freegdr

if he lived near me id do it just to show the shops what is supposed to sound like and embarres the **** out of them at their proffesion lol

GRABLE

Just a note to all U good guys. Made it 44 miles before the howl, growl, squeel, finally done it's thing. I think there was so much pressure from something, and everything went to hell. Very loud grinding I guess I would call it. I drove real slow on the right, emergency lane of I-10 for about 3 miles to a truck stop. Had a wrecker load my XJ and pull my trailer back. Unloaded the Jeep at the shop that done the work. The owner said he would look at it Monday. No harsh words yet, as I want it fixed.

JeepCoMJ

you make damn sure to tell him that if he doesn't fix what is broken, for free, lawyers will get involved. and tell him you're not paying him to "look", much less fix it.

_StationWagon_

So which installer was this? The first or the second? First could refuse to take responsibility because someone else touched the diff. Second could say the first guy messed things up beyond repair. Sounds like you might be in a fine mess ...

or I'm just a pessimist ...

xj_maniac_newb

x2, just cant imagine someone doing that (of course most of the shops around here are locally owned). Dont pay them a dime, you payed for a service and did not get what you asked for....thats what you call bad business

CAEMI

Another thing...if you paid by credit card you might have recourse through the CC company. If the shop gave me so much as a whisper of argument I'd call the 800 number on the CC and formally object to the payment. You fill out a simple form - sometimes over the phone - and the shop doesn't get paid.

Your other option is small claims court. Do not hesitate to use this - and if you do, do it immediately (like if you leave the shop dissatisfied, drive to the courthouse right then). You don't need a lawyer and the cost is typically about $30.

CAEMI

This is a good point. Don't discuss the first shop with the second - ever. If the second shop owner claims the first guy made a mess, ignore it as irrelevent. If you wind up in small claims court, tell the judge the first shop had nothing to do with the work the second shop did. For example: "I'm not a rear-end expert, judge, and don't know anything about what the shop did except I was not having trouble when I went to the second shop. Whatever happened, he made no comment or complaint when he did the work or took my money. I drove to his shop...and the car went back there on a wrecker. This pretty much tells me he did something wrong...even if I don't understand the details".

It is not against the law to be ignorant. It is, however, against the law to take money for shoddy work and not stand behind what you do. The laws on "warranty" are very clear and well-settled. You will win.

Mike H.

The second shop...
If you told them the gears were howling and thus requested they repair the situation then;
They should have inspected the parts to determine if they were damaged or suitable for reinstall. Given they adjusted the installation and did not inform you that new parts were required, then they now own any parts that were destroyed as a result of work they performed.
In other words…
It no longer matters what the first shop did, as the second shop agreed to resolve the existing issue. If new parts were required, it was their responsibility to inform you. If parts were required and you refused to purchase the parts, then they should not have performed the work.
AKA, not your problem.

The first shop is off the hook for everything.

GRABLE

Hi again friends, it is now 11-20-10 and about noon Friday I went to the repair shop where my Jeep has been for some time now, the boss came out and said my Jeep is in in the air, wheels turning to lubricate things and warm up, then he was going to test drive it. I said good, call me when its ready. NEVER HEARD FROM HIM! I am wondering if any of U guys have ever had a real problem installing new differential gears? I can't do it, don't know how etc. I have been inside the shop where my Jeep is on the hoist, but I know I am not welcome.

CAEMI

If you're not welcome, does that mean your money is not welcome either??

This guy needs to be reminded who owns the property in his shop. Go there Monday and if that car does not roll out and go down the road there better be a good reason for it. And a detailed explanation what is going on and any bad parts laying on the counter for inspection.

Remember that you can buy two new axles on craigslist for less than $300-400 and in an afternoon bolt them both in using ordinary hand tools, floor jack, and stands. These XJs are not rocket science or F1 race cars.

alloutperform

i install gears all the time and NEVER have noise issues but you really need to hunt down an offroad or race shop where you are welcome i run my business where any customer can walk in and see whats up..

_StationWagon_

You're right, of course. But he still hasn't told us which shop he took it to. With any luck, the second. If the first, as someone said, he better not mention that it was ever touched by someone else.

DougyFresh

it took them nearly a month to get around to fixing your XJ after you paid them $1200 the first time around for a job thats only worth around $450?

i know how we handle things like this in my neck of the woods.............

TheJerm

I get very suspicious if they dont want me to see how they are doing the work. Although ive only had a vehicle in the shop twice, once for shocks cause i was in school and once for an alignment after my lift.

x2 on taking it to an offroad or race shop in the future or anyone that reads this. I've been to Unlimited Offroad shop in Fenton, MI and they had a piles of axles, gears, you name it. They had one guy that specialized in gearing and he would put his name on each axle

CAEMI

x2. This is what I'm talking about. I put my name on my work everyday. Any mechanic - especially a gear mechanic that is supposed to have specialized knowledge - should be ADVERTISING his work this way. This is what being a professional means to me.

This guy in Fenton? He's the one I'm going to see when I have trouble. That place is 100 miles from me...and I'd still trailer my rig there to have a pro do the work.