Kohler head gaskets

[hlw49]

Good questions IL. Some think would think $48 is all profit but it is only gross profit before expenses. I once had a customer when I was working for the other guy to say to me don't make all of that $110/hr labor? I just looked at him and said that I got $12.50/hr before taxes which was more like $10/hr after taxes and I still had to provide my own meals, clothes, and other items.

And when you are self employed you really got to sit down and go through the figures to see what the bottom line is going to be. And don't forget in the US the 15.3% self employment taxes on the net profit.

I think about this I grossed a little over $23,000 and then with all expenses this last I netted $1395 and the IRS wants another $197 out that measly sum. Of this last year me and the IRS were still fighting over getting my IRS account straighten out so had a big effect on my sales. But the year before I netted $5647 and the IRS got $859 more. And this will be at operating at a lost as refuse to send the IRS another penny until they get my account straighten out. It is now screwed up for nearly five years,

So the more you net the more you pay at the end of the year until get to the stage that they want quarterly payments. And as a self employed you don't to use the standard deduction either so they are taxing you on every penny of net profit.

And I did have a bad year otherwise with the truck transmission going out (completely self destructed internally, no rebuilding it) and insurance going up nearly 15%. In the last ten year the insurance has doubled.

But of the general public think we are making a killing overall. Personally I would rather work for the other man and let him deal with all the financial headaches.

Been there done that.

 

[TobyU]

Was that $48 plus mileage for the on site mobile repairs, and did that include a second $48 for returning to install the parts. Or did you have to pay vehicle maintenance and gas out of that $48.

No. This was not mobile or on-site at all.
They contacted me at least three times but I think the following two I simply turn them down so I didn't get there sales.
The one that I have is probably from the first contact and was only about carr in handheld items such as strain trimmers, blowers, chainsaws.
I assume they were going to have the customer drop them off to me as an authorized service center but it's possible they would have brought them to me also since they had various resources to do that when the store was still open up the.
It would have been simple for me to pick them up too because it's about 1.5 straight up the road from me but still that would have been time that I would not have been willing to do.
So no, there were no other expenses coming out of that.
That's why I first mentioned it wasn't a terrible deal especially for someone who might be doing it as a hobby etc because they would be clearing $48 on each item they fixed.
You could be nitpicky about it and claim that you are going to have some expense in paper towels, shop towels carb cleaner spray etc or even you know the wear and tear on your screwdrivers and hammers etc.
But that's really quite insignificant so basically you would be clearing $48 on each one.
It probably could have been negotiated a few dollars higher but there was no reason to mess with it for me as I have an entire line and waiting list of customers.
I also don't personally like doing those items while some people who like to tinker do like them or even prefer them.
I look at things strategically and cost-effectively and I have found that even in the most efficient and smartest of text hands, these items are more time consuming to get to the desired effect than other items especially push mowers and items with the similar three and a half to 7.25 horsepower engines on them.
The time involved, almost always is less on a push mower let's say for a no start or even an annual service than it is to get one of these handheld items running or fixed AND then there's the fact that it's common and even expected for the repair Bill to be higher for a mower since it's a larger, more expensive, more complicated piece of equipment.
I find the smaller handheld ones like that to be a lose-lose situation compared to the others.
I'm probably not alone in this and that's why they have become quite disposable.
Unless you have a steel, echo, red max, shindaiwa, for a couple of other high-end basically commercial grade ones of these, you're better off in the end and your wallet is Fuller to simply clean it up nicely and sell it for parts or repair on marketplace and take the first 25 to 35 bucks you get for it and put that towards the price of a new one.
This way you will have a brand new piece of machinery that operates properly at least for now, or you return it, and you'll have more money in your pocket than getting the old one repaired.

 

[StarTech]

Let's see if you are paying your taxes. $48 - 7.34 SET = $40.66. Then if you use $0.63 of fuel mix, half a can of carburetor cleaner (say it is $4 plus tax for a can). Now are down to around $38. Then if you use paper billing the cost of paper and ink/toner. Then you got the internet and phone expenses. And this requires some electric usage too. So supposed $48 in your pocket becomes actually around $30 or less. And this don't allow for an especially difficult one to repair like replacing the short block on that strain trimmer. BTW what is a strain trimmer? I have work on string trimmers but not a strain trimmer.

 

[TobyU]

Let's see if you are paying your taxes. $48 - 7.34 SET = $40.66. Then if you use $0.63 of fuel mix, half a can of carburetor cleaner (say it is $4 plus tax for a can). Now are down to around $38. Then if you use paper billing the cost of paper and ink/toner. Then you got the internet and phone expenses. And this requires some electric usage too. So supposed $48 in your pocket becomes actually around $30 or less. And this don't allow for an especially difficult one to repair like replacing the short block on that strain trimmer. BTW what is a strain trimmer? I have work on string trimmers but not a strain trimmer.

Well, I was hoping we wouldn't get into the pedantics and the nitpicky of everything down too 33 cents of carb cleaner spray and the shop cloth and even the wear and tear on your work pants or your work shoes. Lol

Remember, I never suggested doing it and I turn Sears down three different times.
I'm just going with the same basic numbers without doing the nitpicky math that it was going to be $48 clear money or let's say labor at the time versus doing a repair let's say for someone's riding lawn mower might be $95 labor for you at the time.
Neither one of those amounts is 100% profit but it's easy to make a comparison this way.

I'm in total agreement with you on the string trimmer and stuff like that because most of those half-shaft residential models require right around 23 bolts, nuts, fasteners to be removed including the flywheel often simply to fix the pull rope assembly or the spring!!
It's an absolutely terrible design and this is why I said it's not worth a shops time to do these repairs even if they doubled the price because you have your own real or what I call 100% customers standing in line for you to fix their things.
Screw Sears and any middleman companies trying to make money or anyone just paying for warranty work because they want to keep their customers happy we're happier so they can sell them products in the future.
I'm just not into helping other companies out like that..

The only way it would be decent would be for some retired guy who wants to piddle and happens to like the smaller things because they're light and you don't have to pick them up and move them around or sit them on a table like most people do with push mowers.
It would be a fairly steady stream with a good profit margin.
I still don't recommend it though because as I've always said, those types of equipment are little, time-consuming you know whats and not worth anyone's time.

I've had discussions on here several times with owners who just throw good money after bad or good time after bad and to fixing one of these little things when they would have been a lot better off too wipe it down and clean it up, put some pictures on marketplace, list it for 35 bucks and take the first 25.
But that towards buying a new one and you'll have a brand new piece of equipment that works properly at least for a while, and have more money in your pocket.

 

[hlw49]

Good questions IL. Some think would think $48 is all profit but it is only gross profit before expenses. I once had a customer when I was working for the other guy to say to me don't make all of that $110/hr labor? I just looked at him and said that I got $12.50/hr before taxes which was more like $10/hr after taxes and I still had to provide my own meals, clothes, and other items.

And when you are self employed you really got to sit down and go through the figures to see what the bottom line is going to be. And don't forget in the US the 15.3% self employment taxes on the net profit.

I think about this I grossed a little over $23,000 and then with all expenses this last I netted $1395 and the IRS wants another $197 out that measly sum. Of this last year me and the IRS were still fighting over getting my IRS account straighten out so had a big effect on my sales. But the year before I netted $5647 and the IRS got $859 more. And this will be at operating at a lost as refuse to send the IRS another penny until they get my account straighten out. It is now screwed up for nearly five years,

So the more you net the more you pay at the end of the year until get to the stage that they want quarterly payments. And as a self employed you don't to use the standard deduction either so they are taxing you on every penny of net profit.

And I did have a bad year otherwise with the truck transmission going out (completely self destructed internally, no rebuilding it) and insurance going up nearly 15%. In the last ten year the insurance has doubled.

But of the general public think we are making a killing overall. Personally I would rather work for the other man and let him deal with all the financial headaches.

I know all they want to allow for a simple clean repair job. They take account anything extra that has to be done. You engines that looks like they been ran thru a mud bog with frozen fasteners that has to drilled and helicoiled. Or mounted in a machine that you got to take half apart to even get to area that needs repairs.

Sorta a Briggs Twin here that needed a sump gasket replaced. Briggs allows 45 min to get it done but it take half a day to get the engine off, repaired, and back on the Super Z. What worst is the new Briggs failed within two passes of the customer's lawn so it was be done all over again. The second time around I use much better quality after market sump gasket. Four months and no problems reported.

What kind of superior after market gasket is better then the OEM gasket? I personally have never had an OEM gasket fail.

 

[StarTech]

Sooner or later people will learn that those online sites for selling used equipment are generally a ripoff as no warranty is usually given. Basically it is Buyer Beware.

But when you figure net profit you must include costs. I wish the $65 /hr I charge was clear profit too but it is not ever. Even if it was there is still $9.95 per hr self employment tax the must be paid; unless, you are doing your work under the table and not reporting it to the IRS.

Here is my Income/Expenses report for last year.


Even with the IRS allowed deductions I still owed $197.06 to the IRS. The self employment tax is listed is what I paid out for the 2022 tax year.
These figures don't even include the 9.5% sales tax ($2122.34) that I sent to TN sales tax group as my program does keep them separate.

 

[TobyU]

What kind of superior after market gasket is better then the OEM gasket? I personally have never had an OEM gasket fail.

I think I remember seeing dune Briggs 31xxxxx aftermarket gaskets with a fire ring around the combustion chamber.
Regardless, the Briggs one is so terrible that it would be hard to do worse.
Kohler greatly improved their command twin gaskets after a recall.

 

[StarTech]

What kind of superior after market gasket is better then the OEM gasket? I personally have never had an OEM gasket fail.

I used think that too but two in a row 49M crankcase/sump gaskets with a week I had to try the aftermarket ones I got now. THose from Briggs looks like vanilla file folder paper and the aftermarket one were dark red and lot stiffer at the thickness. I even torque them to only 25 ft/lbs instead of the Briggs 27 ft/lbs spec.

 

[Hammermechanicman]

I have replaced a bunch on the briggs sump gaskets. The stens gaskets are thicker than the OEM. Haven't had one of those fail yet.

 

[StarTech]

I have replaced a bunch on the briggs sump gaskets. The stens gaskets are thicker than the OEM. Haven't had one of those fail yet.

The only ones I had been seeing here is the v-twins failing but I do replace several singles every year too. You the old ACR failure ones.

Good thing I got Heli-coils here for these engines. I have several screws to fail before reaching full screw torque. IE pull through.