Jaw's Gear & Axle, Inc.

I am responding to the complaint documented below from *** **I have read through his statement and would like to respond as suchMr** brought his differential in to our s**p for a simple gear change from ratio to a ratio and stated he t**ught the original gear was making noise as
indicated on his repair order at the time of drop offKeep in mind we have no way to verify what noise he was referring to as he only brought us the differential out of the vehicleUpon inspection of the differential we found several things wrong with the differential, 1) The original gear was worn which does not matter since he is wanting to go to a ratio anyway, 2)Pinion Bearings had too tight of preload, 3)Axle Seals were leaking/wet, 4)Pinion Yoke was pitted on the seal surface which can cause leaking. We contacted Mr** to discuss the recommendations and he approved to fix all the items needed plus the gear change to for what he originally brought it in forThe job was completed and picked up on the 29th of SeptemberI cannot confirm or deny the dates of telep**ne conversations off the top of my head so at this point I will assume the dates Mr** has given are correct in my following statementsI can pull p**ne records if necessary for future verification. On 10/12/Mr** called and said his differential was making noise at certain range of speed, I told him it is an aftermarket gear and gear noise is not uncommonI also asked him to bring it in and we would go on a test drive to verify that was indeed the noise and make sure there were no other issuesWhen Mr** brought the vehicle in my mechanic went on a test drive and confirmed it was gear noise, at no point was anything discussed about re shimming the differential during this test drive or visitI told Mr** that if he finished doing the break in procedure of miles we would be happy to open the differential up and verify that there was nothing more to be concerned with and let’s do it at miles because the oil is due to be changed to remove broke down oil and metal shavings from the new gear break in, worst case scenario all he would need is an oil changeHe agreedPlease note at no time did I tell Mr** the oil change would be freeTwo reasons for that would be 1)He brought the differential in as a carryout rebuild initially, and 2)We don’t charge up front for oil changes on original repair in case the customer takes their vehicle somewhere else for the service. Mr** called and said scheduled to bring his car in on the Jan 12t at 8am to have us take a look at the internal parts of the differentialOn the 12th, Mr** has his vehicle brought in on a trailer and stated that he did not feel comfortable driving it because it was making noise***, my service manager told Mr** we would look at it and confirm there was nothing wrong and if that was the case he would only owe for the differential service which consists of quarts of oil, a positraction additive and $labor, this would total $plus taxMr** got upset and asked why he was being charged anything, and *** tried to explain because you have a mile oil change that is due regardless, So ultimately if nothing is wrong you would still have to do the oil change due at milesUltimately Mr** did not leave the vehicle. Upon my return to the office, I spoke with Mr** about his misunderstanding of the cost for the oil changeI never told, him that the oil change had to be paid for us to look at the differentialHe told me he would have just had us inspect the differential and then tow it out as he can do the oil change himself and why would he pay me for suchI informed him that was his choice, we can still take a look at the differential to confirm its just gear noise like previously discussed and he can do his own oil changeI never said anything to the fact about us not going to look at the differential unless he pays us to change the oil. To this day, I still believe it is gear noiseIf the noise is getting worse it could be improper break inThese are merely guesses at this point as the customer has chosen not to allow us to do the inspection multiple timesIf there was a breproblem the manufacture can verify with metallurgical testing which we can have doneMy offer still stands to inspect the differential at NO CHARGE and the customer can fill with new fluids himself if he does not want to pay for an oil changeI have attached copies of the original RO when differential was dropped off and the final RO and warranty info, all of which Mr** has signed and received copies of. Let me know if you have or need any more questions or information. Thanks, *** ***@JawsGear.comP: *** ext**Roseville Road #DSacramento, CA 95842www.jawsgear.com

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to my concern, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me
I also would like to say I never wrote I wanted Mr*** to "build" my carI merely expected some guidance when it came to ordering a custom rear end housingHaving more information to work with is usually a good thingI had already spoken to *** at *** ***s fabrication shop about the centered pinion issue over a month agoHe said it couldn't be altered,and that was stated in my original complaint
***

Mr*** has filed a charge back with his bank of which we were notified last week and responded toI have attached the letter that was submitted in responseIf in fact Mr*** would have followed up with me prior to just doing a charge back I feel the results could have been a
different outcome then where we are at currentlyAs instructed by the bank, I will not be issuing a refund due to the fact he filed a charge back and is pending their investigationAs for the issues Mr*** is having with the housing he supplied information and measurements for, the offset is EXACTLY what he orderedIf the angle does come out to be a problem, *** ***(Manufacture of Housing) has agreed to alter the angle IF necessary, but as per conversations and emails(attached) there should not be a problem once he has the vehicle weight on the suspension and the car is on the groundIf there are additional questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to call me at *** **
*** @ Jaw's Gear & Axle

I am rejecting this response because: Jaws wrote: When Mr** brought the vehicle in my mechanic went on a test drive and confirmed it was gear noise, at no point was anything discussed about re shimming the differential during this test drive or visit. Response: *** mechanic (***) is the one who took it on the test drove and did state that it would need to be re shimmed because of the loud howling, which tells me that these gears were not installed properly *** can tell his boss anything right about now just to cover his end but he knows that is what he said Jaws wrote: Please note at no time did I tell Mr** the oil change would be free. Response: Never once did I expected or said I wanted a free oil change Jaws wrote: ***, my service manager told Mr** we would look at it and confirm there was nothing wrong and if that was the case he would only owe for the differential service which consists of quarts of oil, a positraction additive and $labor, this would total $plus taxMr** got upset and asked why he was being charged anything, and *** tried to explain because you have a mile oil change that is due regardless, So ultimately if nothing is wrong you would still have to do the oil change due at milesUltimately Mr** did not leave the vehicleResponse: Exactly! I brought my car in for them to fix the howling noise Not to pay for an oil change in which he verbally quoted me $ not $ He never looked at the car so he cant say he confirm there was nothing wrong I stated I would do my own oil change That when he said "Well I have to charge you for something because I dont do free work." Jaws wrote: We can still take a look at the differential to confirm its just gear noise like previously discussed and he can do his own oil changeI never said anything to the fact about us not going to look at the differential unless he pays us to change the oil. I tried to explain because you have a mile oil change that is due regardless, So ultimately if nothing is wrong you would still have to do the oil change due at milesUltimately Mr** did not leave the vehicle: Response: here is another LIE Of course he said he wouldn't take a look at the car unless I pay for the oil change This is one of the reason of my complaint If they would of inspected the rear end, we wouldn't be here typing, "he said, she said" I am not a hard person to please I took my car there so they can just fix the howling I made several attempts for them to fix the howling noise and everytime they would brush me off Jaws wrote: To this day, I still believe it is gear noiseIf the noise is getting worse it could be improper break inThese are merely guesses at this point as the customer has chosen not to allow us to do the inspection multiple times. Response: *** is stating "improper break in" How is that when I contacting *** the first miles of driving it and letting him know how loud the howling noise is I did exactly what the break in procedure is all the way up to miles If you check my statement, I called them several times letting them know what is going on with the rear end and letting them know that the howling was still there He also said," not allowing us to do the inspection multiple time is a LIE as well Like I said before, if he would of inspected my rear end without "NO CHARGE" as he stated, I wouldnt be here filing a complaint

It is a fact that the customer was asked if the pinion was to be
centered(F & G measurement)We don't have the offsets of every
single vehicle ever made which is the reason we ask if the pinion is
centered or offset, and this question was asked prior to the order being
placedThe comment about the fact I am not there to build the project
is being played on and is way out of contextThe customer stated after
he identified he gave wrong information when ordering, that I should
know all the specs about his car and the modifications he made to his
carIt is not my responsibility to measure and figure out what he is
doing with his projectIt is my job to ask the appropriate questions
and document specifically what the customer asks for, which I didAs
far as the chargeback, I have seen nothing specifying the chargeback has
been droppedI know there was $taken from our account and I am
out the funds for something the customer specified the details on
On
top of this info, the customer has failed to mention that *** has
already sent a call tag for the housing to verify the pinion angle, sent
a replacement set of perches loose for the customer to weld on himself
and shipped back to the customer at no chargeI find this information
interesting being the customer has never mentioned this in phone, email,
chargeback or Revdex.com complaintMight I also note that the customer never
mentioned to *** at that time that the centered pinion was an issue
*** is sending an email specifically outlining the details directly
with the customer for our records
At this time if the customer
chooses to send the housing back and purchase a replacement housing, we
would offer a 50% credit of $on the housing only(NOT shipping)
towards a new housing but customer will be responsible for all
measurements written down and faxed to us using the form attached
previously for custom axles and housingsCustomer must ship housing
back to Jaw's Gear & Axle at *** *** *** ** *** **
***, with prepaid return shipping charges and will be responsible for
shipping cost of replacement housing as wellThe request must be made
via email and emailed to me directly at ***This is
our one and only offerThis offer expires as of Friday night 5pm PST on
October 24th, which gives the customer a week and a half to decide
***

I, *** ***, as the owner of Jaw's Gear & Axle have not discussed this issue with the customer since he dropped the rear-end off to our shop on May 23rdThe customer has been speaking with ***(Service Manager), of whom I discussed the complaint with todayI have attached both invoices of
work that was performed for review along with warranty information located on the back of the invoicesThe first time the customer brought in the 3rd member out of his car to have us do an install of a new ring and pinionWe performed this task with no issueThe customer had someone else(I believe his brother) install the 3rd member in his carApproximately a month later the customer brought the vehicle by our shop indicating that he had a noiseWe test drove the vehicle at which time we identified there was indeed some noisePlease note, gear noise is not guaranteed on aftermarket gears as his invoice is stamped, but we told him we would take a look at it anyways.We scheduled an appointment where the customer then brought us his vehicle, not the 3rd member as we had worked on priorWe accepted the vehicle and performed an inspectionUpon inspection we documented that the ring and pinion had gotten hot from overheatingThe customer had a disc brake conversion on the car and one of the calipers was installed improperly and dragging the rotor, which in return can load the gearing on the differential and create excessive heat and loadWe informed *** of this situation prior to doing any repairs and he said his brother installed the differential and the brakes and made that mistakeEven though this was not our mistake we offered to help the customer out and discounted the job as noted on the invoice due to the fact as discussed, we are not about trying to make money on his hardship and would do what we could to save him money at the timeCustomer was appreciative and picked up his vehicle.Fast Forward to May 23, Customer dropped of differential stating he had an issue with his differential making noiseUpon inspection we find that the gear set is once again burned up from excessive heat, typically caused by over heating, overloading, abuse and/or improper break in procedureThe customer swears up and down that the gear was broke in properly and the fluids were changed*** told him we can submit the gear to Yukon for Warranty as it has a manufacture warranty of months but we need things from him; 1) Copy of invoice showing the oil was changed after break in of new gear at miles2) A photo of the mileage on the odometer of the car as of todayWe have never heard from the customer again.His differential is still at our shopWe are still willing to send the gear set to *** ***, where they have actual metallurgical testing equipment and can test the metal for imperfectionsIf the gear is indeed a manufacture defect, it would be rebuilt at no charge but that is strictly up to the manufacturerI would also like to note that history and our belief of a bad gear and/or improper installation would not take 6+ months to show upTypically you would have an issue immediately if this was the case.*** ***