Positive experience

free radical wrote:

CavemanCharlie wrote:

Grit dog wrote:
Besides everyone would rather hear about the diesel in the gas and what the dealer did or did not do and the eventual outcome than the fact that some random dealer had good service.
On the topic of good service though, this was too long ago to count, but Billion Chrysler Jeep in Rapid City? SD had the best service of any place I've taken something.
Late on a Friday afternoon I rolled into town in my brand new pickup hauling a trailer with the second completely roasted rear differential in as many weeks. Dodge dealer in town said f you, see you Monday if we have the time.
Those guys, worked til like 8:00 that night trying to get the truck back on the road for me while another guy scoured the city for a rental with a trailer hitch to rent me. Wasn't happening on the repair or the rental with a hitch. Service MGR actually drove to the rental places and looked for a suv or something with a hitch. First thing Sat morning, they rented me a minivan so I could take as much stuff as I needed or could fit from the trailer and sent me on my way, along with a 100,000mile bumper to bumper ext warranty on the truck for free just for my troubles! Then they called about 4 days later after getting a new rear axle ordered and installed and bought me a 1 way plane ticket back to SD to pick up the truck!
Now THATS service! He!!, I sent them guys a card and cookies for Xmas!

I'm glad you found such good service. I wonder why you had a second axle roast in less then 2 weeks ? I wonder if the place that fixed it the first time screwed up. Or,, ripped you off.

Ive heard exactly the same story somewhere before and what happened is the mechanics "forgot" to fill the axle with oil,,twice!!

Ha, no it was weird. Aside from being first and last brand new vehicle we've had to date, it was a 2001 Ram 1500 off road. Same 9.25 corporate rear end used reliably for 30? Years, but the first year offered with a factory 4.10 gear set in long time.
Week old truck, few hundred miles, hooked my empty 20' cargo trailer, dead of winter. 100 mi later all the idiot lights went off when the axle got hot enough to melt the speed sensor out of the housing. Wife woke me up said she broke the truck, lol!
Roadside assistance wouldn't tow it with the trailer out of the woods of WI. Flogged it to the nearest dealer, got so hot the gear lube was burnt. Stink up the whole dealership when they cracked it open. I actually warned them to open it outside but they pussed out cause it was like -15F, haha.
They rented me a cargo van and kept the truck. Replaced it with a whole new 3rd member. Everything except the brake calipers and wheels.
Week later, same truck, same trailer, not empty, but maybe 5-6klb total, same thing happened about 500 mi since replacement the first time and about 400 mi into the towing trip.
Ring n pinion so bound up it would only do about 55 floored in 2nd gear!
Middle of nowhere, filled it up with hi temp gorilla juice, pounded some rubber plugs into the missing speed sensor and melted oil fill cap hole on the cover. Flogged it again, into rapid city sd where the guys at Billion Chrysler helped me out.
After getting the second rear axle replacement, Hooked the same trailer, drove it another 700 mi to CO and about 130kmi after that without issue! In fact I only used that extended warranty once and it was very minor.
I believe DC at the time had a bad batch of 4.10 gear sets. Was like the ring gear was warped. Wobbled like a bent rim. It would partially loose contact with the pinion about every 120 deg rotation and bind up hard opposite the loose spots every 1/3 rotation.

Weirdest thing I've seen but it was a sweet truck after that.
And for the "don't tow before 500 mi on the gears" crowd, this truck was one of probably 10 new (company) trucks that I've invariably taken possession of 2 days before having to tow something heavy a long distance. Never had a problem with any other truck, or this one once it got some straight teeth!

How's that for a thread Jack?