Specialty Tractor

[presnewt]

Don't be so pissy. Just because your dealer cannot fix it doesn't mean it isn't fixable. It just means that he can't fix it. What do you do when you hire someone incompetent? Throw up your arms and walk away? Or take the more logical course of either fixing it yourself or finding someone who can?

There are as many good mechanical shops as poor ones. Sometime during those 5 years you must have considered either fixing it yourself or finding someone who can. I gave you some hints on how to evaluate a shop. But I bet you can figure that out yourself.

However, your point is accurate when you say that if what I am saying doesn't make sense to you it's my shortcoming. So Let me try again by saying this:

"Whatever machine you get is going to require mechanical attention. That's the nature of mechanical things. You need to figure out how you are going to provide that mechanical attention or else you will end up with a similar problem."

No, I'm not trying to be mean. You didn't get a very good model last time. I hear that. I figure you can fix that.
What I'm doing is working on the more general mechanical part of the problem.

rScotty

Not being pissy, just don't understand your comment. If the dealership cannot fix it and I cannot fix it, then for all intents and purposes it is unfixable. They are the ones trained, they are the ones I have already paid for the repair work. At some point, it is time to move on from a machine that does not work. If this was a car and the certified mechanics could not keep it running then I would be a fool to keep driving that car in hopes it will all of sudden get better. I have been trying to fix this model for five years. I have done a lot of the work myself (I am an accountant, not a mechanic) but things like hydraulic or engine problems are above my paygrade. If the experts can't fix it, then it is time to move on.

 

[presnewt]

I'll give the example of my mother in-law's Toyota minivan. A bunch of dashboard lights came on, and it started running rough. She took it to her family's much trusted mechanic. He could not figure out what was wrong with it. Diagnostic machine could not figure it out. He said "It's either the engine, the transmission, or both. I can't narrow it down enough to help you. You better take it to the dealer."

The Toyota dealer ran diagnostics on it, and they told her the same thing. "It's either the engine or the transmission or both. We can't figure it out without starting to replace everything, one thing at a time. That could get expensive. A new engine is $5K. A new transmission is $4K. The van is only worth $10K. You'd be better off getting a different vehicle."

So yes, you can spend time and money and eventually repair everything. But at a point, it's not worth the time or money or aggravation of having it fail again and again and nobody can seem to determine why.

I'd think after hearing the OP's reasoning for wanting a different machine, most people would agree with him. Get a different machine.

Thanks, your example is kinda exactly where I am. It becomes a money issue but also a stress issue.

 

[rScotty]

Not being pissy, just don't understand your comment. If the dealership cannot fix it and I cannot fix it, then for all intents and purposes it is unfixable. They are the ones trained, they are the ones I have already paid for the repair work. At some point, it is time to move on from a machine that does not work. If this was a car and the certified mechanics could not keep it running then I would be a fool to keep driving that car in hopes it will all of sudden get better. I have been trying to fix this model for five years. I have done a lot of the work myself (I am an accountant, not a mechanic) but things like hydraulic or engine problems are above my paygrade. If the experts can't fix it, then it is time to move on.

I don't think we are that far apart, and I don't disagree. What I am saying is to step back and take a look at the whole situation.
Mechanical things are wonderful and not very complicated. But they all have in common that they need mechanical attention to keep giving good service. Either we do it ourselves or find someone who can.

Lucky for you and I, these are logical devices. So if we don't want to do it, it isn't very difficult to find someone who can. Unfortunately, your Steiner dealer wasn't capable. I don't know why.

Listen to me, I'm an old mechanic myself. So are several others here on TBN. Read between the lines on both on my posts and on MossRoad's. We both like Steiner and Ventrac and think they are simple wonderful machines. We know that they are made by assembling commercial parts and designed to be owned by guys who like devices designed in that manner because it makes them able to be fixed by us mechanically inclined owners. They are simple to diagnose and to fix. More than that, most owners own them have them because they are FUN to diagnose and fix. Sort of like touring the country on an old British motorcycle or vintage chevy van/VW van. You EXPECT to need wrenches now and again.....

Your dealer and his mechanics don't feel that way. They are stumped. I'm afraid that all the training in the world is not going to change what is wrong with that shop. But there are others......

So when you change to a different make of tractor, keep in mind that the ability of the shop to service it is important to you. I hear you that you do not want to do the work yourself. What I am saying is since that is the case, you owe it to yourself to be able to evaluate the next model you look at in terms of the dealer AND his ability to provide service.
It's mechanical; you have to have both.

And especially so when you start looking as some of the European models. Go slow there. Frankly they are better in many ways - in every way in fact - than the US made slope-capable models. But they are way more complicated mechanically.
Luck,
rScotty

 

[presnewt]

I don't think we are that far apart, and I don't disagree. What I am saying is to step back and take a look at the whole situation.
Mechanical things are wonderful and not very complicated. But they all have in common that they need mechanical attention to keep giving good service. Either we do it ourselves or find someone who can.

Lucky for you and I, these are logical devices. So if we don't want to do it, it isn't very difficult to find someone who can. Unfortunately, your Steiner dealer wasn't capable. I don't know why.

Listen to me, I'm an old mechanic myself. So are several others here on TBN. Read between the lines on both on my posts and on MossRoad's. We both like Steiner and Ventrac and think they are simple wonderful machines. We know that they are made by assembling commercial parts and designed to be owned by guys who like devices designed in that manner because it makes them able to be fixed by us mechanically inclined owners. They are simple to diagnose and to fix. More than that, most owners own them have them because they are FUN to diagnose and fix. Sort of like touring the country on an old British motorcycle or vintage chevy van/VW van. You EXPECT to need wrenches now and again.....

Your dealer and his mechanics don't feel that way. They are stumped. I'm afraid that all the training in the world is not going to change what is wrong with that shop. But there are others......

So when you change to a different make of tractor, keep in mind that the ability of the shop to service it is important to you. I hear you that you do not want to do the work yourself. What I am saying is since that is the case, you owe it to yourself to be able to evaluate the next model you look at in terms of the dealer AND his ability to provide service.
It's mechanical; you have to have both.

And especially so when you start looking as some of the European models. Go slow there. Frankly they are better in many ways - in every way in fact - than the US made slope-capable models. But they are way more complicated mechanically.
Luck,
rScotty

I agree 100% on the importance of a good dealer and a good service department. It is probably as important or more important than the machine itself. To have a dependable, trustworthy machine you need two things...a competent machine and a competent service department to keep said machine working. I have neither of those. As much as I like the European slope mowing tractors, I am leery of them because of the lack of service dealers. My options as I see them are to get rid of the Steiner and go with Ventrac, or get rid of Steiner and go with traditional tractor.

 

[Rustyiron]

It has been in the shop since labor day of 2021. In 2020 it was in the shop for almost three months. The curreny problems (hydraulic) have taken the dealer four tries to fix and it is still not fixed. In 2020 it took them three tries to fix it. Before that, I had lift problems and I also have had bolts on some of the engine parts shear off causing it to completely tear up radiator and all kinds of other stuff. I do not use the machine commercially so it is not worked very hard and does not have an overabundance of hours on it. It is a model 440 which I have been told by dealer after dealer was a disaster of a tractor. The majority of the work is I do is mowing during the spring and summer. It has never made it more than two or three months before breaking down. There has been plenty of diagnosis done on it by the dealership over the last three years. It has not helped. I have finally gotten Steiner corporate to step in and try to help but you can only waste so much time and money on a piece of equipment that will not run.

I understand. I took can't keep it running as possibly a simple fuel problem with just the engine not running.
I'm under the impression (that others have mentioned), that is both Steiner and ven track are made up of mostly "off the shelf" components and should be very reasonable to diagnose and repair for a mechanic. I'm curious about the "worst model" comments coming from the dealer. I could see this as an excuse or way out for the lack of a real mechanic in your situation. I'd persu the manufacturers solution or at least find another dealer or mechanic.
I'm guessing that you don't have much faith in their "mechanics" since you've reached out to corporate. I don't like hammering a dealer that I don't know, but I can easily see that they might only be glorified "set up" guys and not an experienced mechanic.

 

[ArlyA]

Seem he's had more grief with the tractor than just a "simple fuel problem"..

 

[Sawyer Rob]

I see guys on here get rid of their tractor for no good reason at all, this guy has a good reason...

Dump the terd and buy something you are happy with!

SR

 

[stevem5215]

Sorry, but the 440 is not worth the hassle. Everyone steers away from them. You should just give corporate Steiner one more chance. When they say it's fixed, trade it in while working on something else. Maybe a Ventrac maybe a new Steiner. You know what you need. If it's a slope mower doing commercial work then get one of those. It's time to move on.

 

[Rustyiron]

Seem he's had more grief with the tractor than just a "simple fuel problem"..

Obviously, his initial "won't keep running" led me to this initial thought. "...yet!"

 

[ArlyA]

I agree 100% on the importance of a good dealer and a good service department. It is probably as important or more important than the machine itself. To have a dependable, trustworthy machine you need two things...a competent machine and a competent service department to keep said machine working. I have neither of those. As much as I like the European slope mowing tractors, I am leery of them because of the lack of service dealers. My options as I see them are to get rid of the Steiner and go with Ventrac, or get rid of Steiner and go with traditional tractor.

Let us know how this all works out.