The big derby for charity was this past weekend. I ran the Explorer again, to defend my win from last year. Derbynation TV was there doing a live PPV broadcast, so there were a lot of entries in every class. In mine there were 25, myself included.
It was a fast track (dry and tacky) and the pace was faster than it usually is. It was a pretty hard battle but at the end I was able to pick up the win for the second year in a row. The guy who finished second is a very good driver, but made a huge mistake. We were both back to back, delivering shots. I knew eventually my frame would bend and I'd belly out on the ground if we kept at it like we were. I laid into the throttle in reverse and we met near the middle of the track, but I kept my foot in it, shoving him towards the wall. Had he been smart, he would have jacked the brakes and kept the vehicle as straight as possible, even if that meant going head on into the wall. Instead, he turned sharp to the left and he ended up sideways, drivers side facing me with his nose against the other wall. Before he had a chance to find reverse (he was running a column shifter which suck) I was already coming back at him, still with my ass end. I ended up pushing him about 10 feet sideways up against the wall he should have driven into. He was jammed between a dead truck and the wall. I gave him 2 or 3 (can't remember) shots with my back bumper/frame square on his LF wheel, ripping it, the strut, and knuckle right out the side.
Saturday they had more classes, including a weld class for mini trucks. Basically just a heavier build/more welding and plating allowed. I think there were 12 or so trucks in that class. I knew I didn't have much of a chance as mine is built (slightly overbuilt) for the stock class. My buddy was running his Explorer, basically an identical build as mine. It was nuts, things were happening so fast that it's hard to remember much. Before I knew it, there was only 3 other trucks left. One Durango that had both upper ball joints broken and had an engine that was far beyond hot, another stout Durango that was not showing any signs of attrition, and my buddy in the other Explorer. Damn, I was thinking my buddy and I had this one wrapped up. I stopped, threw it into reverse, got a clunk and no movement, just the engine revving. Something in the trans let go and I was out at 4th place.
I haven't taken anything apart yet, but my assumption is a broken input shaft. I still have park, it operates as it should. I have no movement in any forward or reverse gear. If you go from any gear into park, you don't get the sound of the parking pawl grinding. Thats what leads me to believe it's an input shaft.
The truck is still good, frame has some tweaks but I'll be able to somewhat get it back straight, plate it, and it'll be good for at least one more run.