John’s Wheel Alignment and Collision

Three days prior to the repair in question, I had taken my truck to John to have the front differential u-joints replaced, which work he did perform. According to John himself ( and confirmed by two independent ASE mechanics) the axles had to be removed to replace the u-joints as well as everything that extends beyond the axle tube. According to the two independent mechanics I have spoken to, the seals SHOULD have been replaced at that time. Replacing the seals after the axle was removed is considered a PART OF THE REPAIR and not to replace them would be unimaginable considering the great task of getting to those parts again. Also a huge factor in deciding whether or not to replace the seals is the age and mileage of the vehicle. My truck had nearly 200,000 miles on it and was ten years old so the seals certainly should have been replaced, especially considering the daunting task of having to tear the truck down to that point once again just to get access to the seals. I am not a mechanic so I could'nt tell John what items needed to be replaced during the course of the job. A professional mechanic knows how to make a proper repair and I relied on him to make the repair in it's entirety and to do what needs to be done. In fact, John had called me during the course of the repair and asked if I would like him to install front brakes and a front end part that he said was worn. I advised him that because I was short on cash that I would bring it back later for those repairs. This prooves that he could have notified me if there had ever been any question as to whether or not to replace the seals. At the end of the day I picked up my truck and payed my bill which was more than $400. I believe that that amount to be a fair charge. I took my truck home and parked it in my gravel driveway (the gravel hiding the leak) as I usually do and then three days later I pulled the truck onto my concrete driveway. In a matter of about 30 minutes it leaked a puddle of front differential grease about the size of a small plate, coming from the axle tube end. I took the truck back to John and asked him if the seals had been replaced and he informed me that they had not . I asked him if the axles had been pulled out during the previous repair and he said that they HAD been pulled to replace the u-joints ( a necessary task according to the two ASE mechanics that I later spoke to). I asked him WHY he did'nt replace the seals and I got no answer other than " Well, I guess it was just time for them to go out." I suspect the seal was damaged during the replacement of the u-joints.I was very aggrevated but told him to replace the seals because I was loosing grease which could cause serious gear trouble. I FULLY expected to have the repair performed at a very small charge since the seals should have been replaced at the first repair three days prior. When I picked the truck up at the end of the day I was shocked when I got a bill for $502.25! I was charged a second time for a complete tear down of the front outward differential even though it was his fault for not making the innitial repair in a complete manner. I feel that the bill should have only included the price of the seals and seal installation ( as if the differential was allready torn down). But, I payed my bill in it's entirety like a gentleman should do and left the shop. I am dissapointed in John because he has always done a good job for me in the past. I think he has come to look at me as a cash cow but I will now find another mechanic to do my future repairs. I am basing this information on advise that I have gotten from experienced mechanics and in my opinion I got screwed by John's Wheel Alignment.