a long puddle in a gravel pit. I must have hit ruts under the water where other trucks had been. Basically my forward momentum completely stopped. I had no choice but to push in the clutch to put it in reverse. I then slightly adjusted my angle of attack and cleared the puddle without further issue. So I pushed the clutch once to get into reverse and again to go back into first gear. I don't know what I could have done different?

 

I think the official other option here is to stop and have someone yank you out with a winch or strap. For me it really depends on which end of the water/mud spectrum I'm in, and it's certainly difficult to fight the clutch-in instinct. I have replaced a nuked throwout bearing that was likely largely due to debris intrusion though and I don't want to do that again. I generally stay clear of sketchy mud/water obstacles and stick to the rocks.

 

I just don't see how I had an option. My forward progress stopped. The wheels were spinning. It's certainly not safe to hook up a tow with the wheels churning. I guess I could have turned off the engine while the wheels were churning, but eventually in the process the clutch has got to get pushed in. It wasn't as much "mud" as it was more of a mud puddle the had some depth due to ruts.

 

It's one of those "least bad" type of decisions. My last "method" was my buddy with an auto trans going first to see how deep the water and mud was. I'm really glad he was there, it was near the start of the Mojave Road on the West end. I called him on the CB when his bumper went under water, and he managed to back out without assistance. It felt like we (mostly my buddy) just dodged a bullet, and went around that whole section of the trail.