Improved Unreliability Rant!

You're describing just about everything.

My latest is a Stihl chainsaw.

My last one lasted me 20 years, and I bought it used. Got a new one last year.......................just about all plastic, and the pull cord mechanism is already binding up.

The thing that really bugs me, is that there aren't any options. We can't go out and spend the extra money on a quality, well built item, because in most cases, they don't exist.

Too late.

I'm hoping that the pull starter from my old one will fit in the new one.

It really sucks. This thing isn't a homeowner model. At some point, shaving pennies off the manufacturing cost just leads to junk. Expensive junk!

I don't own a Husky. My brother has two and swears by them. But, he cuts cords and cords of wood every year.

He supplies three households with free firewood, and heats his house and water with wood.

I go through 10-12 cords every year. Stihl has always been a good name, but I have a feeling they have moved manufacturing to China. Hopefully the pull starter just needs some lubrication. It runs and cuts like a champ, so far.

The garbage that Del's talking about is all over the place. Cheap junk, and it's usually an expensive dealership item.

I think with chainsaws you have to rotate through the competition.

My dad bought a Homelight back in the early 60's, what a beast but it was durable..

Bought another Homelight in the 70's no change in design except more pplastic. He also bought a like new Stilh 041 from someone that was going to save money by making his own wood, he said it didn't cut worth a %%%^. Well, we sharpen the blade replaced the cutting bar and that was a Cadilac. It absorb the vibration, that some of the screws vibrated loose, bought anther Stihl in the 80's it was ok, but really no noticable improvements, except more plastic.

Then in the 90's came a Husquvarna, nice unit, and we had a Logging Expo here every three years called The Logging Congress, and Dad bought a Sachs Dolmar. No complaints.

Through out, we would buy a used McCullock or a Poulan, from an inexperience weekend wannabe logger, they were ok, but starting and recoil usually were a problem. And also the previous owners would run them into the dirt and didn't know how to sharpen the blade.

Husky all the way! Great Saw's.

Back when I was fit enough to do wildland firefighting, we lived and nearly slept with our Saws (and boots), and the only saw's most of us would carry were Husky's. The Stihl's Just couldn't quite keep up.

But they are all made mostly of plastic nowadays

I'd like to have one of those to chop out every A-B Servo Ultra3000 ! they are nothing but a bunch of feedback related problems and cheap resolver cables that won't last a year !!

'72 Corvette. Has the windshield wipers stowed in a compartment just in front of the windshield. Said compartment has a cover over it.

To energize the windshield wipers, one only has to turn the little knob on the dash.

That energizes an electrically controlled vacuum switch. This, in turn provides vacuum power to a bellows motor that pulls a rod that opens the door in front of the windshield.

Just before the door reaches the fully open position, it begins to depress an electrical switch mounted on the firewall.

As the door reaches the full open position, the switch closes and the wiper motor is supplied with power and the wipers begin to wipe.

Turning the little dash switch off, reverses the sequence.

So, you have two electrical switches, one electro pneumatic actuator, a bellows motor and 15 feet of vacuum hose to keep in shape.

Headlights are behind vacuum operated doors, too.

Not quite the same thing - but this gives me a chance to rant:

A few years ago I sent a telescope mount to an after-market service place to get it 'hypertuned', a process where the mount is disassembled, the metal surfaces are honed to improve smoothness, cheap gaskets and gears are replaced and a better grease is installed that maintains lubricity over a wide temp range. A few weeks after I sent it I got a note saying the guy who did the service was sick so he'd hired another guy to do the work under his supervision.

At the time I finally got it back my wife was beginning to have problems with her health, so the mount sat in the box unopened for months. When I finally opened it I saw the mount had been trashed. The paint was gone from the dials and the dials were badly scratched, and the mount never worked properly, usually going into reset mode with no warning.

Due to the elapsed time, I had no way to prove when the damage was done; so that repair cost me $150, plus the $$$ for a new mount. That moron improved it so much it became a computer controlled boat anchor when he was done with it.

I hate throwing things away, which is becoming increasingly more difficult in today's disposable world. I also enjoy fixing things, whether by necessity or simply for the challenge. I usually try to improve whatever broke so it will not happen again (or at least so soon). I used to blame, what I saw as designed defects, on the engineers. But that was before I understood CIPs (cost improvement programs). Now I blame the MBAs.

I feel the pain of the engineers out there that design quality products only to have their designs "shot down" because a penny could be saved using a thinner metal, a cheaper bearing, or the absolute minimum structural support for whatever it is you are building.

Unfortunately, it seems evident, that there are very few manufacturers out there that still believe in building quality products that last. But please "keep the faith", there are still many people out here that want, and are willing to pay more, for quality merchandise (especially when it comes to my tools). I could make a huge list of companies that will never get another dime ($0.10 US) from me, simply because of blatant inferior design, misrepresentation of their products, or non-existent customer service.

Please keep designing, with the emphasis on quality, repair-ability (w/out having to buy the whole 'assembly'), and durability, because I believe there are many of us who are looking for superior merchandise that last.

And feel free to tell your managers and CEO's what I think about their !@#-^*#!%@!, #*&#!@%&#>ing, cost improvement programs!

I'm wrestling with the opposite end of this stick. We have a division which still makes devices exactly as they did in the 70's - if not earlier. Yeah, it's wonderful that they're all bulletproof, hand-forged devices. But the problem is it's becoming an ever-growing headache to source the "old school" components needed. Suppliers are discontinuing production on many items, if not closing their doors altogether. And costs are skyrocketing on the components they can still find (compounded by the smaller quantities that they end up buying).

However upper management is extremely reluctant to modernize designs or to even consider alternate suppliers. Such suggestions are met with disdain or more often ignored completely. It's certainly possible to update designs and not loose quality - or at least not loose much. I hope that division can learn this lesson, but I'm afraid they're going to go down in history as "good but gone".

I know that feeling, I'm currently working on re-designing an 'old school' device because some of the old manufacturing skills are no longer available. We used to have equipment for one of the final processes but the equipment was scrapped about 5 years ago because 'it will never be needed again'.

What I have found with the various consumer products that I have purchased over, say, the past 15 years is that the primary components, for example the engines in lawn and garden machinery, the compressors in refrigerators and air conditioners, and the electric motors in household appliances, have been very durable and reliable. These are generally the components covered by the 10 year warranty, and from my experience, given that they are not abused and receive basic maintenance, will last well beyond this.

Generally, the first thing to fail is some minor, but essential, component that can not be repaired, but requires the replacement of a larger and more expensive sub assembly. Worse yet, access to these components requires a major disassembly of the machine, which even a mechanically skilled owner can't perform without a detailed service manual. There always seem to be that hidden magic clip.

Among my pet peeves The things that always break first:

• Recoil starters on small engines. I can expect the cord to break after two seasons. The repair procedures is never even mentioned in the owner's manual and usually requires major disassembly and a special sequence of procedures which if not exactly followed will allow the clock spring to fly out and at least one of the clutch pawls to fall into the black hole in my garage floor.
• Membrane switches in the touch panel controls that have become universal on all household appliances. They can't be fixed. You have to replace the entire electronic control module. And, no, you can't access the control module, and even if you could, it cost more that you paid for the appliance.

OK you are going to try to fix it yourself. pet reeves part II:

• Self tapping Phillips head screws. Given an assembly with more then 1 screw, one of the screws was reefed in so tight that you strip the head before you can loosen it.
• Given an assembly with more than 1 screw, there will always be one screw that will require the removal of at least three additional components to gain access to it
• Plastic clips: You are going to break at least one taking the assembly apart.

An additional note, my life's carer has been and is the design and construction of manufacturing tooling and machines. The one consideration that influenced my designs more than any other has been the fact that if anything broke, I would be the one who had to fix it.

Last year I was having problems with the portable handset for my land-line phone. (I've got a cell phone, but I still prefer the sound quality of the land-line phone; plus it costs me next to nothing.) The center 'enter' button used for all the menu options became erratic, then quit. I opened up the phone and saw a metallic coating had worn away, so I cut a piece of aluminum foil to the size of the center button and the ^V<> buttons, carefully set it in place, then reassembled the phone. It has worked fine ever since.

I bought a Lawn Boy, self propelled mower two summers ago.

Used it once, or twice, then it would not start. Period. I took it back to HD, and after some discussion they gave me another one. It started once, then I let it sit over the winter and it would not start.

I tried for weeks to get on-line help and an appointment at a service center.

The on-line help was designed to frustrate the user to the point of giving up, which I did after a few weeks.

Finally, in desperation I took it to the shop that services our work equipment.

The shop owner enlightened me that the motor is a Chinese copy of a good American motor. he fixed it and it started. Then it sat foir two months and now, it will not start.

I WILL NEVER BUY ANOTHER LAWN BOY PRODUCT AS LONG AS I LIVE.

Sounds like you have had the units with the plastic carb bodies. Drain the gas out of the carb body when you put them away for the season and they will be fine.

Or... never buy another one as long as you live.

The first one didn't make it through one season.

If I have to "winterize" a lawnmower in the Arizona desert, I'll never buy another one etc. etc.

Good point! I forget... the rest of the world does not have to live with 9.5 months of "winter".

After 25 years on the old one I bought a new name brand garden tractor. I found new "safety" interlocks, obviously mandated by the bureaucracy, as they do absolutely nothing for safety. But 8 out of 10 times the starter engine will not get power. The electric part of the interlocks are open leaf (?!!?) switches, that will or not close, if the mechanical part is not exactly "so". Electrical diagramm may be available for money from a third party, not from the manufacturer. To add insult to iniury, troubleshooting is definitely a two person affair. Unless a full persons weight is in the seat, nothing works (on the old one any weight on the seat was doing the trick).

I will hook up a few LED diodes to indicate to me which of the switches does not work when? By the way, there is a perfectly useless electronic display on it I paid for, doing nothing.

Why do I have to do it on a new equipment?

Yeah... the display and interlock fallacy.
Like my tailgate, there was a sensor switch and fancy display telling me CHECK TAILGATE, it even had a graphic showing an outline of the car with the the tailgate up.

D'uh... if they can write all that software, why not just write it so the solenoid won't operate while the car is moving? Much more useful and it would stop the damn thing clattering as I drove along.
Arrgggh, Now you see I'm getting sucked into the overthink... No! just put a decent switch on the damn thing.
BTW, I did fix it, I had to hold the switch part back in position with some foam plastic and silicone rubber, but it works (sorry didn't use Duct Tape)
Del

Timing belts on vee motors that fail after 60.000 to 100.000 miles when the rest of the motor is good for 200,000+ miles, AND they take out the valves with them. What was wrong with timing chains, or gears?

"Cordless" screwdrivers. = powerless screwdrivers. I liked em better when they had to be plugged in... and worked!

"Frost-free" refrigerators... that take two days to defrost because all the ice is trapped in the secret ice-hidey space in behind.

And since the holiday baking season is upon us, "non-stick" bakeware, which after three uses, the 'nonstick' coating starts coming off on your food, so you have to line the pan with parchment or tinfoil, as good as an ol rusty one you bought for 50 cents and used for 20 years. Or feed 'advanced' coatings surreptitiously to your guests. _{Hint to guests: look for shiny grey bits on the bottom of cookies, before you indulge.}

I always felt that the cordless screwdrivers were weak.

But, cordless Drill motors are great,

I have an 18V DeWalt, and I would never go back to a corded drill.

The switch failed again... it had dried out on a radiator and worked for a day.
I phoned the garage... they wanted £80 for a new one.
Stuff that, so I went low tech... works a treat. I'll find a switch at work when the hol is over.

Those bare wires ain't gonna short out
Del

It's all about money! Designing something that lasts for 20 years is bad for business and companies know that. In the early days it was about providing quality. You give them your money once and your happy for the next 10-15 years. Now they design and manufacture everything to ensure they get your money over and over...

It's not by accident that there's so much junk on the market.

You know that Dupont has a rubber compound for tires that lasts forever. It will never hit the market for obvious reasons.

Henry Ford built the model T and they sold like hotcakes. They were so reliable that they could run indefinitely with minor maintenance. Sure the engines would require rebuilding after a while, but that was within the capability of a lot of owners. Therefore sales began to drop because owners, being frugal wouldn't trade for a newer one. Mr Ford, being a shrewd businessman, quickly realized that if he made something that would last a long time, he would soon go out of business. At that point, everything that was made to sell, was designed so as not to last too long. Quality has always been the pawn of competition. One year, the product is great, the next year it is junk. You really can't compare a Sthil chainsaw made in 1998 with one made in 1999. This goes for all products. Just because your father's table saw was great and still working after 20 years, doesn't mean a new one will be as good. Black and Decker used to make good tools. Now they are junk. You just can't compare by age anymore.

AMEN!! Just like Sears Crapsman tools. Lifetime warranty does not mean anything if the tools are not strong enough to use in the first place. Bought a set of Gear Wrench ratcheting wrenches and love them. Had a gift cert for Sears so I bought a set of theirs in the metric version to round out my tool box. WORTHLESS JUNK. You get them in the slightest bind and the ratchet disengages and the wrench just spins freely.

2006 Chevy Blazer. Less than 50,000 miles and the fuel gauge sending unit is failing. Dealer wants to sell me a new fuel pump assembly for over $100.00. After markets available for a little less. All I need is the sending unit for the gauge. Checked at Auto zone and they claim they can't get it separate. Went on line to autozone.com and found it under a different name than sending unit. Waiting till it warms up to make the repair. Using the trip meter as a fuel gauge till then.

The mark-up on car parts is much higher than on new autos.

Fuel pumps!!! I had an Astro that had less than 100K miles on it and three fuel pumps at over 400 dollars per, + installation!! BTW I never let the tank run dry, which is a great way to ruin a modern fuel pump.

Electric pumps hate running dry. I miss the old mechanical pumps. Two bolts and $25.00 and it was replaced. I miss the old cars I could work on. Now I drive a Prius and it seems I have to go to the dealer for everything. Even my 2000 Chevy Silverado required a trip to the dealer for a full oil change. The oil in the transfer case was a dealer only item. Could have used something else close to it but would have voided warranty.

I'm sure you can recognize what the overall picture is. Motor vehicles that can only be serviced by the dealer. I'm surprised they haven't found a way to eliminate spark plug changes by the consumer, but I'm sure they are thinking about it. Rolls Royce way back had a sealed engine eliminating servicing by all other than the RR factory. Off course, if I could afford a RR, I wouldn't be bothering about DIY.

One of my neighbors (a single woman W/O a clue) persuadwed me to change plugs and spark coils on a 1995 Lincoln. Couldn't even find the plugs until I went to You-Tube! They're hidden inside a shroud on top of the engine and each one has it's own coil sitting right on top of it - in the heat! Plugs were 6.00 ea, coils were $50.00 each! Wonder what the dealer would have charged for a tune-up? Bad enough she needed three new coils, I'm sure the dealer would have insisted on all eight!

I live in California and the enviros/politicians mandate fuel cans now to be "no spill". That means of course, that all they do now is spill fuel everywhere but in the tank!

They have spring loaded valve assemblies that have to be depressed when in the neck of the tank that slip off or have to be depressed so hard that something else on the can gets damaged or loosened. Give me a can with a simple spout and vent so fuel will go where it is aimed!

Current cans here vent back through the nozzle. What a joke. Usually end up squeezing sides of can to make it work. Very diifucult to stop the flow of fuel without spilling when it gets a gulp of air you don't anticipate. Also takes a lot longer to dispense. 5 gallon cans get heavey after a while when filling the backhoe or tractor. Especially when they need 10 or more gallons to top off. Give me a can with a normal vent too. Then I can quit drilling holes in these things and using bolts for vent plugs.

Harbor Freight sells kits of soft plugs designed to plug vacuun lines. Might work better than a bolt, they should close wothout leaking.

BMW 1200 GS motorcycle "fuel strips": this is a plastic strip located in the gas tank with some sensors on it. As the strip is energized, impedance is measured between sensors. Air temperature (there is a sensor under the front fender) is used as a correction factor for variations in fuel density due to T°. The main computer of the bike processes the info and display result on dashboard. My bike is 4 years and 20,000 Km old. After having replaced the stip 3 times (@ 250 U$ ea.), I gave up! now I rely on mileage reading and carry 2 lt of fuel in a can.