This Mother fckin mechanic said..

That sucks, man. I hate dealing with most mechanics and dealerships. I’d post up in the regional forums here or a Facebook group out your way and see if anyone knows of a good mechanic. There are good ones out there. And if you find one, hang on to him and don’t let go.

And for the record, I would pay someone reputable to do it. Pay once, cry once. Then have fun on your trip without doubts of shoddy work lingering in the back of your head.

 

Take a look at his built thread. He's already spend SAS money, now he's into 2-4000 to fix from his own words.

And what he did to break it wasn't a freak occurrence. Two weeks from now same thing could happen again.

Sorry Maxx it is what it is.

Jberry - of course IFS and sas are two different things. However at the dealership when I bought mine I only had a choice of a sport trd or sr5 neither of which came with a solid axle... Not trying to win award here just saying break downs can lead to great opportunities to upgrade.

 

I see what youre saying. I havent spent SAS money thats for sure most my parts/products are in exchange for services rendered haha i gata get a few years out of my LT kit before i consider changing up. Fingers crossed this was a freak occurance. Luckily none of the suspension componemts broke. If this happens again il get a modified tundra steering rack

 

Picked up 4 bikes total. a sweet little 1969 Honda Cl 175 scrambler
A big 1988 510 Husqvarna TE
A Honda Rebel 250
And an 80 something Yamaha
Im gana sell the Yamaha and the Rebel, restore the Honda CL , and convert the 510 to a classy scrambler

Heres a little link to the Vlog if youre really interested
https://youtu.be/g9DKYrbF_38

 

If youve got a buddy or two to help, I see no reason you cant swap out your rack in a Saturday afternoon. I just replaced mine (2nd gen) this weekend. Did it solo and prob took 7 hours total. I'm sure there are some 2nd gen -> 3rd gen differences, but I saved time by cutting out the driver side bolt and installing new upside down. Wiggling out the old rack was pretty time consuming, but an extra set of hands here would have been nice.

If you can set aside a day before you have to leave on your trip, I say do it yourself!

 

This is pretty crucial for making it easier, at least in a 2nd gen

 

Remove the power steering pump all together and you will increase your HP 20% and save $1000's on the repair bill by leaving it manual steering

 

Thanks, have actually come across some of your vids on youtube, keep 'em coming......... have always had an interest in 2 wheels... currently have a '68 Triumph I built and a '74 Kawasaki H1...... planning to sell the H1 and scoop up a ktm 500 exc in the spring...... was out in Co. this past Labor Day weekend and got to ride a KTM 450 EXC for 3 days and fell in love..... apologies to all for straying from the topic and good luck on your repair....

 

I just happened to watch the video last night. Short of the damage, looks like a fun trip.

 

Nvm

 

sorry for the luck maxx, when i watched the video and saw the damage that's what i suspected. sorry you got F'ed by the shop. have you decided what you're going to do?

 

That blows, I hate when mechanics/dealerships..anyone who has your balls in their hand (or truck) try to play games like that and make things more complicated than need be, and then get upset when you as a customer make a smart decision or try to look out for own financial well being. +1 for USAA covering the work, they have helped me out in the past when I rolled my old truck in a ditch and gave me a full replacement check, which I proceeded to dump into another truck.... : /. Glad to hear its working out though! I would use USAA to the full advantage and have a shop fix it, but I am also not mechanically inclined on newer vehicles... all the wires confuse me.

 

usaa? Thank you for your service.
I'm a dealership bodyman / ex painter that does lots of hard hits and frame swaps plus mechanical. If this is the guy I think it is I was very impressed with the fact that you spent the time to paint your own truck (installed the fenders and painted the front clip right ?) I have confidence that you would be able to do it yourself but understand what it's like to have a lack of free time . Keep it up man .

 

Thanks for giving the full story. Lot of guys don’t want to give the story when it involves fault of their own but will give every detail when it’s a problem with a warranty or the dealership.

As shitty as it seems, many many shops will either refuse to do work if they don’t supply the parts or they’ll charge some sort of markup since you sourced your own. It’s just the way it works in a lot of places.

Just last weekend I had a Honda dealership refuse to cut an OEM Honda key (in a sealed bag) because they didn’t source the part. The dealership that did end up cutting my key charged me a $10 surcharge because I supplied the parts. Still made out better than I would have if they sourced the part though so sometimes that 10% extra they want to charge will still yield you a savings by supplying the parts yourself.

 

Thats me. And as an update. Myself and a couple Tacomaworlders knocked it out and got the truck up and running on my garage floor.