San Fransisquito a NO-GO....

[rojodiablo]

No, not like a go-go dancer. Like a NO GO s10. My buddies chevy ripped apart a balljoint almost instantly on the run down from L.A. Bay. Maybe 10-15 miles in, not far from the old mine/ adobe ruins. Middle of the night. Lights right next to me on the main road for a while, racing me, and then, POOF! he fell back. Right upper was tore up. Still there, but barely. No visible damage to the fabtech upper arm. Some steering balljoint slop, but enough to limp home on. We had to drive Sat. morning for hours to get a spare ball joint. We scalped one from the bone yard At punta Prieta. He got discouraged, and we left. Try again in 3 weeks. What a pain in the neck.....

[mudferret]

Good reminder for your friend to inspect the important things before venturing down the coast.

[BajaTaco]

Hey, but you were racing between LAB and SF - how can you complain??

[rojodiablo]

Originally Posted by BajaTaco

Hey, but you were racing between LAB and SF - how can you complain??

Ahh.. it's all good. I would have continued, my friend backed out. The arms and balljoints were new; either he hit something hard, or had a faulty b-joint. Going on the 17th to abreojos, and then up through san hippolito to ascuncion. Should be a blast!!! Lots of sand running, some digging out, for sure. We have 3 trucks, 4-5 days. Spearfishing, and wheelin' ... crazy. I should have thought this up sooner.

[BajaTaco]

Sweet! Do us a favor and take some pics! You guys oughta see the whales while you are there too.

I have friends who own/have owned the S-10's and the ball joints on those are easily wasted. I guess Moog makes some of the longest lasting replacements, but they still seem to go out frequently when people do off-road with the trucks.

[rojodiablo]

Thanks for that info. My chevy trucks have never had much issue with that. 3/4 ton workhorse, built 1500. I replace them frequently, but I don't see them just fall apart like this. I'll take PLENTY of pics!!!

[xenofuhrman]

I dont think Baja is a great place for wheelin - unless you have the patience to go 5-15 mph over the industrial strength washboard, youre gonna break something. A baja rig is different, you gotta have race suspension though.

We do it on dirt bikes once a year in mid-march - we go from San Filipe to Cabo San Lucas and then back to San Filipe (~2300 miles). As long as you're bike is maintained and freshened up it will last. I'm leavin on the 17th. I've been ready since we got back last year.

[rojodiablo]

Originally Posted by xenofuhrman

I dont think Baja is a great place for wheelin - unless you have the patience to go 5-15 mph over the industrial strength washboard, youre gonna break something. A baja rig is different, you gotta have race suspension though.

We do it on dirt bikes once a year in mid-march - we go from San Filipe to Cabo San Lucas and then back to San Filipe (~2300 miles). As long as you're bike is maintained and freshened up it will last. I'm leavin on the 17th. I've been ready since we got back last year.

Actually, baja is a PERFECT place to go. They even hold the longest race in North America there. It's called the Baja 1000. Wheelin' comes in all forms. My personal favorite is to blast down the trail, for hours on end. And, to make it clear, between 10-30mph, washboard kills trucks. After 30, you start to float on it. In my built chevy, at 60 you fly on it. No problem, other than my taco isn't that built yet. More time& money will fix this. And, if you like rock crawling, there are plenty of boulder piles that were created by volcanoes and such, and the opportunities are endless. Most times, there is not much mud. Unless you were at the San Felipe 250 this year...

[Baja Belk]

Originally Posted by rojodiablo

Actually, baja is a PERFECT place to go. They even hold the longest race in North America there. It's called the Baja 1000. Wheelin' comes in all forms. My personal favorite is to blast down the trail, for hours on end. And, to make it clear, between 10-30mph, washboard kills trucks. After 30, you start to float on it. In my built chevy, at 60 you fly on it. No problem, other than my taco isn't that built yet. More time& money will fix this. And, if you like rock crawling, there are plenty of boulder piles that were created by volcanoes and such, and the opportunities are endless. Most times, there is not much mud. Unless you were at the San Felipe 250 this year...

Yah, gettin rained on while racing is no fun - it's hard to shift and wipe your visor at the same time...