recommendations .. on an online Mopar site that sells OEM Jeep parts, and isn't a (insert not couple nice words here)/ edit: I'm going to admit I might be wrong here and apologize.

[Chico]

I'm having so many issues dealing with people after the pandemic.

I'm not exactly sure what the root of the problem is but, for some reason, I swear, people have become, not the smartest.

All I'm looking for is a place that actually has customer service, not transferred to somewhere in Asia, that can explain a couple brake related questions to me about my JL so, I can order the correct parts, since the two dealers here, are (again, not so nice a couple words..).

Thanks in advance if you can recommend a good, trustworthy, reliable, knowledgeable, REAL site!

WAhoo, hand me back my beer..

 

[Pete M]

I go to forums and facebook groups for questions.  the only place to even hope to get answers anymore is from actual owners.   

[derf]

12 hours ago, Chico said:

I'm having so many issues dealing with people after the pandemic.

I'm not exactly sure what the root of the problem is but, for some reason, I swear, people have become, not the smartest.

All I'm looking for is a place that actually has customer service, not transferred to somewhere in Asia, that can explain a couple brake related questions to me about my JL so, I can order the correct parts, since the two dealers here, are (again, not so nice a couple words..).

Thanks in advance if you can recommend a good, trustworthy, reliable, knowledgeable, REAL site!

WAhoo, hand me back my beer..

 

There are some scewups on jlwrangerforums.com but if you ask a reasonable question over there some people will give you the right answer.

 

I'd suggest leaving off the preamble anout not being able to find useful help.   The goofballs will jump in if you come out swinging like that.

 

Just post up details of your JL (especially the axles under it) and what you're looking for.  State your question clearly and you can get a decent answer most of the time.

 

If you don't know exactly what axles you have, ping me with pictures of the center diff covers and I can help.

 

And as far as factory axles.  You can call them Dana 30, Dana 35, or Dana 44 and people will know what you mean.  The technical names for them are:  M186 (front Dana 30), M200 (rear Dana 35), M210 (front Dana 44), and M220 (rear Dana 44).

[Chico]

Thanks guys, appreciate the help! What I'm actually looking for is a good site to order OEM parts for my JL. I apologize for not explaining myself better last night. There's a slew of options when I searched. Just asking if anyone has a "favorite" over the others.

Ease of use...fair pricing...live customer service... fairly quick shipping. Things like that.

What I meant to say by "useful help" was from the actual online retailers, not fellow Jeepers on other sites.

I'm on a couple sites, here and there. Honestly, the few that I frequent are definitely ok. None quite like this one though. The "goofballs" there are one of the main reasons I hardly ever interact. They are a very small percentage of the groups but, they irk me wildly. It hits a cord with me when some someone new to the brand asks a simple question simply because they're just starting, and then get ridiculed relentlessly, and the moderators don't stop it right away. I understand they can't get to every post fast enough and I just want to "hit back" but, got old and finally learned it's not worth it. Never see that problem here. It's really why I like this site, and put up with Pete's shenanigans. 

[derf]

Unfortunately, there aren't any OEM parts houses with people who can actually help.  If you're lucky enough to actually talk to a human being at one of those stores, youll find they're little more than monkeys who fill in forms on their computer screen and tell you what it says.  Much like the kids behind the counter at the local parts stores these days.

 

Once in a while you find one who can tell the difference between a brake rotor and a carburetor, but they're less and less common.

 

What specifically are you looking for?

[Chico]

Yep, that's what I was trying to say last night derf. My apologies it didn't come out correctly. We already figured it out on this one but it'd be great to actually find a good company to deal with. I like dealing with Quadratech most of the time but, they don't always have every OEM part in stock. 

As an example, in this particular instance, this is what happened.....

(Come sit around the campfire and tell stories with me WAhoo)

 

The short story long,

 

At 107,000 miles my 2019 Sahara's original, from factory, brake pad's still had 7/32's left.

I found that impressive.

A couple miles later,

I started feeling a pull to the left every time I hit the brakes "harder" at highway speeds.

Thought the new tires I had just put on were overinflated.

Sometimes it also felt as if a tire had gone flat because it felt like I was getting pulled to the right when starting at a red light.

I'd pull over , check, and tires would be fine. I'd drive away, no issue.

Sometimes I'd start picking up speed to merge onto the highway and it felt like the turbo just wasn't kicking in.

I attributed that to the fact I've been lazy and still haven't changed the plugs or coils at this mileage.

Shame on me. But it was very random and not often.

Every night when I got home, I'd park it behind my house under my deck.

Go in, eat, walk out, smoke a cigarette and kept smelling this burning plastic smell.

Everyone can figure out where this is going right?

 

Passenger side front caliper was sticking.

The quick Google and AI search, and as stated earlier, question posted on a JL site, came up with the conclusion that either a caliper pin was sticking or the inner wall of one of the brake lines had collapsed.

Problem was that I had only realized this too late and only by chance last Saturday. By the time I did, the pads were wasted on that side, the rotor probably chewed thru and warped, and the caliper rendered useless.

 

Had this been 2008 and my 88 Manche, the situation would have played out something like this.

Hornbrod would have told me to pick up a box of 4" frill toothpicks. Pete would have recommended some off the wall brand of dental floss from Taiwan to wrap around the toothpicks to mimic a caliper pin. Jeff would have told me to light 3000 grit sandpaper on fire, using 87 octane gasoline, to sand down the rotor.  Eagle would have had me put it all back together with "blue" Loctite. And Wahoo would hold my  lite beer.

And then I'd drive off into the sunset,

Until the truck caught on fire again...

 

Maybe not that exact story but it was always something similar.

At least that's how I remember it.

 

WHat i've realized after 7 years with this JL, is that sticking with OEM parts, factory engineered, is best for it.

Lot's of people knock this era of Jeeps for different reasons..

Owned by Fiat....

2.0 Turbo engine not the fabled 4.0....

Electrical gremlins galore...

Poor assembly, engineering, or craftmanship,

and so on.

 

Truth is mine, has been great.

Minimal issues and just basic maintenance was done.

Only now at over 100k miles am I starting to run into actual "problems".

But really, what car doesn't, at this mileage, start to have some kind of issues.

ANd my mine is a work horse.

It hasn't been "babied".

 

So, after that long drawn out story, I decided I wanted to stick with just replacing the whole front end as far as brakes goes with OEM, which led me to this search and query,

However, it has just been one problem after another because of two different, not-so-great dealers, and lack of tech support either by them, or online retailers.

Main problem was my year had some pieces with three different part numbers depending on VIN and model. We couldn't get a good straight answer on which part # to order for separate pieces. That and everything is always "on back order".

We've ended up giving up on Mopar OEM for now and I'm just throwing on Nastra calipers and Gold line pads and rotors. The SS brake lines to cut out the collapsing inner wall problem is still on back order. SMH.

YEs, we could have gone with something like the TeraFlex Big BRake Kit, but $5K plus isn't needed for a stock Sahara on 31.5" tires.

Know what I mean?

 

It just annoys me that I've been out a work vehicle almost a week due to uneducated Dealer, retailer, and sales people.

Hence, the "Looking For an AWesome Retailer".

 

Man, I miss Hornbrod and my 88 Comanche.

Jeep would have gone down Saturday at 3:00 pm, he'd have it back up and running in time for church on Sunday.

Wahoo, crack me another beer please.

 

 

 

 

[Smokeyyank]

I've used a guy named Kolak (handle) real name is Nick) to get parts for my WJ and MJ. He's a vendor on jeepforum. Super knowledgeable with jeeps and gets some great prices. He has access to a ton of vendors.  Maybe reach to him and see. Seems janky but send him a email and he'll reach out. kolak@aol.com 

[Chico]

Thanks!

[Chico]

I'm going to try and not jinx this but,

 

Extreme Terrain

and

Quadratech,

 

might just prove me wrong about everything I wrote earlier.

I'm quite surprised with both, and so far impressed.

I'll let you know how this part of the story plays out later in the week....