What might a fella expect to pay, on average, for a shop to install u joints and check the balance on a drive shaft (in my case, the front shaft in my '94)? Read on if you care to know my current debacle that's not entirely related to the cost of the above services...
This started as a simple troubleshoot to cure some driveline vibes. I'd already taken my rear shaft to Inland Truck to install new joints, retube and rebalance. All went well. I still had some minor vibes and, unfortunately, I'm unnecessarily picky. So I removed the front shaft for new joints and to check the balance. Same shop, different story.
1) I ordered the front u joints from Lowe Toyota and delivered them, with the shaft, to the above mentioned shop. As it turns out, I mistakenly received u joints for the rear shaft. Honest mistake. However, the shop failed to call and inform me, so I drove to the shop expecting to pick up the shaft.
2) I was greeted with "wrong joints". "No call?" I replied in an attempt to use the same abbreviated speak. I was told someone should have called me, which I was already thinking. Well versed in personal communication breakdown and complexities of the service industry, I employed self restraint and focused on moving forward. I was told new u joints were ordered and should arrive in two business days.
3) Two business days came and went, as did a weekend, during which I agonized over whether or not the shop ordered OEM joints. A phone call was also missing, so I stopped by the shop hoping, at the least, for a status update, but not thinking it unreasonable for a completed job.
4) "You never told us to install the joints we ordered." "I never told you to order the joints, but that didn't stop you", I said internally. I thought it a good time to ask what kind of joints were ordered, and I'm glad I did. "The cheapest we could find." I left under the condition that I would ascertain and deliver the correct OEM joints, the latter of which I did a few days later.
5) I wasn't quoted a completion date, so I called at the end of the following day. Incomplete. "This should be done tomorrow, we'll call." Two days passed, no call. I called (today) and, eureka, it was complete!
6) Anxious to have Bucksnort (the wife's name for the 80) back in normal operating condition, I immediately headed to the shop. I hesitantly handed over $140 to the cashier and headed to pick up the shaft. The technician retrieved it in all its clean, black gloriousness... IN PHASE. Not 100% confident of the front shaft's intended phasing, and unsure of whether or not it's standard practice to clean (sandblast?) and paint a shaft with new u joints, I headed out the door with the shaft in tow.
After immediately perusing 'Mud, I confirmed that the phasing is incorrect, and I know it was correctly out of phase when I dropped it off. I'm also left wondering if it was necessary for the shop to clean and paint it... to the tune of $140. I'll be taking it back to have to "rephased" and rebalanced.
I'm frustrated and needed a place to vent; and also thought my experience wouldn't hurt for folks who attempt the same path as me.
This started as a simple troubleshoot to cure some driveline vibes. I'd already taken my rear shaft to Inland Truck to install new joints, retube and rebalance. All went well. I still had some minor vibes and, unfortunately, I'm unnecessarily picky. So I removed the front shaft for new joints and to check the balance. Same shop, different story.
1) I ordered the front u joints from Lowe Toyota and delivered them, with the shaft, to the above mentioned shop. As it turns out, I mistakenly received u joints for the rear shaft. Honest mistake. However, the shop failed to call and inform me, so I drove to the shop expecting to pick up the shaft.
2) I was greeted with "wrong joints". "No call?" I replied in an attempt to use the same abbreviated speak. I was told someone should have called me, which I was already thinking. Well versed in personal communication breakdown and complexities of the service industry, I employed self restraint and focused on moving forward. I was told new u joints were ordered and should arrive in two business days.
3) Two business days came and went, as did a weekend, during which I agonized over whether or not the shop ordered OEM joints. A phone call was also missing, so I stopped by the shop hoping, at the least, for a status update, but not thinking it unreasonable for a completed job.
4) "You never told us to install the joints we ordered." "I never told you to order the joints, but that didn't stop you", I said internally. I thought it a good time to ask what kind of joints were ordered, and I'm glad I did. "The cheapest we could find." I left under the condition that I would ascertain and deliver the correct OEM joints, the latter of which I did a few days later.
5) I wasn't quoted a completion date, so I called at the end of the following day. Incomplete. "This should be done tomorrow, we'll call." Two days passed, no call. I called (today) and, eureka, it was complete!
6) Anxious to have Bucksnort (the wife's name for the 80) back in normal operating condition, I immediately headed to the shop. I hesitantly handed over $140 to the cashier and headed to pick up the shaft. The technician retrieved it in all its clean, black gloriousness... IN PHASE. Not 100% confident of the front shaft's intended phasing, and unsure of whether or not it's standard practice to clean (sandblast?) and paint a shaft with new u joints, I headed out the door with the shaft in tow.
After immediately perusing 'Mud, I confirmed that the phasing is incorrect, and I know it was correctly out of phase when I dropped it off. I'm also left wondering if it was necessary for the shop to clean and paint it... to the tune of $140. I'll be taking it back to have to "rephased" and rebalanced.
I'm frustrated and needed a place to vent; and also thought my experience wouldn't hurt for folks who attempt the same path as me.
Now just waiting for my T-Case to be finished, and get the rig back on the road.
