TJ2
TJ Expert
I am not a good mechanic but I do everything myself (with some jeep buddies sometimes).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.
View attachment 157351View attachment 157352View attachment 157353
View attachment 157355
I’ll also be repainting the frame and axles soon. I’m pretty sure this Jeep spent its entire life in the Northeast.
Never had a visit to a shop for 15 years but the NTB for my tires and batteries.