A splitting Headache

[spike60]

Got a saw that failed under warranty. (4 or 5 months) It was a lower end failure where the crank bearing went out. It was run for a while that way and the air leak scored the P & C pretty bad, along with the crank itself. So this thing needs a total rebuild. I have the authorization to split it and do whatever it needs, including new case halfs if the bearing spun in the crank.

To me, that many parts plus labor should add up to the guy getting a new saw. But the OEM in question won't give him one. If this kind of failure was out of warranty, no one in their right mind would consider fixing it. Personally, I don't even want to go that far into it, and I don't even have the proper tool to split the case since this is a newer model. (No, I'm not telling)

So, a couple of questions. Would you guys be satisfied as a customer with this verdict from the OEM? Do you think a rebuild this extensive is likely to be "as good as new" and last as long as it should?

The other thing here is that since we see almost none of these lower end failures, warranty or otherwise, we have almost no experience with centering the crank and such. It might be OK to figure this stuff out on my hobby saws, but I don't think it's fair to the customer to experiment with his $700 saw.

Anyway, what I've decided to do is use "pre-assembled parts". I'm going to grab a new saw off the shelf and strip all of the covers, starter, muffler, handle and tank off of it and use the "short block" to repair the customers saw. I'll still get paid for the warranty job, plus the sale of all of those parts. It will more than pay for the donor saw; in fact I'll come out ahead in the long run. Plus I'll save a few hours not having to do the total rebuild.

 

[THALL10326]

Got a saw that failed under warranty. (4 or 5 months) It was a lower end failure where the crank bearing went out. It was run for a while that way and the air leak scored the P & C pretty bad, along with the crank itself. So this thing needs a total rebuild. I have the authorization to split it and do whatever it needs, including new case halfs if the bearing spun in the crank.

To me, that many parts plus labor should add up to the guy getting a new saw. But the OEM in question won't give him one. If this kind of failure was out of warranty, no one in their right mind would consider fixing it. Personally, I don't even want to go that far into it, and I don't even have the proper tool to split the case since this is a newer model. (No, I'm not telling)

So, a couple of questions. Would you guys be satisfied as a customer with this verdict from the OEM? Do you think a rebuild this extensive is likely to be "as good as new" and last as long as it should?

The other thing here is that since we see almost none of these lower end failures, warranty or otherwise, we have almost no experience with centering the crank and such. It might be OK to figure this stuff out on my hobby saws, but I don't think it's fair to the customer to experiment with his $700 saw.

Anyway, what I've decided to do is use "pre-assembled parts". I'm going to grab a new saw off the shelf and strip all of the covers, starter, muffler, handle and tank off of it and use the "short block" to repair the customers saw. I'll still get paid for the warranty job, plus the sale of all of those parts. It will more than pay for the donor saw; in fact I'll come out ahead in the long run. Plus I'll save a few hours not having to do the total rebuild.

Well Spike believe it or not where I'm at our distributor has a rule for certain models. The180 /210/230/250/290/310/390 all are not to be repaired if the cylinder has been scored. We are to call them and get approval and send the old unit to them and give the customer a completely brand new saw. Pro models are a differant ball game all together. I am 100% positive if I had a pro Stihl blow a crank bearing and cylinder while under warranty I could send it back as well and give the man a new saw. Never had that happen to date but our distributor treats us good, real good...

 

[046]

a nice solution!

 

[SawTroll]

...
Anyway, what I've decided to do is use "pre-assembled parts". I'm going to grab a new saw off the shelf and strip all of the covers, starter, muffler, handle and tank off of it and use the "short block" to repair the customers saw. I'll still get paid for the warranty job, plus the sale of all of those parts. It will more than pay for the donor saw; in fact I'll come out ahead in the long run. Plus I'll save a few hours not having to do the total rebuild.

If you are happy with that solution, I sure would be, as the costumer......

 

[Hard Knocks]

Spike,

Have you spoken to your territory rep about this? I have used my reps many times to push some logic to the warranty department.

 

[cuttinscott]

Got a saw that failed under warranty. (4 or 5 months) It was a lower end failure where the crank bearing went out. It was run for a while that way and the air leak scored the P & C pretty bad, along with the crank itself. So this thing needs a total rebuild. I have the authorization to split it and do whatever it needs, including new case halfs if the bearing spun in the crank.

To me, that many parts plus labor should add up to the guy getting a new saw. But the OEM in question won't give him one. If this kind of failure was out of warranty, no one in their right mind would consider fixing it. Personally, I don't even want to go that far into it, and I don't even have the proper tool to split the case since this is a newer model. (No, I'm not telling)

So, a couple of questions. Would you guys be satisfied as a customer with this verdict from the OEM? Do you think a rebuild this extensive is likely to be "as good as new" and last as long as it should?

The other thing here is that since we see almost none of these lower end failures, warranty or otherwise, we have almost no experience with centering the crank and such. It might be OK to figure this stuff out on my hobby saws, but I don't think it's fair to the customer to experiment with his $700 saw.

Anyway, what I've decided to do is use "pre-assembled parts". I'm going to grab a new saw off the shelf and strip all of the covers, starter, muffler, handle and tank off of it and use the "short block" to repair the customers saw. I'll still get paid for the warranty job, plus the sale of all of those parts. It will more than pay for the donor saw; in fact I'll come out ahead in the long run. Plus I'll save a few hours not having to do the total rebuild.

If the repair quote is over half the replacement cost then YES the manufacture should replace the saw.

Scott

 

[Lakeside53]

In Washington (varies in the USA by State law) we don't get paid shop rate on warranty. Stihl pays us (I think) $27 per hour for their estimate of the repair time.. so if they tried to pull that on us they would get the entire mess back in a box. They can't force us to fix it... Our relationship with Stihl is pretty good, and in difficult cases, the "book" goes out the window and a solution for all parties can be found. Thank god their is little warranty work that entails any time.

Anyhow, back to the question at hand...

Obviously depends on the saw... but most times they'd tell us to simply swap out the saw. I can only remember one warranty saw in three years that had a bearing/crank problem though.

Now.. for the customer, I'd likely do the same thing... or take the entire mess back for parts and sell him another for a nominal sum.

 

[bwalker]

The180 /210/230/250/290/310/390 all are not to be repaired if the cylinder has been scored.

Throw away saws,eh?

 

[spike60]

Throw away saws,eh?

oooooo!!

 

[Lakeside53]

A stab to the heart

We repair them.... but never had a warranty situation (they don't pay out on straight gas!). It's likely that Stihl's cost on an entire engine (of that type) is so damn cheap they'd rather not pay the warranty on the shop labor! In Thall's area, they have to pay shop rate...

 

[04ultra]

Throw away saws,eh?

Same as the 350,455,460,137,142 ect and all the Poulans that get returned to lowes and Home depot...Throw away saws, eh...


I really cant believe the amount of Poulans I see at the HOBO in Milwaukee Wi. with Refurb. stickers on them..under $99.00 ....Must not have had QC at the factory..

.

 

[Lakeside53]

I really cant believe the amount of Poulans I see at the HOBO in Milwaukee Wi. with Refurb. stickers on them.. Must not have had QC at the factory..

.

I think a lot of that is due to no in-store setup and demo... here's the box, read the manual...

 

[bwalker]

Same as the 350,455,460,137,142 ect and all the Poulans that get returned to lowes and Home depot...Throw away saws, eh...

Yep. No argument with that statement.
The differance is the saws above are priced as throw aways, the 290 isnt. A 290 cost more than some of the Husky pro saws.
Its too bad Husky discontinued the 55 rancher as it was a homeowner saw, built liek a pro saw.

 

[Grande Dog]

We've done warranties where the pay off to us has been above what we sold the saw for. One thing you have to remember is that OEM's parts costs are pennies on the dollar compared to dealer cost. There are huge margins. If you think OEM's work on anything close to what distributors and dealers think are good margins, you're not even in the ballpark. In the past, OEM's have always been able to come up with newer models with less weight and more power. Of course we get to hear that due to the EPA the only alternatives for better power to weight ratios will double the price of a new saw. Whether this is true or not, they're the only ones that can see through their own smoke. I really feel that OEM's are going to have a public relation issues in the near future because they're going to have to deal with the flood of quality aftermarket parts. They're going to have to drastically reduce their parts prices (which people will realize they've been screwed in the past), or the aftermarket parts explosion will eventually be taking big bites out of their biggest profit centers. They're either going to look bad to their customers, or their investors. Either way I think it's going to be between a rock and a hard spot issue for OEM's.

 

[RiverRat2]

-5 to bwalker for a Low Blow

Throw away saws,eh?

hitting below the belt again ehhh ben?????
:monkey: :monkey:

 

[04ultra]

Yep. No argument with that statement.
The differance is the saws above are priced as throw aways, the 290 isnt. A 290 cost more than some of the Husky pro saws.

So Ben tell me the price on the MS 290 ??





.

 

[Lakeside53]

Yep. No argument with that statement.
The differance is the saws above are priced as throw aways, the 290 isnt. A 290 cost more than some of the Husky pro saws.
Its too bad Husky discontinued the 55 rancher as it was a homeowner saw, built liek a pro saw.

Nobody (except you) was talking about throwing a 290 away... It was about the 1 in maybe 100000 that had a fatal warranty issue, and for Stihl it's cheaper to replace it than pay the dealer to fix it. Out here, we'd likely still fix them...

 

[Lakeside53]

I really cant believe the amount of Poulans I see at the HOBO in Milwaukee Wi. with Refurb. stickers on them..under $99.00 ....Must not have had QC at the factory..

.

Never have seen a Stihl with a "factory refurbished" sticker on it... but that's one of the reason they will not sell in box stores. Husky (for example)has to take the returns... and a lot of stuff gets accepted back that shouldn't be.

 

[THALL10326]

hitting below the belt again ehhh ben?????
:monkey: :monkey:

And I wasn't even looking,LOLOL. I reckon if Husky can't afford to give Spike a new saw then they just can't afford it, not the case with the big boys:hmm3grin2orange: :hmm3grin2orange:

 

[RiverRat2]

gotta be kidding????

Yep. No argument with that statement.
The differance is the saws above are priced as throw aways, the 290 isnt. A 290 cost more than some of the Husky pro saws.
Its too bad Husky discontinued the 55 rancher as it was a homeowner saw, built liek a pro saw.

My head hurts!!!!!!