JohnSKepler
Active Member
This is related to a thread I posted the other day about my 2014 Limited dying on vacation. That sucked but now time to see to repairs.
Currently, the vehicle is in Layton (SLC) Utah and I'm in Cache Valley, abour 90 miles away with just one significant hill in between.
When the vehicle died I was pulling going up a long hill pulling a 3,200 lb trailer. Not all that heavy. At any rate, the engine began to rev without any significant increase in power to the wheels. For whatever reason, the engine was doing it's job but the power wasn't getting to the wheels. I was in 2WD at the time. Eventually, after 30 sec or so as I was working my way to the shoulder, I lost power completely. Engine running, zero power to the wheels. In terms of likely problems it goes Transmission, Transfer Case, Differential. Balance of probability says it's the transmission. Very unlikely it was diff. I did smell what smelled to me like a burned clutch smell but it wasn't particularly strong.
I did manage to get to the side of the road and after a half an hour I was able to start the vehicle and drive the 1/3 mile to the top of the pass where we started the whole tow truck mess. Drove just fine but I didn't get over 20 mph or so.
I'm wondering if this whole thing was my fault and if the fluid was low. I did not check it right before the trip. Last time I checked it, it was fine but that was a while back. If it was low, I'm wondering if I could top it off and drive the vehicle home from Layton??? I think either way I'm going to need transmission work. If I have to do that, I'm better off just putting in a new or remanufactured transmission, rather than a rebuild so if I cause some more damage, does it really matter? The risk of course is that I won't get all the way home and have to get another ($$$) tow. I'm already $1,2000 into towing fees and don't really want to do that again!
If it is possible to flat tow a 2014 maybe I could take a friend with truck and a tow bar? If I break down we could pull the driveshaft and just keep going. Or... does it make more sense to just hire another $800 tow?
Thoughts?
Currently, the vehicle is in Layton (SLC) Utah and I'm in Cache Valley, abour 90 miles away with just one significant hill in between.
When the vehicle died I was pulling going up a long hill pulling a 3,200 lb trailer. Not all that heavy. At any rate, the engine began to rev without any significant increase in power to the wheels. For whatever reason, the engine was doing it's job but the power wasn't getting to the wheels. I was in 2WD at the time. Eventually, after 30 sec or so as I was working my way to the shoulder, I lost power completely. Engine running, zero power to the wheels. In terms of likely problems it goes Transmission, Transfer Case, Differential. Balance of probability says it's the transmission. Very unlikely it was diff. I did smell what smelled to me like a burned clutch smell but it wasn't particularly strong.
I did manage to get to the side of the road and after a half an hour I was able to start the vehicle and drive the 1/3 mile to the top of the pass where we started the whole tow truck mess. Drove just fine but I didn't get over 20 mph or so.
I'm wondering if this whole thing was my fault and if the fluid was low. I did not check it right before the trip. Last time I checked it, it was fine but that was a while back. If it was low, I'm wondering if I could top it off and drive the vehicle home from Layton??? I think either way I'm going to need transmission work. If I have to do that, I'm better off just putting in a new or remanufactured transmission, rather than a rebuild so if I cause some more damage, does it really matter? The risk of course is that I won't get all the way home and have to get another ($$$) tow. I'm already $1,2000 into towing fees and don't really want to do that again!
If it is possible to flat tow a 2014 maybe I could take a friend with truck and a tow bar? If I break down we could pull the driveshaft and just keep going. Or... does it make more sense to just hire another $800 tow?
Thoughts?