Topic: Rant - I'm not buyin G2 / Genuine Gear stuff ever again

[sharpxmen]

i'm  setting up my 4.88 gears in my D35 rear. I bought a G2 install kit, supposed to come with carrier shims, ring gear bolts, pinion shims, thread locker, seal, pinion nut, crush sleeve and black rtv

well, the black rtv didn't come with it when i bought it so i called 4wd.com, they gave me a credit for a small tube which i purchased locally.

the ring gear bolts that came with the kit were only 7 of them, you need 8
now, the ring gear bolts weren't torquing more than 75ft.lbs., did a quick comparison and here's what i found:
they were grade 8 (6 lines) and not grade 9 as the stock ones
the head was 9/16 hex instead of 11/16
there were no locking ridges on the backside of the bolt

so i ended up using 4 of the stock ones and 4 of the G2s, stock ones torqued at 90ft.lbs, G2 at 75ft.lbs - i would have used all 8 from my old ring gear but i cut 2 of them to use as studs when dropping in the ring gear onto the diff (i know you're not supposed to reuse them but they are still better than the new crap i got from them)

and the carrier shims are smaller in diameter than what the stock ones are (almost same diameter as the bearing cup), these are probably 1/16 smaller than that - i had ordered a full set of carrier setup shims so that's no big deal now but if i hadn't would have been no fun.

and back in the day I also ordered a set of G2 30 spline cromoly axles, one of them was way out of spec on the splines so i returned them and got a set of Alloy USA - cost me an extra $50 to ship them back.

that's my rant, never will buy G2 or Genuine gear or whatever they call their stuff, pretty lame products - that's my experience with them.

[Jeffy]

That's why I spend the extra money on the name brand stuff.  I've gotten screwed by Trans American Auto Parts a few times in the past.  I hate their tiered pricing so you have to haggle or else get screwed.  Then if you order it through one of their stores and it's not in stock, they will hit you with shipping charges even though it's coming in their regular shipment.  How does that relate to G2?  Trans American Auto Parts owns 4 Wheel Parts Wholesalers, Pro-Comp Explorer, Smittybilt, GoWarn.com, Performance 4 Trucks, 4 Wheel Drive Hardware and G2.  They also owned a company called Steel Horse.

[sharpxmen]

yeah, should have learned my lesson with the axles, but i figured how can you screw up something as simple as a diff install kit, would all be made out of oem parts put together - not really, seems to be a collection of stuff that would somewhat fit but not to oem spec which is really the problem.

[Jeffy]

yeah, should have learned my lesson with the axles, but i figured how can you screw up something as simple as a diff install kit, would all be made out of oem parts put together - not really, seems to be a collection of stuff that would somewhat fit but not to oem spec which is really the problem.

Sounds like they just swept whatever they had in their junk drawer into the box.

[aw12345]

Yukon gears sells some pretty good install kits, that are the most complete of any brand

[SDWE61988]

I thought smittybuilt was owned by Besttop, as their "value line".  So who would be the best choice to use to upgrade axles?

[sharpxmen]

So who would be the best choice to use to upgrade axles?

Best for axles i think Superior but the price is a bit high. In my case I got Alloy USA and they are nice (we'll see how they last, at least dimensions are consistent between left/right shafts and the splines look much better than the G2 ones which seemed to have a lot of burr at the edges), better price and same material (cromoly) with 30 spline instead of 27 (so similar to Superior Super 35 axles). Dunno if Yukon makes axles for D35 (most likely) so that would be another option but i have no direct experience with them.

[TahoeYJ]

Yukon gears sells some pretty good install kits, that are the most complete of any brand

That's what I had for both F&R 

[4BangerTJ]

Trans American also owns Rubicon express now. And I agree g2 products are cheaply made

[subsonic]

Not a huge fan of Transamerican myself.  I hope that they do not run Rubicon express into the ground.

I believe that their G2 line is made up from whatever they can get from the lowest bidder.  That is what I have been told, but I have no proof.  This seems plausible from what I have seen in their products.  Seems to be hit or miss. 

A great gear set for the money is the USA Standard available through RR&P.  Good quality at a great price.  I have used several sets along with the install kits.

[aw12345]

As far as gears go. most all of the brands use gears they buy in India or China. Sales guy from Superior told me and a buddy a while back that their first gears sets for the JK's came out of China. They worked good, but they didn't look very nice. I am sure that they switched manufacturers since or had them improve quality and appearance. Fact remains that most all these gears get re boxed by the company that sells them. I have stood in the Superior warehouse and watched them re box the gears I just bought from them.

[subsonic]

It is true that the majority of gears are made in China. 

I have a client that does a lot of work with manufacturers in China.  They are capable of great quality work, but he gave me a great tip that I have found to be true.  He recommended that you never buy from a company that does not have a Quality Control lab located in the states.  Typically, manufacturers in China will ship great product for the first 6 months or so, then will start slacking off on quality to make a better profit margin.  Companies that have a good QC lab (like RR&P) tend to catch any slips and ensure that they continue to deliver quality product.

[sharpxmen]

I believe that their G2 line is made up from whatever they can get from the lowest bidder.  That is what I have been told, but I have no proof.  This seems plausible from what I have seen in their products.  Seems to be hit or miss. 

that's seems to be the case (rebranded parts).

as far as gears I wouldn't trust the ones made in China or India.

[Jeffy]

It is true that the majority of gears are made in China. 

I have a client that does a lot of work with manufacturers in China.  They are capable of great quality work, but he gave me a great tip that I have found to be true.  He recommended that you never buy from a company that does not have a Quality Control lab located in the states.  Typically, manufacturers in China will ship great product for the first 6 months or so, then will start slacking off on quality to make a better profit margin.  Companies that have a good QC lab (like RR&P) tend to catch any slips and ensure that they continue to deliver quality product.

That's how I see it as well.  QA will usually do random checks as well as batch checks.  Not to mention the occasional factory inspection.  Things from China aren't bad but it's the job of the seller to stay on top of them for QC.