yeah the original quote i had a while back was for $250 for the skyjacker kit and i would do let them do that in a heartbeat, but the place went out of business- guy killed himself or something crazy. but the quotes i got from a few local and not so local places lately have been $400, $600, you know, getting outrageous. i'm going to try to do it at home instead.

 

this was one of the reasons i had thought it was a good idea when i bought the skyjacker kit because it included a 1.5" add a leaf in the rear, which ideally would level the truck after the 3" front lift. the trucks in the pics i saw were pretty level. so maybe you could just find a 1" add a leaf if you wanted some lift in the rear...i wanted some lift in the rear too. but if you add any height in the rear, i'm not sure what the limit is before you have to buy new shocks.

 

we did meeshforty's levelin kit for 100 bucks w/ the alignment
how close are you to memphis/arlington ?

it will cost l more than 100 for your kit but not near 400

our shop rate is 65 an hr and the cheapest around
our techs make 30 a labor hr

 

that's a great deal man! thanks for the info. sux that i am over 6 hrs east of the memphis area. i'm glad to see that there are still some better rates out there. i am guessing here and someone w/ more knowledge can chime in, but doesn't ford charge around $50-60+ labor for anything they do in their garages? that's why i thought it seemed high for all these shops that are asking $400+ for the install of a kit that would take about 4 hrs for someone who is well experienced. i guess it depends on where you live, kinda like gas prices and cost of living are higher in some places than others.

 

It all comes down to each individual shop, and location. The Ford dealer here in Marin (rich area) charges $130-$140 per hour.

The one farther north, where I live (40 miles north) only charges $100 per hour.

I am sure its even cheaper way up north. So, really it all depends.

Also, realize times are tough, things are slow (generally) and I am seeing more and more crooked mech's come out of the woods, over charging everything.

Maybe someone close to you will chime in. I'd do it for a case of beer and some food, but am a little long of a drive.

 

been there and done that many times


fyi: the dealer I bought my truck from was $90/hour...5 miles away the next dealer was over $120/hour...and the Lincoln dealer next door was $100/hour.


it's all about the bottom line the owner wants to profit off of. I had work done at all 3 dealerships, and honestly, the Lincoln dealer was by far the best of them all.

 

[QUOTE=MercedesTech;3410967]Also, realize times are tough, things are slow (generally) and I am seeing more and more crooked mech's come out of the woods, over charging everything.

you got that right, i've had people knocking on my door wanting to repave my driveway recently and cut trees down and any kind of work i guess. it's kinda sad. and like tylus said, dealers are all different, i think i got some work done on mine in recent years and the dealer here charged around $50-60/hr labor. probably gone up a lot now.

 

Wow, no door knockers yet, but I am sitting here with two resume's from today. Mechanics unemployed, looking for work. Definately sad, when you know they are capable, and want to work, ya know ? Tough times.

Shop around, on top of the douche bag shops raising their charge, others are dropping it, taking in any work they can find. I know some local tire spot around here (suspension work) lowered their rates to something like $75. Just heard that today, they are trying to bring more people in.

I am sure you could rent a spring compressor pretty cheap, and do it yourself, if your interested in that at all. Probably would save money in the long run.

 

yeah for me, i am planning to attempt it myself and get whatever tools necessary. i'd like to do it and learn more about that stuff anyway. i never worried about the rear, add a leaf, it sounds pretty simple.

today i am waiting to hear from skyjacker/autoanything.com to see if they are planning to allow a tradeout of my old kit for the newer version w/ just struts and not coilovers. they told me they would, we'll see.

btw, the guy on the phone told me that the kit was 2-3" 'adjustable,' i think based on whether or not you put in a ring they include in the kit w/ the new struts. sounds like the same basis as a spacer setup to me.

 

Thats what i always tell people. When you do something/install something, you can learn a lot about how it works, what it does etc. Helps in the long run. and yes, AAL is cake. Basically goes under the springs you got. There is a little pin (two on ours) that line up so you really can't mess it up.

Hope they work with you on that. They should trade you straight up, but customer service seems to be "going out of style".

Sounds like they offer something like a 1" spacer... interesting. I didn't know that. If ya get the trade, be sure to snap some pics of the parts before hand. Would be interested to see what they offer on this "newer" kit.

 

hope they will so that i won't have to worry much about the components not being right. i'd feel better w/ the new strut and whatever ring they have to go in w/ it. haven't heard anything yet, hopefully soon.

 

still trying to get this tradeout arranged. skyjacker agreed to do it but they want to go through the company i bought it from because skyjacker does not sell to the public-only distributors. hopefully they will get it arranged soon. autoanything.com is really dragging their feet on this.

and the guy said the old style kit w/ coilovers isn't harmful to the truck, but said the new style will be more like a factory comfort ride and said that i'd like it a lot better. i'm sure that any lift will cause at least a small amount of wear and tear on components.

 

alright guys, i'm finally cleared to go ahead and ship back my old coilovers (uninstalled) and trade them for the new struts for the 3" kit. i'll repost in a few weeks once i get the new stuff and install it. i have wheels and tires to be ordered and on the way as early as monday. i'm pretty excited, i'm not too rough on the truck so i'm hoping w/ all the comments about hardcore wear on parts that everything will turn out okay.

 

if your not really off roading, or abusing the truck, I would think it would be fine. Most guys getting a lift, I kinda assume they will off-road some and beat on the truck. (i know, shouldn't assume)

Anyways, glad to hear they are working with you ! Bet your stoked. What wheel/tire combo did you get ordered up ??

 

any updates on this... i've read whole post and now wanna see results lol.... was looking into skyjacker kit as well... wanna try and fit 35's on my truck... already have it leveled