What's reasonable expectations on out of warranty repairs?

[Hersheyfarm]

I agree. I do want to make clear dealer has not denied anything. I don't even know if there is anything to deny. I just wanted to know what is the general reasonable liability of dealers when fixing equipment out of warranty. If it leaks a couple drops a day for the next 700hr I'm good.

 

[Blondie70]

In my opinion, they should fix the leak, the complete leak, and nothing but the leak. Whatever it takes. You paid good money for a leak fix and they failed in their part of the deal. Any judge would kick their butt over this...they are liable to fix your leak.

 

[murphy1244]

From what you wrote in Post #1, this hot leak was before the seal replacements, so it is not germane, except in the sense of documenting a major reduction in fluid loss after the seal replacements.

"Yesterday and overnight it sat in barn with a bowl under it and it dripped about a quarter size spot."

Why you giving him such a hard time:confused3:? He paid for the machine to be fixed and it still leaks. I would not like a leaker in my Barn nor would you.

 

[jeff9366]

If it leaks a couple drops a day for the next 700hr I'm good.

"If it leaks a couple drops a day for the next 700hr I'm good."

Don't speak for me, (esteemed) Murph, speak for yourself. I have my own views.

My 2013 L3560 usually exudes a few drops of fluid after shop service but desists in days.

If I share OP's experience when the L3560 is seven years old I will research ATF AT-205.

 

[Redlands Okie]

In my opinion, they should fix the leak, the complete leak, and nothing but the leak. Whatever it takes. You paid good money for a leak fix and they failed in their part of the deal. Any judge would kick their butt over this...they are liable to fix your leak.

I agree, problem is will the dealer have the same thought process. Seems many mechanics are parts replacers until it gets fixed. Not very good at identify a problem or understanding that quite often the thing getting fixed is just a SYMPTOM of what's the real problem that is at fault.

 

[4570Man]

I've got plenty of leaky equipment, but I didn't just pay to have it fixed and it's not $60,000 equipment. It looks more like this. That forklift actually leaks a lot less then his M59 currently does.

 

[Rustyiron]

762hr. I took to dealer to fix leak, whatever it took. The shaft talk was never a thought or mentioned til I sent pic of leak this morning. jeff I bought new in 2010, Fluid has been changed 5 times. Also jeff, at 70hr both hydro pumps were replaced after failure. kubota's opinion was because it sat for 2 years on dealers lot.

I paid 1200, another 1000 would have been fine if thats what it cost but wasn't given that option.

That's pretty clear to me! They need to take it back down and id the cause and stop the leak. As you said, any additional parts, you'll pay for. Just not the labor getting it split again. I'd start pressing the dealer and see what his position is.

 

[rScotty]

I think it doesn't matter how much it leaks because you don't want it to leak at all. It's true that an oil leak due to poor sealing in that location is a known problem with many FWD tractors - but it's also true that mechanics know how to fix it.
Something else we know is that a leak there isn't a typical problem with M59s. There's enough M59 owners here on TBN that we would know by now if a front axle leak was a common problem with that model.

The real problem is likely to be that the dealer's mechanic missed it the first time around or didn't put the seal in right. Seals can be real tricky sometimes. There's always a temptation to just pry the old one out, hammer a new one in, and bolt it back together. Replacing parts rather than spending the time to completely diagnose the failure is a calculated gamble that all mechanics take sometimes. I know; I've been a mechanic for many decades.

But as I see it, this is a problem for the dealer to fix. It comes down to him accepting your money in exchange doing a job and then not getting it completely done. Instead of judges and the legal route can you and he settle for a "percentage fix"?
It sounds like everyone is honest and trying their best here, so the dealer probably thought that replacing a seal would fix it.... and that replacing the seal properly was within his mechanic's abilities. But something didn't work out.

Just as an aside, I doubt that the problem is a bent shaft. That's way out in left field. It's more likely to be something simple like sloppy seal installation. Any mechanic will know what I mean by that. A common example would be putting a seal in with a flat punch and a hammer instead of taking the time to make up a regular seal installation tool to push it into place evenly. Yep, I've done that very thing myself.....and had to redo jobs because of it. Although I'm kinda surprised that the dealer isn't curious enough about the cause that he is willing to take another look for free. Or is he? I know that back when I had my shop I did that sort of thing all the time. You don't ever want to miss a chance to learn something.

Anyway, the bottom line here is that I think the dealer does have the obligation here to either find the problem and fix it...or refund the bulk of your money so you can go elsewhere.
good luck with it,
rScotty

 

[pap71]

The dealer should fix the problem no charge to the customer. I was a ASE certified master tech for many years working at a new car dealership. I remember replacing a axle seal on a front wheel drive Oldsmobule years ago. I put the new seal in like many times before on other cars. The car left the shop and came back the next day with the new seal leaking. I took the leaking seal out and saw the spring on the inside of the seal had come off while installing the new seal. We did the repair for free and installed a GM seal. The point is any thing can happen then doing repairs. I never had a spring pop off of a seal before that day and it never happened again after that.

 

[WM75Guy]

The dealer needs to fix it at their expense, you already paid to have it fixed. It should not be leaking. When I hear the "it's normal to leak" excuse I take it as one of two things. Either the person can't fix it right or they won't fix it right. If it is supposed to leak then they would all do it from the factory.

None of my equipment leaks any fluid, I don't allow it. It goes to the shop and gets fixed. I have been involved in emergency services either paid or volunteer since 1975. When I see a firetruck parked with a pan of kitty litter under it and ask why it's there I usually get the "it's normal for diesels to leak oil" reason. When you say it's not normal you get the real reason, it's cheaper to add some occasionally than to fix the leak.