Troy-Bilt denies ever hearing about Splitter Cylinder Failure

[mtfallsmikey]

Yes, it is a shame. Troybilt had the best lineup of walkbehind tillers you could buy. The current designs are similar, but the costcutting and very poor quality control shows up quickly when you actually but one to use.
The old Cub Cadet tractors were fantastic, and my shop worked on many of them, built as far back as the 60's and 70's. It is kind of amazing that most of the time, I could get parts easier for the old tractors, than I could for the new junk Cubs.
Jeff


QUOTE=avalancher;3005564]Kind of a shame isnt it?Troybilt used to have one of the finest names out there when it came to their rototillers, now they are in the Yugo frame of mind.Same with Cub,they used to make some fine tractors.

[/QUOTE]

I have pre-MTD examples of both brands, a Cub 1450 and a 1970 model Troy Horse. Due to my own stupidity I blew the entire tiller drive out of the Troy, cost $425 for the bearings, shaft, bronze drive gear, rear bearing, gaskets, shims, sure got hosed on the parts, but she runs good now. I wouldn't even dream of buying anything like that now. I saw a Columbia garden tractor at my OPE dealer, same deck/body as a Cub, but a little less $$, still MTD junk tho.

 

[Swamp Yankee]

Not to jump on the bash wagon

I can tell you as an engineer that has confirmed this through testing with several independent labs over the years, Chinese steel just plain sucks. Their quality control and attention to proper alloy composition is non-existent. Tensile testing on sample coupons cut from actual supplied product from China almost always came up 8000 to as much as 15000 psi short of ANSI/ASTM standards for the particular steel alloy. Don't even get me started on their heat treating.

In short what this means, even if the design is properly tested and robust enough for the application, the sub-standard material(s) used to execute the design in manufacture may make the product completely unreliable and in some instances, unsafe.

This is a huge part of the price difference between an American or Timberwolf that both use quality US produced steel and the MTD's and their derivatives.

Take Care

 

[johnha]

I had a Troy Bilt leaf vac, designed and built in Troy NY by Troy Bilt, that came with a 7 year warranty (one of the reasons I bought the thing). About the start of year 4, the transmission had problems. I contacted my local TB authorized repair center and was told that my unit was a Troy Bilt, but MTD had bought the company and would not honor the warranty.

So MTD gets the 'Good Will' and any value associated with the once well regarded Troy Bilt name, but did not assume any liabilities.

I went round and round with no satisfaction, even going to the top which usually gets you somewhere. My state Attorney General advised a bankruptcy claim, but admitted that any money awarded would be 1-3 cents on the dollar.

I WILL NEVER BUY ANYTHING THAT IS AFFILIATED WITH MTD and will tell anyone that asks how much they suck.

So I took that sucker apart and made a top for my Huskee garden cart, and towed the thing around with my tractor. Even changed the name. :hmm3grin2orange:

Take this MTD:
https://picasaweb.google.com/johnha1980/Revenge?authkey=Gv1sRgCJKDs6XG9Mv3Dg

 

[zogger]

used recycle repair

In this encomy 1000.00 feels more like 10,000 to me.... Thats why I went through and did everthing I could think to do....Will check the sheems thing tonight...Thanks for that tip! I do have a back-up honda motor and pump seating around brand new(hope I do not need it though). Darn sure know running natural gas this winter is out of the question, so wish me luck! Oh Also have a friskers as back up but 10-12 cords a year that will be a very tall order! Oh and the same thing with my saws the 192t is getting a much action as it can handle its just much cheeper to run! Man let the good times roll again! lol Its as tough as I can remember sence the early 80's!

--pretty much all I can do anymore. New for most things is outta the question. Now I did buy two new saws last fall because it was an emergency and I needed a larger saw. Three tons of oak in the living room qualifies. Had to borrow the money for that, and just last month got it paid off.

Short of that, I buy used everything and put as much sweat equity into the stuff as I can. There just ain't no money out there, and I ain't believing no happy talk this economy is gonna get any better, not with the gangster bankers running things.

One good thing, maybe they will finally end that ridiculous corn farmer/monsanto pure giveaway for ethanol. Maybe feed prices will drop, then food in general, and gas might go back to being gasoline again.

 

[smokinj]

--pretty much all i can do anymore. New for most things is outta the question. Now i did buy two new saws last fall because it was an emergency and i needed a larger saw. Three tons of oak in the living room qualifies. Had to borrow the money for that, and just last month got it paid off.

Short of that, i buy used everything and put as much sweat equity into the stuff as i can. There just ain't no money out there, and i ain't believing no happy talk this economy is gonna get any better, not with the gangster bankers running things.

One good thing, maybe they will finally end that ridiculous corn farmer/monsanto pure giveaway for ethanol. Maybe feed prices will drop, then food in general, and gas might go back to being gasoline again.

amen!

 

[mtfallsmikey]

--pretty much all I can do anymore. New for most things is outta the question. Now I did buy two new saws last fall because it was an emergency and I needed a larger saw. Three tons of oak in the living room qualifies. Had to borrow the money for that, and just last month got it paid off.

Short of that, I buy used everything and put as much sweat equity into the stuff as I can. There just ain't no money out there, and I ain't believing no happy talk this economy is gonna get any better, not with the gangster bankers running things.

One good thing, maybe they will finally end that ridiculous corn farmer/monsanto pure giveaway for ethanol. Maybe feed prices will drop, then food in general, and gas might go back to being gasoline again.

Hopefully from your mouth to God's ears!

 

[indiansprings]

Zogger, Amen to that! Around here they are planting corn on such poor and rocky ground they need to go to the fence rows to get enough dirt to cover it, lol. Their is a couple of big farmers running around trying to lease up every acre they can, paying 70.00 and acre for ground to put corn in. They don't care if it raises one ear, they have govt funded crop insurance on a basis so high it doesn't matter, it is a freaking joke. One dry year is going to bust their azzes and it couldn't happen soon enough for me.

 

[turnkey4099]

--pretty much all I can do anymore. New for most things is outta the question. Now I did buy two new saws last fall because it was an emergency and I needed a larger saw. Three tons of oak in the living room qualifies. Had to borrow the money for that, and just last month got it paid off.

Short of that, I buy used everything and put as much sweat equity into the stuff as I can. There just ain't no money out there, and I ain't believing no happy talk this economy is gonna get any better, not with the gangster bankers running things.

One good thing, maybe they will finally end that ridiculous corn farmer/monsanto pure giveaway for ethanol. Maybe feed prices will drop, then food in general, and gas might go back to being gasoline again.

Yeah! Just saw in the paper today tht the subsidy looks like headed for the trash heap. Long overdue.

Harry K

 

[freemind]

Zogger, Amen to that! Around here they are planting corn on such poor and rocky ground they need to go to the fence rows to get enough dirt to cover it, lol. Their is a couple of big farmers running around trying to lease up every acre they can, paying 70.00 and acre for ground to put corn in. They don't care if it raises one ear, they have govt funded crop insurance on a basis so high it doesn't matter, it is a freaking joke. One dry year is going to bust their azzes and it couldn't happen soon enough for me.

I work for a large farm. We farm over 5K acres of crops, and I raise the cattle. We have almost 1000 head right now (all steer operation).

I don't know how much farming you do, or if things may be different in your area. We can't get any crop insurance on new ground. You have to farm it for two years to establish a base, before you can buy crop insirance.

Even then, you still must weight the option if paying that much for insurance is worth it. It is a LARGE gamble. Even then, you do also know that those that buy the unsurance still have to buy the seed to plant too, right? $150 a bag for corn is nothing to sneeze at.

I don't support subsidies. I also don't support taking them away without putting an import tax/duty on ANY argricultural product either.

I also think ethanol should stop being mandated. They tried it before with gasohol and it was a dismal failure. This time they think if they mandate it, it will be better? How stupid... Let the markets dictate sucess or failure.

 

[hoskvarna]

mtd failure

i bought the mtd 27 ton splitter and after the 1yr warranty ran out my cylinder failed at the trunnion pin. i emailed them and got the same response. it was not a problem.(bull ) i weld for a living at a ag manufacting plant so i got out the torch and heated the cylinder wall and bent it back. got it real close ,clamped it and let it cool. then took a die grinder and v"ed the seam and welded it,and ground off the weld flush and put a 1/4 inch 3x5 piece of steel on it with a half moon in the center to fit around the trunnion pin and welded that on each side of each pin.i then went inside and v-notched the seam and welded that.i then took a hone and honed it smooth and put it back together,it leaks a little,but better than $485 for a new cylinder!

 

[smokinj]

i bought the mtd 27 ton splitter and after the 1yr warranty ran out my cylinder failed at the trunnion pin. i emailed them and got the same response. it was not a problem.(bull ) i weld for a living at a ag manufacting plant so i got out the torch and heated the cylinder wall and bent it back. got it real close ,clamped it and let it cool. then took a die grinder and v"ed the seam and welded it,and ground off the weld flush and put a 1/4 inch 3x5 piece of steel on it with a half moon in the center to fit around the trunnion pin and welded that on each side of each pin.i then went inside and v-notched the seam and welded that.i then took a hone and honed it smooth and put it back together,it leaks a little,but better than $485 for a new cylinder!

Did you take any pic's of what you did? Sounds like good info o hold on to.

 

[spike60]

I should tell my Cub rep to read this thread. :msp_sneaky:

Sad to say, but for the most part the overall negative impression you guys have of MTD's quality is pretty accurate. The primary goal of every redesign seems to be to take out cost in the manufacturing process. You can only do so much of that before ending up with products that are too cheaply made to hold up. The new 42" and 46" decks on the LTX tractors are really excellent cutting decks, but the rest of that redesign was all about saving money, and maintaining current price points, not coming up with a nicer unit.

Even sadder in some ways is that the market demands this from manufacturers. Keep the prices down, so things keep selling, but how about equipment that keeps running? The box stores that sell most of this crap really don't care. Their attitude is "call the 800 number" and it's someone elses problem.

Consumers share some blame as well. My response to "They don't build 'em like they used to" is that it's because not enough people are willing to pay for it. Make no mistake, if there was a healthy market for quality equipment, these manufacturers would be happy to roll them down the production lines. But these days it all about price, price, price.

 

[Stihl310]

Spike,

You hit the nail on the head... ultimately the mass retailers are the customers of these manufacturers. And ultimately they determine the price point... The manufacturers must meet these price points, or lose millions upon millions of dollars in business...

They definetly don't build them like they use to, but like you said, that's in part because people aren't willing to pay for them...

 

[K.C.]

Spike,

You hit the nail on the head... ultimately the mass retailers are the customers of these manufacturers. And ultimately they determine the price point... The manufacturers must meet these price points, or lose millions upon millions of dollars in business...

They definetly don't build them like they use to, but like you said, that's in part because people aren't willing to pay for them...

Just because I'm willing to pay more for a product does not mean the mfr. will provide a better product, now does it? Remember, the mega-corps that own most businesses these days have those "Golden Parachutes" they have to pay for... It's all about profit margin.