LS-1Z28

iTrader: (6)

*Update*

Well the crossmember is not dimensionally correct and will not line up. I've been in contact with UMI and they aren't going to stand by their product. Sending it all back and taking my business elsewhere.

So I followed the instructions and got the torque arm installed to the relocation crossmember but I can't get the crossmember to line up to the frame... I am able to get at most 3 of the 4 bolts to line up (See Below). Shouldn't the other slot line right up if I can get the hole on the driver's side and the passenger side slots bolted in???



And if I line up the slot on the driver's side both passenger side slots begin to wink badly.



I've tried adjusting the height of the rear and the transmission with a jack. Neither have helped line up the crossmember to the frame. Not sure what to do at this point. Please help!

99SSJarhead

iTrader: (2)

Have you tried test fitting without the torque arm?

How is the car being supported? Could you be flexing the chasis enough to throw off the bolt holes?

Pictures worth a thousand words as they say and helps a lot in diagnosing a problem.

Element

iTrader: (5)

What I had to do with mine was install it with the torque arm not attached to the crossmember, fight to get it to bolt up (even then, the trans mount stud was all the way to the front of the slot), then then fight some more to get those little cap bolts into the torque arm bracket. That damned little plate got liberally slathered with that sticky **** (I still refuse to call something that nasty "lube") to hold it in place.

Much loud yelling and thrown tools were witnessed that day, but after I finally got everything on, it made a nice difference - the transmission actually stays still now.

The biggest flaw (and there might be a reason for it) is having that one pinned/non-slotted hole, which locks in everything else, even though the other three holes are slotted.

LS-1Z28

iTrader: (6)

LS-1Z28

iTrader: (6)

How did you even get to those with it mounted to the frame already?!?

I actually tried to install the bushing to the crossmember with only the transmission mount attached and I could not find a way. Removing the crossmember and shifting it to the passenger side gave me enough room.

Element

iTrader: (5)

Let the torque arm go up and hit the body of the car, then put the crossmember on. Had to use an allen wrench that fit the cap-head bolts in order to tighten them down.

I slid the bushing onto the torque arm first, let the torque arm go up and rest against the body, put the crossmember on and bolted it down, then pulled the torque arm down, put the bushing bracket over it, and then bolted it to the crossmember plate.

LS-1Z28

iTrader: (6)

Damn... the clearance for the two top cap bolts looked impossible. Not much room between the cap bolts and the tunnel.

*EDIT* I think I'm going to pick up some hex bolts instead of using the supplied cap bolts.

afterburner82

iTrader: (2)

I had the exact same problem you did. Basically, what I did was attach the torque arm to the rear end, then it and the clamshell to the crossmember. Then, with a friend, torqued all of that into place. It is a 2 man job, but it worked like a champ with a 2nd set of arms positioning it. Like you, when I tried to do it myself alone, there was a lot of cussing tool tossing, etc. My wife was speechless after one of my rants and she never shuts up... Had a buddy come over and had all 4 bolts in place and snugged in 5 minutes. That ticked me off even more.

LS-1Z28

iTrader: (6)

Hmm I wonder why everyone seems to see this... Tighter tolerances than the stock crossmember?? They must throw this thing on a gage or something before they ship...

*UPDATE*

Anyways, I have a bit of an update. I detached the torque arm from the relocation crossmember and I saw the same condition as before so the torque arm was not causing the misalignment. Basically the relocation crossmember does not fit. So right now I'm using the stock one until I can get this one replaced or whatever.

Also, I noticed that the stock crossmember has the driver side 4-way hole in the back and the 2-way slot to the front. The UMI Relocation crossmember has it the other way around.... Not sure if this is causing the misalignment but it seems strange it wouldn't use the stock hole pattern.

LS-1Z28

iTrader: (6)

One more thing, I've heard of the tailshaft breaking with an aftermarket torque arm and after seeing what I did to my stock torque arm I figured I should play it safe. I'm putting about 400hp to the wheels but I haven't taken it to the track and don't plan on it for quite some time. Should I be worried about using the UMI torque arm in the stock position??

LS-1Z28

iTrader: (6)

Update up top

UMI Performance

iTrader: (77)

Zach,

Let us know what you would like us do. Jerry offered a few things such as exchanging the item for another one or you mentioned dremeling the hole slightly. We checked the dimensions you gave us and they looked fine but we will gladly exchange it for another one to try, we can fabricate one, test fit it on our car before we send another out if you would like.

E-mail me with what you want to do- ryan@umiperformance.com

Thanks,
Ryan

Giggity

When you say "they aren't going to stand by their product", what do you mean exactly? Did you tell them it didn't fit and they told you to pound sand?

UMI Performance

iTrader: (77)

Zach,

I just read this and I feel there is a little more to this then you mentioned.

First off, we will gladly take care of the issue for you. Jerry offered to send you a replacement, you asked if dremeling the hole a little would hurt the structure of the product and he said not all. You said okay, you may do that. The next morning we received an e-mail with dimensions, we checked the dimensions and they are with in spec however we will still exchange it and get you a correct one. He let it up to you.

Yesterday you called and mentioned you saw our 10% off Labor Day sale and wanted to know if you could receive 10% off your total order for the item not lining up which would be $56.00, order total as $560.00. Jerry checked and called you back and said he could not offer 10% off the entire order (Which included other items) but if you wanted to keeo the relocation crossmember he could refund you 10% off that cost which would be $24.00.

We tried to offer an exchange and even other options, We are still happy to do either for you. I feel we tried to help, you don't feel that I do apologize. You may contact me and I am glad to help.

Thanks,
Ryan

LS-1Z28

iTrader: (6)

I'm on my phone right now but I will reply back when I get home.

PERFECT Z28

iTrader: (7)

Looks like they're trying to resolve this sticky situation, awesome.

LS-1Z28

iTrader: (6)

Ryan,

Thank you for the response. I would like to respond respectfully to your post...

"Jerry offered to send you a replacement"
Yes. Jerry did mention that this crossmember could be replaced with another one but he could not assure that it would line up any better than the one I received. I asked if a gage was used and he confirmed that a fixture is used to validate its dimensional integrity before shipping. My thought process is that if the crossmember I received passed the checking fixture then how will the replacement be any different??? I do not see this as addressing the issue.

"you asked if dremeling the hole a little would hurt the structure of the product and he said not all. You said okay, you may do that."Well, Jerry suggested to open the driver side slot that was causing the misalignment. I did express concern for the integrity of doing this because it would change the locating strategy used in GM's stock crossmember. Jerry assured that this would not affect it's integrity or performance. So I thought this would be a better route since I wouldn't have to pay to ship anything and I could assure its alignment...

"The next morning we received an e-mail with dimensions"This email with the measurements and also my cell-phone contact information was a request from Jerry. I was unsure why these measurements were necessary since my issue was not the distance between the holes but rather the driver side slot was a couple mm outboard. Anyway, he assured that he would give me a call later that evening but I did not receive a call. In fact, the only attempt of making contact with me was in the e-mail that mentioned the discount. I've sent a total of 3 emails and have made 3 phone calls since I ran into this problem...

"We checked the dimensions and they are with in spec however we will still exchange it and get you a correct one. He let it up to you."As mentioned above, I'm unsure what these measurements would provide in root causing the misalignment. Also, if they were in spec how would replacing the crossmember with another one line up any better? Again, the issue isn't being addressed. I even offered Jerry to send in my stock crossmember once I dremel out and install the UMI crossmember. He was not interested and confirmed that he had a couple already. With the number of people that have had the same issue that I am having I would think this would be a top issue for UMI. That my stock crossmember would provide critical data to correct the crossmember.

"Yesterday you called and mentioned you saw our 10% off Labor Day sale and wanted to know if you could receive 10% off your total order for the item not lining up which would be $56.00, order total as $560.00."Well, I did ask about receiving 10% off my order and I thought this was the least UMI could do since this was the labor day special... In fact, at this point Jerry never mentioned any type of reimbursement for my time and inconvenience to correct the crossmember. Here's a quote from the relocation crossmember's webpage, "This kit is 100% bolt in and requires no drilling, no cutting and no welding. It bolts in place of the stock cross member using the existing holes." This crossmember DOES NOT bolt into the existing holes (at least not in my camaro) and it DOES require rework. I didn't necessarily get what I paid for.

Jerry checked and called you back and said he could not offer 10% off the entire order (Which included other items) but if you wanted to keeo the relocation crossmember he could refund you 10% off that cost which would be $24.00. Well, I did not receive a call but I did receive an email. Yes, it did indicate a 10% discount on only my relocation crossmember and it would not be applied to the full order. At this point I was disappointed that UMI would negotiate this when this was, again, the least UMI could do. This on top of not addressing my crossmember's misalignment issue (as well as for future orders) DID NOT show UMI standing behind a quality product.

"We tried to offer an exchange and even other options, We are still happy to do either for you. I feel we tried to help, you don't feel that I do apologize. You may contact me and I am glad to help."Bottom line: I am out the better part of my labor day weekend and I didn't get what I paid for.

LS-1Z28

iTrader: (6)

No they didn't tell me to pound sand

details are in my post.

Element

iTrader: (5)

Sorry, I just don't see this as UMI's fault (nor would it have been BMR's fault, had it been their crossmember), and I don't see them not standing behind their product or attempting to make the customer happy.

I bought the same relocation crossmember a couple weeks back after UMI told me it'd clear any set of duals. It didn't clear my set of Lane's, which stopped being built before UMI was around, as far as I know, and it wouldn't surprise me if they had never seen a set of them since they were jig-built in Texas. **** happens; you just have to deal with it. I wish the biggest headache with modding my car was just having to punch a bolt hole a little bigger here and there.

mike135531bubba

iTrader: (45)

stop whining, they are obviously trying to resolve the issue by sending you a brand new unit and you're refusing that? then you're trying to get an extra 10% off while you're at it? nice.....

i've bought a couple things from UMI and have had great results and their tech support is great too.