I'm looking for a shop that can do my regear. Going from 3:21 to 4:56 no lockers or anti slip needed for my use. One shop that I found recommended in other threads recently did a ball joint install for me. Driving home was scary as the Jeep was darting around and lots of new slop in the steering. I reset everything myself and solved the problem but the worst was they didn't put any grease in any of them. Granted, they come with a little grease in them but they are still supposed to be filled after installed! The owner just denied and said they greased them (per his shop foreman) and they also said they instlled them per instruction. Not sure why the crown nut was loose on the lowers if they installed them correctly!. Another local shop tried to tell me that my brand new shocks were shot and needed replacing and they tried to talk me into bigger tires on my setup which I knew would not fit.

So .... looking for a shop (outside of Raleigh NC) that is the real deal, trust worthy and may even be open to allowing me to watch and learn (and help if allowed but if not I understand). Would be good to see the process and know how the insides work.

 

Not sure if it eases your mind any, but brand new ball joints are almost always really tight, which translates to darty steering and constant corrections. They usually take ~500 miles, sometimes more, to break in. Do you have any local clubs to question other locals' experiences with shops? Typically find it hard to get specific geographic advice on the forums in general.

 

I put 40 miles on them when I jacked up the Jeep and "reset" everything per a video that the manufacturer made for me. They said there is no "break in". After removing the cotter pins the crown nut took a full 360 turn before I even had to put any force into it and torque it. That was the cause of the slop. The darty steering was because of improper installation of the top (Rare Parts) joint. After undoing it and setting the pre-load per instructions the driving was back to normal.

 

Ok, yup, you have the only BJs worth buying IMO. indeed those don't really have a break in. Most people aren't stretching that far. I have DT BJs that said no break-in period either......took dang 1k miles. I hate those things. I would have done RP back in the day, but thought I had to go with a knurled version and they didn't have one back then.

 

East Coast Gear Supply there in Raleigh. They do great work.

 

Thanks Digger.