First off, I am sorry that you have had such problems and travails. I'm also sorry that the issues have caused friction with your family.
Ok. Down to brass tacks. Given what you have written above, Fredrick's seems to be offering in good faith to make this right. That is great.
Given the history, I understand that you trust your mechanic more than theirs, and I would too. As your mechanic Ray has been explicit with you about what the fix is, I presume at this point Frederick's knows as well what is needed for this block/head. However, I think that as Fredrick's is paying for the work, it is not unreasonable for them to use their own mechanic, but you might ask Stephen for a bit closer supervision of the mechanic(s). Much as I would love to get their mechanic(s) to commit to a plan of action in advance, that's not fair to whoever the mechanic is either, as they haven't seen the engine as it is now.
So, I would try to do a couple of things;
One, I think that you have the right perspective on family and tracts. I think that you may rely on the tractor, and you actually have money invested in it, but you are right this is a tractor, not an immediate family member needing to go to the Mayo Clinic. I think that you are right in family being more important than possessions.
Two, the goal here for both you and Frederick's is a working tractor. As far as I can tell from what you wrote above, you both seem to be on that page. That's great! I would let them do it.
Three, given the history, I think it is not unreasonable to ask nicely of Fredrick's, "if the currently proposed engine repairs don't result in a fully working tractor, what then?" It is a fairly polite way of getting across that you are frazzled, and would like to put all of this behind you for good. If the response is along the lines of "well, we will fix it again...", then I think it is worth pointing out what the track record would be at that point, and politely stating that given the time and effort, you expect them to make it right this time.
If the proposed repair doesn't fix things, I think I would cross that bridge when you get there. Sure, lots of things could go wrong in the future, but that's hypochondria in a different form. E.g. My current tractor blew a wheel motor at seven hours of runtime, (according to the service department the first time that they had ever seen the issue) and then blew the replacement motor at 22 hours, giving me back my rebuilt motor. At that point, I definitely had worries about what I had purchased. It has been fine ever since. So, my $0.02 is to hang in there.
I have been involved in taking things to court, (one big one was my employer had an issue ($$$ issue) with a supplier, and I was responsible for doing the heavy lifting with the lawyers). Trust me it is time that is lost from your life. If that's your profession, and you enjoy it, different story.
When Fredrick's sends you the repaired tractor, my $0.02 would be to baby it for a few hours. Don't use wide open throttle, don't lug the engine, don't short cycle the engine. Start it, use it lightly to do small chores for a few hours, and then stop. Then do it again a couple of times more to let everything settle in and bond.
As much as this saga has been frazzling, I would try to keep my eye on the prize; Frederick's (Stephen) is stepping up to make this right for you, and get you a working tractor.
All the best,
Peter
Thanks Peter,
I needed to read that.
I’m just so frustrated and aggravated with this whole situation.
Here it is in a nutshell:
I purchased this “refurbished” tractor, from a reputable, trustworthy dealer of Vintage Yanmar Tractors in November of 2024. Was supposedly nothing wrong with it and was ready to go. That’s why I didn’t mind making the 7-8 hour trip (one way) to go buy it because of the Fredricks Reputation with these tractors.
That day back in November of 2024 when I loaded it on my trailer, I noticed transmission/hydraulic oil coming out the PTO Seal, the transmission Shifter Boot was all weathered and torn, and the Turn Signal Lights didn’t function.
The Salesman, Dan, told me to bring it down the road to Fredricks’ “Service Center”. Their Yanmar mechanic, Marti, changed the PTO Seal. Water was all in the oil so I asked him to drain the trans/hydro oil and install new fluid. He also diagnosed the turn signal lights and got them fixed with a new flasher unit. The parts manager, Danny, handed me a shifter boot and I installed it myself on the tractor.
Got it home and realized the head gasket was blown.
Fredricks agreed to let a local mechanic close to my house (who I know) install a new head gasket and a new head.
Fredricks sent a new loaded head. My mechanic started putting it back together with new (used) head bolts and said the tractor needed a new engine block because the threads where the head bolts went in the block were crooked. (My mechanic did not drill any holes or helicoil anything).
I paid my mechanic $200 labor for the dis-assembled engine. Fredricks was gonna pay him $200 to re-assemble, but my mechanic didn’t get to assemble it because of the bad engine.
Fredricks came and picked up the tractor in March of 2025 and installed a new, re-built engine (the engine that’s in it now). I had to go pick it up when it was complete.
I picked it up in April of 2025 and brought it home. I noticed the front gear case timing cover had a crack in it and was leaking oil. Fredricks agreed to let another local mechanic (whom I didn’t know) replace the timing cover. Fredricks paid for it, but I forgot off the top of my head what it cost. I will come back and edit once I find the price.
I get it home, use it for a couple hours bush hogging and noticed I had to add coolant. I looked for a leak and that’s where I found the 2 leaks coming from between the cylinder head, head gasket, and engine block. The throttle shaft assembly had to be replaced also, which Fredricks agreed to do.
Fredricks agreed for me to bring it to a local mechanic shop in my area (the one who replaced the timing cover).
He got it all tore down and noticed a huge amount of RTV Silicone Copper “gunk” on the cylinder head, head gasket, and engine block.
The cylinder head was sent off to a machine shop (standard practice by my local mechanic). 3 to 5 thousandths of an inch had to be milled down because of “gouges”. He repaired/replaced the throttle shaft assembly and installed the head back on the block. Torqued it all down to specs. Still leaking coolant. Re-torqued and the engine got to running temp and cooled down. Still leaking coolant from the same 2 spots. The bill for Fredricks is $1,802.70.
Fredricks assembled the “new re-built” engine that’s in the tractor now with all that copper RTV spray “gunk”.
Fredricks has offered to come pickup the tractor again for repair at their shop.
I told Fredricks I either wanted my money back on the loan and they can come get the tractor, let my local mechanic do the complete engine job, or bring me another tractor of equal value. I cannot make another trip up there over 7 hours one way, on my dime.
Why would I trust their mechanic(s) after they’re the ones who assembled this engine to begin with??
These are not the same mechanic(s) at Fredricks who were doing the refurbishments back in the day when the Yanmar gray market tractors were popular and when Fredricks had a yard full of them. One of them hasn’t been there but about 5 or 6 years.
So here we are now. I am waiting on their reply.
