The suspension saga continues with bars, bushings, etc...
05-26-09, 07:21 AM
#1
The suspension saga continues with bars, bushings, etc...
I posted in the Daizen steering rack bushing thread (sticky) that Sewell informed me that they no longer carry the steering rack bushing kit, meanwhile, I had previously ordered the Daizen sways from them and was waiting for all of my "goodies" to get here.
Well this morning I checked my credit card and noticed that they had not refunded the money for the bushings, but did refund the money for the bars. So at this point I'm thinking...
So I called Sewell to get the story straight on why the bars were refunded but not the bushings, and here is the deal:
Sewell still carries the Daizen Steering Rack Bushing Kit but NO LONGER CARRIES THE DAIZEN SWAY BARS.
Anyone who has been following my posts here over the last few months knows that I have been going back and forth between the Daizen bars and the TRD bars. Both seem to have their strong and low points but I thought I was getting the Daizens because of ride quality.
As it happens now, I have reordered the TRD Blue Sway Bars from Sewell and they should arrive this week. I could have tried to order the Daizen bars from somewhere else but I figured TM would probably charge me as much as the bars themselves to ship them, and I have always had such great customer service from Sewell that I wanted to stick with them. I guess I ended up with the TRD bars after all...so we can see how this goes. Och and I can swap stories on Daizen vs. TRD
Perhaps the worst part of this is that I paid TM $50 dollars for my bushings when I would have much rather paid Sewell $40 for them, had them by now, and could have installed them this weekend
Well this morning I checked my credit card and noticed that they had not refunded the money for the bushings, but did refund the money for the bars. So at this point I'm thinking...
So I called Sewell to get the story straight on why the bars were refunded but not the bushings, and here is the deal:
Sewell still carries the Daizen Steering Rack Bushing Kit but NO LONGER CARRIES THE DAIZEN SWAY BARS.
Anyone who has been following my posts here over the last few months knows that I have been going back and forth between the Daizen bars and the TRD bars. Both seem to have their strong and low points but I thought I was getting the Daizens because of ride quality.
As it happens now, I have reordered the TRD Blue Sway Bars from Sewell and they should arrive this week. I could have tried to order the Daizen bars from somewhere else but I figured TM would probably charge me as much as the bars themselves to ship them, and I have always had such great customer service from Sewell that I wanted to stick with them. I guess I ended up with the TRD bars after all...so we can see how this goes. Och and I can swap stories on Daizen vs. TRD
Perhaps the worst part of this is that I paid TM $50 dollars for my bushings when I would have much rather paid Sewell $40 for them, had them by now, and could have installed them this weekend
05-27-09, 06:01 AM
#4
[Rant]
I received my bushings this morning in a USPS envelope- the thin, cardboard kind for letters. I really hate to sound cheap but I don't want to spend money on senseless or useless things, and I fail to see how shipping that took a week in a $0.25 envelope cost me $11. I am tempted to call TM and seek an answer for this. My company uses the same type of envelopes and can ship things NEXT DAY for $13.
Yesterday I ordered my sways from Sewell and shipping for them was $12.20 and they will arrive on Friday. FOR TWO SWAY BARS!
Did I miss something?
[/RANT]
I received my bushings this morning in a USPS envelope- the thin, cardboard kind for letters. I really hate to sound cheap but I don't want to spend money on senseless or useless things, and I fail to see how shipping that took a week in a $0.25 envelope cost me $11. I am tempted to call TM and seek an answer for this. My company uses the same type of envelopes and can ship things NEXT DAY for $13.
Yesterday I ordered my sways from Sewell and shipping for them was $12.20 and they will arrive on Friday. FOR TWO SWAY BARS!
Did I miss something?[/RANT]
05-27-09, 07:18 AM
#6
but yeah let us kno how that goes
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05-28-09, 11:55 AM
#9
UPDATE:
I called the mechanic that I typically use for all of my aftermarket installations to get a quote on the sway bars and Daizen bushings. He came up with $450 to install both, and that includes a "10% referral discount".
Does this sound a bit too expensive to anyone else? If the bushings take 45 mins - 1hr and the bars take 2 or 2.5 hours, that should be a total of 3.5 hours of work at most. My local Lexus dealer charges $110 an hour labor rate and I get a discount off that because I am a former employee. I know that labor hours are billed differently, but does $450 from an independent mechanic seem like the stiff to install bars and bushings?
Thanks
I called the mechanic that I typically use for all of my aftermarket installations to get a quote on the sway bars and Daizen bushings. He came up with $450 to install both, and that includes a "10% referral discount".
Does this sound a bit too expensive to anyone else? If the bushings take 45 mins - 1hr and the bars take 2 or 2.5 hours, that should be a total of 3.5 hours of work at most. My local Lexus dealer charges $110 an hour labor rate and I get a discount off that because I am a former employee. I know that labor hours are billed differently, but does $450 from an independent mechanic seem like the stiff to install bars and bushings?
Thanks
05-28-09, 12:31 PM
#10
UPDATE:
I called the mechanic that I typically use for all of my aftermarket installations to get a quote on the sway bars and Daizen bushings. He came up with $450 to install both, and that includes a "10% referral discount".
Does this sound a bit too expensive to anyone else? If the bushings take 45 mins - 1hr and the bars take 2 or 2.5 hours, that should be a total of 3.5 hours of work at most. My local Lexus dealer charges $110 an hour labor rate and I get a discount off that because I am a former employee. I know that labor hours are billed differently, but does $450 from an independent mechanic seem like the stiff to install bars and bushings?
Thanks
I called the mechanic that I typically use for all of my aftermarket installations to get a quote on the sway bars and Daizen bushings. He came up with $450 to install both, and that includes a "10% referral discount".
Does this sound a bit too expensive to anyone else? If the bushings take 45 mins - 1hr and the bars take 2 or 2.5 hours, that should be a total of 3.5 hours of work at most. My local Lexus dealer charges $110 an hour labor rate and I get a discount off that because I am a former employee. I know that labor hours are billed differently, but does $450 from an independent mechanic seem like the stiff to install bars and bushings?
Thanks
05-28-09, 01:40 PM
#12
Thanks for the replies, gentlemen.
When he gave me that number for the install, I figured something was really, really wrong. I appreciate both of your input.
I think I am going to try to get my brother to help me do the bushings myself this weekend. He has a lot of the necessary tools and GFerg, your writeup is very thorough and concise.
I appreciate the help!
When he gave me that number for the install, I figured something was really, really wrong. I appreciate both of your input.
I think I am going to try to get my brother to help me do the bushings myself this weekend. He has a lot of the necessary tools and GFerg, your writeup is very thorough and concise.
I appreciate the help!
05-28-09, 02:21 PM
#13
LOL, you don't need elaborate instruction on the sway bar.
Take off bottom cover (unscrew)
Take off side cover (two screws per side)
unbolt and note how the bushing is housed compare to new one.
install in reverse order (take note that that bar is not reversed; compare it to you daizen or trd).
might need a little help holding the sway bar.
Take off bottom cover (unscrew)
Take off side cover (two screws per side)
unbolt and note how the bushing is housed compare to new one.
install in reverse order (take note that that bar is not reversed; compare it to you daizen or trd).
might need a little help holding the sway bar.