Knuckle Rebuild - Did I get ripped off? (1 Viewer)

[raisinhell2]

Is your frt diff leaking or seeping? I have seen high lifts like yours cause a vibration even with a dble cardon shaft loosen the 3rd member. from what you are saying it sounds more like worn gears.. I would not call the cost of this Job out of line with the parts you said were changed. The grease is high I normally use 3.5lbs of moly I pack the whole Knuckle keeps water out even more needed in the south. and 1 lb of wheel bearing . I'm not understanding the 2 charges that seem to be for the same part . I charge from 6 to 12 hrs on a knuckle job for labor .But I clean everything change studs. replace hardware clean and repack birfs bearings races etc etc.. Hand Torque everything. I can do one in 3 or 4 hrs with ugga duggas and kinda clean. But I prefer my knuckle jobs to last another 20 yrs . I would not be to mad about cost other than the dble charge . I would be pissed about it being mis dianoised and sitting for 2 months on a max 2 day job. I woud have never blamed a knuckle job for the noise your defining.. I would be chase gear lash and driveshafts then t case Im sure your pinion angles are wacked.. Good luck

 

[Kernal]

Most everything's already been said.

@landcruisin90 :

How long has it been since the work was done??

Have you tried to work something out with the shop to fix the issue?

Were the old parts given back to you (or, did they toss them before asking you if you wanted them)??

With that low mileage on the vehicle seems like the spindles shouldn't be worn enough to require replacing.

There's less consumer protection for poor workmanship, but if there was fraud or obvious incorrect or overcharges your Credit Card company might go along with putting a dispute on the charges. That way you'll have some leverage with the shop.

 

[overpakd]

I feel like someone should have already said that's a sweet JDM 80 (even if that praise is slightly off-topic). Love the matte green and I think the overkill roof rack/basket and OEM brush guard look cool and are a bit unique. Welcome to the club

I agree with others who've said the diagnosis seems bad - that sound can't be because of the knuckles. I would be looking at how to reduce that lift to 2.5-3" to improve angles and then replace u-joints and see where you stand. You can still run 35s on 3" of lift. Even though this sound wasn't knuckles, you probably needed a knuckle rebuild, but maybe fewer parts (again, we don't know if the spindles *needed* replacing and we don't know why they seem to have double charged there). I would *highly* recommend grabbing an FSM (search here for electronic copies) and getting your hands and elbows dirty doing some baseline maintenance yourself. In my opinion, that's what these vehicles are all about. If you apply some TLC, they'll love you back and not at a high cost.

Your '93 JDM cruiser, which I assume is a diesel, should have the 1HD-T motor. That means you should research big end bearings (BEB) and look into getting those replaced. It's a common failure on the 1HD-T that needs service if it hasn't been done. (That's not the noise either, mind you, just something to prepare for.) That might be a job for the shop again vs DIY, but if you do your research first, you should have a really good idea of the parts needed and the scope of the job so you can judge their quote. And do make sure they give you an upfront quote and don't significantly deviate from it without your consent. There are real laws requiring that at least in my state.

Most of all, enjoy your Land Cruiser!!

 

[HungryJ0e]

Your '93 JDM cruiser, which I assume is a diesel, should have the 1HD-T motor. That means you should research big end bearings (BEB) and look into getting those replaced. It's a common failure on the 1HD-T that needs service if it hasn't been done. (That's not the noise either, mind you, just something to prepare for.) That might be a job for the shop again vs DIY, but if you do your research first, you should have a really good idea of the parts needed and the scope of the job so you can judge their quote. And do make sure they give you an upfront quote and don't significantly deviate from it without your consent. There are real laws requiring that at least in my state.

Most of all, enjoy your Land Cruiser!!

It is a nice JDM... Looks like there is a third row seatbelt visible though, which would mean it's not a diesel...

 

[mudgudgeon]

a neighbor that uses them for his Defender work.

That's your first mistake . . .








Trusting a Defender owner's judgement

 

[mudgudgeon]

Some good info above already.

I agree the diagnosis is really lacking!

Vibration on deceleration is really typical of worn uni joints, in any vehicle with drive shafts.

As for being ripped off? I think, get used to build in this order if you're paying for major repairs.
You can source parts yourself in several places all below full dealer price with a bit of leg work.


6" lift is highly problematic IMO, and totally unnecessary unless you're into some hardcore rocks, and building the rig accordingly.

As others have said, you're in the right place to find knowledge and advice. If you're willing to dig in, and got some aptitude and skills, that's not a lot that can't be tackled at home

 

[mudgudgeon]

Something funky going on here

Curious about the rest of your lift

FWIW, my first 80 was an impulsive purchase from a shonky JDM importer.

The learning curve was STEEP! And undoing some shìtty JDM suspension mods was a pain.
Very quickly learned that recommendations for experts, and from experts weren't worth shìt.
It quickly paid off to learn to do my own repairs etc

 

[Malleus]

FWIW, the repair manuals (FSM) in the Resources section of this forum, unless otherwise specified, are from Toyota for the US domestic market trucks.

I have no idea what the differences are between the USDM and JDM models, but I assume there are some, including, and not the least of which is, the fact that the USDM are all gasoline 1FZ-FE engines. The 1993-1994 USDM models have a A442F automatic transmission. Your model will be on a tag on the side of the gearbox.

 

[jht3]

i think you possibly got charged for things you didn't need. like flanges, spindle's, and hub assemblies. "knuckle kit" might also include bearings/races already part of those assemblies and you paid twice for those. but we don't know for sure and have to defer to the expertise of the tech. replacing the entire hub should cut down on labor but i'm not sure you got a break on that. i'd want pictures, at the least, of all the damaged/worn parts that required replacement. but i'm sure it is too late for that.

but if we assume their shop doesn't repack bearings, and the spindles looked worn due to loose bearings, then we can't argue w/ the parts pricing. you now have peace of mind to have all new parts in your hubs. i'm close to buying new spindles as mine are questionable from bad work by someone before me, but from Partsouq to save $$.

2 months? did you tell them no rush or something? 2 mo would make some sense if they ordered parts from overseas to save you some money vs buying from the closest dealer, but we know that didn't happen. did they tell you the noise you brought it in for was fixed?

9 units of moly at $290? this needs explaining. a 14.1oz tube of Valvoline moly is ~$8. a 16oz/1lb tub is ~$8.50. that is Napa full retail. neither the units nor total makes any sense.

call the shop and ask for a more detailed parts breakdown, WHY an entire loaded hub was required, the grease, and why the truck is still making the noise you took it there for in the first place.

 

[AnalogMS]

ditch that lift, its going to cause you more problems than its worth.

 

[lumbee1]

To stop the noise, lock your center diff. Remove the front driveshaft. I had a 4" lift on my Cruiser and my front driveshaft started making noises just like what you describe. The permanent fix is to purchase shorter springs.

You got robbed on the knuckle rebuild.

8x Series Knuckle Rebuild Kit - Fits 8x 1/1990-1/1998 80/81 Series & LX450

8x Series Knuckle Rebuild Kit - Fits 8x 1/1990-1/1998 80/81 Series & LX450 (FA9097)

cruiserteq.com

This is a one day job if you have all the right tools and experience and a 3 day job if this is your first time and are slow and meticulous. I've done two knuckle jobs on my 80 and found my spindles needed to be replaced on the 2nd rebuild. However I have 280K miles on my Cruiser. Most folks don't touch the knuckles unless they see signs of birf soup.

It sounds as though you shop chose to do the knuckle rebuild instead of fixing the problem you asked them to fix.

 

[thatcabledude]

To stop the noise, lock your center diff. Remove the front driveshaft. I had a 4" lift on my Cruiser and my front driveshaft started making noises just like what you describe. The permanent fix is to purchase shorter springs.

You got robbed on the knuckle rebuild.

8x Series Knuckle Rebuild Kit - Fits 8x 1/1990-1/1998 80/81 Series & LX450

8x Series Knuckle Rebuild Kit - Fits 8x 1/1990-1/1998 80/81 Series & LX450 (FA9097)

cruiserteq.com

This is a one day job if you have all the right tools and experience and a 3 day job if this is your first time and are slow and meticulous. I've done two knuckle jobs on my 80 and found my spindles needed to be replaced on the 2nd rebuild. However I have 280K miles on my Cruiser. Most folks don't touch the knuckles unless they see signs of birf soup.

It sounds as though you shop chose to do the knuckle rebuild instead of fixing the problem you asked them to fix.

At that level of lift he could very well get vibes from the rear shaft also.

 

[lumbee1]

At that level of lift he could very well get vibes from the rear shaft also.

Good point.

 

[mudgudgeon]

This is a one day job

Should be at a maximum for any competent shop

 

[ajax1]

I just rebuilt one of my 80s front axle. I replaced all bearings wheel and trunnion, both spindles, all seals, all hardware except flange studs, grease, towels, oil front diff. Cost 640 bucks with shipping. All stuff from cruiser outfittters.

Lose that lift quick, sounds like you have driveshaft issues. My buddy had old slee 6inch, you need the full kit and adjust for angles if you wanna get rid of the vibes. Kit had dc shafts front and rear, and some castor correction on that front axle

 

[Brindleboxer]

Something funky going on here

View attachment 3482947

Curious about the rest of your lift

FWIW, my first 80 was an impulsive purchase from a shonky JDM importer.

The learning curve was STEEP! And undoing some shìtty JDM suspension mods was a pain.
Very quickly learned that recommendations for experts, and from experts weren't worth shìt.
It quickly paid off to learn to do my own repairs etc

That bracket does look odd.

I will do more research on driveline angles since the lift seems to be a likely issue. I did take the LC to get steering aligned and they mentioned that I could not take the lift lower than 4 inches due to some brackets that were either added...or cut off...I really have no idea but didnt give it much thought at the time.

Also, looks as though the lower bracket may have been trimmed for aftermarket arms, could be why they said you couldn't go below 4" of lift.

_____________________________________
Lastly, hopefully the photos are from pre-knuckle rebuild and not after.

 

[landcruisin90]

UPDATE:
Albert, the tech that worked on the LC, reached out from Mill Creek Overland today and we got the issue squared away and I will be taking the vehicle back to do a further assessment on the driveline. This was a really nice thing for him to do. It was not my intent to drag the shop through the mud(heh, heh) here but rather to get an understanding of where to take the conversation after I had a better idea of what my predicament was.

I should have done 2 things differently in this situations:
1) I should have taken a drive along with a tech so that I could specifically point out the issue. The tech had identified a different issue with the knuckles...and I non-chalantly assumed that it was the same issue that I was thinking of.
2) I should have gotten clarification on the receipt at the shop rather than signing off on the transaction and then looking for answers online. It was an honest mistake.

I want to thank everyone for the feedback here, both on the mechanical aspects of the vehicle and on the transaction...the feedback literally resulted in money back in my pocket. That is a great testament to this community!

 

[Kernal]

"This was a really nice thing for him to do."
"the feedback literally resulted in money back in my pocket"

Did the shop refund you cash, or are they going to do the other work at a reduced rate or no charge, or ??

 

[raisinhell2]

UPDATE:
Albert, the tech that worked on the LC, reached out from Mill Creek Overland today and we got the issue squared away and I will be taking the vehicle back to do a further assessment on the driveline. This was a really nice thing for him to do. It was not my intent to drag the shop through the mud(heh, heh) here but rather to get an understanding of where to take the conversation after I had a better idea of what my predicament was.

I should have done 2 things differently in this situations:
1) I should have taken a drive along with a tech so that I could specifically point out the issue. The tech had identified a different issue with the knuckles...and I non-chalantly assumed that it was the same issue that I was thinking of.
2) I should have gotten clarification on the receipt at the shop rather than signing off on the transaction and then looking for answers online. It was an honest mistake.

I want to thank everyone for the feedback here, both on the mechanical aspects of the vehicle and on the transaction...the feedback literally resulted in money back in my pocket. That is a great testament to this community!

I like reading stuff like this. Most above board shops will make stuff like this right if given the chance. Remember as the customer you have the right to demand a tech does a test drive with you . As a Tech and shop owner always do that Ive learnt that lesson . More times than not what I hear and what the customer hears is different. Plus I have found 80 series owners are picky bitches, Myself included.. Even more so ones new to land cruisers. A 40 series owner rarely says anything about a rattle 80 series owner the fricking the sky is falling hahaha.

 

[mudgudgeon]

Plus I have found 80 series owners are picky bitches, Myself included.. Even more so ones new to land cruisers. A 40 series owner rarely says anything about a rattle 80 series owner the fricking the sky is falling hahaha.

Hey! Ease up on the personal attacks! That stings!