Why is my shop so reluctant to do a 10 bolt to 14 bolt swap?

[Boots97]

A guy local to me (Northern Illinois) had this same issue with rusty axle tubes. He found a new rear end and drove to the dealership (they agreed to do it without issue) and on his way there the differential locked up and he had to have it towed. I saw the truck while it was on a lift. 500K miles on a RCLB C1500. 92-93 model year truck. It was tired to say the least.

My dealer wouldn’t blink an eye at this sort of thing. It’s why I go to them for parts and jobs I can’t do.

I'm really sorry to hear about your friend's truck. That must've been so sad. Did he get it fixed? Was it a 10 bolt? A lot of people here have had 10 bolts lock up for no reason and that's why they do a 14 bolt swap. I'm doing this bc I'm fed up with the cheap a** 10 bolt housings that have rotted away on me TWICE within ONE YEAR.

My dealer shop tends to underpromise and overdeliver on service/workmanship. They put all these fears in your head to worry you but always manage to do a great job. Because I've been able to self diagnose my car accurately and have been a very competent customer (i.e. nothing like the "customer states" videos) they're letting me do this via my own parts and the good ol' boy system.

I hope that all goes well and in the end they realize that I was right. I'm praying rn that it all goes well and I'm right on this one.

 

[Boots97]

This is a mistake IMO. Years ago I used to take my trucks to the local GM dealer based on the assumption that the people who made/sold them should know how to work on them. Turns out I was wrong. The dealer will overcharge you at every possible opportunity, and as DEADBEEF mentioned all the techs that knew how to work on these trucks are long retired. The last straw for me was taking my red truck into the dealer service department for a header gasket replacement. They gave me the truck back with the new Gibson exhaust system laying on the frame rattling like hell and told me it was my fault for using aftermarket parts. Funny, everything was fitted up just fine when I dropped the truck off. I paid that oversized bill reluctantly, took my truck to the family friend mechanic the next town over who promptly fixed their mistakes for free, and haven't been back to a dealer since.



^ This, 100%. Make friends with a well reputed mom & pop shop if you can. They'll generally be much more flexible with things like customer supplied parts and swaps.

I'm really sorry to hear about your experience with your dealer shop. Mine is very good when it comes to doing a good job with everything. They do tend to underpromise and overdeliver on service/workmanship.

My dealer shop doesn't overcharge on labor here in my experience. I once needed my exhaust replaced and almost every mom and pop shop declined me bc I already had the part and they wouldn't install customer supplied parts. Almost every mom and pop shop charge around $160/hr labor in my area and I called about 10 shops total (3 were classic car shops) and some of these people are such a**holes too. Some of the shops seemed offended that I already offered the part and one of the classic car shops seemed offended that I even wanted to bring my truck to them. I ended up bringing my exhaust to my dealer shop and they installed it in a day no questions asked. I got to the cashier and told her about my experience talking to other shops and was taken back by how so many refused customer supplied parts. She told me that she'd been working there for 18 years and have never refused a customer over their supplied parts. She also mentioned that they get a lot of business bc of their good customer service and workmanship.

 

[fancyTBI]

I'm really sorry to hear about your friend's truck. That must've been so sad. Did he get it fixed? Was it a 10 bolt?

He wasn’t my friend, just knew the story from the service desk. Yeah he got it fixed and it was a 10 bolt rear.

 

[Boots97]

He wasn’t my friend, just knew the story from the service desk. Yeah he got it fixed and it was a 10 bolt rear.

Whoops my bad. This thread blew up when I came back on the forum. Glad he got it fixed and I figured it was a 10 bolt rear.

 

[GoToGuy]

You have understand how dealer shop service operates. Not all dealerships want to, or have technicians that can do custom work. Some are factory parts, the correct part by GM parts no substitute , no customizing unless GM approved only. Some are willing to accommodate everyone.
You brought the parts, can you warranty they are correct and fit? If something is worn or wrong who eats that time? Most work on flat rate based on factory rules. Time is money for techs'. For the dealership with deep pockets it could be a liability issue.
I'm not saying your wrong or right. It's the difference between a OE Dealership and Independent Garage Service center, whom more often or can accommodate special request work.
When I worked at the Ford Trucks dealership, they assigned me any GM trucks that came in for service. Hmm I did drive a 91 short bed stepside for commuting.
And I do have a 2500 axle to stuff into my 93K1500 Ecab short bed.
Good luck.

 

[pressureangle]

I'm really sorry to hear about your experience with your dealer shop. Mine is very good when it comes to doing a good job with everything. They do tend to underpromise and overdeliver on service/workmanship.

My dealer shop doesn't overcharge on labor here in my experience. I once needed my exhaust replaced and almost every mom and pop shop declined me bc I already had the part and they wouldn't install customer supplied parts. Almost every mom and pop shop charge around $160/hr labor in my area and I called about 10 shops total (3 were classic car shops) and some of these people are such a**holes too. Some of the shops seemed offended that I already offered the part and one of the classic car shops seemed offended that I even wanted to bring my truck to them. I ended up bringing my exhaust to my dealer shop and they installed it in a day no questions asked. I got to the cashier and told her about my experience talking to other shops and was taken back by how so many refused customer supplied parts. She told me that she'd been working there for 18 years and have never refused a customer over their supplied parts. She also mentioned that they get a lot of business bc of their good customer service and workmanship.

I worked for a local mechanic who owned the Texaco (back when gas and service came together) A guy came in for an oil change with his own oil and filter and asked the price; boss told him "$19.95, like on the menu" The guy asks why he has to pay full price if he supplied the oil; boss say, "You don't bring your own eggs to the restaurant and ask them to cook them, do you?" His point was that most of the profit was in the parts, with very little labor. (1980-ish) Things have changed, but the profit aspect has not. Also as above, clock time labor is a loser in a shop with good techs because they can usually beat book time. You're lucky to find anyone with a sign over the door to do this job at all, really. Locally, I'd have to hire the 'mobile mechanic' for this, and my Spanish isn't that good.

 

[Pro439]

Yup any good shop wouldn’t really have the time to something like this and it ain’t that big of a deal in all reality. I put 99-13 rear disc brakes on my 98 drum rear whatta difference in stopping. I don’t know that I’d been able to have someone do that. And 99% of dealer work is warranty as a working man can’t afford dealer prices. I don’t even know that they use a different u joint between the trucks. My 2500 uses the same u joint as both my 1 tons. And for God’s sake you’re only talking about 4 u bolts the driveshaft ebrake cable and brake line and shocks it’s not like rewiring it from a 5.7 to a 7.4 or a diesel. It’s just nuts and bolts

 

[Boots97]

You have understand how dealer shop service operates. Not all dealerships want to, or have technicians that can do custom work. Some are factory parts, the correct part by GM parts no substitute , no customizing unless GM approved only. Some are willing to accommodate everyone.
You brought the parts, can you warranty they are correct and fit? If something is worn or wrong who eats that time? Most work on flat rate based on factory rules. Time is money for techs'. For the dealership with deep pockets it could be a liability issue.
I'm not saying your wrong or right. It's the difference between a OE Dealership and Independent Garage Service center, whom more often or can accommodate special request work.
When I worked at the Ford Trucks dealership, they assigned me any GM trucks that came in for service. Hmm I did drive a 91 short bed stepside for commuting.
And I do have a 2500 axle to stuff into my 93K1500 Ecab short bed.
Good luck.

The way I see it is that this 14 bolt 6 lug axle was an option on 1/2 tons. The donor truck I'm getting this off of is another 1/2 ton 4WD ECSB with the Vortec 5700. I wouldn't be getting any warranty anyways even if I swapped another 10 bolt in bc they installed a used one and there's no warranty on used parts (obviously).

When it comes to an OE dealer or an independent shop, this shop is by far the best in terms of customer service and workmanship. Every mom and pop shop in my area charges about the same as this place in labor and have been less flexible with my own parts. Some seem offended that I would even call them and ask about it too.

My shop I've been to has installed an aftermarket radiator and aftermarket exhaust. As far as I know, GM doesn't make radiators for these trucks anymore and my shop says that a GM branded exhaust is $1200+ and advised me that aftermarket ones work just fine for $300. The transmission tech who installed my transmission and radiator looked at the original one and the aftermarket one and says he couldn't tell a difference between the two (I couldn't either).

I even asked 3 classic car shops to work on my truck. One of them does custom work on exhaust and I called and asked if they'd install a new exhaust on my truck. I didn't even bring up the fact that I bought my own part yet and they seemed offended that I would even offer my truck to their shop. When I hung up, I was thinking (sarcastically) "dude, I'm sorry for offering to pay you money for work that you ADVERTISE to do".

 

[Boots97]

Yup any good shop wouldn’t really have the time to something like this and it ain’t that big of a deal in all reality. I put 99-13 rear disc brakes on my 98 drum rear whatta difference in stopping. I don’t know that I’d been able to have someone do that. And 99% of dealer work is warranty as a working man can’t afford dealer prices. I don’t even know that they use a different u joint between the trucks. My 2500 uses the same u joint as both my 1 tons. And for God’s sake you’re only talking about 4 u bolts the driveshaft ebrake cable and brake line and shocks it’s not like rewiring it from a 5.7 to a 7.4 or a diesel. It’s just nuts and bolts

As I mentioned to others in this thread, most small shops are charging about the same compared to this one in my area and are FAR more rude. One classic car shop seemed offended that I would even bring my truck in for a new exhaust. Never mind the fact that they ADVERTISE doing custom exhausts.

2500 and 3500 parts are more interchangeable than 1500 to 2500/3500 parts. That's the biggest problem here. Luckily, I'm buying every available part size so there shouldn't be an issue.

My shop tends to underpromise and overdeliver. They put a bunch of fears in your head but if you don't let it get to you, they'll pull through. I don't care for that mindset, but it's better to be like that than the other way around.

 

[Hipster]

As I mentioned to others in this thread, most small shops are charging about the same compared to this one in my area and are FAR more rude. One classic car shop seemed offended that I would even bring my truck in for a new exhaust. Never mind the fact that they ADVERTISE doing custom exhausts.

2500 and 3500 parts are more interchangeable than 1500 to 2500/3500 parts. That's the biggest problem here. Luckily, I'm buying every available part size so there shouldn't be an issue.

My shop tends to underpromise and overdeliver. They put a bunch of fears in your head but if you don't let it get to you, they'll pull through. I don't care for that mindset, but it's better to be like that than the other way around.

if you have confidence in them go for it, All I was saying is that "IF" the rear you supply howls like a coyote, you can't expect them to do another one without doubling the costs.