Review of Comp4x4....

[krustyballer16]

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[13 Legion]

Good job making the best out of this situation. Those welds were marginal and showing porosity. I can't believe they didn't clean that product better before shipping out. If you make a bad pass grind it out and start again. Not sure about that 1 inch weld. Could have been a tack to hold that verticle weld to keep that piece squared up so it didn't pull to one side or another. Still would have ran that weld full if anything just for a good looking visual. Could you post a pic of finished installed product?

[krustyballer16]

Good job making the best out of this situation. Those welds were marginal and showing porosity. I can't believe they didn't clean that product better before shipping out. If you make a bad pass grind it out and start again. Not sure about that 1 inch weld. Could have been a tack to hold that verticle weld to keep that piece squared up so it didn't pull to one side or another. Still would have ran that weld full if anything just for a good looking visual. Could you post a pic of finished installed product?

Thanks. And you can tell the 1" weld is a cover up because that side is a bend, not a seam. So it had to have cracked when they put it in the press to bend it up.

And it's going to be a while on a finished product. I haven't even started on the bumper for John yet. But I can post some mock up pictures later.

 

And if nobody noticed, I flipped the bracket side to side. Originally it mounted on the passenger side. Not its the opposite way so it'll mount on the drivers side.

[MJam86]

I recommend ruff stuff if you are going to start with swing aways and such. They should have just about everything you would ever need anyways. I'm not sure what all came with just the spindle you used, but there's starts at $80. http://www.ruffstuffspecialties.com/catalog/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=STIRES&Store_Code=ruffstuff

 

Thats what i used on mine, they are basically the only company i go to for fab parts.

[krustyballer16]

I'm not sure if you can run/make a double shear bracket to fit on that spindle... That's the only way I'd do a swing away is with a double shear. There's too much weight and stress on it with just the spindle and no other support.

 

But ruff stuff is a good company to deal with I've heard.

[DirtyComanche]

But ruff stuff is a good company to deal with I've heard.

 

They absolutely are.  If you sign up for their newsletter they will give you a discount code on a regular basis.  I've never had any real issues with their products.  I think the worst I can say is they build their diff covers larger than they need to be (for fluid capacity), which doesn't help if you have clearance issues.  I've probably bought $4000 worth of parts off them over the years, so I've handled a lot of their stuff.  Also, they user a laser cutter and a C&C bender with P&O steel, so the surface finishes are always nice, the bends are the correct angle and location, and the holes are to a reasonable tolerance.

[johnj92131]

After doing way too much research/reading, I knew I wanted a double sheer hinge on what ever tire carrier I purchased.  It is simply the cleanest way to support both ends of the hinge/pivot point of the carrier.  Much of what I read was up to 6 years old.  Some of the suggested/preferred suppliers had gone out of business or discontinued the particular parts. Comp 4x4 had been favorably reviewed and was still in business.  So that was a good sign, right?

 

The only time I got a return phone call from Comp 4x4 was before I purchased the hinge.  I left a voice mail message telling them I wanted an 8 inch sleeve for the hinge and did not know how to order it.  Got a return phone call a couple of days later telling me to just make a note of it in the comments section when I placed my order.  So I did this when I placed my order on Feb. 22, Paid via Paypal at the same time.  Comp 4x4 sent the confirmation via Paypal.  I expected shipment to be made in a couple of days.  After a week with out any shipping info, I called back and left another voice mail message.  Never got a response.  Just a Paypal message that the package had shipped on March 5 - 12 days after the order and payment. Brandon received the package a few days later.

 

The pictures Brandon posted speak to the build quality of this bracket.  Who ever did the welding for Comp 4x4 is clearly not a Certified Welder.  I will let it go from there.

 

I wanted the tire carrier on the driver's side of the truck to preserve my view from the rear view mirror,  It also keeps the tire swing arm short for less stress on the hinge bearings and preserves the stock location for the rear license plate.

 

I also wanted a very near stock bumper and Brandon has build exactly that for his truck. 

[DirtyComanche]

IMHO, you do not need a double sheer setup for a tire carrier spindle.  The entire point of a spindle (with tapered roller bearings) is to be able to run with support only on one end.  Look at a front (or rear) spindle off a full floating axle.  There's potentially thousands of pounds of static load on them, and umpteen thousands of pounds of dynamic load on them.  They work fine.

 

I believe a lot of what people ran in the past was poorly designed, poorly machined, used poor quality components, and poorly assembled...  And the results were predictably poor.

 

Now, if you wanted to run the Ruffstuff one with a bracket on it to make it double sheer, it's probably pretty easy to mod it to do so.  They've left a center point in the top end of the spindle from when they turned it on a lathe.  I'd just throw it back in the lathe, then drill the center with a 9/16" bit, and tap it to 5/8NF.  You're a little tight on the tolerances using a 9/16", but most people don't have a 37/64" bit lying around.  Anyways, I'd assume you don't have a lathe, but it would be quite feasible to do this by hand or in a drill press.  You only need to drill it 1" deep as long as you have a bottoming tap (or an old tap to cut the end off).  Then you can just bolt your bracket to the top of it.  Unfortunately that wouldn't be doing much for the included cap seal, but I think one could put a tie rod end boot on it instead, or mod the cap they gave you, with a washer added between the spindle and bracket to allow clearance for the boot or cap; minor creativity required.  Safety the castle nut with a spring clip or screw instead of a cotter pin.  Also, Ruffstuff would probably drill and tap it for you for an additional charge.

 

Of course, me telling you this now doesn't help much.  But for future reference.

[krustyballer16]

^^well with this bumper and set up we both figured a double shear would distribute the weight and stress better through the bumper. And we didn't know, and still don't know, how well this spindle will hold up.

 

And as far as the bracket goes, I have measurements now to make them. Just have to find a double shear ready spindle. Drilling out and tapping and modifying a normal spindle seems like too much work for what it's worth...

 

But definitely wouldn't be messing with Comp4x4's anymore..

[krustyballer16]

A couple weeks ago I randomly remembered about this and I called comp4x4 up...

No answer

Called again later, no answer. So I left a voicemail. No call back yet...

 

Couple days after the calls I sent an email. Haven't gotten one back yet...

 

Very very upsetting and frustrating.

[Eagle]

Are your photos as the parts were received? ALL the photos on their web site show an assembly that's either nicely painted black, or maybe powder coated. If they sent stuff in the white (unfinished), that's false advertising.

[krustyballer16]

Everything you see is how it came...

[Rockfrog]

I've seen single sheer spindles bend in the past, not the spindles, but at the spot the spindle is welded to. Going double shear help distribute the load more. But in my case we went with bronze bushings and a big arse bolt, simple.

 

 

Older picture before I added tube flares.

 

Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk

[krustyballer16]

I've seen single sheer spindles bend in the past, not the spindles, but at the spot the spindle is welded to. Going double shear help distribute the load more. But in my case we went with bronze bushings and a big arse bolt, simple.

 

Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk

That's how I think I'm going to do the next swing carrier I make for Bo. A bolt thru a hole.