[claytonandson]

has anyone ever had a shop refuse to balance wheels or do a brake job because you had wheel spacer's ?? do you think its a ligitimate gripe??

[IRserge]

I've never used wheel spacers but I'm a technician by trade. The only reason I can think of is if he didn't install the spacers correctly your wheels would fall off while driving. It's just a risk he wasn't willing to be liable for.

[flatlander757]

Eh it's semi reasonable from a liability standpoint... that is the shop's choice.

I wouldn't turn away business though... I would just note on the repair order that the vehicle had wheel spacers and advised the customer that it is not recommended(whether that matters or not... it's a CYOA sort of deal).

My $0.02

Edit: do the brake job yourself(it is NOT hard) and just take the wheels/tires to them off the Jeep to be balanced. Save on cost too since they don't need to uninstall or reinstall the wheels.

[99TJSahara]

Originally Posted by flatlander757

Eh it's semi reasonable from a liability standpoint... that is the shop's choice.

I wouldn't turn away business though... I would just note on the repair order that the vehicle had wheel spacers and advised the customer that it is not recommended(whether that matters or not... it's a CYOA sort of deal).

My $0.02

Edit: do the brake job yourself(it is NOT hard) and just take the wheels/tires to them off the Jeep to be balanced. Save on cost too since they don't need to uninstall or reinstall the wheels.

x2 bring the tires of the jeep, saves you a couple of bucks.
I've never been refused for anything because of wheel spacers.

[Unlimited04]

yup, thats why i sold my wheel spacers and went to wheels with less backspacing. got tired of having to pull my spacers just to get the tires balanced.

[DBLJ]

My local place will do anything as long as its safe. I asked them specifically about this and they said they would.

[tjkj2002]

As a automotive technician that has worked in the field for 13+ years I would never touch a vehicle that has wheel spacers on a job that required the wheels to be removed.It's juts simple liability from the stand point that there is more then a 50/50 chance that those wheel spacers will fail at some point.

[RogueSpear2023]

Originally Posted by tjkj2002

As a automotive technician that has worked in the field for 13+ years I would never touch a vehicle that has wheel spacers on a job that required the wheels to be removed.It's juts simple liability from the stand point that there is more then a 50/50 chance that those wheel spacers will fail at some point.

Whether they will fail or not really depends on the vehicle, the quality of the spacers, and the person installing them, but this goes for just about any part. So for instance I would not put wheel spacers on a heavy duty truck the hauls or pulls heavy loads, but on a jeep you aren't going to be hauling anything heavy or putting 3000lbs in the back seat. And quality really depends on whether you buy quality $125 spacers or el-chepo $50 ones. And the install really depends on the competency of the installer and whether they use or know how to use a torque wrench, that said I didn't cheap out and bought wheels with the proper back spacing.

[mdm]

Originally Posted by tjkj2002

...there is more then a 50/50 chance that those wheel spacers will fail at some point.

BS! What are you basing this on? I've used spacers on a few vehicles and put many miles on them. I've got around 50,000 miles on the set that are on my current rig. When does my 50/50 chance jump in for me? I've had tires shred, wheels bend, wheel bearings fail, brakes fail, distributor drives break, pistons break, oil pumps fail, valves stick, water pumps fail, power steering pumps wear out, power steering pressure lines blow, upholstery wear out, fuel pumps give up,... I've never had a spacer fail. What am I doing wrong?

As others have said, some shops look at it as a liability issue and don't want to touch them. Some tire shops won't install a tire on a vehicle that is not a stock size. I've heard of at least one shop that wouldn't put 31" tires on a TJ even though the Rubicon model came with what is the metric equivalent of a 31" tire.

There’s a 100% chance that I’ll die at some point. I guess I’ll just give it up and do it today – No encouragement please!

[tjkj2002]

Originally Posted by mdm

BS! What are you basing this on? I've used spacers on a few vehicles and put many miles on them. I've got around 50,000 miles on the set that are on my current rig. When does my 50/50 chance jump in for me? I've had tires shred, wheels bend, wheel bearings fail, brakes fail, distributor drives break, pistons break, oil pumps fail, valves stick, water pumps fail, power steering pumps wear out, power steering pressure lines blow, upholstery wear out, fuel pumps give up,... I've never had a spacer fail. What am I doing wrong?

As others have said, some shops look at it as a liability issue and don't want to touch them. Some tire shops won't install a tire on a vehicle that is not a stock size. I've heard of at least one shop that wouldn't put 31" tires on a TJ even though the Rubicon model came with what is the metric equivalent of a 31" tire.

There’s a 100% chance that I’ll die at some point. I guess I’ll just give it up and do it today – No encouragement please!

You may actually have common sense to check the torque on the spacers often while most other will not.I'm also referring to those 3/16"-7/16" spacers that are to thin to have there own studs in them and those are very common with the people running 22"+ wheels on there cars and fail to install longer wheel studs,those types are just plain dangerous.

[IslandTJ]

I needed to take the Jeep in to my tire shop to get the tires rebalanced and rotated. While waiting, the tire manager was making small talk about the Jeep and thought I was running aftermarket wheels. I replied I was running stock wheels and he said it was unlikely, as they installed 33" tires when I first purchased the tires. The manager asked me if I had any rubbing issues and I said I didn't, but it was due to my 1.25" wheel spacers.

Immediately the manager said, “We don't work on vehicles with spacers due to liability issues” and notified me that he was going to stop all work on the Jeep and release the vehicle to me in the same condition it came in. Shortly thereafter, the manager stepped out to the service bay to tell his employees to stop all work.

After a couple of minutes, the manager came back inside to the customer waiting area and told me that there was no problem after all, and they would continue with the balancing and rotation. I asked why the change in position and the manager explained to me that I, in fact had "wheel adapters" on the Jeep and not "spacers". The shop had no problem/issues with “wheel adapters”.

I asked what the difference was and the manager told me that spacers were just like giant washers that fit in between the wheel and mounting point on the axles, the wider the spacer, the less threads used for latching the wheel lugs. As a result, this would place negative stress on the lugs due to the smaller surface area used by the lugs. The manager proceed to inform me that I don't have the lug issue as the "wheel adapter" had studs to properly mount the wheel vs. a spacer without studs.

Semantics...

[KKiowaTJ]

Its mainly pointed to wards the retards who run 24" wheels and have to run spacers. You have to go back and re-torque them, A jeeper would understand that before they enter the shop, The rest of the public are oblivious to that fact and drive off and forget. If you do it for one, You do it for all. Most would rather not mess with it. But like said, Just explain they are adapters and not spacers.

[AdamSeven]

have worked at shops before
taking the tires off and bringing them there will not decrease the price of balancing
that WOULD make since but it doesnt happen in a real shop.
maybe at indie shops but not dealers or a major chain. I have had to sign a paper saying all kinds or stupid **** like they arent responsible if my car starts by its self due to my remote start... or they wouldnt align my truck because i powder coated my rims black and didnt want to scratch them for an alignment... depends on the owner i guess so ask for a waver or however you spell it

as for the brakes
diy. pads and rotors can run you the same as just a pad slap at a shop.