I'm about to pull the trigger (a month or so) and beef up my front axle.
Artec Truss, EVO gussets and LCA skids and Synergy Ball joints from Northridge4x4.

Ive gotten a few quotes and the best one so far is $816 for the labor to install all of the above.
the other quote was over $1200

High, good, or excellent price.. This is from a reputable off road shop.

any thoughts?

 

That's a lot to spend on beefing up an axle. Is it a 30? If so don't waste your time. If its a 44. Go buy a Tera housing and sell yours to me.

I would sleeve it first instead of trussing. I think that is where the bulk of your labor is coming from. That and the ball joints.

Seems a little high, but I have a buddy who can do most of that for less than half so who am I to be the best judge on that one.

I would see if sleeving would change the price.

 

gussets, sleeves, LCA skids, and ball joints... same price.
The shop said the truss is more work but easier.. due to not having to drill into the axle and weld those fillet holes...etc.

it's a D44.


and yes this might be overkill.... hard to say.
in a two week time frame I punctured 2 tires, and bent a rear axle shaft...

 

The truss will be stronger than the sleeves and cover the entire housing unlike the sleeves. A buddy of mine just did a similar setup to what you are doing and it took many hours for him to do the work himself. The quotes you got are probably spot on.

 

Here is a pic of his built 44. Still amazed at the work he did on this. Makes me want to learn.

 

Pull your shafts, locker, knuckles, brakes and buy a Tera 44 and sell me your housing. Pretty please! Lol

 

let me think about that........... ok I'm done...
at >$2000

 

Since you are paying labor, you might just consider a PR or Tera housing to swap your internals into. With armor + labor, you may not be all that far off, and you'll have the added benefit of caster/pinion correction.

Then, as noted above, sell your current housing to make up the difference.

 

you guys are making me think more about this axle upgrade/mod

 

Not trying to push you into it. Just saying that, as you found out, labor will eat up the budget quick, and a new housing 'may' turn out to be the better way to go. Before totally discounting an aftermarket housing, it is worth spending some time running both sets of numbers so you can make an informed decision.

I am not sure about the Tera housings, but the PR's come with new factory bj's. Not saying they are in any way as good as the Synergy bj's, but they are new and it will help cut the initial cost outlay.