30/05/2025
Hi everyone!
I just realized I haven’t posted much here in a while—aside from the occasional update about new episodes dropping on my channel. Honestly, when I’m deep into video editing, I completely lose the motivation to write here, since the whole story from the trip unfolds naturally across the episodes. Editing takes a lot of time, and then there’s everyday life to take care of too ;)
That said—since the Georgia footage is nearly wrapped up (there’s one last VR episode coming soon—HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!—just like the one that premiered TODAY on YouTube), I decided to finish off the trip with a summary of the mechanical failure and what’s next.
So, the drivetrain issue I kept mentioning turned out to be a total failure of the rear differential: the ring gear that works with the pinion shaft detached completely because every single bolt sheared off. Literally all of them. I guess the only reason the whole system didn’t seize up inside was thanks to the pegged diff—held in place by two bolts pressing the ring gear against the diff case. Miraculously, I made it back home on wheels.
The upside? The transfer case turned out to be fine! Still, I’ve decided to reinforce it anyway. A Torsen center diff locker is going in, plus a new mechanical rear locker (the damage to the old one from bolts rattling around inside was too severe), upgraded intermediate and output shafts, a larger oil sump, and of course, all new bearings, washers, and seals.
I’m hoping this setup will finally be able to take the beating this rig gets once or twice a year ;)
All of this means I probably won’t be going anywhere this summer—but the good news is that Morocco, which is sitting at the top of my to-do list, might actually happen around October. We’ll see.
That’s all for now — thanks so much for the continued support!
