I'm looking to strengthen my front D30. Emailed my local shop to get a quote and got a quote that seems way too high. Initially the quote included TB bracket reinforcement, LCA skid paltes, c-gussets, & front axle truss along with the axle sleevs - total cost apprx $1600! dropped the "axle armour kit" off the quote and got the following response. Let me know what you guys think of this:

"$899.99 to dis-assemble the entire axle, drill 10+ holes through the housing, install the sleeves, weld them up, re-assemble the entire axle, shafts, hubs, & brakes, then buff and prep the axle for the gusset kit + that includes the parts! That doesn't seem to bad."

Does that sound like a deal??

Thanks for your help guys!

 

At $90/hr sounds right. Do you already have the parts or are you buying those from place you are having the install done at?

 

those quotes included parts and labor...still seems like I could get the EVO sleeve & gusset set for around $220 and have someone wled them in for around $200-$300

 

Sorry, missed the part on the included parts. All I am saying is if you are paying full retail price for the parts, and chances are good that you are. And you are getting charged around $90/hr then the price isn't to far off from what I would expect to pay.

Now, would I ever pay that much? No, I would buy the mods and do the install myself. But, I have a access to the necessary tools needed to perform some of the more extensive mod applications such as this.

Now, if you must pay a shop to install then I would suggest going to a few reputable 4x4 shops and getting quotes from all of them and then getting them to bid for your business. I know several people who do this and always get a better deal than the original quote. Also, remember you get what you pay for in most cases and quality of work definitely falls under that category.

If you have time you can always get on your staging area and post up a thread asking if anyone with experience would want to help tackle this project. Chances are there are a few shade tree mechanics with the skills capable to do something like this who would mind picking up a little extra $ and drinking some beer.

Hope this helps a little. Good luck, I know I am looking forward to adding a couple of the items you listed. Just curious but which truss kit were you going with?

 

Price seems a little high, I got sleeves and gussets done plus RCV's installed for $1,600. So it was about $500 for parts and labor if you take away the cost of the RCV's.

 

This quote was for more than just sleeves and gusset installation.

 

thanks for all your feedback! yeah, the initial quote of $1600 included the LCA skids and axle truss. the $899 is jut for the sleeves & gussets. I typically do all work myself, but when it comes to welding and axles, i'd rather get someone more experienced that will back up their work with some sort of warranty. this shop has an excellent rep down here in the GA, but I guess I'd better get to calling around.

Thanks again!

 

Jander82, do yourself a favor by replace your ball joints at this time if you haven't already

 

I didn't sleeve my front axle but had some gussets put on. First place quoted me 6-8 hours, $500-$700!

I was able to find someone to do it for $250 but it took some searching.

 

good call! I'm planning on tackling this in the next week or so