I guess we all have our opinions about Pirate, and I completely disagree with yours. I'm trying to separate the emotion from the facts here - something you should be very familiar with Luis.
From my perspective, both Chris and Dean are my friends, asking me to get in the middle of this issue is inappropriate on so many levels. I make a referral and somehow I'm held responsible for the outcome? Really?
I've read through the threads, and I am willing to help decipher the issue that these two friends of mine are having. But I will not get into the emotional bullsh**t. How do you react when two friends start a fight? I usually start with telling them both to STFU and settle down.
Chris, you mentioned that the stator had a tab spot welded onto it. Did it look like this one?
http://image.fourwheeler.com/f/30633948+w600+re0/154_0910_03_z%2Beaton_electric_locker%2Bstator_assembly.jpg
The other issues I read about were the pinion seal? What was wrong with it exactly? I know it leaked but did you re-torque it before you connected the drive line? If you did, you would have noticed the issue and been able to correct it.
Wiring, as you can see from the photo above there are 2 wires. It's really impossible to screw that up internally. Agree? If it's not working then something is ass backwards. If it's blowing fuses something is ass backwards, and I doubt it has anything to do with the stator. But if you think about it, the wire connections on the stator are fixed, and come that way from the factory. It should have come with assembly instructions in the box, mine did.
Him taking a long time (any custom machinist for that matter), is not unusual. Yep, it's frustrating. I'm not going to make excuses, but the Hummer took 10 months, and the FZJ80 took 14 months. I don't know why it took so long, it just did. Sometimes other orders come in and get a higher priority, that's just how it works when you are a one man show.
Sierra R&P is not a re-boxer, they cut their own. I've been to the shop in Rancho Cordova.
Please let me know what other issues I can help you address with Dean.
Bebe