12valve@heart

We're on vacation in Colorado and went up Old Fall River Road in the Rocky Mountain National Park yesterday. It's 9 miles of one-lane, one-way, dirt road up the side of a Mount Chapin topping out at around 12K'. Pretty decent road, just steep at places and lots of switch-backs. No 4x4 terrain.

Around the 5-6 mile mark, I noticed a trail of liquid on the dirt road. My initial thought was that a vehicle was getting warm and puking antifreeze but I noticed a puddle at one of the turnouts and it looked more like oil. Sure enough, just above mile marker #7 was a '93 Ford Taurus alongside the road with the hood up. It was some folks from Nebraska who were in town for a wedding and apparently the Taurus had blown a seal and lost much/most of it's transmission fluid.

Since the road was one-way and there was virtually no cell phone signal, I offered to tow them to the top. We hooked it on the end of a tow strap and enjoyed the rest of the scenic drive to the top in first gear (had been running 2nd) with a Taurus in tow. Only slowed me down by about 2mph.

At the top, the rangers said that there was only about another 1-2 miles of uphill and then the rest of Trail Ridge Road was downhill so I offered to tow them the rest of the way to the top so that they could coast into town instead of having to call a (very expensive) tow truck. He agreed so off we went with the Taurus on the leash. Got to the top and then followed them down in case there were any uphill parts that he couldn't clear but he made it all the way into town. They offered to pay but I told them just to pass the favor on to someone else.

Of course, that little Taurus was nothing compared to the 35' travel trailer the truck is used to towing but I was still pleased that I could pay it forward and help someone out.

In spite of the occasional rumble that I still haven't identified, I've been happy with the performance of the ol' girl on this trip. She took Pike's Peak the other week in stride with no complaints and the Getrag and the exhaust brake made the trip down pleasant and enjoyable. Gotta love the 1st gens.

Just had to share.

Tuckerdee

What I want to know is how a car (any car) came down Trailridge Road all the way into Estes Park coasting without buring up their brakes? That's a long way to coast!

I was in Estes on Saturday. The Elk were showing off for everyone! Ah, to be young and have a harem of 20.

12valve@heart

That's for sure. I don't know exactly how much of it's own motivation the Taurus had left. I know that it had some once it got down into town but it sure was streaming fluid on the mountain. I know that I was sure glad for the exhaust brake and 3rd gear on the way down.

We did have to pull over once to let the brake smoke clear and let the brakes cool down. When we pulled the hubcaps (about 15 minutes after they stopped), the wheels were still at 350*+ according to my IR temp. gauge. Some of that was probably due to them riding the brake on the way up to stay out of my trailer hitch. We waited till they were below 150* before continuing on down.

Still, new pads and turning the rotors would still be cheaper than a tow bill from up there.

Totallyrad

And you too will be rewarded.