So I broke down and ordered the Carli ball joints...

[foolkiller]

... and some Moog lowers and precision 464 axle joints in anticipation of installing my Dynatrac freespin conversion.



i haven't made up my mind yet if i'm doing this myself or paying someone.



the $$ for tools i'll have to buy is sure swaying me towards just paying someone else but i know if I do it i'll feel better about it.



so i have a couple questions as it was about 1998 the last time i did any of this type of work... .



1. anyone in socal do this mod? truck has been in san diego its whole life. do i really need a puller for the stock hub? i would think the hubs would come right out here in socal.



2. i'm killing myself trying to find the right adapters for the balljoints. anyone have part numbers? it seems (i've read) that the standard kits don't really have the right adapters.



3. anyone else installed there own carli joints?. . how'd it go? they are too expensive to damage during install. that nut looking thing on the top of them is cool to press them in?



4. do i need to grind down the clips on the precision joints?



i've read a zillion posts in this stuff but any tips are still appreciated.



thanks, j

 

[JCasper]

The Carli guys aren't far from you, maybe you should contact them.

 

[Regcabguy]

Carli will do the bj's and your Dynatrac's. Why not have them throw in the high clearance bilstein 7100 steering stabilizer too!

 

[firemansdiesel]

Yeah, your in SoCal so head to Carli Shop for the whole install. They do the hubs & BJ's. Crap, I drove 8 hours for them to install the BJ's from NorCal...

 

[foolkiller]

ok, you talked me into calling the carli shop..... nice folks... very good price quote for install. they are doing it on october 7th. now i just have to pray that all the parts show in time.

 

[Bob4x4]

Good idea..... why spend $200 bucks for the tools you will only use once. They installed mine too.



Bob

 

[foolkiller]

follow up..... why spend the money for the tools??? you asked. here's why.



took in the truck yesterday. they did the job and the "good quote" i got was not honored... ... if i'd have known what they were going to really charge me, i'd have done it myself. but it was almost done when the change in price occured. whatever, i would've still been happy had the job been done correctly. i have no problem paying a fair price.



there were 2 dust seals leftover after they finished. was told they were either extras or were for another application.



i knew better..... thankfully, i kept the seals.



but to prove it i had to break down one side to see.



so this morning i took apart one side and sure enough, the dust seals that protect the outer axle needle bearing was missing. and eventually when i got to it, missing on the other side too.



called "the shop" and was first told that the seals are not needed that its already sealed. i looked and looked for the "other seal". the only thing i could spot that they think is a seal is the thrust washer that's just outside of where the seal goes. the thrust washer was exposed to the elements and NEEDS the dust seal as well as the needle bearings.



then i was told to bring it for them to the re-work. THANKS A LOT! i'm 80 miles away and i already have it apart. so i finished the job. both sides had been done incorrectly.



other things noticed while re-doing what i paid someone else to do... .



hub and bearings had minimal grease applied and, in my opinion, not enough grease.



no lock tight had been used anywhere the instructions indicate to do so. actually, i was thankful for this... . it would've been more difficult to correct this if they'd have used locktight like they were supposed to.



its all done correctly now..... by me..... and since i did the re-work..... they won't refund any of the labor i paid for them to not do it correctly. "company policy"



the only thing i can say positive is the ball joints are in and correctly so..... thankfully. cause since i agreed to the original price, i never picked up a press nor adapters to do the ball joints myself.



i'd have lost my head if i paid for them to do it AND had to buy the tools anyway.



i have all the pics for this mess but i took them with my cell phone and don't know how to get them onto my computer..... yet. i'll get em posted somehow.



now all this "shop's" fans can go ahead and flame me. i really hesitated to post this but publicly sharing this experience is my only recourse and i refuse to be silent about it.



now, on with the flames, j

 

[foolkiller]

they also told me the dust seals were not in the instructions..... they are in both the written instructions and the illustrations.

 

[foolkiller]

pics

View attachment 70513



View attachment 70512

 

[foolkiller]

one more

... ... ... ... ... ... ...



View attachment 70515



to end on a positive note and add the info folks really want to see when searching for the ball joints... ...



i got to see the inards of the uppers and they are very beefy. for what i use the trruck for, they should last forever.



j

 

[foolkiller]

forgot these

almost forgot the most important part.....



View attachment 70525



View attachment 70526

 

[cksh8me]

Is the truck quieter going down the road? Are you getting better mileage? Any other pluses or minuses?



Thanks and I'm sorry to here about your troubles.

 

[snuff]

that sucks... ... ... ...

 

[brods]

Bait and switch? Did they have a valid reason to change the price?



It is a shame, but your troubles seem more like the rule than the exception. Any time a vehicle goes in the shop (usually only for warranty work) invariably there will be missing or loose bolts, wire looms not put back in their clips or other signs of sloppy work.



I can see where the shop wants to get the truck back to confirm the goof and to make the tech fix it on his dime... . but that makes more hassle for the customer and who wants a mad, incompetent tech wrenching on their truck again?? Be thankful they didn't simply chuck the "extra" parts in the trash before you picked up the truck.



If you can't make your own tools then try renting them (often for free) from the local parts stores.





Hope everything is good now and the hubs give you years of service.

 

[seafish]

Foolkiller, GOOD thing that you caught all of the mistakes they made with your project. Really, I would think that Carli would make some sort of gesture towards you, since you did fix their work anf they have a reputation to maintain--they must have had a lot going on that day (NOT that that's an excuse), as generally I have read only good things about Carli.


Well, anyway, the truck and new hubs look GREAT!
Are you wiling and able to tell us what your increase in MPG is with the free spin hubs?? Did you track your mileage before the upgrade??

 

[WoodChuck]

Which locking hubs did you get and what size are your tires?

I was thinking about doing the conversion but thought the hubs would stick out too far, it doesn't look too bad though.

 

[AMcCormick]

With the DynaTrac hubs it is 5 and 1/4" from the wheel mounting surface

 

[Regcabguy]

Which locking hubs did you get and what size are your tires?



I was thinking about doing the conversion but thought the hubs would stick out too far, it doesn't look too bad though.

He's got the Dynalocs.

 

[monkeyman]

If you used a credit card you have 120 days for a charge back.

I own a business and know all about it!

Rick

 

[firemansdiesel]

follow up..... why spend the money for the tools??? you asked. here's why.



took in the truck yesterday. they did the job and the "good quote" i got was not honored... ... if i'd have known what they were going to really charge me, i'd have done it myself. but it was almost done when the change in price occured. whatever, i would've still been happy had the job been done correctly. i have no problem paying a fair price.



there were 2 dust seals leftover after they finished. was told they were either extras or were for another application.



i knew better..... thankfully, i kept the seals.



but to prove it i had to break down one side to see.



so this morning i took apart one side and sure enough, the dust seals that protect the outer axle needle bearing was missing. and eventually when i got to it, missing on the other side too.



called "the shop" and was first told that the seals are not needed that its already sealed. i looked and looked for the "other seal". the only thing i could spot that they think is a seal is the thrust washer that's just outside of where the seal goes. the thrust washer was exposed to the elements and NEEDS the dust seal as well as the needle bearings.



then i was told to bring it for them to the re-work. THANKS A LOT! i'm 80 miles away and i already have it apart. so i finished the job. both sides had been done incorrectly.



other things noticed while re-doing what i paid someone else to do... .



hub and bearings had minimal grease applied and, in my opinion, not enough grease.



no lock tight had been used anywhere the instructions indicate to do so. actually, i was thankful for this... . it would've been more difficult to correct this if they'd have used locktight like they were supposed to.



its all done correctly now..... by me..... and since i did the re-work..... they won't refund any of the labor i paid for them to not do it correctly. "company policy"



the only thing i can say positive is the ball joints are in and correctly so..... thankfully. cause since i agreed to the original price, i never picked up a press nor adapters to do the ball joints myself.



i'd have lost my head if i paid for them to do it AND had to buy the tools anyway.



i have all the pics for this mess but i took them with my cell phone and don't know how to get them onto my computer..... yet. i'll get em posted somehow.



now all this "shop's" fans can go ahead and flame me. i really hesitated to post this but publicly sharing this experience is my only recourse and i refuse to be silent about it.



now, on with the flames, j

Hmmmmmmmm... ... Doesn't sound like the quality of work Mike does at Carli. There is two sides of the story here. Maybe Mike or Sage will chime in. I never heard (and I have/had Mike, Sage & Jesse work on my truck) of a bad install of any component of thiers or what they sell.



I don't know?. ?. ?. I am sure they would of worked w/ you to make you happy to solve the problem.