Att: B2650 front-mount snowblower owners!

JCA · Dec 28, 2004

My blower blew yesterday and I'm trying to figure out why. It was bought used from a dealer. I just noticed that the exploded parts diagram in the manual shows the shaft housing mounted ON TOP so that the flange is ON TOP of the square tubular subframe . Mine was mounted ON BOTTOM of the subframe; flange ON BOTTOM. Probably the drawing is right and mine was assembled incorrectly. There was other evidence of a repair. I'm putting it back together again (with a new shaft housing) and I want to make sure I'm doing it right. I also want to know how loud to yell at the dealer who sold me this thing. So: is yours on top, or on bottom?

Thanks!
Jim

Junkman · Dec 28, 2004

( ...........I also want to know how loud to yell at the dealer who sold me this thing. ............
Thanks!
Jim )

Don't yell at all. All he did was sell it to you, he didn't manufacture it. With used equipment such as this, it is a buyers problem if anything goes wrong and to inspect the unit before purchase. Buying used is sometimes not a bargain in the end. Hopefully you saved enough that the repair won't put you into the price of a new unit.

JCA · Dec 28, 2004

Junkman,

Fact is, I'm not the yelling type. But don't you think a dealer has an obligation to make sure the stuff they sell used is mechanically sound? If you had come across that 'blower and were in the market, would you have noticed that the shaft housing was mounted on the wrong side of the subframe? I don't think many people would have noticed it. The dealer who bought and sold it didn't notice it either (hopefully). Isn't it up to them to make sure the stuff they sell works right?

Jim

Junkman · Dec 28, 2004

You are correct, both you, I, and the dealer would probably have not noticed it. On the other hand, the dealer sold you a used item, presumably without any warranty. Therefore, I don't believe that the dealer should be responsible. He didn't assemble it, nor did he give you any warranty at purchase time, because if he did, you wouldn't have made this post. Dealers can't be held responsible for a manufacturing defect unless they had some part in the manufacture. Who knows, this might have been assembled incorrectly at the factory years ago and it was your misfortune to have it come apart on the first days use. If you want warranties then I suggest that you purchase new, not used. I have always figured the worse case scenario when purchasing used. If I have to fix something, the saving of used vs. new has to be enough to make it worth while. I bought a used BX2750 snowblower and paid 50% of new. If I had to do any work on it, then it still would have been a good deal. If I had to pay 75% of new, then I would have walked away, like I did with the BX broom that was on e Bay in the spring. That is also why I didn't buy a used BX22.
From my post of September 03
( Today I made the leap and placed the order for a new one just the way that I want it to be. I looked at a 2002 used BX22 from a private owner that had 28 hours on it, but it had a bad dent on the side of the front bucket...... and about a 2" tear. Ran well after we removed the mouse nest from the engine. He hasn't used it for a couple of months.... had more mud on it than a mud wrestler after a 10 round bout. I think that the tractor would clean up and the damage could be repaired, but with only one year remaining on the machine and the savings didn't add up. I decided that it just wasn't worth it for me. It had a dent on the hood also that detracted from it. 3 way loader valve and I wanted a 4 way, 10" hoe bucket and I want a 12"..... He is asking $15,500 for the machine. )

Second thoughts on Price of BX22

JCA · Dec 29, 2004

Hi folks. I wonder if everyone else agrees with junkman that the dealer has no responsibility to provide equipment in working order, in the absence of a warranty. (fwiw, when I bought the thing, as part of a package with my tractor, nobody said there was a warranty, and nobody said "as is." I should have asked, but I didn't. )

Jim

Grassgod · Dec 29, 2004

JCA - I have been in the same position. Infact just last year I bought a Grasshopper from a dealer in Maine in Bethel. I also bought a used 42" snowblower attachment for the grasshopper from him. The first storm hit & I found some problems with the snowblower. I called George up & he decided to make good on it. I was not rude with him as I have always felt kindness gets you further then rudeness...With that said...call the dealer & be a gentleman & cross your fingers. If he is a true business man he will do you right. If not, Never recommend him or purchase there again. It really is the dealers call.

KirkMcD · Dec 29, 2004

( Hi folks. I wonder if everyone else agrees with junkman that the dealer has no responsibility to provide equipment in working order, in the absence of a warranty. (fwiw, when I bought the thing, as part of a package with my tractor, nobody said there was a warranty, and nobody said "as is." I should have asked, but I didn't. )

Jim )

If it didn't state "as is" there is usually an implied warranty, but that varies from state to state.

Your profile says that you are in Maine. It seems that Maine has a pretty strong Implied Warranty Law.

Junkman · Dec 29, 2004

Jim.... it appears from reading about this in another post in a different forum, that you noticed problems with this unit from the beginning. In that post, you attribute the problem to the bolts becoming loose and falling out. You also comment that the gear box had been previously repaired. When you found these original problems, that is when you should have checked the entire unit for defects and contacted the dealer for assistance. How did you miss the repaired gear box when you added oil to it? Broken shear pins, missing grease nipples, partially filled gear box, etc. should have tipped you off right away to the fact that this unit needed to be looked at more closely. Where did you purchase the repair parts, at the dealer that sold the unit to you?? Assuming that you did, you discuss the problem with them at that time?? If so, what was their response?

Jim's other post....

JCA · Dec 29, 2004

Junkman:

I think you're getting confused about what was broken when. That's partly my fault.

( In that post, you attribute the problem to the bolts becoming loose and falling out. )

That was a dumb mistake on my part. The bolts were still there and they were still tight. The main shaft housing connects to the subframe on ONLY ONE SIDE. Yet there are screw holes on both sides. I was looking at the other side when I said that the screws had gotten lose and fallen out. I was wrong.

( You also comment that the gear box had been previously repaired. )

I never said that. I said the main shaft housing had been repaired. That's the part that was mounted wrong (below instead of above the subframe). It had a couple of extra pieces of metal welded to it. I didn't realize it until I took it to the dealer to get a replacement. Then, seeing them side by side, it was clear that it had been repaired. But this was AFTER it had failed, not before.

( Broken shear pins, missing grease nipples, partially filled gear box... )

The gear box had been sitting all summer when I checked it; who knows how long it was on the lot. I wasn't that surprised to find that it was low. It wasn't empty...just low. At about the same time--when I was putting the blower on the tractor for the first time--I noticed the missing grease nipple and the broken shear pin. I also noticed that it took a lot of grease in the auger. That didn't give me a lot of confidence, but these were little things. I judged that a grease nipple, a shear pin, and low oil and grease was not a big deal, not worth complaining to the dealer over.

Seems to me you're saying that I should have contacted the dealer about a few little things I noticed early on, but when it comes to the big thing--a main shaft mounted in the wrong place and ended up falling off--isn't the dealer's fault. With respect, that doesn't make any sense to me.

By the way, today I finished putting the shaft in its new housing and stuck it back on the tractor (in the right place this time) and it seems to be working well. So far I'm only out about $100 (not counting new tools I needed) and several hours of pleasant time spent fixing the thing. Assuming it holds up now, all is well.

Best,
Jim