If you would be so kind as to remind Daryl to bring the laptop in, I'd appreciate seeing the numbers on the suspension.
I'm not going to get into a pissing match with you over credentials (or at all), but I've been around welding and fabrication long enough that I know when there is cause for concern. There is a reason why I brought this in to a shop to do the work vs doing it myself but that does not mean that I can't tell the difference between work that is well done and that which could have been done better.
As far as the alignment goes, one look at the front end is all that anyone needed to know there was a problem with the camber. You and I both know perfectly well that accurate results can be acheived with a DIY alignment so there was no need to take it to a shop for a fancy printout of exactly what you'd measure at home. There was no need to waste money to prove an obvious problem. While the plastic bushing was damaged and needed to be replaced / upgraded when you got it, it was not the root cause of the camber problems that still existed when I picked it up.
It was plain and easy to see that the DS wheel was leaned in hard at the top which also caused the passenger side wheel to lean in some as well. When we cut the truss this weekend, the cut immediately split wider and when we measured to figure out how much we had to bend the diff to straighten it out we found it was close enough that the rest of the camber issues can be solved with shims vs bending the diff. Like you said, I never had any complaints with the short side tube when the truck was dropped off, so that was something that happened afterwards.
Yes, the truck was undriveable when I was dropped off but that was the very reason why I brought it to you guys. To fix it! I requested that the diff be repaired and it should have been obvious that something was still wrong and that it needed additional work when a test drive was attempted and it could not be held in a straight line faster than 40 or 50 km/h.
Yes, the steering ratios are not ideal but given that you are a race car driver I would have assumed you would know how to handle a quick ratio steering system and understand that it does not affect steering stability while driving in a straight line or cause the truck to steer itself. I understand and agree that the drag link positioning is not ideal, but the roll steer is not being caused by the steering ratios. Yes, the toe wasn't set right, but that would have taken you 15 minutes with a couple straight edges to set. There is simply no excuse for why my truck was called done when it clearly had some serious problems still.
Of course there is going to be tuning to do to make a suspension perform to it's full potential, but no amount of tuning will fix roll steer problems or keep a shock tower from ripping off the frame, or keep a poorly supported frame side link mount from folding over when side loaded on a rock etc.
I understood that I would likely be installing a cross bar between the shock hoops on my own dime once I ran the intercooler piping. But I would never have thought that the hoops would have simply been welded to just the very top of the frame. I am no stuctural engineer but even I know that it would have been far stronger to have installed the hoop on the side of the frame then tied it back to the top of the frame. There is way less surface area for the hoops to hold onto installed the way they are and they will rip out sooner than later. The frame has very little cross bracing in the center there (no engine crossmember & the engine does not count) and the frame is welded together along the top, not even a solid box. Hardly a structure that should have be depended on to handle the entire force of the heavy diesel engine coming down on the front suspension offroad at speed. If it needed a full engine cage built to do it right, all you had to do was tell me that. I never once complained about the cost of doing the work, I just wanted it done right.
I understand your inclination to be defensive, but take yourself and stand in my shoes for a minute. I just spent over $13 000 and got my truck back in an undriveable condition, which is exactly the reason why I took it in to a shop to have it repaired in the first place. My truck went in, got a bunch of shiny new parts bolted to it and came back out driving worse than it went in. How would you feel if you were me? I am certain you'd be totally pissed off too.
The problems can be corrected, but there is no way I am hauling my truck another 3000km to get it done. The only option for me is to get it done locally. If you want me to issue you receipts for the work done here to repair it and get it to roadworthy status to refund me, I'll do so.
