New Mexico Can Anyone Recommend a Differential Shop in Albuquerque?

g.hayduke

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Hi Gang.

Has anyone had a good experience getting gears installed near Albuquerque?

I'll be going to 35's before long when I get a new lift sorted and when the tires are actually available. When I get there, a re-gear will be in order. I have no idea where to go. I had a re-gear done when I went to 33's but that was in the Baltimore area before moving to NM.

And please hold your suggestions that I do it myself. NOT INTERESTED! There isn't much I won't tackle myself but I have no interest in learning how to properly set up a diff with new gears. I much prefer to pay a skilled professional.

TIA!
 
Well, now I can provide some input on where not to go for gear work in Albuquerque. A guy who runs the shop at a local tire store recommended New Mexico Gear and Axle. And they have awesome Google ratings. So lacking any other references, I hired them to install new 5.13 R&Ps in both diffs, keeping the perfectly working factory lockers in my LJR. They assured me they do it all the time but mostly on JKs. So here is the chronology:

This fiasco started because I went to 35s and needed to regear to 5.13s.
  1. I called and talked to the owner. He quoted $640 for each axle for labor and they're happy to have me supply the parts.
  2. I bought Yukon R&P sets and master install kits for both axles.
  3. When I dropped off the Jeep, the guy actually doing the work said the owner misquoted and it was going to be $1380 vs the originally quoted $1280. OK. I didn't want to start right off with a confrontation over $100 so I left it and crossed my fingers.
  4. Got a call that it was done and ready to pick up so I did.
  5. It seemed fine at first. Lockers were working. But then I noticed a strong gear lube smell after playing with the lockers. Then when I got it into the garage to investigate, turns out the rear locker actuator was now leaking air and the compressor was not shutting off. So it was blowing excess air into the diff and out the vent causing the strong smell. FUCK! I called the dude. He says he wants to "make it right". I told him the actuators are unobtanium even though they are advertised all over the web.
  6. He orders the unobtanium part from Extreme Terrain and we wait a week or so.
  7. I know the part won't show up (even though Extreme Terrain lies and says otherwise) and can't find one used so I order an ARB locker and compressor to run the new locker for another unbudgeted $1500. FUCK!
  8. So, I drop it off so he can "make it right". He sends me a picture of the copper tube broken off the ARB actuator. He broke it. FUCK! Says he's getting 1 overnighted.
  9. Next day, part comes in and he gets it back together and calls me to tell me it's ready for pickup. And his "make it right" price? A mere $300 to install the locker I shouldn't have needed (discounted from $500) and half the price of the part that was needed to replace the part he broke for a total "make it right" price of $427.
  10. I pick up the Jeep and drive it home, taking my time to put a few miles on the new gears. When I get home, I notice drips of gear lube under the left rear corner. Turns out the left axle tube is filling with gear lube and it's blowing out the vent. FUCK!
  11. While I'm running the air line for the locker, I also notice, he bent the shit out of the little bracket on the right axle tube that holds the brake line so he could move the brake line for access. He also bent the shit out of the brake line and left it that way, rubbing against a sharp edge on the shock mount. I fixed that myself but Holy Shit! How many things can 1 "professional" gear installer fuck up !?!?!?!?!
  12. So, anyway, the saga continues, since the end of April! And we're not done yet!
I looked at the original bad OEM locker actuator and it's actually leaking where the retainer bracket is attached to the body of the part. So, I'll give some benefit of the doubt(BOD) that when he removed it, maybe the bracket twisted a bit and caused the leak. Or maybe they dropped it when it came out. I'll never know. After that, it's all his responsibility. No excuses.

So far, I've spent $1800 OVER the original quote. The original actuator failure was possibly nobody's fault. However, he still broke an ARB actuator and charged me for half the cost of the part. Not to mention all the shoddy workmanship and lack of attention to detail or basic safety practices (brake line). Given how sloppy the work has been, he really doesn't deserve the BOD.

DO NOT PATRONIZE New Mexico Gear & Clutch!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!