prelucir

You make a good argument. I have however, used the shop around the corner and am quite pleased with their work.

The cat in Parker, I have heard through the grape vine, but have not heard any personal experiences.

I am still stuck. I like the lower price he offers.

Thanks,
John

Sgt Mack

I didn't mean it as an insult. Its from tommy boy the movie. Just meaning that because someone says their better doesn't mean they are. Pretty much what the other guy said about his truck falling off a dealers lift. Big name doesn't mean big experience. I'll usually give a hardworking mom and pop shop the benefit if they're recommended. They get food on their table and are like a surgeon with their work.

prelucir

I wasn't insulted. I thought it was kind of funny. I did take it to mean the complete opposite of what you were saying.

I guess my biggest hang up right now is how close to home this other shop is and the convenience and reputation they have. Reputation I now know firsthand.

The other cat, I have only heard second hand by two folks that he knows what he is doing.

I guess I was hoping to have first hand folks post their experience that I could follow up on. If I go to the guy around the corner, I know exactly what I'm getting and what I will get if there is a failure. The other cat, I am not completely sure.

I also get the feeling that a proper regear job rarely fails.

Thanks for the opinions.

-John

hagausaf

I personally dont like 4WP since they overcharge on every damn thing you want installed. I used a local guy here in Colorado Springs whom has a very high feedback and reputation with Jeeps. He wasnt cheap but certainly wasnt asking what your 4WP shop was asking just for gears. Didnt have my seals and bearings replaced since my JK only had a few thousand miles on her at the time. If you can get your front axle sleeved and gusseted while its down for gears then you'll save labor over time too.

jesse0376

Well I guess it comes down to price. If you really like the shop you have had good experience with then I say go ahead and use them. For me price plays a big factor if I had a couple people tell me a little shop does good work at a cheaper price I would go to the little shop myself. If he's offering a 1 year labor warranty that something to think about obviously he is confident in his work. With gears if they are going to fail it would happen pretty quick.

Sgt Mack

I once bought a 50$ gift card from 4wp, and they only charged me $75 +tax and it was on back order.

StrizzyChris

you could not be more correct. I travel all around the country for work and can't haul tools around with me so went to big name shop to have an oil change....A FREAKING OIL CHANGE!!! they forgot to drain the oil first and just poured the 4 1/2 quarts that my car requires on top of what was already in there. Blew my engine! Only good side is I got a brand new engine because they were the big name store with insurance

Go with small shop with good reputation. They almost always pay more attention to your car because they want to protecct their reputation to keep a good name on the street. They have more to lose!

hagausaf

whats sad is that I actually believe you. I still go there for smaller stuff like recovery gear and such just not for installs anymore.

prelucir

I guess I have been pretty lucky with them so far. Most everything that I have purchased from them was in the same price range as what I could have found it on the internet. Somethings were even cheaper.

I get what you say about the smaller shops. My problem is that he is an hour's drive and if something does go wrong I have to travel pretty far. I am on the edge however, I do like the savings and talking to the cat, he sounds like he knows gears.

Thanks for the opinions.
-John

level5172

Ten Factory (Motive) gears with Timken master overhaul kits was about $1K from Northridge 4x4. Labor was quoted at $1100 but ended up being $1500 because I did the bearings and seals as well. I'm in the central coast of CA. I ended up having issues with the gears and called around to other shops and it seems like $1500-$2200 was about the range w/ parts and labor.