i swear places must see me coming. the other day i was leveling dirt with the bobcat. i had a steady hydraulic leak on one tilt cylinder. i was finishing a job, then going to go get it fixed. however, as i back-dragged some dirt, the other tilt cylinder broke! the end of it snapped right off. no big deal right? took it to Hydraulic Specialists here in town and left it for a quote. they took out both cylinders and totally disassembled the thing against my permission, and call me back to say that the whole cylinders were worn out. they wanted around $2,000 to fix the two cylinders. i laughed at them. so i go up there to see it all torn apart and they say they will just weld the end on (3 hours!!!) and then re-seal them and dress down one of the rods on one and put it all back together for a real fair price of $810 with no warranty, no gaurentee that it will lift the first bucket of dirt!

the dealership 75 miles away said they could sell me 2 complete brand new cylinders for that amount of money. the shop i had it at made it sound like it couldnt be moved until it was fixed. i told him i was taking it home and he refused to help put the bucket on or anything. i told him to stand back and i hooked it all up and put a chain on the bucket so it couldnt tilt all the way down and loaded it up, and didnt pay him a cent.

to beat all, when i got there he called me into his office and laid a Colt .45 on the desk while we talked. i looked at it and laughed at him. however, with his prices and attitude, he has probably needed it before.

 

are hydro shops everywhere this insane? its like they think they have a special gift or something.

 

The nerve of some people/businesses. In this economy, businesses should be bending over backwards to earn your business. Then to try to persuade you with artillary is insane. I hope the other company is as honest as your post sounds. That would be a company to be loyal to.

 

Amazing. Truly amazing.

 

i found someone to fix it cheap, i think. you see i had an AG teacher at school who was really smart. he makes stuff. he made an engine. all aluminum. he made his own block, head, piston, rod, carb, cam, everything out of a chunk of metal. he even twisted his own springs for it. it runs great. he also makes his own hydraulic cylinders, no joke.

he is busy in hay now, but his dad is going to look at it tomorrow. he talks like a couple hundred will do it.

 

shops around here are shady. like the machine shop that shortened my driveshaft, they installed the u joints poorly. the clips were not even seated in the groove last time. i had to re-do the clips.

then theres that tranny shop, the hydro shop, the body shop(s) and others. oh, and the machine shop that can't put U-joints in builds engines for pro racers. yup, the owner has a mustang that Carol Shelby signed and gave him. they are buddies to my understanding. but, like i said, they see me coming.

 

man its just cause your young most people think guys in there 20's don't enough anything

 

20s? I ain't even that old

 

but i know what you mean. I've even hired and fired some employees who thought they knew more than me and ran thier mouths, and then some don't believe the equipment is all mine. they think that dad pays for it and such. there are a lot of barriers when you are young trying to WORK for a living and pay for stuff on your own. Banks won't give you credit, businesses you bid for sometimes write you off, and repair shops think 18 means you have stupid written all over you.

 

I would report him to the BBB for laying a gun on his desk while speaking to you. That is a threat of life and could have some legal issues as well. How funny would it have been if you were of legal age to plop down your own .45 when he put his gun out on the table!

BTW you can't seem to keep any mechanical stuff from breaking or getting into a wreck. I would move to an island and live in a grass hut if I were you!

 

Well, its always gonna be something no matter how good you maintain your stuff when you work it. Cylinders blow out all the time. The drive shaft is all results of one bad repair shop

 

This may be true but you conduct yourself like someone with plenty of experience and control. You earn respect in my opinion. I have alot of respect for you in the way you handle yourself.

On another note I think it is great that you got your stuff out of there and he didn't get a penny. Good move!

I agree with Tim between your tranny, mower, wreck, broke dump truck axle, another wreck and now this. I hope you don't buy lottery tickets you have terrible luck. LOL

Good luck I hope it works out for ya.

 

I know what you mean. I wasn't saying you were the cause just that you have some BAD luck! Just like Neal said. Don't buy a lottery ticket. It will be a waste of money!

 

Thanks neal, that really means a lot to me. Even though a lot of stuff breaks, I still consider myself to be very blessed. I am always blessed with finding stuff at very fair prices when I buy

 

i just had to go back to the hydro shop. i took the stuff to a guy i know to fix the bobcat and i realized they shorted me on some parts! i went back up there and asked for my parts they failed to give me and the joker smarted off with "i thought you were gonna buy new ones buddy"

i said "why would i replace a cylinder that only needs re sealed?"

"ya, okay you know more about it than us"

"i know enough to know that $800 for a repair with no warranty is crazy. where's my parts?"

they gave them to me, and on the way out the door i said "it aint rocket science boys. fluid pushed a rod."