South Bay Truck & 4 Wheel Drive

HORRIBLE HORRIBLE HORRIBLE experience! I would give zero stars if I could.
I first spoke w Frank back in June. I was leaving town for 3 weeks and asked if I could drop off my Jeep CJ5 so he could work on it. He said he doesn’t have the means to store the truck for that long as he doesn’t have space. So I had my electrical stuff repaired by others and dropped it off at Franks shop (after talking to him) mid July.
I kept calling him every week and all I heard were excuses why he didn’t even start working on it. I sent him a list of repairs I would’ve liked to get taken care of. A few times I called he didn’t even recall who I was. When I asked if he is still fixing cars that were dropped off before mine, he said no. When I asked why was mine put on a «back burner», I got no answer.
THREE MONTHS LATER he told me he moved my Jeep to the next door repair shop for evaluation — WITHOUT MY CONSENT.
He told me to call Bob (next door) to find out what is going on with my Jeep.
All I can say — unbelievable. Here I am over
three months later with no repairs done nor even estimates received from Frank and left with only frustration. Again, horrible experience.

I took my 2001 Dodge Ram here because of all the 5 star Unilocal reviews, and boy am I glad I did! I bought my truck used at auction and the one major problem was that it was lowered and I needed a truck to haul things, pull trailers, and allow me to go off the beaten path when I go back country camping. Frank and his brother were amazing! They pretty much reverse engineered everything back to stock, then added the 6″ lift that I needed. My truck rides, handles, and looks beautiful. I can’t believe it’s the same truck! Best part is it really didn’t cost me much to do it!
I wish they’re were more Mechanics like you in the world– passionate about their work. Making a profit wasn’t on Frank’s radar – he was just genuinely was stoked to «beef-​up» my truck again. Thanks again Frank! I will definitely be back and refer all my truck and off-​road friends to you!

Frank is awesome honest and very knowledgeable. he is all about the product not profit. he comes very highly recommended.

Good honest «wrench»! He took the time to explain what needed attention and inspected/​reviewed what I should keep in mind for future maintenance. After my visit I felt he was going to take care of my truck well and treat me like we were friends for years. For future projects I am confident handing Frank my keys and knowing he will fix the suspension issues right the first time and at a fair price.
I use Unilocal for suggestions but don’t often write reviews. I was happy with the service
and price. I want to recommend Frank to Unilocalers because I count on your reviews to
guide me.

This is the home of a true mechanic! I drive a 2001 Jeep grand cherokee all time 4×4. The front difirential was making a grinding noise. I took it to a few places prior to South Bay Trucks. Every place I took it, they wanted to remove the difirential case, replace it with one from the junk yard, and still charge me over $ 1500. When I spoke with frank, he gave me a brief history lesson on JGC difirential issues, how difirentials are supposed to work and how he will REBUILD my difirential with NEW bearings, seals, and high quality lubricant. Not only did he perform a high quality job on my front but he also serviced my rear difirential for less than $ 1000.
Honest High quality mechanics do exist!!!

I came in hoping all these reviews are all good. NO DOUBT! They are the best in the business. All of these reviews before me are true. Now I have a GO TO place for suspension and drivetrain needs.

Frank is a Bad ASS! He is the most honest mechanic I have ever met, and really has a passion for making things better! He can work within a budget, and makes suggestions that make sense! He is looking to improve your situation, not to sell you a bunch of stuff you do not need. In a world of having to get used to crappy customer service, this place is utterly refreshing as they have OLD SCHOOL VALUES! If you want your rig done right, GO NO FURTHER!!!

To add to my previous review. I just had a ²⁄₄ lowering kit installed on my Dodge Ram by Frank and his guys. Again, South Bay Truck and 4×4 did an excellent job! This wasn’t a basic shocks and springs install either, but one with the adjustable panhard bar, control arms and swaybars.
After they were done installing the lowering kit, I took it for alignment at a shop that does work on custom cars, sports cars, and lifted and lowered vehicles. The alignment guy checked the work that Frank and his guys did, and said it was done perfectly!
One more big THANK YOU from David E in Redondo Beach!

The other night I noticed my Mag-​Hytec Diff cover was leaking, as there was a pool of oil under the car. First thing in the morning I called Frank and said it was Jersey John and he immediately knew who I was. I told him my situation and he asked when I could have the Tahoe over there by, being only 10 minutes away, I told him within the hour. Not only did he let me take his personal truck home but also promised that that the Hoe would be ready by noon, sure enough I got the call from frank telling me to come pick it up.
He took the time to explain how the rear could possibly grenade and made sure he enforced that he wasn’t try to sell me anything, just something to keep an eye on in the future. Customer Service IS NOT DEAD at South Bay Truck & 4×4, Frank & his crew are the nicest guys I’ve meet while being here in SoCal and when finding a good, honest mechanic is hard enough, these guys make it so easy!!!
I’ll be going back to Frank once I get my heavy duty iron Bull Bumpers installed and we’ll discuss whether or not I need to upgrade the gearing.
If Unilocal had 10 Stars South Bay Truck & 4×4 would get them!
Thank you Frank, you have a customer for life!!!

I can’t recommend South Bay Truck & 4×4 any higher. Frank is an honest and talented guy that fixed some fairly significant issues on my truck the same day I brought it in, for a completely reasonable price. He works fast, explains what he is going to do before he does it, gives you options, and ensures that you are happy with the work completed. He even sanded and added fresh paint to the parts he was working on. Damn thing looked like it was brand new. If you need work done on your truck, go to Frank. You won’t be disappointed. These days it really is hard to find someone this skilled and this honest.

went in there with my 2003 chevy avalanche all lifted and rear end shot to crap, in one day i had a complete new rear end with a 456 gear ratio installed for $ 1600, even took a check. frank explained everything thoroughly, how the gears work, why they went bad, etc. felt confident in my decision to not only repair my rear end but upgrade it. good guys, will use them again

I have a 2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee Ltd. and as all Grand Cherokee owners know this vehicle is difficult to, say the least to service due to it’s very unique quirks; but if you are reading this, like me you are not going to get rid of your Jeep. I was recommended this place by the shop I regularly go to (Performance Plus in Torrance) because they specialize in the complete drive train for many trucks and 4×4’s with Jeeps being one of their specialties. I called the shop in advance to find out if they could service my Cherokee and after a minute of speaking with the owner «Frank» I knew this was the place for me. He knew about the quirky problems that I had and was able to explain to me the process to fix them. I setup an appointment to bring my car in on a Monday, he rebuilt both my front and rear differentials, replaced my rear brakes (I was unaware they were almost gone), got an estimate for my broken drivers seat (another Grand Cherokee quirk), quoted me for a lift kit and explained why I did not have to spend the thousands I thought I had to spend, and gave me list of recommendations to resolve my other quirks. My car was ready on Wednesday. Frank is an honest no pressure guy, a mechanic by the name of Ken knew his stuff as well, he happened to be the guy who worked on my Jeep and between the two of them I now know that no one else will ever touch my Drive Train, not even the dealer. I highly recommend these guys, don’t just take my word for it, they happen to be featured in several 4×4 and off-​road magazines; as a matter of fact the day I had to take my car in, the owner of one of the magazines was getting his car worked on.