Look what I've been missing....
I just read the entire thread, start to finish. With such a short time to digest all the information, accusations, and metalurgical examinations, to no one's suprise, I have my opinion(s) as to what the problem is.
Gonna upset someone I suspect.
First off. The company I work for has several cranes, a half dozen back hoes, 2 excavators, several skid steers, ect... The standard fare for a general contractor. Some of the equipment is relatively new. (yet it still has relatively the same number of breakages as some older equipment) We have a maint. and repair crew consisting of 6 people, 2 pick-up trucks and a Kenworth repair/fuel/service rig equipped with welder, generator, torches, hydraulic press, vice, anvil, a forge, loads of tools, ect. Also, they have a 4 bay shop, parts storage, and office that's just over 12,000sq. ft. Point being? Use equipment, no matter how it's built, no matter how carefull some people are, and THINGS BREAK from time to time. You just have expect a certain amount of failures and make accomodations for such. It isn't always "poor design". It isn't always "poor quality material". SOMETIMES though, it IS poor operation that causes the damage.
I've owned and operated my own equipment for quite a long time. It's not always easy to be objective about one's own actions. So, let's leave that out of the picture for now.
We have (at this time) 11 full-time equipment operators. 6 have been with us for a prolonged period of time. By watching those 6, and all the other "transient labor" that floats in and out of here, I've noticed that some of these guys tend to run whatever they climb on with little downtime, few repairs needed, and even lower required "routine maint." on their equipment. Plain and simple, they're just easier on equipment. A few of our guys, ESPECIALLY the younger ones, or the "work here for a while then move on to another employer for a while" types seem to keep our repair guys in overtime. To the casual observer, they usually appear to be competent operators. They get approx. the same volume of work done in the same period of time as some of the "better operators". But when we track repair cost per hour on specific equipment and then compare that to who's operating that equipment, the parallels begin to emerge.
It's always the same cast of characters who break everything.
Long story short, some people are just harder on their (or someone elses) equipment than others. Blaming it on the equipment rather than looking at the facts only serves to emphasize the fact that others use the VERY SAME EQUIPMENT with little or no troubles.
Now, on the amature metalurgy class we're having; Looks to me as if that's a stamped steel/forged part we're talking about. Cast would be more expensive to produce, less likely to endure typical use, and just not the way things are commonly done.
Parts break. That's why all the manufacturers have billion dollar investments in replacement parts networks, dealers have mega-buck investments in parts inventories, and why many end users stock their own inventory of high failure rate parts. It's called THE HIGH PRICE OF DOING BUSINESS.
Now don't get me wrong, I like Brian. I admire his dedication and determination to make a business go. But let's face it, how often do you get to cry wolf a'fore no one comes running to your aid? Sounds oddly enough like there's a trend here. He's using equipment (models and brands) that have a stellar reputation, yet his "luck" with them is horrendous. (New Holland and Rhino BOTH have taken a bashing)
Brian, maybe you need to take a long carefull look at how you're using this equipment. Also, as is the case with the mowers you have, you can't use medium duty equipment in sustained commercial use without a high part failure rate. That's why they make extra heavy duty mowers.
Not to rub salt into the wound, but let's compare; Over the summer, my mowing business and its employees have logged just shy of 2800 hours spread across 4 tractors. (one with almost half the hours) I have a repair log book on all my equipment. With EVERY repair that was needed, there was a cause and an effect. Not so much as hunting for someone to blame as it is looking for ways to AVOID simular problems in the future, we made certain to document causes. If an operator was to drag in a piece of equipment that was broken in some fashion, and they weren't aware of HOW it happened, I'd be very concerned. Obviously they aren't paying nearly enough attention to what's going on around them, and just "making laps". That would be a GIANT RED FLAG with me. (And NOT cause to point blame at the manufacturer)
