We were our way into Big Water where we were going to take on fuel before heading into the massive Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument on one of the most remote 4×4 roads in the lower 48 states. The truck had been running well all weekend with our adventures in Zion and across Utah. Suddenly as we turned off the highway, I lost the brakes and a big cloud of white smoke came out of the rear passenger wheel well.
After much diagnosis, I discovered that the wheel bearing had self destructed and managed to boil the fluid in the brake lines at the same time. Turning the corner into the gas station lot was enough to pop the seal on the axle and allow differential fluid to hit the red hot brake drum. We now found ourselves broken down in Big Water, Utah.
Luckily the folks who live around these parts were wonderful people who pitched in and really helped us out of our jam. We were able to get parts from the auto parts store over in Page, Arizona and Navajo Express’s heavy truck repair shop helped us put on the new axle bearing onto the axle shaft. After spending a night sleeping in the parking lot of the gas station, we were able to put the truck back together and get back on the road to Colorado. We also suffered differential damage that required us to replace the gears in the differential when we got back to Colorado.
In the end, I replaced the rear axle setup with a full floater kit that uses conical bearings to support the axle half shafts. Now if we ever have another bearing failure, we can repair it in the field quickly and easily, and without needing a 50 ton press like we needed this time!
Thanks again to all of the wonderful, kind, and caring people of Big Water, Utah!
