Lift installed, not happy with shop

Just got a new lift installed - rides great, and loving it. Except some work the shop did; it's in the details. Went from a 2" BB to a 3.5" hybrid OME spring lift with SYE kit.

1) SYE is leaking BADLY from the yoke seal. No mention of a leak when I drove off, now everything from the yoke back is dripping in blow by fluid.

2) Track bar has play in it. Brand new Rough Country bar (the new, beefy one) has play in the frame side TRE and pops while turning. Slight shimmy during braking at 50mph.

3) Rear 3/4" extended shackles are hitting the bumper bolts in the back. I know this is common, but shouldn't they have trimmed them?

4) Speaking of trimming, they hacked off my exhaust since it would hit the shackle. Just took a sawzall to it right before the rear hanger; just left it. I have complete stainless pipe/muffler system.

I'm not happy with the shop, and would like to be political about this. They came highly recommended and have a long reputation as a good shop. I can fix these issues myself, but I paid for this to be done right. I shouldn't have to tidy up afterwards. Pretty irritated that I had my Jeep back for one day and can't drive it. I cannot just take it back to them, as the shop is 100miles to the north, since there are no others (well, knowledgeable others) around my area. I'd have to take a day off from work and have someone with me to drive around while waiting or come back later; neither I want to do since they had it a week already.

Has anyone had experiences like this? How did you handle it?

Did you supply parts? Its hard to say if the seal was leaking before you picked it up. New parts do go bad. They should have informed you about the exhaust but would you have complained if they left it rubbing? If youre unhappy with the work, call the shop. Any good shop will work to make it right

That sounds like better than average shop work on a modified vehicle.

I have never seen someone have something as big as a lift done by a shop and be pleased with the results. Its your vehicle, you're emotionally attached to it. You hand picked each item on the list and care about them.

For them, they want to pound past it as fast as possible and get back to jobs they actually make money on, like selling sets of tires and doing brakes.

Any one of us could have told you up front you would get that result or better having a shop do the work, and it sounds like they didn't do that bad of a job. I'd press them to fix the leak, although unless they sold you the SYE, you'll paying parts at minimum. The rest of that, count yourself lucky it wasn't worse.

Are you running a track bar with a TRE and a stock bracket or an upgraded double shear bar with new frame-side mount? If you have a new frame-side mount the bolts may need to be re-torqued. When I first installed my IRO double shear bar it made all kinds of creeks and groans when steering until I tightened everything up and built a brace that attached on the passenger side. A shop can't really guarantee parts you supplied.

I did supply the parts, all brand new in box with the exception of the rear drive shaft; it was an XJ front shaft I rebuilt. I guess you're right cal - I did have certain expectations that they probably put aside for ease of business.

I have the RC with the tire rod end (TRE) and stock bracket. Later on down I'm upgrading to the IRO and a full set of adj. arms, but for now, this will get me to the kayak landings.

I picked up a SYE seal for $6.50 and will be here tomorrow, so this weekend I should be able to replace that.

Just kinda irks me...

It could be worse. I sent my front axle to the local jeep dealer to have new gears installed a few weeks ago, and it came back with a mural of two very happy unicorns having sex painted on it.

one of the unicorns was very happy, the other not so much.

They both look happier than I would be in either of their positions.

cal said:

It could be worse. I sent my front axle to the local jeep dealer to have new gears installed a few weeks ago, and it came back with a mural of two very happy unicorns having sex painted on it.

Click to expand...

I'm slightly frightened at how hard I just laughed at that.

Anyways. I hope you feel better about your leaky shaft now.

I'd be tickled pink if a shop took the time to do something like that to my axle. That's fantastic.

I have mixed feelings. I love that they care enough to take the time. I'm worried what the sponsors will think if we race again.. but will cross that bridge when we get there.


(but we left the mural on it.. )

Was the mural extra $ or were they offering a special?

i think the horse on top picked up the bill

cal said:

i think the horse on top picked up the bill

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I think it was the one on the bottom, he's that one getting screwed in the deal. :scared:

you bought a crap trackbar and a seal is bad? swap the seal out for a new one and junk the trackbar and go with a decent trackbar . the exhausts thing was nice of them to cut that for you.

I would not expect them to cut the bumper bolts down, thats on you.

shimmy during braking is more than likely warped rotors possibly, check your alignment, did you ask them to align it?

I do all my own work, but If I had the cash to take my rig to a shop, id be stoked they cut the exhaust back for me, I would not have expected to grind bumper bolts, and the trackbar and seal are just crap parts - maybe bad install on the seal, its a 10$ part tell them to swap a new one in.

A lot of folks report SYE seal leaks. I got lucky. Mine took 3000 miles to start weeping.

most of the SYE kits have the seal already installed in the tailshaft housing. so unless they were just violent with installing the yoke, id say its just a bad seal. see it a bunch.

and the track bar is just junk, period.

and maybe they could have trimmed the bumper bolts. i probably would have depending on the situation. but, i know some who would not, and some who would ask for another .5-1 hr of labor pay to do it.

out of curiosity, what would you have preferred them to do with your exhaust?