4 Wheel Parts + Jeep = Fail

For some reason there are literally like three dozen different sections in this little forum, so I'm not exactly sure where this goes, but I guess this is close enough.

So yesterday, Sunday, the 9th of August, 2009, Fiesta Auto Center had its grand re-opening after getting shafted by Chrysler in closing down their Dodge affiliation. Wanting to help out Fred and get some attention for the dealership, I joined in the festivities. I brought along my little red mule and parked her alongside the other Jeeps that made an appearance.

Well at some point we decided to get stacking. I've never been involve in stacking Jeeps, and I've always wanted to do it, so I pulled my discos and ramped up with Duke on the other side. It was great and drew lots of attention. Here are some pics taken on my iPhone and by Renee on her camera:











Needless to say, the TeraFlex 3" lift did very nicely, even on puny little 33's. Notice in that last picture how flexed out the front is and how the back is nicely compressed without even rubbing.

Well, there was a problem. I'd been getting a check engine light, and using the Quick-n-Easy code checking method (flip the key on, off, on, off, on again within 5 seconds, and it displays the code(s) on the odometer), it showed a minor evap leak. OK, no big deal, replacing the gas cap didn't clear it, but when I installed my new radio I had the battery disconnected while I did it, just to be safe, after which the code cleared for a day or so. Then the check engine light came on again, this time throwing a code for a major evap leak. Well, shoot. I'll take it by the dealership when I get time, since it's still under warranty. But before I could get around to it, I go hang out at Fiesta Auto Center and stack the Jeep.

It's been a long and hot day, and it's early to mid afternoon, and I'm going to go ahead and take off since I've got lots of stuff I need to get done around the house. So I say goodbye to everyone, drop the Jeep off the stack, and drive way. Almost. I turn right onto Bandera where it's 3 lanes to a side with the big, sweeping new interchange with 410, and I get about 20 feet before it splutters and dies. WTF?? I crank it over, and it just cranks and cranks without catching. Another guy who was about to leave comes over to figure out what's wrong and goes, "Hey, you're leaving a trail of fluid behind you." And then, "WHOA! You've got gas POURING out the back!"

Sure enough, I hopped out and found a trail of gas and a giant puddle of it streaming onto the ground on the driver's side. In the intervening moments another Jeeper came over, and we pushed it back into the parking lot on the side with the car show going on. You can smell it. Raw fuel is everywhere. I get it pulled down toward the service bays and find out that one of Fred's friends who handles the shop down there is going to try to help out.

So we get it up on a lift and, lo and behold, BOTH fuel lines are broken, one having been chopped and chewed up multiple times, and there's a hole that's been punched in the bottom of my tub. WTF??!?! Well it turns out that 4 Wheel Parts was unsatisfied with the list of fuck-ups on the install of this lift, so they went for the gusto and installed the factory rear trackbar keeper nut (with a big metal tang on it) not in the factory location on the bottom with a new bolt on top, as they were supposed to, but instead installed the new bolt on bottom and then the factory bolt backwards and on top, so that the big metal tang was actually on the OUTSIDE of the housing AND was facing STRAIGHT UP. As the Jeep had been articulating, that tang had been chopping away at the fuel lines, and at some point had decided that the bottom of the tub needed a new hole and punched right through. By the time we saw it, it was bent out of shape, even.



It was hard to get a good pic of it, so that's the best I've got.

So Kenny (great guy, btw, and does lift installs and such) managed to cobble together a patch for both fuel lines using rubber hose and metal clamps. At first, because the angles were all random, we connected the supply line to the return line and vice versa, which caused raw fuel to spray all over the engine compartment, which was LOTS of fun. We figured out and reversed the connections, and eventually it started running consistently and more smoothly, though there was so much stuff all randomly wrong that it was throwing O2 sensor codes and blowing whitish smoke out the tail pipe. Kenny used his computer thingy to clear the codes, and after a while of letting it idle it finally cleared most of the crap out of the system and was running properly again.

So today I drop by 4 Wheel Parts first thing in the morning, and tell them I've got a problem, and I need it fixed. I describe what it was, and they say OK, they'll try to get me a synopsis before lunch and that they'd call me before they did anything. OK, fine, so someone needs to take me back home so I can get my other car and head to work. Oh, well, they're short-handed at the moment, so it'll be another hour or so until someone gets in who can give me a ride, or they can call me a cab. I said, "You're not expecting me to pay for that cab ride, are you?" Well, yeah, they are. Well fuck that, I've got to get to work, and y'all are the ones that fucked up in the first place for me to even be here right now, I thought to myself, and instead of saying all that just said, listen, I've got to get to work. So the dude Henry goes in the back and talks to his manager, and they eventually just call a cab and give him $40 in cash to get me where I need to go.

Fine. Finally. Oh, by the way, they shorted me a steering box skid that was supposed to come with the lift, and of course they blamed it on TeraFlex, and they ordered me a replacement, which finally showed up last Friday. They asked if I wanted them to install it while the Jeep was there, and I chuckled and said no way, I'll take care of it myself. The last thing I want is to have the same jackasses wrenching on my steering box and killing me on the highway when they manage fuck up yet another thing. Oh, and another thing, it turns out they didn't bother bolting down the lower bump stop that came with the kit, and it was just sitting in the coil spring rattling around. So they've got to fix that, too.

So I get home, pick up my other car, and head into work. Well at 12:30 I get a call from 4 Wheel Parts where they said they saw the problem and already had been pounding and welding on my tub (which I hadn't yet authorized since they hadn't yet talked to me about it like they said they would) to fix the hole and were going to paint it. They said the fuel lines are going to take up to 5 days to come in, but they'd give me a temporary patch so I could drive it in the mean time, as though that's something I want to have happen. They also argued with me that they hadn't done anything wrong, but they'd fix it anyway, that it was just bad luck or something, and they weren't going to replace the fuel pump (who knows whether it was damaged with all the craziness that had gone on under there since the lift install) and were unconcerned about rust from raw fuel spraying all over the undercarriage and a big new hole in the tub that's allegedly supposed to have a perfect new weld job on it so you can't even tell it was there. When I asked about that, btw, he said, "We weld all the time. It's not like we've got some 17 year old kid doing welds for us." To which I replied, "Yeah, and you do lift installs all the time, and we've seen how good a job you do at that."

I'm so pissed and so frustrated with their asshole attitude and the nonchalance with which they've handled this whole thing that I'm going to inspect the shit out of what they've done and I will damn well give corporate an earful. It's just so much horseshit coming out of a simple fucking lift install, and every time I've had a problem, which is too many times, they've always had an excuse and always treat me like I'm an idiot and never seem to actually want to make things right, instead doing whatever is the least they think they can get away with. I'm so done with those chickenshits.

Do not take your stuff to 4WP.

Sucks man. sorry to hear this has happened. Keep us posted on what 4WP does to make it right.

i laughed a bit at this part. i think when you go take it back you should take kenny with you. on second thought, i like kenny here and not on trial for shoving a torque wrench up someones ass.

this statement right here is the stupidest effing thing i have ever heard. the bolt is in the wrong spot and the keeper tab cut the fuel lines. if the keeper was installed PROPERLY there would have been NO ISSUE. how is that bad luck - other than taking it to 4wheelparts in the first place.

Quote :

They also argued with me that they hadn't done anything wrong, but they'd fix it anyway, that it was just bad luck or something, and they weren't going to replace the fuel pump (who knows whether it was damaged with all the craziness that had gone on under there since the lift install) and were unconcerned about rust from raw fuel spraying all over the undercarriage and a big new hole in the tub that's allegedly supposed to have a perfect new weld job on it so you can't even tell it was there.

it sounds like they are patching it back together, but aren't "making it right" in the terms of lost time and trouble. i figured they would throw a gift card at him or something. call the corp offices and start there. i had to when they effed up my tire and wheel package.

Mr.RonGilbert wrote:

Sucks man. sorry to hear this has happened. Keep us posted on what 4WP does to make it right.

JK-fredd0 wrote:

it sounds like they are patching it back together, but aren't "making it right" in the terms of lost time and trouble. i figured they would throw a gift card at him or something. call the corp offices and start there. i had to when they effed up my tire and wheel package.

I agree with Freddo... let your fingers do the walking on this one first. One of the regional 4WP guys is on JKO and might be someone you can PM to see what route you should take it. I, personally, have never been a fan of 4WP and this chit isn't helping. Good luck with the fix.

You think I should call corporate first or PM the guy on JK Owners Forum? Do you have his name, regardless?

I know I'm upset about being shat on and treated like yeah, it's no big deal, we did nothing wrong, but we'll get you patched up and be on your way, and maybe you want us to change out your blinker fluid for you, too.

i'd pm the regional guy. places like 4wp make their money on the install / labor. but i feel as if it is like best buy, the uninformed / mildly informed masses will go there, but people who are more educated on the products will stay away. too bad there are more of them than us...

The guy on JK-Owners name is Tim and he is a mgr. at one of the Cali stores. His user id on jk-owners is 4WheelParts.Com . He's a stand up guy, just don't tear into his ass for something a drunk highschool shop drop out did in San Antonio.

OK first who where u dealing with at 4WP most of the time. Henry sorry to say this is dumb. Jonny just plain retared. Joel or Chris(manager) are the only ones I talk to. Joel knows his shit, and he's the only one outta that group that actually wheels. Chris does his best with the crew he has selling parts and knows he has some dumbasses in there. The shop guys up until 8 months ago were very shady. Now the top gear head for 4WPs outta cali is in the garage. Just give them a shot, if they fuck up again call me and i'll go in there with u to help sort this out

Original sales guy was Johnny. Guy I was dealing with on this so far has been Henry. I just wrote a long message to 4WheelParts.com on JK Owner's Forum. I had to go back and edit it down because they limit you to 10,000 characters.

I'm hoping against hope that I can have this guy Tim on my side so I don't have to go in there and raise hell and have them look at me like, "What? What are you going to do? We already have your money. You've got your lines replaced, now go away."

I should've just asked to speak with Chris in the first place. Maybe he would've been better. Joel was up at the front desk at the time, but I didn't know to speak to him directly.

I want them to acknowledge that they fucked up big time, that they put me in a fucked up position, and try to make up for it somehow. I don't know how. I don't really care. Just a change in fucking attitude would've gone a long way in the first place. Now I want them to take their 33's back and put 35's on there instead, and warranty my tub and frame against rust where it's been punctured and/or sprayed with raw fuel, or find some way to rust-proof the hell out of it.

This is a big fucking deal, and they're acting like I'm the pain in their ass.

Well, I just got off the phone with a regional guy (TX/OK) out of Austin named Jeremy Komorn, who had been alerted to the issue by a customer service guy who is a friend of Tim to whom I'd written the private message on JK Owner's Forum. He did his song and dance by apologizing and assuring me that that's not the kind of work they do and that they want to make sure it gets taken care of, etc. All I asked him to do was paint the underside of the tub with POR-15 (his suggestion, actually, after I mentioned my concerns about rust, but I told him I don't want a little lonely slap of black paint under there looking silly) and to pull off the 33's I'd bought from them and put 35's on in their place. And to change their damn attitude.

He said he had no problem doing any of that (I think he's just glad I didn't ask him to put new gears in and a pair lockers or something...probably should have), and he'd put the 3yr/36k warranty on them for me (which may be handy if the KM2 sidewalls cut as easily as they say), and I asked that they have someone go under there and go over all the work with a fine-tooth comb, rather than the rush job it's been apparently getting, and of course he said that will absolutely be done, yada yada yada.

I didn't yell, I didn't demand for anyone to get fired, I didn't ask for anything terribly unreasonable as far as I can tell, and he seemed legitimately interested in correcting the problem and keeping this from blowing up as the kind of story that gets passed around major forums and such. He may have hung up and rolled his eyes for all I know, but the end result is I feel better about it, and hey, new tires are good, right? Time to get an 8.8 under there, though, in place of the Turdy Five.

I don't know how I feel about going through 4 Wheel Parts again in the future, though. I guess we'll see how things settle out and how they go if I come in for something else in the future. I'm supposed to get a call from Chris, who is apparently the general manager of that store, and make sure everything's kosher, and I need to go by there anyway to retrieve my house and mailbox keys (I didn't anticipate them having to wait so long for the fuel lines and so had left them on the ring), so we'll see what happens.

I'm just glad I don't feel lost in a sea of apathy anymore.

well it sounds like you finally got to the right person- good for you! And good for them for making good now.

Yeah, it puts everything in a much less sinister light, that's for sure.

Thanks to RG and Fred and terrahawk for the suggestions.

Well, I think they got off a little light, but hey, they feel better, and I feel better. I even found them a buyer for the 33's they're pulling off: Jelani (Conscious_Dream) bought them from 4WP at a discount with a free warranty. He's only going to have about $750 in the tires instead of $1350 with the 33" ProComp's he was going to get... Should free up some budget room.

As far as going though 4wp in the future... there is very little that can't be done by folks that you know through here. The ONLY reason that I used someone outside of here was because I didn't know of the resources that this, and JKO, and MJ have. I had known the owner of the shop that did my lift for all my life, grew up with the dude that owns it and hunted with his dad for years and years..... Just about everything else has been done by me... the tougher stuff by George.... There is little that I cannot figure out after doing some searching and then there is someone who knows how to do what I am not sure of. Buy them lunch, a beer or pay for their time and help wrench a little, it gives me a sense of accomplishment that sure beats a waiting room.

jonsjeep's garage is sorta like Jeep-nation central when it comes to SA installations. bumpers, winches, lifts, and more have been done there. i paid for my lift to get installed along with some other stuff and could have used the money for other stuff. although i am know friends with the shop owner and have access to tools and bays here at work.

The only thing I haven't installed myself is the lift. I didn't trust myself to get suspension stuff right. Thought professionals would do a better job...

Deacon wrote:

The only thing I haven't installed myself is the lift. I didn't trust myself to get suspension stuff right. Thought professionals would do a better job...

I am with you on that one..... The place I had mine done is also the place where I get my tires, I know for a fact that if anything ever goes wrong they will take care of me.

Well, I got the Jeep back Friday evening. John the service manager guy walked me through everything. It's hard to know for sure, of course, but he claimed (and I believe him) that he torqued every bolt to spec (including those he hadn't necessarily had anything to do with previously) and greased every zerk fitting, as per my request, made for obvious reasons. The new fuel lines were run, but during the installation he snapped a piece off the fuel pump, so they had to get a whole new pump assembly and install it. They did a surprisingly good job with the POR-15 on the underside of the tub (and hit my axle tube and diff cover while they were down there), though they used some rust-inhibitor spray-on bed liner where they couldn't get the roller. The weld on the underside was ground down to where it was much less noticeable, as per my request. The steering skid was installed, the passenger side bump stop bolted in like it's supposed to be, and they went ahead and put some gas in it before turning it over to me, presumably because they siphoned it out before dropping the tank for the repairs. They also adjusted the track in the front, as it was off by a small bit, less than half an inch. And of course they put the 35's on there, though they're less than perfectly balanced (barely), and I'm not 100% sure about the alignment, either, as it seems to want to pull to the left.

And the bolt with the tang? Removed, as per my request, and replaced with a standard hex bolt in the proper orientation. They were just going to try to grind off the tang, but I did not trust the finished product, as chewed up and irregular as the surface of that nut was. Plus, the bolt was sticking out an inch or so toward the gas tank, and while it probably wasn't a problem, it wasn't right, and bolts are incredibly cheap, so they took care of it. Shouldn't have this problem again.

All in all, I'm pleased with the results. Yes, it's been a pain in the ass to deal with, but hey, maybe they'll have some come-to-Jesus meetings with the staff so that this kind of thing doesn't happen too often to others. That fat fuck Henry still hasn't apologized or acted like anything was wrong with the bullshit way he handled things, but whatever, I didn't really expect that. I just don't bother talking to him unless it's because I've got some trash to be thrown away or something.

Deacon wrote:

All in all, I'm pleased with the results. Yes, it's been a pain in the ass to deal with, but hey, maybe they'll have some come-to-Jesus meetings with the staff so that this kind of thing doesn't happen too often to others. That fat fuck Henry still hasn't apologized or acted like anything was wrong with the bullshit way he handled things, but whatever, I didn't really expect that. I just don't bother talking to him unless it's because I've got some trash to be thrown away or something.

Yea I saw your jeep in there the other day. No offence dude but you need to lay off on them. They fixed you jeep and replace parts they broke while fixing it. They probley did everything John told you about and more. And they let you sell off your your used tires (which BTW they never do). All in all dude they helped you out a shit load and even though your post started good, it takes the wrong turn with the that ^^^^^ part

I did not make a dime off the old tires. I found THEM a buyer for the old tires, so that they did not have to store them or ship them around or whatever they do between their garage sales. And they only put a 25% discount off retail on them, used and all, so they probably didn't end up even losing money on the tires, though I'm sure they did on the new 35's.

And no, sorry, I'm not going to lay off of Henry. Dude's a jerk and has that infuriating mentality of never admit fault, never get dragged a step further than you have to, and maybe they'll go away. Like I said, I didn't expect anything out of him, and that's exactly what I got, so I just don't deal with him. Everyone else has been much nicer.

i can pretty much guarantee that i won't be going to 4wd for anything anytime soon. between the shop at work, jons garage, and the internet i can get everything i need.

i said it before 4 wp is the best buy of the offroad world. i will only go there if i absolutely have to.

Fun new update: I ran out of gas last night and got stuck waiting on the side of 410 for a friend to come bail me out with a gas can.

The fuel gauge showed half a tank.

that's some great luck you got there :explosive:

Yeah, now I've got to drive my happy ass out to 4WP again and tell them to fix their shit.