Quote:
Originally Posted by Otter
Well, if that isn't a gentlemanly way of saying it... Nice!
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Yeah, just putting out a caution sign is all.
I had a broken main leaf on the right front of my Salem Kroger converted Ford van.
I ended up going here because I had been there before to have them bend some u bolts for another vehicle and I had stopped by to have them look at the van and see if there was anything they could do to improve the ride in the way of springs before the one broke. They thought they could make some springs that would be a bit softer and maybe improve it even though they would retain the short length and shackles in the front.
There were some communication issues because when ever I talked to them it seemed to be a different person. I think I dealt with 3 different people over the phone over the 3-4 weeks they had my van.
I told them I also wanted new shocks in front with the springs and that I wanted the same Bilstein model I already had on the back. Went back and forth on this with them and he kept telling me the ones he wanted to put on he had experience with and were just as good and cheaper. Ranchos.
They got the springs installed eventually. I guess they had got them from some place in Canada and didn't actually build them as I thought that's what was going to happen. The new springs were arched quite a bit more than the old ones and the front of the van now sat about 2 inches higher. So now the back end needed work to sit level. Sweet! A 2 inch lift! Not really a big deal either way to me. But I had to now pay to have the rear springs rearched and an add a leaf put in. No big deal really. I can understand some unexpected things.
I went to pick it up on a Saturday which was a day they are normally closed. But there was going to someone there working and that allowed me to go get it. I paid the bill which was significantly higher than prices we had originally talked about. I wasn't super surprised though because of the added costs of the rear suspension work and a few other add ons along the way.
As soon as I pulled out of the lot I could tell the front springs were definitely softer and that it seemed like an improvement. The next thing I noticed was the steering wheel 30* off to the left. I found a turn around in a lot with some big speed bumps and could tell the back was now way stiffer than it used to be.
I told him the wheel was way off and he verified they had aligned it as indicated on the paperwork. He said he would have the alignment guy do it again but not until next week during regular hours. So I ended up leaving it there.
Picked it up again and drove off with a straight steering wheel. It drives about the same with an improved ride in front from the springs.
I got to poking around underneath in the next few days and find that the shocks they installed are not the right size at all. They are going to bottom out the shafts before the springs hit the bump stops. By about 2 inches. So the extra few inches I did gain are now going to break the lower shock mounts on a big hit.
I never went back or called them. I probably should have complained but at this point I just don't think they are really capable or interested in doing this kind of work correctly.
It was just kind of a bad experience for me and if I need that type of work again I probably won't be going back there.
Silver Streak
PhoTo
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