I discovered the downside of having a mechanic shop do installs. I recently bought a Classic Tube preformed brake lines kit because my rear brake lines were looking pretty rough. I had also bought the BMB rear drum brake kit, Centric wheel cylinders, and a Crown Performance extended brake lines kit in order to finish refreshing the braking system (I had previously bought the BMB front brake kit with the new callipers/pads/and rotors). My plan was to do all of the work myself. I installed the fronts myself (which was an absolute pain), but the rear drum brake wheel cylinder brake bleeders were super rusted and the cylinder bolts were so frozen that I ended up taking the Jeep to a nearby shop for the rear install. I also had them install the rear drum brake hardware, since they would have to access them to replace the wheel cylinders.
1 day and $712 dollars later I picked up my jeep and went on my way. Then I had to bring it back because the parking brake was not properly adjusted. Could have done it myself, but if I’m paying for a service I expect it to be done properly. A few days later I was investigating a small oil leak and I decided to check all of the engine fluid levels, and thank goodness I did, because the master cylinder was half-empty!
I bought brake fluid, and vowed never to use that shop again. Well, last night I rechecked the work they did, and everything looked good except that they didn’t tighten the rear brake line, so it had a slight leak (which could have been the reason the master cylinder was so low, but either way, they messed up).
Also, in the course of checking their work I discovered that they overtorqued my wheel locks
Why do some shops insist on using impact guns on lug nuts/wheel locks?! Luckily I didn’t have to change a flat, but cmon man! I got the first wheel lock loosened and re-torqued, but the key broke while trying to loosen the second one
I removed the 3 remaining wheel locks with a 12-point socket, a hammer, and a breaker bar, and then ordered a new key, which should (hopefully) be arriving soon.
I’ll also be repainting the frame and axles soon. I’m pretty sure this Jeep spent its entire life in the Northeast.