Re: MTD Yardman Transaxle Rebuild
Don't know about making them, but one wonders how they train them.
Even worse is Speedy Sleeves were invented down here ( naturally we did not commercialise this invention ) so one would wonder why they were not conversant with them.
They quoted $ 295 for a new spider just after telling me my washing machine was obsolete as it s belt drive & the new ones were direct drive and way pasts its design life.
I know the washing machine is obsolete as I bought it from a superseded stock shop in 1999 ( I am frugal ).
I did mention that my mother only ever had 1 washing machine in 57 years and that one ( a Tray Way ) was still in good working order when she died
Bert-man - Et al,
You guys are right, older white goods were truly built to last. I remember disassembling a Norge once that was built like a military tank. I have always been a loyal believer in front loading washers - Westinghouse invented the Laundromat - as most use 1/3 the water and 1/3 the detergent of a top loader, which is important if you are on a well and a septic system. And they do a far better job of actually washing the clothes. The new front loaders that use direct drive DC motors finally over-came a number of problems the original front loaders faced. Namely a complicated drive system and balance issues when spinning. The old Westinghouse front loaders had an elliptical pulley drive (think about
THAT for a few moments) and to maintain stability when in the spin mode, had heavy cast iron weights surrounding the tub, which became cement later on and made the machines weigh over 300 pounds.
Fixing most of the problems appliances have isn't rocket science, but the newer ones are all 'computer' controlled, making doping out control issues difficult and costly.
Bert - In defense of today's (and yesterday's!!) service persons, I have never heard of or used a 'Speedi-Sleeve'. If they were factory trained, then they would have been trained to replace worn out parts with OEM parts, not to think outside the box like a bunch of old lawnmower repairmen (and women). I remember one old Westinghouse laundromat that a customer had who refused to replace the machine even after parts were no longer available for it. I had several short stainless steel screws with "O"-rings and waterproof cement screwed into tiny holes that had rusted through the sump to keep the damn thing from leaking. She - like Bert, was a frugal old bird... Nothing wrong with that! However, maintaining old things that are no longer supported with spare parts is what makes service persons flexible and adaptive, not factory training.. The knowledge you are referring to, like much else, comes with age and experience..
Roger