SoCal shop recommendations?

[casm]

I'm in the process of putting everything together (finally!) to get the lift done on my '01 Sport. After much consideration, it looks like the final combo is going to be the RE6030 with AA HD SYE & Tom Woods driveshaft.

Searched the forum, but couldn't find much on recommendations for shops or people to carry out the work (and possibly source the parts, if they can get them cheaper than I can). I'm in Pasadena, but willing to travel for someone with a good reputation. FWIW, I just requested a quote from Ryan Brown - seems like everyone has nothing but good things to say about him and his work. Nothing against him, but I would like to get multiple quotes.

One other thing: 4 Wheel Parts is right out. Don't like 'em; the couple of times I've gone there for small stuff (Hi-Lift, Warn winch quick-disconnects) they've seemed to be catering to the 'durrrr, my truck is bigger' crowd and had a real attitude in dealing with me - one staffer at the Burbank store (now closed, thank God) actually told me that if I wanted to do 'real' off-road work, I should get rid of the XJ and buy a CJ or TJ. That's cost them my business in perpetuity.

Hopefully I can get this done before the holidays hit... Three more months of flat suspension is going to drive me insane :looney:

 

[ruggedjeep]

4xflyin great shop, really nice guy, its where i do all my work on my rig and everybody else in our club goes to him to. His name is George give him a call, tell him the guys from Ruggedjeep.com sent you. Hes located in chatsworth. 818 718-0200

 

[sintax]

Ryan (rawbrown) is a great guy and i'd let him work on my jeep any day of the week.

If you are a shopper and want to look around a bit you may want to try All Four Wheel Drive in Corona/Riverside. Its owned by a guy named John Lemuex. He is also a really great guy and I have yet to meet someone that is quite as a perfectionist as he is. He is not the cheapest guy on the block, but he will stand behind his work, unlike a lot of other people. He is also a bit closer to you then Ryan if you are like me and hate driving. Phone number for the shop is (909) 277-1037.

-Scott

 

[Kejtar]

OK, what you want to do is get plenty of food, plenty to drink and couple gogo girls and post an invite

Now on the more serious side, you should be able to do the suspension with a help of 1 or two people in one weekend. The only question is the tcase and that you might want to get someone to do ahead of time if you don't want to split it open, but if you got another vehicle that can get you around (I guess you do since you're asking about shops and most work during weekdays only) consider doing that yourself as well.

I know there is always plenty of folks willing to help out as I got help from quite a few while I am rebuilding my XJ!

Now getting to the shops, Ryan is a good guy and reliable and if you don't mind the drive, leave it with him. You can also contact Dan Turner and see if he's got any time on his calendar for the install. Dan's reliable as well and man.... I love his workshop: that place is really sweet.

Lastly

 

[Renegade Jpr]

Ryan (rawbrown) is a great guy and i'd let him work on my jeep any day of the week.

If you are a shopper and want to look around a bit you may want to try All Four Wheel Drive in Corona/Riverside. Its owned by a guy named John Lemuex. He is also a really great guy and I have yet to meet someone that is quite as a perfectionist as he is. He is not the cheapest guy on the block, but he will stand behind his work, unlike a lot of other people. He is also a bit closer to you then Ryan if you are like me and hate driving. Phone number for the shop is (909) 277-1037.

-Scott

I would have to recomend All 4Wheel Drive....sence I work there...hahaha

Ryan at RawBrown is a cool guy too and dose good work, but thats a drive from Pasadena.

 

[casm]

OK, what you want to do is get plenty of food, plenty to drink and couple gogo girls and post an invite

Now, that's *my* kind of shadtree mechanical work

Now on the more serious side, you should be able to do the suspension with a help of 1 or two people in one weekend.

Agreed, and I have no problem supplying pizza & beer to make this happen Only issue is, I have nowhere to work on the thing courtesy of the lease on my apartment specifying no working on cars in the parking area.

The only question is the tcase and that you might want to get someone to do ahead of time if you don't want to split it open, but if you got another vehicle that can get you around (I guess you do since you're asking about shops and most work during weekdays only) consider doing that yourself as well.

Yep. I kept my car when I got the XJ specifically for stuff like this - well, that and I knew there was a good chance I'd break things on the Jeep from time to time and would need something to get around in while it's incapacitated. One other consideration is the extent of my mechanical abilities: while I might be able to do the SYE and suspension work myself, I'd feel better having someone who knows how to do it inside-out handle it.

Now getting to the shops, Ryan is a good guy and reliable and if you don't mind the drive, leave it with him.

Driving's fine. I do so much of it anyway that I have a hard time sitting at my desk without checking my mirrors

You can also contact Dan Turner and see if he's got any time on his calendar for the install. Dan's reliable as well and man.... I love his workshop: that place is really sweet.

Cool, thanks to everyone for all the suggestions. Time to start poking around for quotations; I'm thinking that if everything falls into place as I'd like it to, I can get this done by the end of October / early November. Anything past that and It'll be after the first of the year.

 

[Kejtar]

I'm thinking that if everything falls into place as I'd like it to, I can get this done by the end of October / early November. Anything past that and It'll be after the first of the year.

If you're going to be doing it after mid October you can do it in my driveway. If we can get an extra set of hands we should be able to get it all slapped on in one day. (with the exception of the SYE )

 

[johnnyc]

If you're going to be doing it after mid October you can do it in my driveway. If we can get an extra set of hands we should be able to get it all slapped on in one day. (with the exception of the SYE )

Did someone say pizza??? (Will work for food)

 

[Kejtar]

Did someone say pizza??? (Will work for food)

LOL... he does. He waits for someone to loosen up all the bolts and then he looks like HeMan

 

[casm]

If you're going to be doing it after mid October you can do it in my driveway. If we can get an extra set of hands we should be able to get it all slapped on in one day. (with the exception of the SYE )

Excellent, thanks. I might just take you up on that

It'll definitely be after October - got a couple of financial obligations to take care of over the next month or so, then I can start in on ordering parts. Only thing is, that's going to put us close to Christmas so if time gets real tight I may call it off until after the holidays. We'll see. I defnitely appreciate the offer, though.

As for the SYE... I'd really like to get that done at the same time; the potential for driveline vibes seems too great and I'm in fear of shaking the bearings to pieces as a result. How bad of a job is it in practice? I've read through the instructions and while they don't seem too bad, it doesn't look like something I'm ready to undertake myself.

 

[jpdriver1]

call Jake at Dependable offroad in fullerton --- He can set ya up

if ya do call tell him packratt53 sent ya. -- he's my youngest heheheheee

 

[Kejtar]

As for the SYE... I'd really like to get that done at the same time; the potential for driveline vibes seems too great and I'm in fear of shaking the bearings to pieces as a result. How bad of a job is it in practice? I've read through the instructions and while they don't seem too bad, it doesn't look like something I'm ready to undertake myself.

You might want to do the SYE ahead of time and drive on the front shaft down to my place and after the lift is in order the rear shaft. Or you can do a semi reverse: do the lift, check out the vibes and pull the shaft if it's bad and drive back to your place on front only. Either way you look at it, you should wait with ordering the rear driveshaft till after you got the lift in and it is settled a hair.

 

[Renegade Jpr]

an SYE is pretty easy. Takes me about 1hr30min if Im taking my time.

 

[Rawbrown]

which SYE are you talking about? 90 mins...

an SYE is pretty easy. Takes me about 1hr30min if Im taking my time.

 

[Redcbr007]

Ryan, brandons talking about the slap n hack sye


-Red

 

[Renegade Jpr]

Advanced Adapters HD... I havent done a hack-n-tap yet.

 

[casm]

You might want to do the SYE ahead of time and drive on the front shaft down to my place and after the lift is in order the rear shaft. Or you can do a semi reverse: do the lift, check out the vibes and pull the shaft if it's bad and drive back to your place on front only. Either way you look at it, you should wait with ordering the rear driveshaft till after you got the lift in and it is settled a hair.

Good point. Now, a dumb question (brought about by my lack of understanding of these things):

I understand that the length of the driveshaft is going to change based on the amount of lift and angle this creates relative to the transfer case. However, since the new driveshaft essentially incorporates the slip yoke, couldn't I order a driveshaft that's essentially the average length for the lift I intend to do, but specified with a greater-than-average slip length? Or would that be a bad idea?

Part of the reason I was thinking this way was in case I ever went taller, it would make sense to have a single driveshaft that would work across a range of, say, 2" - from 3.5" to 5.5" of lift. This way it's a single expense until I get into the skyscraper lifts, which are some serious reengineering anyway from the looks of them.

Not that I'm adverse to having a FWD XJ, I'd just hate to miss out on the first snow of the season

 

[Kejtar]

I understand that the length of the driveshaft is going to change based on the amount of lift and angle this creates relative to the transfer case. However, since the new driveshaft essentially incorporates the slip yoke, couldn't I order a driveshaft that's essentially the average length for the lift I intend to do, but specified with a greater-than-average slip length? Or would that be a bad idea?
...
Not that I'm adverse to having a FWD XJ, I'd just hate to miss out on the first snow of the season

Well, you can't really get one for an "average" height because there is no such thing. Each lift will feel/sit different. Plus it's not going to be that bad: you put in the SYE, put in the lift and order your shaft and if you planned it right it all was done within a week... then couple days and your shaft came in.

 

[Rawbrown]

TW uses i believe a standard shaft with 3" of slip. youll want a premium shaft with about 4.5" of slip. in all reality not everyone uses all the slip in there shaft i have a premium shaft on 4.5" of lift. I probably only use at most 1.5-2". you probably could go with a 32"-34" centered length driveshaft. while everyone and there brother has standard size driveshafts for XJ's, I like having them made for the jeep.

Good point. Now, a dumb question (brought about by my lack of understanding of these things):

I understand that the length of the driveshaft is going to change based on the amount of lift and angle this creates relative to the transfer case. However, since the new driveshaft essentially incorporates the slip yoke, couldn't I order a driveshaft that's essentially the average length for the lift I intend to do, but specified with a greater-than-average slip length? Or would that be a bad idea?

Part of the reason I was thinking this way was in case I ever went taller, it would make sense to have a single driveshaft that would work across a range of, say, 2" - from 3.5" to 5.5" of lift. This way it's a single expense until I get into the skyscraper lifts, which are some serious reengineering anyway from the looks of them.

Not that I'm adverse to having a FWD XJ, I'd just hate to miss out on the first snow of the season

 

[casm]

Well, you can't really get one for an "average" height because there is no such thing.

Sounds reasonable. I guess that what I was trying to say was that a shaft with the appropriate amount of slip should work across a range of lift heights - does this sound reasonable? Sorry if I'm missing something obvious; this is new territory for me.

Each lift will feel/sit different. Plus it's not going to be that bad: you put in the SYE, put in the lift and order your shaft and if you planned it right it all was done within a week... then couple days and your shaft came in.

Okay, this might be me misunderstanding, but are you saying that I run the SYE with the standard driveshaft for a few days, or run FWD with the SYE in place until the new shaft comes in? Again, newbie to this so sorry if it's something simple I'm not grasping.

TW uses i believe a standard shaft with 3" of slip. youll want a premium shaft with about 4.5" of slip.

I believe the AA SYE/TW shaft combo is the premium shaft - at least, that's how they're referring to it on the page. I'll call them and check later today, though.

in all reality not everyone uses all the slip in there shaft i have a premium shaft on 4.5" of lift. I probably only use at most 1.5-2". you probably could go with a 32"-34" centered length driveshaft. while everyone and there brother has standard size driveshafts for XJ's, I like having them made for the jeep.

Hm. OK. This ties in with what Kejtar was recommending previously. Question: what would be the downside of not going with a custom-measured driveshaft? It looks like the AA/TW combo includes a generic-length shaft with a fair bit of slip; would it be a false economy to go this route in the long run?

Thanks for the help, guys. Trying to wade through all of this on my own would probably have been a bad idea given my inexperience in this area.