Well, it seems my hood popping open while driving was not enough of a scary experience for me in my Jeep, so yesterday, destiny (or rather a screw-up by a mechanic) decided to scare me again...
When I did the lift, I went to the local ORC to see who I could take my rig to get the perches off my D35 and get new perches welded on to correct the angle for the CV shaft. I went to the guy they recommended, and he did a nice job except for the fact that the axle was off-center (by about an inch), so the Jeep had been rolling down the highway at an angle. Not very noticeable, but you could see it if you looked for it (my wife was the one that noticed it first when she was driving behind me).
Anyway, I took the Jeep yesterday to him for him to correct this, and he did so (and before you ask, yes, new perches were used). So I pick up the Jeep about 2 or 3 hours later, and as I am driving, I feel a new vibration. I start thinking that maybe the angle was set wrong and it was the driveshaft that was vibrating, but I decide to get off the highway to check anyway. As I am turning off the highway, I hear my tires screeching and the jeep is handling weird, so I stop at the first parking lot I find after I get off the off ramp.
I look at the angle, and it seems good; I think "maybe it is something running into the DS?" and check for that, but no. So I decide to rock the axle a bit and see if there is anything loose. So I grab the rear driver side tire and rock it back and forth, and I feel it move A LOT! I take a look, and notice that NONE of the lug nuts are in!!! I was SO LUCKY that the tire did not come off the Jeep! So I call the guy, and he brings the lug nuts. Reinstall them, and no more vibration.
Thank God that nothing hapenned and that the wheel was not damaged in the process (I only drove about 3 or 4 miles). But this one could have been catastrophic and expensive to fix!
Anyway, I thought I'd share it with you, since not so long ago we were checking about lug nuts coming loose...
Felipe
