[special-K]

I know that feeling. I'm a go at it easy style 4-wheeler. I let the truck scratch it's way along and keep it smooth. What happened to me one day in my old '69 Power Wagon one day was, I had it down in this big sediment pond on a construction site havin' me some mudderboggin' fun just tearin' it up. You know, rooster tails, gobs of mud landing on the hood and top, and mud that wanted to suck you in. The sides made for some great hill climbing. I was climbing up when "BOOM!! wop wop wop bang bang bang and the truck was taking off on me backwards. Those trucks had the intermediate shaft between transmission and transfer case and I managed to wring it in two. So nothing, just like popping it into neutral all at once on a 45 degree+ hill. I hit the brakes but it already had enough momentum that it just slid back, wheels locked, just as fast as no brakes, back down into the soup. I walked to a friend's huse and spent the night. Next morning it was dig out enough to get under the truck and yank that shaft out. What a sloppy mess. The tube on those shafts is only long enough for both ends to butt inside...maybe 3", and that thing was peeled around like a sardine can into two pieces. I fixed it back up with some grinding, new pipe, and welding. Boy did that thing vibrate something fierce. I had the machine shop balance it but still nothing like before, so I ordered up a new one

Note: Ok, maybe back then I wasn't such a take it easy wheeler. That's what learned me!