I was looking for input from Asheville NC area folks. I was hoping people could recommend some good places locally to do some good work. My local tire place (Bill Walker Tire) says they can do the regear for around 1000-1200 when I get new tires so I will probably let them do that but I don't think I trust or even know if they can do things like weld C Gussets/Truss and check my alignment after I install new control arms etc. Basically stuff you need a 4x4 specific shop for. Any suggestions on shops in the area would be great.

Thanks in advance

 

Better option (if you can't weld, or don't feel comfortable doing it) is to find a welder in your area and ask them to do it in their off-time. Back when I was still learning/didn't feel comfortable with MIG yet, that's exactly what I did; I posted around on local Rock Crawling and Jeep pages, and within a few hours I got messages offering to burn them on for $75. The guy somehow stacked dimes while welding overhead. Best part? Took 15 minutes.

C-gussets can be burned on without removing the axle. Heads up, you'll need to do ball joints in the same sitting unless you find someone willing to take their sweet time allowing time for each bead to cool before continuing/making sure the ball joints don't get too hot. Odds you'll find someone willing to do that? Slim to none. It's best to just burn the gussets on and swap the ball joints. For a truss, you'll want to pull the axle out. You don't need to, but it'll make life much easier.

If you're a DIY'er or looking to save a few bucks, this what I would (and did) do ^. The Artec truss is a great kit, but it took me 2 hours of grinding/test fitting before we even fired up the welder. When you're paying $100/hr for labor at a shop, that adds up really fast. Of course a shop can do all these things, but they'll bend you over. As for your original question: join some local Facebook Jeep groups/pages and post around. I'm sure you'll get a plethora of suggestions.