SeniorXJ

-Ok so i drop my XJ off to get the steering flipped to an OTK, adjust the alignment, & trussed. We used tapered inserts for the 1-ton tres which is where u drill out the knuckles, weld in the inserts from the top, & bolt the steering in from the top for ur OTK setup. Kinda straght foward if u ask me BUT i guess not for them.
-1st thing done wrong is that the tie rod has a factory bend in it at the pass side to clear the trac bar mount at full lock & this a$$ decided to flip the rod 180 & now the bend is facing in, so what does he do,,, he straightened it out!!!! He didnt think to just turn the tres facing down & drop the rod in from the top, SO WTF?? So i think, "ok its a 1-ton setup & prob still strong enough" & so i ask why the truss didnt get done,, "we didnt have enough time" he says, dude had it for 5 days while we waited for a 3rd tapered insert to be shipped for the drag link that i overlooked, SO WTF AGAIN??? At this point i pay the $400 labor only bill & leave with noticable fustration.


-Now this gets serious, on the 1hr drive home (good 4x4 shops are hard to find here in upstate NY), it feels a bit odd when turning especially a 90deg turn so as soon as i get home i turn the steering lock to lock & its pickin the jeep up a few inches to whatever side i turn. When i look at it turned all the way pass, its now noticably crooked & is actually pushint the knuckle up about 2 inches!!!!!!! I turn it full lock driver & again its pushin the knucke up & the pass knuckle is now down. So if u look at it with the wheels straight, all looks good, if u turn it pass, its angled up & the knuckle moves to 17.75 then down to 16.25 when turned driver!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
-It gets worse, i had to go get my meds filled cauz i was out & it was imp, i needed gas, & had to go food shoppin, so i do the most imp thing 1st & while my meds get filled, i go get gass, i pull in & somethin popped, the sway bar links (jks discos) sheered off completely & bent the beefy mounts!! I then cancel food shoppin, put the hazards on, do 25mph headin straight home cauz it obviously pullin my newly built axle apart & now im left with a rather fubared situation & have to call these guys & i hate to argue but the situation im now in, im liable to snap!! (wouldnt you)!!


-Now before i ask what in gods name coulda caused this bad of workmanship from a reputable shop, (should i give the name?), & the burning ques of what should i now do,,, let me tell u that EVERYTHING on my fully built HP d30 is brand new, spicer ball joints & timken hubs are a week old, the rest was built 6mo ago, new pads & calipers, ected e-locker, 30sp chromos, cryo'd 4.88's, cryo'd bearings, cryo'd 297 spicers, outter seals, solid diff cover, Inner knuckle gussets, skids, 1-ton steering, RK trac, etc,,, on a never abused, rust free 30 & has ZERO runs on it, so no other parts are at fault ok!! ((lets NOT make this a d30 or d44 debate PLEASE & thank u!!))
-Now obviously they need to take it back & do it right BUT ur talkin bout a 1hr tow, dammaged parts, & the golden question of do i want them to do further work to my baby??? Its late so ill post some pics up tomorrow & read ur replies...

96_xj

have them work on it for free (warranty) and you tell them what they need to do. walk them through it

Gorillaxj

I would make them correct the situation the proper way. they should replaced improperly modified parts, pay for towing, and any other parts/labor needed to rectify the situation.

SeniorXJ

-That bein the given BUT im real uncomftorable having them redoin the work knowin there now loosing money & bein pissed off as they wrench on my jeep!! Whats my chance of givin it to another shop to do the work & havin them foot the bill????? Thats the choice i like more cauz another shop will point out if my axles bent & i bet they wouldnt!! The worst part is that i said to the guy, im gonna try u out & if all goes well then ull have alot more work comin from me... next phaze is stiffeners, floors & plating it front to back which is an easy grand or 2 in labor alone!! Guess they dont need the money. Anyone wanna know the place?? (they even have a website!)

Char92dj8

I WANNA KNOW!!!!

SeniorXJ

What if the castle nut is on too tight, (say air racheted down), & the tre was unable to move inside itself???

caged

i would say, get it done properly at another shop. one that was recommended by someone that had similar work done. get everything documented.
then pay that bill, and get a lawyer.
take previous shop to court for all out of pocket expenses occurred from previous work.

and take lots of photos, now and after.
the one with most documentation in court wins the judges favour.

cheers. and good luck.

CartsXJ

First, where did you have this work done? Obviously, they have never done this mod before or really don't know what you were asking them to do.

Secondly, I know of a few shops around that, while you might have to drive a little ways, both do great work. Just really depends on what town is closer to you, Bennington or Woodstock, VT.

SeniorXJ

4XHEAVEN.COM did the work. The job was explained in full detail & the kid had done the same exact work to his jeep so i left thinkin were on the same page. It was an hour drive so im already drivin pretty far to get the right people to do the work i cant. Northway Auto is where i shoulda gone as there a board sponsor for the ADKjeeps club!! Pics to come shortly..

SeniorXJ

Ignore this, the tre is turning so im now further stumped!!

CartsXJ

Bruce does do some very nice work and he's close. My other suggestions would be Performance Unlimited in Woodstock, VT or Uncle Zippy's down in Bennington, VT. Both guys are true jeep guys, granted they work on everything, but both specialize in Jeeps.

SeniorXJ

How far is Bruce from albany??

You still active on ADKjeeps??

CartsXJ

Bruce is the lead Mechanic at Northway Auto.

I am just getting back involved with ADKJeeps, went to the recent ADKshow over the weekend and had a blast. Just wished my passenger hug would've locked in so I could have attempted to crawl up the new "mod" trail they have behind Saratoga Jeep. Also won, "best trail ready jeep".........good thing they didn't know about my busted hub, LOL!!!

I am living down in Glenville now and have my welder and most of my fab tools with me. If you want, maybe swing by sometime and we can see what we can do about your steering. But for the truss, I would talk to Bruce at Northway or Wally at Uncle Zippy's in Bennington about welding it up for you. It will be much, much easier on a lift.

SeniorXJ

-Oh duh, that Bruce. There the ones that built the axle in the 1st place!! They were supposed to do the steering flip & truss but somehow it didnt get done which is a pet peeve of mine so i tried 4xHeaven.com out. Im kickin myself for not goin back there but the damage is done. I wonder if i should just go back to Northway & have 4xHeaven foot the bill???

Big David

If it were me I would call/go to the shop & explain to the manager EVERYTHING-but.... wait for it,.......CALMLY!

You get more flies with honey,& you never know he may actually fix it.

If not cuss him out-you'll feel better & tell him your getting a lawyer & leave.