SHORT VERSION:
I wanted to post this up for two reasons. First, I want to make mention of
the EXCELLENT customer service I received from www.sporttruckdirect.com ,
and to let anyone that may have an issue with Western Chassis a-arms that
they can get a replacement set free if the need should arise (contact the
vendor they were purchased from). Granted I'm out the time and trouble to
do the replacement. But the lower bushings were on the way out anyway, and
the job wasn't too far off anyway.
COMPLETE TALE:
Well is was a long day of yard and house cleanup after Hurricane Francis. I
had no real damage beyond cleanup of my property and garage after some
saltwater flooding. Yard was swamped, garage had about 4", but nothing of
any real value was affected. I had moved it all up several weeks ago for
Hurricane Charlie.
I was on the way out for a bite, and a well deserved cocktail. Backing out
of my driveway in my 00 RC R/T with the wheels pretty much cranked at about
2 mph, I had a loud bang accompanied with a grinding sound, and a shift in
the truck's attitude. Thinking to myself, "Nope wasn't the garbage can, I
can see it in the mirror, the driveway was clear a minute ago". Throw it
in Park, and climb out.
Passenger side fender is resting on my front tire, NO gap where I usually
have about an inch. Well I've heard about a few Western Chassis a-arms
failing over the years, time to look underneath. YUP, front tube on the
passenger side had completely broken through at the apex of the bend before
the coil spring bucket. Pull the floor jack out of the garage, grab a block
of wood, jack it up, and wedge the block between the frame and a-arm.
Shuffle vehicles with the g/f's assistance so we can still get a bite when I
get the situation sorted out.
Pop on the PC, look up www.sporttruckdirect.com . The kit had been
purchased by the previous owner back in 2000 from them, and I had purchased
some stuff from them along the way as well. A call to Scottdale AZ got me
to a salesperson. I explained my situation, and he said the a-arms came
with a warrantee from the manufacturer. Said they were in stock.
Arrangements were made for next day air.
Apparently these are the early design before some additional gusseting was
added. I really can't complain either. 85,000+ miles of use and abuse by
me in a slammed R/T. I'd expect the newer design to last longer.
Off to dinner. The whole episode killed 20 minutes.
Later on, they called me back on my cell phone. Apparently they didn't have
the correct ones in stock, and had made arrangements for a drop ship from
the manufacturer directly.
Again, EXCELLENT customer service from the vendor and the manufacturer
stands behind their product.
TonyC
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Fri Oct 01 2004 - 11:38:58 EDT