Am I getting Rubi-conned?

I
didn't I find you this one on facebook ? buddy have a front end alignment done if you dont want to do it yourself and put a set of tires on it !I bet it drives fine after that......

Yes…and i had it checked out…but i knew it needed a track bar. I dont understand how 40k miles, even hard wheeling, could cause this much damage to stock parts.
 
do you have a picture of it ? i thought it looked good if I remember that was the one I would have looked at if it wasn't so far away. man stick with the 33s they're the perfect tire on a rubi for on and off road drivability.
 
Before buying ANYTHING: What tires are on it now, and what pressure are you running?

For 33-inchers, somewhere around 26 to 28 PSI is the right neighborhood. If somebody set them to 38, like a lot of tire shops do, that could make it drive pretty nasty.
 
Before buying ANYTHING: What tires are on it now, and what pressure are you running?

For 33-inchers, somewhere around 26 to 28 PSI is the right neighborhood. If somebody set them to 38, like a lot of tire shops do, that could make it drive pretty nasty.

It has 33 inch BFG all terrains from 2009, before the KO2’s I believe. I am hoping to stay with those and just put KO2’s on it. I am waiting to see if
do you have a picture of it ? i thought it looked good if I remember that was the one I would have looked at if it wasn't so far away. man stick with the 33s they're the perfect tire on a rubi for on and off road drivability.

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So I recently bought myself a nice (interior and exterior) looking 2005 Rubicon TJ. I had it checked at a shop and they told me a few small things but said the suspension and motor and all the important parts were great. No rust at all, no damage, great CarFax, and only 40K miles. It had a crappy steering problem and I knew that most of them can be fixed fairly easily. I took it in to the shop that was recommended to me in town that is known for Jeep work. They have a great reputation and seemed really nice, and I don’t have anything bad to say about the experience…. BUT, the rubicon was certainly in WAY worse shape suspension wise than I thought it was.

I am going to post the estimate for work here, and am looking for some advice. I don’t have the garage or tools or (mostly) time to do this work myself, but does this seem legit? It is all skyjacker parts which I am a little scared of as I read such bad reviews on that stuff. Any advice would be great here… not sure if I should just bit the bullet and go all out with a better or long arm lift and 35’s (needs new tires too). The money isn’t necessarily the big problem, although it seems excessive to me, but more looking for input on if there is something jumping off the page at you guys.

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first and only thing i saw. "steering stabilizer dual kit" They can suck a fat dick, they don't know shit.
 
first and only thing i saw. "steering stabilizer dual kit" They can suck a fat dick, they don't know shit.

Not sure I can supply that, but I will say I questioned it too. I hate the look of them and from what I hear he could just put that on and disguise the problem for a while. So the other stuff should fix the issue so it doesn’t need a steering stabilizer, let alone 2
 
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I should say that I LOVE this jeep and am not even considering doing the basics and selling it. I love it so much I am actually thinking of trading in my German convertible sports car for the 392 Rubicon for myself as well… daily drive that and build this one up to a monster… at least that would be the goal.
 
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yep thats the one I was thinking it was. I still believe you should get a alignment and new tires on it if their bad. and like mentioned above lower the pressure to 26PSI.
 
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Not sure I can supply that, but I will say I questioned it too. I hate the look of them and from what I hear he could just put that on and disguise the problem for a while. So the other stuff should fix the issue so it doesn’t need a steering stabilizer, let alone 2

if everything else is right, you can drive your rig without a steering stabilizer without any wobble or jitters. the stabilizer is there to reduce shock to other components, reduce wear, and minimize felt jolts to the steering linkages upstream ( and eventually your hands) not to stop the effects of other problems cuased by bad alignment or worn out components.

so many people are duped out of money every year for new stabilizers by shops trying to bandaid problems they dont understand ot are too incompetent to solve.

It briefs better than "we'll start with x and y, if that doesn't fix it we'll go to Z"
 
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I think you guys are confusing DIY with a professional shop. OP has said he does not want to do the work himself and some of us have the money to pay a professional shop which has payroll and other overhead. It inherently cost more than DIY. I agree that new tires of the size he wants would be the first thing to do. He needs new tires any way and it will isolate his ride quality to the suspension components. If he wants that look I think 32” or 33” would do.
I do not know what the shop rates are in NC but getting that much work done here in SoCal would cost more than $1319. As for the parts, it is worth the time to identify each specific part and see what each one costs on the open market to compare their prices. OP needs to identify which lift the PO installed if possible. Any way you look at it he will have to dump a lot of money in his new TJR as many of us have had to do. He just needs to do it wisely as he appears to be doing.
 
@TitanFlyer - as others mentioned pick your tire size and go from there, lots of good parts / build plans depending on what you want to do.

Once you’ve got your plan, TELL the shop what they’re going to do for you with parts you’ve picked out.
 
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1) pick a tire size you want to live with (easier said than done)
1b) how do you plan on wheeling? Maybe you would be better off stock if you don’t plan on going crazy. A stock rubicon is very capable.
2) get a second estimate, I assumed that shop was just a regular repair shop but it looks like they work on jeeps. Which is surprising.
3) start with the tire and alignment and use the hell out of this forum for advice
4) avoid the lower tier suspension parts. It sound like you don’t mind spending for quality so go with Currie, savvy, metal cloak, core 4x4 (higher tiers). In my opinion the price difference isn’t a lot different from the “cheap” stuff.
5) realize that spending that kind of money doesn’t just magically make everything better. It might initially drive better but that would be short lived.
6) I’d encourage you to work on as much as possible. If you can change the rotors and pads you can bleed the brakes. Changing all 8 control arms doesn’t take that long.
 
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The $1,300 in labor doesn’t seem too bad, really. As others have said in this thread, the charges for skyjacker parts seems awful… even if they are msrp. Spend a few hundred more and get exponentially better parts. Stay away from skyjacker and rough country.
 
The $1,300 in labor doesn’t seem too bad, really. As others have said in this thread, the charges for skyjacker parts seems awful… even if they are msrp. Spend a few hundred more and get exponentially better parts. Stay away from skyjacker and rough country.
agree with all. labor doesn't seem rediculous. I just can't get behind any tech or business that recommendeds dual steering stabilizers and claims to be experts. Maybe the skyjacker stuff is priced above currie market price to make up for the labor rate.
 
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