I bought my Dana 60 about a year and a half a go during the group purchase. It has has had about 1500 miles put on it between it's 7 failures. it has never been launched on anything more than a 285/18 street tire.

it arrived with out the ABS reluctor ring, Strange said to go a head and install the rearend and they would pay to have a shop install one. This is when the nightmare started.

The shop installed the reluctor ring, with the new carrier and the same gears. Before getting half way home I realized it felt very loose like slack in the drivetrain. I called the shop back and they said to bring it back in (I live 65 miles from the only shop Strange would have work on it)

They said the backspace adjuster bracket came loose and they torqued it down again.. This happened 5 more times. Each time the shop ordered new bearings and adjusters to fix it, and each time it would loosen up before even getting home.

The last time I decided I would try to just live with it, I was very frustrated at this point. On a trip to a nearby town doing about 70 the rearend locked up on me and the car came to a quick stop. I looked under it and saw it was leaking gear oil, so I had it towed back to the shop. They said the bracket loosened up yet again, and ate up the pinion bearing and seal. They said this time they tac welded the adjusters on the bracket to keep them from backing out. This time they made me split the cost in parts of 100 dollars. If it would fix the issue they could had asked for a grand and I would had paid it happily.

30 miles outside of town it did it again. Strange won't touch it 1. because they say the shop has to warranty it now because they worked on it it, and 2. the warranty expired 6 months a go.

I am about to go insane, I have not even been able to go to the strip since I bought this POS. Does anyone have any advice?

 

I sounds like this shop does not have the slightest clue how to properly set up an axle, let alone torque down a bolt!

IMO you should be contacting Strange on this one. The axle may have been "functional" from the get-go, but they never sent you the product you paid for. Then Strange referred you to an incompetent shop. It should not matter if the warranty is up, you never got the right product in the first place.

Also, when Stange says they do not have to warrant a product you paid for that was never correct from the start just because it was worked on at a shop they insisted upon, it is an example of terrible customer service.

I would be on the phone with Strange tomorrow.

 

Strange refuses to take any responsibility, I have spent hours on the phone with them.

 

Get a lawyer. If you kept all of the paper work from Stranges suggested shop then you should be good to go to court. Sue them both. Maybe even a threat to take them to court would get this resolved. There's absolutely no reason why this shouldn't have been fixed right on the very first try.

 

I guess I was more asking for mechanical advice on why the backlash keeps coming loose.

 

Incompetant shop, bottom line. Only reason would be because the pinion nut was coming loose; either because they were using the same one ever and over again; not crushing the sleeve properly; not using locking-compound on the nut; etc.

But the bottom line is the shop doesn't know what they are doing, and between Strange and the shop; you should have a brand-new axle from Strange with NO out of pocket cost.

I'd be on the phone with Strange management today; not just the dimwits that answer the phones, but as high-up management as I'd could go.

 

Got off the phone with a Strange Sales Manager yesterday. He said they have already spent 1400 on it and there is nothing else he could do. After an hour of arguing I got him to send a new backlash adjuster, nuts, bearings, and labor for the shop (yes the same one) to try again. They still refuse to let me take it anywhere else (probably because the shop is actually going to do the labor for free)

The shop is a legendary icon for performance drivetrains in Texas, it's hard to believe they have no idea what they are doing.

 

Strange had no business farming the job out when that kind of money is involved especially considering the rear was not yet installed. They should have sent a second rear end with the reluctor ring installed, if that is indeed what you paid for. By doing this they dissolve all liability and quality control from their product cause now its in the hands of an incompetent third party.

I am sorry to say but I think its going to be an expensive lesson on how not to do it next time. You also need to remember that the internet is your best ally, you can start posting negative threads but you did make the decision to take it to that shop at the request of Strange. Please don't think I am taking the side of Strange. I am not in this case, but you definitely should of said "Hell no".

Maybe someone here on the board in Texas can help you out.

 

Lame. Now you're screwed because of their initial decision.

Did you remind him that it was at STRANGE'S suggestion that you take the car to that shop.

 

I wonder if it will help to make this a "sticky" and call it to Stange's attention? If you think so, I am willing but would need to clear it with "the management" first. Sounds like it was never right in the first place, so the issue of "out of warranty" is bogus. The failure occurred prior to the warranty expiring and it was never fixed.

Rich

 

Many of these corporations are ignorant when they try to jack around customers. They only look at the short term gains of not replacing Grims axle, but fail to see the consequences of poor customer service. They do not realize the news makes its way to forums and they lose more money in the long run than if they had just resolved the issue honestly. I had planned to buy one of their third members for my Ford 9" build this winter, but not any more.

 

Sorry to hear your problems man, But I must thank you for the post because I was going to go with a S60 for my build because strange is local and very popular but now I'll probably go with the new M9. Hope you get everything worked out.

 

This might be a dumb question, but what is an M9 and who sells it? Thanks.

 

That settles it -- when I get mine, I'm getting it from DTS, not Strange.

 

DTS has there problems too. Check into them on ls1tech drivetrain section.