Jeep Strokers

July 16 2006 I crashed my mountainbike riding downhill at Wisp ski resort in Maryland.
Hit something in high grass, went over the handlebars and landed on my head and right shoulder.
Smashed my helmet, big time shattered my right collarbone into 4 pieces. I couldn't hardly move so they called for an ambulance after seeing the condition of my helmet. Ended up strapped to a backboard, neckbrace, rough ride to the parking lot to meet my wife. She and I insisted they bring me back to Ruby in Morgantown. It too 50 minutes of the roughest ride of my life. They cart me in, cut my clothes off examine areas of me that aren't hurt or bleeding, just for the heck of it I figure.
Then it realy starts. They run me thru an xray machine, mumble,mumble, uh oh, that ain't good. I hear the word fractured clavicle and possibly vertabrae! So, they tell my wife and take me to the CT machine, run me thru it, take me out, I hear more mumble, mumble broken this, broken that. Back to the Ct scanner, this time with contrast! That time when they bring me out. They talk in the hall, My wife is crying as they have given her totals. Clavicle is in four pieces, Vertabrae, C7, T3,T4,T5.
Mom was right, "quit that or you'll break your neck!" anyway I spent 15 weeks in a clamshell minerva brace. 5 weeks out from the accident they took me into a specialty suit OR to rebreak and repair the collarbone. Then 6 weeks later they took that pin back out.
I thought I was home free, but the shoulder clicked and hurt, so they tried cortisone, twice. PT, no help. MRI, maybe a tear in the cartlidge, so it was scoped in February of last year and cleaned out. Now I'm good I thought, nope, it still hurt. Spent all last summer and fall doing PT and going to chronic pain clinics. Had cervical spinal injections that made it hurt worse! Finally on December 2 they did another shoulder MRI and found Avascular necrosis has developed in the humerous, causing, pain, soft cartlidge the whole nine yards.
So, on January, 9, 2008 I went in to the OR for the fourth time. I now have a partial shoulder replacement that is very slowly and very painfully healing. Still too soon to tell if this will be a total fix or just good enough. As long as it is not leaving me miserable I will survive...

Mark
Morgantown,WV

Dude...that sucks. I think you should stay in a Jeep with a seat belt firmly attached. Not making light of your pain, but yes...mothers words where definitely pertinent on this one.

Hope it all works out for you now and that the worst is over. I will offer a prayer for your complete recovery this time.

i thought i had a loose valve cover bolt. so i tried to tighten it a tad last night. snapped right off.

Not really a break, well the blister popped so I guess that broke.

Most of us know about rusty jeep bolts. This is what happens when no one is paying attention to the power wrench. We were both looking the other way as we repositioned under my xj. Stubborn leaf bolts! Told him to get it under water and he took off --- the wrong way--- I yelled the hose is this way. Needless to say I felt worse than he did. Well not actually, I'm sure he felt worse. Nothing like burning your son with a torch.
Thankfully it wasn't that bad and he forgave me, and we both keep our eyes on the torch now.

I choose the pic that doesn't show his A$$. Your welcome.

I guess I could of posted a smaller picture. Oops!

That's to small , but better than what was there before.

When I was bolting my stroker back together a couple weeks ago, I thought my torque wrench was set for 36 lbs, but it was 41. While installing the main bearing cap brace, I snapped off one stud. I didn't have a replacement bolt, and didn't have a couple weeks to order one, so I kept assembling and tried not to think about it.
Needless to say, I should have taken the time to cut off that leg of the brace, as it sounds like it's bouncing up and down against the main cap bolt head, and it's quite loud. Tap tap tap.
At least, that's what I hope that noise is.

Last time I went to the junkyard which was when I got my 4.0 block and head, I started to cut out the wires and whatnot. Then I started cutting cutting the AC lines off with my pocket knife. Those lines are really thick so regular saw motion didn't work so I tried stabing through the line when my knife (that had a black lock) shut on my middle finger. Even though I had my gloves on I knew it was cut bad. After I took off my gloves and made a fist I could see how bad it was. Cut it right to the bone. Bleeding all over the place. My dad said we should stop and go get it checked. I though about it then realized I would rather finish the job then go to the hospital. So he grabed a somewhat clean rag, ripped a peice off, taped it up with electrical tape and a 3in long 1/4 in drive extension to keep it strait. We finished getting the engine out then went to the walkin clinic. 4 stitches + tetanus shot. I cut the stitches out myself a week later.

A couple things....
Last February I took my Jeep to the 1/4 mile to see the improvements with the APN header and 99 manifold. The previous best was 16.2, so I was hoping to break 15s. Wrong. First run was a quite dismal 17 something. I had to wait almost 2 hours before I could run again cause people kept on breaking stuff. I should have known. Next time I line up I go to take off, it seems I missed 1st somehow or the transmission kicked out of gear, so I think what the heck, its a crappy night, throw it in 2nd and keep chugging. So I shift to second, dump the clutch, revs go up, jeep slows down, and this horrible clanking noise starts. I immediately pull over (I dont think I had made 60' yet) and get out. Awesome, the driveshaft is hanging from the transmission. Turns out some of the bolts for the straps that hold that u joint in place had snapped in half. I blame the track. It was so sticky when I got out that the sole of my shoe came off.
Fast forward about two weeks..
New axle with 3.55 gears needs a new correct speedo sensor gear. After trying about 3 or 4 times and not figuring out I had to turn the sensor to get it to fit, Ive dumped a lot of transmission fluid, and I cant get the fill bolt out to refill the fluid.
Fast forward about 3000 miles...
A horrible grinding, clunking noise is coming from the transmission. Jeep has been parked since, but I recently bought a junkyard transmission taken out of another 97 XJ in 2001.

Day before Thanksgiving....
Im driving around downtown on my new to me 96 Kawasaki zx6. It was in mint condition and I loved riding it. One bumpy left turn and a white intersection line later, the left side is scraped up and the left rearset is broken. I had to drive home in 4th gear. I got some small scrapes on my forearm, hand and knee, and a lot of road rash on my elbow. Then my gf and her mom wanted to soak me in hydrogen peroxide. I was more irritated about detroying the mintness of a 10 year old bike.