San Antonio - Gear Swap

Does anyone know a place in SA I can get 5.13's put in my JK? The guy at 249driveline in Houston isn't taking any Jeeps for 2 - 3 weeks out.

Checked with Offroad Concepts - $1200 Part & Labor - That's twice the price at 249 Driveline!! UGH!

87gear service, Eric, (210) 648-9266 Tell him Bigler sent you...

Cool, I'll give him a call tommorow!

87 Gear did mine, too. The main guy Eric Roberts is alright as long as you're not in a hurry, everything goes as planned, and you don't expect even a drop of personality or courtesy.

He's left an incredibly bad taste in my mouth and that of one of my best friends over a fairly simple axle job my friend has to put under his CJ. He took him a Super 8.8 built rear end and had him cut down the driver's side for use in his narrow track CJ7, and it's been nothing but problems and more money and more delays, and now we're hitting the 3-month mark just to get one side of an axle cut down. If you can get the guy to answer the phone or call you back, which isn't often, he won't tell you how long it's going to take, what the status is, or make even the slightest effort to make you feel like it's in good hands, just that he'll call you back, and then he doesn't call back. And then when you call him a couple days later to find out WTF, he says your pestering him and he'll get back to you later. And even though the axle continues to be built incorrectly, costing you several rounds of $50 bearings and yet more time and frustration, after blaming you saying you're incapable of putting an axle shaft in correctly and then being proven wrong when he has the same problem, he doesn't even say he's sorry about all the trouble or offer even the barest apology or even say don't worry, he'll take care of it and make sure it's right. And then when he finally gets the complete axle and installs it himself and says fine, see, it's not a problem anymore, he doesn't bother testing to find out that the outer seal he had specially machined (without saying that's what he was doing but charging you for it anyway) still didn't work correctly, and it leaks fluid everywhere overnight after finally getting it put back under the Jeep.

I would say it's been a comedy of errors, but there's nothing funny about it, and the utter lack of even an attempt at customer service or even just a hint of concern about all the money and months of time he's taken up...honestly I know Eric's a good friend of Randy's and all, and I know Randy's a great guy, but I can't imagine ever giving Eric or 87 Gear any work. Why would you you do business with someone who doesn't get the job done, blames you for his failure, and basically tells you to take a hike? People who take my money and then piss on my shoe while looking annoyed that you're in the way of the stream don't tend to garner too much good will.

Whew! I'll have to keep looking then. I don't want to have to take it to 4 wheel parts..............................................

No. For god's sake don't do that. 4WP is bad news. Ask me how I know!

Now, I've never had any business to take to him, so I can't vouch for him personally, but Robert at Off Road Ready here in Helotes is a member of the forum and has come out to a meet-up or two, so you might want to get ahold of him. Also, he's giving 10% off parts this month (see here).

Cool, I'll try to give him a call. I'm going to Houston this weekend for the Jeep/Truck thing at the Reliant and a little scuba diving on Sunday. I was hoping to get them done then, but 249 Driveline dashed those thoughts.. no Jeeps for at least 2 weeks.

I have a feeling I'll end up just waiting and going there, because no one seems to be able to come close to his prices around here.

Well give Robert a call and find out what he has to say. He says they can get lifts installed same day, so surely gears can be the same.

FeroxJB in a PM wrote:

Especially if they're not responsive to issues that are
blatantly wrong.

That's the really crazy thing about it. It would just be a big inconvenience if he'd handle things differently, but because he treats people the way he does, it ends up being dragged on much longer than it needs to be and causes much more anger than necessary.

If someone had called me and told me the shaft was cut too long and they ruined a set of bearings and seals as a result (pressed, can't be used again), I'd tell them I tell you what, bring the whole thing by the shop and we'll take a look at it. When it got there I'd try to install it myself, and if everything was truly fine, I'd charge them for the bearings and maybe a modest shop fee for the labor (installing a single shaft isn't exactly a giant ordeal if everything's correct) and tell them what they did wrong if I can figure out what it was. If it didn't work, though, I'd apologize and tell them I'll get it done right and then make sure it's all properly assembled with new bearings and seals and filled with fluid that's known to not be leaking before they come to pick it up, no additional charge.

It'd all be over with quickly and easily with minimal effort and expense, and I'd probably end up with a loyal customer. We all make mistakes in life, but it's how we handle them that determines whether we're successful.

I know that G isn't local to SA but I'm sure he'd take care of you just fine.