Ruffstuff 8.25 cover

The question I am asking is in reference to the weld together yourself version. Has anyone has any issues with welding the covers together themselves, such as the tolerances in the preformed bends? My friend is a competent welder so that should be fine, but are there any other tips anyone can pass along besides not to apply to much heat to warp the cover?

here is the link in case anyone is lost... no pictures shown but there is one for the some assembly required D60 cover too.

http://www.ruffstuffspecialties.com....html?osCsid=9e8e6e9f32dcfe3818de26a66957f908

(Ruffstuff is having some great deals now too!)

I ordered the 8.8 install kit and diff cover from them and the service was great...until I paid and received the product... The 8.8 kit came incomplete, the diff cover had no fill plug and one of the bolt holes didn't line up. I e-mailed several times and got no response and I couldn't leave a message due to the message box being full everytime I called. I tried for several months without getting pushy, but nothing happened.

Mistakes happen, but a product is only as good as the service that comes with it, in my case it was poor. I'll be looking elseware next time...

thats quite odd servo. i had a minor issue with my order of a 30 and 8.25 covers from roughstuff. on one the drain hole was not threaded and the other was a weld berry marring the fill threads. i sent a pm to Dan on here and he ended up calling me late that same evening (after busness hours even). he personally made sure the order was corrected and we even talked for about an hour on the phone.

yours is the first case i have heard of bad service from RS. i personally would not hesitate to do buisness with them again. i have also recommended them to several friends.

to the OP: send dan a pm and see what his recomendations are. he may even pop in here and post them up. be sure to update us with how it turns out

stewie said:

thats quite odd servo. i had a minor issue with my order of a 30 and 8.25 covers from roughstuff. on one the drain hole was not threaded and the other was a weld berry marring the fill threads. i sent a pm to Dan on here and he ended up calling me late that same evening (after busness hours even). he personally made sure the order was corrected and we even talked for about an hour on the phone.

yours is the first case i have heard of bad service from RS. i personally would not hesitate to do buisness with them again. i have also recommended them to several friends.

to the OP: send dan a pm and see what his recomendations are. he may even pop in here and post them up. be sure to update us with how it turns out

Click to expand...

X2..

Dans customer service is top notch. I had a problem with a D44 cover hitting the Air line on a Rubicon air locker. I gave him a call and he sent me another one out the same day. I sent him a PM on here, and he called me back on a Sunday night, and All I was asking about was u-bolts and spring plates. Both times he was very nice, I would, and will do, buisness with him again

As stewie said, send him a PM

Justin

I bought the blue torch fab kit and welded it myself. I did the shell inside and out and then welded the shell to the ring. When I welded the shell to the ring I alternated sides and let cool between welds to prevent warping. Mine turned out great and does not leak.

That was over a year ago now, I can't be bothered anymore. I did all my purchasing through his website so I used the contact info from there, no idea of his PM contact info.

RS says they machine the rock ring after welding in to prevent warping from creating as issue, I would go with the prefab version

1familyxj said:

I bought the blue torch fab kit and welded it myself. I did the shell inside and out and then welded the shell to the ring. When I welded the shell to the ring I alternated sides and let cool between welds to prevent warping. Mine turned out great and does not leak.

Click to expand...

I'm having a hard time trying to get to their site (blue torch fab), no links are working and the link from google is a no workie.

How much was the price of this kit compared to the RuffStuff one?

nice beads, 1familyxj!!

looks good.

and to the OP, I think if it were me, I'd just order the one already welded up. It doesn't cost a whole lot more, and if nothing else just saves you a little time of your own...

OP,
if you buy the DIY weld pieces, bolt the ring to something solid so that it won't warp when welding. Keep in mind its 1/2" plate so it shouldn't warp much if at all anyway. But if you weld in 1" beads alternating around it, even better. Go from one side to the opposite, than cut that in half and opposite that (weld 1/4 way around as if the ring had corners)


As for bad customer service from RS/Dan I have had nothing but the exact opposite from him. He helped get my covers to me at minimum costs at the border (Canada customs, brokerage, etc) And when I had a problem he offered to send out brand new cover to replace what he sent, covering all costs himself. I told him that was not neccesary, so he was going to send me $$ to compensate me, but I opted for more RS parts that I needed anyway.
The drain plug on my 8.8 was drilled at the top, haha. Sad thing is since I had the axle on stands, and the cover just sat on top I didn't notice it was in the wrong spot until after I was ready to put it under and it was sitting right side up. Covers are built by the hundreds, thousands even, so I can understand a slip now and then.

Dan offers fantastic service, at almost all hours of the day, and his pieces are top notch.

quote=Unearthed;244185756]I'm having a hard time trying to get to their site (blue torch fab), no links are working and the link from google is a no workie.

How much was the price of this kit compared to the RuffStuff one?[/quote]

I paid $79.99 for mine. I can't get on their page right now either. It must be down for some reason.

5spd_xj said:

nice beads, 1familyxj!!

looks good.

and to the OP, I think if it were me, I'd just order the one already welded up. It doesn't cost a whole lot more, and if nothing else just saves you a little time of your own...

Click to expand...

Thanks for the compliment. I was very happy with the outcome especially considering it was my first time using a mig welder in over 10 years.

wow, not bad at all

Sero said:

I ordered the 8.8 install kit and diff cover from them and the service was great...until I paid and received the product... The 8.8 kit came incomplete, the diff cover had no fill plug and one of the bolt holes didn't line up. I e-mailed several times and got no response and I couldn't leave a message due to the message box being full everytime I called. I tried for several months without getting pushy, but nothing happened.

Mistakes happen, but a product is only as good as the service that comes with it, in my case it was poor. I'll be looking elseware next time...

Click to expand...

I think a phone call would do......We do get very busy but we answer the phone til 8pm too. I answer all of the email we get myself? Here it is Sunday and I'm working.....:looney:

Looks like a beefy cover!

Dan Fredrickson said:

I think a phone call would do......We do get very busy but we answer the phone til 8pm too. I answer all of the email we get myself? Here it is Sunday and I'm working.....:looney:

Click to expand...

Hey Dan I just went on your site to get the weld together kit and it is no longer there, what gives?
:dunno:

xjjeeper19 said:

X2..

Dans customer service is top notch.

Click to expand...

It's his order system and shipping handling that's very shaky. Couldn't order what I wanted via the web. He said he'd handle it. Order wasn't postmarked until 60 minutes after my phone call to him a week later even though he said 3 days earlier it had been shipped. And, he didn't handle it. I still had to counter sink it myself and find/order screws elsewhere.

Note: He did offer to send me the proper one and keep the other but I need the correct parts delivered on time for my money. If I needed two I would have ordered two.