Fort Collins 4x4?

[Moderator]

Anyone have any experience with this shop? I'm thinking about having them do my wheel bearing service. I'd prefer to have Paul do the work (user name 2001LC) as he seems to be an expert but he is in Denver (70 miles away) and I'd be out a vehicle for probably a week as I'd need a ride back home and probably would only be able to drop off on a Sunday and pick up on a Sunday. Cost between Paul and this shop is about the same, but I'm assuming Paul would do much better work.

 

[Rolocado]

Paul is the man and arguably the most knowledgeable on this forum about wheel bearings. Plus he's fun to talk to. And support a local guy

 

[krice118]

@Moderator Getting work done right the first time is worth whatever small inconvenience you encounter.

 

[suprarx7nut]

Paul 100%. I have no idea about that 4x4 shop, but I'm not sure how they could compete with Paul.

The only other option I'd consider is Slee and they're generally booked solid literally months in advance.

 

[chrisratz]

Anyone have any experience with this shop? I'm thinking about having them do my wheel bearing service. I'd prefer to have Paul do the work (user name 2001LC) as he seems to be an expert but he is in Denver (70 miles away) and I'd be out a vehicle for probably a week as I'd need a ride back home and probably would only be able to drop off on a Sunday and pick up on a Sunday. Cost between Paul and this shop is about the same, but I'm assuming Paul would do much better work.

First off congrats on becoming a moderator with only 14 posts

I don't know @2001LC personally but after seeing his posts over the years I sure wish I did. I always make a point to read what he posts, really substantial stuff. I would find a way to manage the 70 mile distance, it would be totally worthwhile imo.

 

[Moderator]

If I had an extra vehicle and/or a ride to/from Denver it would be a no brainer. But... I don't. If I was single and had plenty of spare time on my hands, it would also be a no brainer. Still not ruling it out, but... dropping it off 3 miles from my house in the morning and picking it up later that day is just too convenient. I may save a future trip to Paul's when I have enough cash to restore this rig.

 

[TheForger]

See if Paul is willing to come to you....money talks

 

[Moderator]

See if Paul is willing to come to you....money talks

Well, as the head of a single income household, I don't have a lot of extra cash laying around. I was going to attempt this service on my own but I just don't have the skills to know that I'm doing it correctly. My wife and I own 2 cars, a crappy one that we occasionally use, and the LX that is the nice family vehicle. I bought the LX470 because it's reliable, great for road trips and was made in Japan. I originally just wanted to replace the brake pads & rotors and wait a few month and get some other things done but when I went to replace the pads the calipers looked like crap and when I watched a video on replacing the rotors realized how much work it was going to be. (our other car is an Acura MDX with 207K and is much easier to work on) Paul is clearly the best choice but part of me is afraid to have him look over my vehicle because it probably needs more work than I'd like to admit. I know... ignoring the problems won't make them go away.

 

[JunkCrzr89]

Perhaps something to consider here is do you want the work done, or do you want the work done with full confidence that it was done correctly and won’t need to be done again for another 30k miles? One can just skim the numerous threads on MUD to get an understanding that most shops and Toyota dealers often don’t do the wheel bearing/brake service thoroughly or correctly. Optimistically, there’s a 50% chance that a shop will do the service right. Conservatively, there’s a 99.9% chance that Paul will give your LX the best bearing and brake service that it’s ever had. If I was in your shoes logistically and financially, I would hope that my decision would be to go to Paul without hesitation. Of course, I’m not in your shoes, so I don’t know that with certainty.

 

[TheForger]

Ahhh I understand, no worries! Another option would be to post up in your local forum and see if some other knowledgeable (and more local) members would be willing to come lend a hand one afternoon in your garage/driveway. Not only would you save money doing the work yourself, but you’d learn a thing or two from others who are very knowledgeable in the field. The assistance of others plus the endless number of threads on the topic and 2-3 moderately mechanically inclined guys (or girls) could knock out a bearing job in ~2hrs. Plus no one would judge you for needing more work than you’re willing to admit, I’m pretty sure 99% of us on here are in the same predicament. I guarantee if you supply pizza and beer they will come!

Edit: If you had Paul look over your truck he will be extremely professional and fair when it comes to what parts to replace. If you ask for a bearing job, that’s what he’ll do. He would be able to tell you what parts need to be replaced ASAP versus what parts can wait.

 

[saucebox]

A few suggestions—

Pop into the local CO clubhouse and ask around for good mechanics. Someone will inevitably suggest Paul or Slee, but you might find a local shop that's been good for someone else.

Same clubhouse—maybe just ask for help doing the job in your driveway one weekend afternoon. The service itself isn't terribly hard—unless everything's worked loose, or someone boogered the job in the past, the bearings themselves are likely fine. It's just a matter of repacking with grease and getting everything to spec. Perhaps a local has the spindle bearing grease tool, the hub socket, the fish scale, etc., already, and you won't need to buy what you don't already have. Maybe do it in trade for some of that FINE Elysian you guys make there.

Or...read up here (free) on the service so you've got a good understanding of what all it entails, and then have an informed conversation with the mechanic. If they don't understand preload, or never RTFM...then keep looking for a shop.

Edit: @TheForger beat me to it!

 

[boca1]

hardest part of the job is getting the cone washers out, other than that it is easy. And your right, you probably need new FDS, hub flanges and all the little parts plus brake pads and resurfacing of your rotors

 

[Moderator]

Thanks everyone for the great advice and suggestions! It is very much appreciated. Luckily, there is time to weigh my options since nothing is broken. (breaks are squeaking but I work from home and we don't put a lot of miles on either of our vehicles)

 

[sammybones]

I would drive 500 miles to have Paul work on my truck. I bought one of his 100’s, he is honest and was a pleasure to deal with.

 

[Moderator]

I can be a very indecisive person at times. I think I may rethink this and start to tackle the problem one item at a time. Maybe I'll try and rebuild the calipers, assuming they are as bad as they appear to be, then replace the pads? Problem #1, squeaking brakes, would be solved. Or, skip the caliper rebuild and get NAPA rebuilt calipers. (with a coupon and after returning the cores it would cost me $220 for rebuilt calipers)

I like the idea of having a few members over to tackle the other jobs, but that is a difficult step for an introvert. Historically I have been very picky about whom I associate with. I'm not the typical beer drinking, sports watching dude. I'm more of the late night cannabis using, let's talk about whether or not our existence could be a computer simulation, type dude. I also consider myself to be a Buddhist, or I at least try to live my life that way. I'm also not a fan of off-roading, at least not as a driver, as I just don't have the stomach for it. (parts breaking, getting stuck, spending money on parts and labor to fix whatever broke, etc.) I also clearly like to make excuses for not doing things.

 

[suprarx7nut]

Thanks everyone for the great advice and suggestions! It is very much appreciated. Luckily, there is time to weigh my options since nothing is broken. (breaks are squeaking but I work from home and we don't put a lot of miles on either of our vehicles)

If there's no failure to address right now I'd let it ride and save up and watch your schedule for time to drop it off. Even keep an eye on cheap Turo rentals. You could rent a car for a week for very little. If the job is done poorly you could shorten the life of the CVs and hub flanges and those are worth ~$900 in parts alone.

Doing that job right is waaaaay more important than doing it soon and many shops do it wrong. You can let a well-serviced bearing go 50-100k miles (my 99 went roughly 120k between bearing jobs and it's all good), but a poorly done job could mean trouble in 10-20k miles.

 

[Moderator]

If there's no failure to address right now I'd let it ride and save up and watch your schedule for time to drop it off. Even keep an eye on cheap Turo rentals. You could rent a car for a week for very little. If the job is done poorly you could shorten the life of the CVs and hub flanges and those are worth ~$900 in parts alone.

Doing that job right is waaaaay more important than doing it soon and many shops do it wrong. You can let a well-serviced bearing go 50-100k miles (my 99 went roughly 120k between bearing jobs and it's all good), but a poorly done job could mean trouble in 10-20k miles.

Good point. I've had too many bad mechanics over-charge and do poor work over the last few years.

 

[suprarx7nut]

I can be a very indecisive person at times. I think I may rethink this and start to tackle the problem one item at a time. Maybe I'll try and rebuild the calipers, assuming they are as bad as they appear to be, then replace the pads? Problem #1, squeaking brakes, would be solved. Or, skip the caliper rebuild and get NAPA rebuilt calipers. (with a coupon and after returning the cores it would cost me $220 for rebuilt calipers)

I like the idea of having a few members over to tackle the other jobs, but that is a difficult step for an introvert. Historically I have been very picky about whom I associate with. I'm not the typical beer drinking, sports watching dude. I'm more of the late night cannabis using, let's talk about whether or not our existence could be a computer simulation, type dude. I also consider myself to be a Buddhist, or I at least try to live my life that way. I'm also not a fan of off-roading, at least not as a driver, as I just don't have the stomach for it. (parts breaking, getting stuck, spending money on parts and labor to fix whatever broke, etc.) I also clearly like to make excuses for not doing things.

Sorry for the quick double post, but I want to add to your latest comment. Squeaking brakes is generally the pad rubbing on the caliper - it doesn't meant he caliper needs a rebuild. The caliper doesn't need a rebuild until it's sticking or leaking. I don't want you chasing after a caliper rebuild (relatively big job) if you just need some brake caliper grease on the pad/caliper interface. OEM pads also commonly have anti-squeal shims that lots of shops neglect to replace and cheap auto parts store pads don't include. Could be as simple as that.

I can't help ya with the off-road aversion. Although it's probably good that you're not anxious to go tear up trails in the reliable family vehicle.

 

[ZREM]

I have had FTC 4x4 do plenty of work on my truck, and I trust them. Their shop truck is a 100 that came from a junkyard and was fully gone through and motor swapped.

I've been a customer for 10+ years and know them to be honest.

 

[Moderator]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I think I'm going to hit the easy button here, support my local business, and have a professional determine what is and isn't needed.