Anyone know of a good shop in the Bay Area?

[clicker44]

Hi All -

Does anyone know of a trusted shop that they take their SMB to in the Bay Area? I am out in Stockton for the time being and was hoping to get my Quigley 4x4 serviced.


Thank you in advance!

[rallypanam]

What do you need?

[clicker44]

Thanks for the reply RallyPanam. I am a total beginner and have no technical experience. That being said, based on my research here, I think I need tie rod ends, ball joints, sway bar bushings, and then someone with knowledge to take a look at my drivers side front wheel.

I was chewing through the inside edge of my driver side tire and took my van to an alignment shop thinking the alignment was off. It was off but the odd thing was that when the van was on the lift the driver side front wheel had about 4-6" of play when spinning it. The tech was grabbing the wheel with two hands and spinning the wheel slowly. The tire/wheel would move about 4-6" and the rotor would not move at all.

The main mechanic guy was freaking out about how it was a big deal, but the tech said it had to be that the lug nuts were bottomed out? They did not want to take off the wheel to investigate for the fear of something being wrong and not having the parts or time to fix it.

I called the previous owner and she spoke of some sort of Quigley bushing that has to be replaced every so often? My next stop after posting this is the Quigley website

I am heading out on a 6 month trip in a few weeks and wanted to be sure everything was good to go to put some serious miles on!

[rallypanam]

I don't know about any Quigley bushing that would affect the wheel like that, but I wouldn't drive it much if I was you.. Sounds dangerous, if not impossible..

Try Deetz in Tracy, they should be able to handle that, and are close to Stockton: Deetz Performance Specialties :: Building Custom Vehicles, Hot Rods, Classic Cars, Trucks and Muscle Cars

They put custom drilled brakes and airbags on my van long before I owned it, so they're not afraid to work on them!

[arctictraveller]

[QUOTE=clicker44;175616] the driver side front wheel had about 4-6" of play when spinning it. The tech was grabbing the wheel with two hands and spinning the wheel slowly. The tire/wheel would move about 4-6" and the rotor would not move at all. QUOTE]

YIKES! From your limited description it's difficult to determine what the problem might be, but if the lug nuts have been loose for long, the holes in wheel might be enlarged or egg shaped. Another possibility is that the lug nuts used don't match the wheel. At this point, I wouldn't drive it at all untill you find the problem. It's no big deal to jack it up and remove the wheel to inspect it more closely. Look at the holes in the wheel and at the studs. Once the wheel is off, see if there is play in anything else by spinning and pushing / pulling on the hub. If it's just the wheel, you could put on your spare, but make sure you have the proper lug nuts. If it turns out you need serious repairs, getting it towed to a shop would be your safest move.

[clicker44]

Thank you!

[arctictraveller]

Any updates?

[pjpvi]

I'll offer a second recommendation for John Deetz. Good and talented guy.

Good luck.

[clicker44]

Thanks for the replies, I really appreciate it. No updates yet, I am working the cherry harvest (16 hour days back to back to back to back to back....) Once I get some free time I will report back with I find.

[yvrr]

I've been taking our Quigley 4x4 SMB to Custom Alignment in Mountain View since it was new in 2001. I use them for shocks, alignment, brakes, etc. They have replaced a ball joint once. Custom Alignment - Balance and Brakes | Mountain View, CA