Extreme duty 3.90 rear from West Coast

[dtwalkerfl]

I replaced my 3.42 rear with a extreme duty 3.90 rear from West Coast Corvettes and it reeaally pulls hard but after one hard accel through 3 gears and now rear howls bad!!!

They say they are having problems with their supplier and will get back to me about what to do. It has been almost a month now and still no answer after numerous calls.

Anybody else have this problem with them????

 

[Ken]

You know, the first thing their going to ask is how it was broken in: how many miles before you started hammering it, how you drove it the rest of the time, what lube was used, etc.. Be prepared.

I had gears installed, by a very reputable shop too, and had no problems at all, no noises, no leaks, nothing, for over 8000 miles or more. Then, when I built my new engine I destroyed it after only less than 1000 miles or so. It turns out that when I had the gears installed, that just what they did - install a ring and pinion set, without replacing the clutches, bearings, etc.. Just goes to show you that even in the best of shops things still get screwed up.

 

[dtwalkerfl]

They sent the lube with the rear and drove it easy for at least 500 miles.

 

[Ol Blue]

After putting 4:10 gears in my son's ZR1, he followed Randy's Ring & Pinion advice to the extreme on gear break-in . He did several cycles of driving and letting it cool before putting it on the road for a longer time frame. After many many dragstrip runs the gears are still quiet.

For more info see:

http://www.ringpinion.com/tech/techind.html
Ol Blue

 

[vet346]

WCC 3.90's

I didn't have the 3.90's but they did 4.10's about 2 1/2 years ago.. never had a problem. The only problem I had was the dealer replaced the posi unit and it blew up.. Now the rear makes noise...

As far as WCC, i never had a problem with them.. I do know that a lot of gears are having noise problems.. I don't know who you have been talking to , but you might want to call and talk to Craig..

Ernie
2000 FRC
Nassau Blue

 

[gsmi837]

Hell yes West Coast sold me 373's that lasted 4 hole days I'm suing

 

[dtwalkerfl]

I reversed the charge on my credit card after Craig told me they know their supplier is delivering bad parts and they will not warranty it.

Now lets see them contact me!!

 

[gsmi837]

I replaced my 3.42 rear with a extreme duty 3.90 rear from West Coast Corvettes and it reeaally pulls hard but after one hard accel through 3 gears and now rear howls bad!!!

They say they are having problems with their supplier and will get back to me about what to do. It has been almost a month now and still no answer after numerous calls.

Anybody else have this problem with them????

i also bought a set of gears from West Coast! A set of 3:73's they lasted one week and the housing fell apart! When I tried to get them to stand behind their product they said I must have been abusing the car! A 6 month old 2004 Z-06, West Coast is a bunch of fu--- theives and crooks! Spread the word, I'm in the process of suing them as we corespond, please feel free to contact me any time. G Smith gsmi837@msn.com

 

[Hib Halverson]

First of all, it's my opinion that, if after the manufacturer's recommended break-in, you get on it once, running hard through three gears, and now the axle howls, there is a serious freakin' problem with West Coast Corvettes' supplier of rear axle assemblies.

*If* you've been in touch with West Coast Corvettes, they admitted there's a problem but they haven't been back in contact for over a month, in my opinion, it's time to be more proactive.

First thing to do is to write West Corvettes a letter briefly explaining the problem and "demanding" (politely, in the legal sense, not, angrily, in the literal sense) they either refund your money or repair the rear end to your satisfaction. End the letter by giving them a firm deadline and stating that if they don't respond by that date, you'll take legal action to recover your loss.

Send that letter by certified mail with return receipt requested. If they don't respond by your deadline. Go down to the Superior Court nearest to West Coast Corvettes' location, file a small claims case and have the OCSO serve West Coast Corvettes with the papers.

In reading this tread, in my opinion, there might be an inordinate amount of problematic rear axles coming out of West Coast Corvettes. It's certainly possible they have a "supplier problem" and are working to fix it (and I hope that's the case) but the fact that a customer has made them aware of the issue and has not had contact in a month and another is already going to sue is not a good sign.

Buyer beware, people!!

Don't make price *the* prime factor in a purchase of a rear axle assembly.

 

[Norman Clemmer]

I had 390's installed in my Vette about 16 months ago. They started to whine very loudly shorly after I went with 345x19 rear tires. I replaced the 390's with 373's. I have heard that there had been a whole bunch of 390's sold that had not been properly hardened which were prone to failures. I know several shops that stopped selling them last year because of this issue.

I am much happier with the 373's...I had too many traction issues with the 390's

 

[Mr. Lucky]

West Coast is a bunch of fu--- theives and crooks!

AMEN! I live 20 minutes away, and wouldn't go back there (or buy from them) if they were the only Corvette shop on the planet.

 

[dtwalkerfl]

I just got a new 3.90 extreme duty rear from West Coast today. UPS dropped it in my driveway 1 hour ago.

All the stories I get are the fault of the supplier. Paul at West Coast told me that they sent all the new gears out and had them all heat treated. They 2nd day aired my a new rear after I reversed the charge on my card.

I will let you know what the rear is like after the break in period.

I have to say that Paul stood up to the plate and came through. From the conversations with Paul (sales manager) I can only conclude that my original salesperson (Niel) dropped the ball and never went up the ladder with all my complaints. The other people at West Coast seem to have only heard of my problem because of the forum posts.

I have to reiterate:
I received a new replacement 3.90 Extreme Duty rear from West Coast today to replace the defective one. I might add: no core charge either, just a call tag for UPS to pick up mine.

Paul at West Coast handled my complaints very professionally. I have to hand it to him for that.
Now lets see how well their supplier did this time!!!!

 

[Robert YellowVette]

AMEN! I live 20 minutes away, and wouldn't go back there (or buy from them) if they were the only Corvette shop on the planet.

Funny you should say that, when I got my Z06 in January 2003 one new car dealer and 2 respectable speed shops warned me away from them based on their terrible reputation in the Corvette world... =;-]

Now that was then and this is now, maybe things have gotten better... ?

 

[gsmi837]

Dude, they sold me a set of 3:73's that fell apart in 5 countem 5 days! That's the biggest piece of sh-- co I've ever dealt witth! And I'v dealt with some bad ones. The owner Craig is a complete---Got to be careful, I'm having a suit prepared. WCC buyer beware!!

 

[Patrick]

GSMI,
You do realize you're responding a thread that's been inactive for almost nine months?

But it's good to know you had experiences that should make the rest of us wary of this company, too.

-Patrick