4x4 Kubota front axle/hub design - poor?

slowzuki · Nov 4, 2010

Ha, you think I'd pay a mechanic!? Unfortunately I've ended up justifying 1000$ of dollars of tools that way. Some I love, some just sit.

RoadHogg said:
I hear ya, they aren't cheap. I've fought with the universal kind too much in my time though. The "real" kind are just such a joy to use. You can justify cost of tools by taking it out of the labour you'd pay your mechanic. :thumbsup:

RoadHogg · Nov 4, 2010

slowzuki said:
Ha, you think I'd pay a mechanic!? Unfortunately I've ended up justifying 1000$ of dollars of tools that way. Some I love, some just sit.

That's just my point. :thumbsup: Why pay a mechanic for a job that you can do yourself with a small investment of your time and perhaps a tool or two? Besides, a job well done will give you a huge level of personal satisfaction.

Yes, some tools you buy you won't use very often but usually those are the tools that when needed, nothing will work as a substitute. Only $1000? You can't buy much of a mechanic's time for $1000. You're just not trying!

Jay4200 · Nov 4, 2010

RoadHogg said:
Yes, some tools you buy you won't use very often but usually those are the tools that when needed, nothing will work as a substitute. Only $1000? You can't buy much of a mechanic's time for $1000. You're just not trying!

I learned that lesson 20 years ago when I hired a contractor to repair rot around my front door. Pull door out - cut out and replace rot - put door back in - job was $350. He didn't show the first day, so I fired him. I bought a Milwaukee Super Sawzall to do the demo, and bought a new door. Did the job in half a day for the same $350, and got a new door and STILL have the same sawzall that I use almost every weekend. The rest is history...built my own house, fix all my own crap, yadda-yadda. Doesn't leave a lot of spare time though, so vacations usually involve changing roofs, landscaping, etc...(keeps the weight down, if nothing else).

Just the other night, my kitchen stove crapped out. I broke out my voltmeter and, after 10 minutes or so, tracked down the problem as a failed circuit breaker in my main panel. I swapped out the breaker, and dinner was cooking 5 minutes later for a total repair cost of $3 (actually zero, since I had a spare breaker laying around). The normal 'call the guy' type would've first bought a new stove, then after that didn't work and they figured out that there was a power problem, called an electrician. Would've taken a week of microwaving and cost roughly $800 to get that $3 breaker replaced. Not that I'm totally immune - I had a well pump failure at a rental property I own this summer and just didn't feel like driving over there, so I "called the well guy". I figured it was a dead pump, but it turned out to be the same failed breaker problem - cost me $300 for the well guys to jump the breaker. Ouch.

I figure I can buy a lot of really nice snap-ring pliers for the $500 I'll not be giving the tractor shop to change that stupid seal.

JayC

slowzuki · Nov 4, 2010

The thousand is plural. Many, many, many times plural. Unfortunately I know they are only worth a fraction of what I paid if I needed to unload them in a hurry!

RoadHogg said:
That's just my point. :thumbsup: Why pay a mechanic for a job that you can do yourself with a small investment of your time and perhaps a tool or two? Besides, a job well done will give you a huge level of personal satisfaction.

Yes, some tools you buy you won't use very often but usually those are the tools that when needed, nothing will work as a substitute. Only $1000? You can't buy much of a mechanic's time for $1000. You're just not trying!

slowzuki · Nov 4, 2010

I do all my own work too, but my list has grown to hundreds of items long.

RoadHogg · Nov 4, 2010

slowzuki said:
The thousand is plural. Many, many, many times plural. Unfortunately I know they are only worth a fraction of what I paid if I needed to unload them in a hurry!

Ah. My mistake. I don't think I've ever regretted buying a tool, maybe only that I wish I'd bought a better quality tool but never the buying of the tool itself. If things go poorly for me financially, I can use my tools to pay the bills so I can't see ever having to unload them in a hurry. YMMV.