Redmax Issues
What happened it this: you got hosed. The EB7000 backpack blower is NOTORIOUS for wearing out pins, I've fixed dozens of them. The design is not the issue, but rather the material and treating process by which the pin was created. The EB7001 was the direct result of this issue being solved. I'm not exactly sure what they did to the new piston pins, but in the 7001 and higher, this problem has never resurfaced as it had in the 7000 and 6200 model ranges. Another theory of mine seeing as how Redmax obviously will not tell me the exact cause of the failure of the pin, is that the tolerances from the get-go were too great which allowed the pin to spin around in the piston rather than the bearing do it's job, so it just wore itself out over time, but it IS a chromed piece of steel, so I'm not sure how it would wear out that much or that quick in aluminum. I was able to repair almost all of these units with a new piston kit which I would get at the time I was working for a Redmax dealer for around $30. I'd fix the 7000 blowers with the updated piston and pin kit, and then resell them and not ONCE has one ever returned. It seems to me that someone put the air filter cover of a 7001 on a 7000 perhaps. The back pad of the frame would be red on a 7000 and black on a 7001, if you saw them, you'd know the difference instantly. Its possible someone switched a few parts over and masked a 7000 they were having issues with to sell to you. It was one of only a few flaws Redmax blowers from that time period of 6200/7000-8001 blowers, and Redmax has since rectified all issues. Redmax is a very good brand and I would not hesitate to use it again, I just have way too many STIHL dealers around me and not enough Redmax dealers to get parts from , not to mention the STIHL places by me also do Echo and Exmark, so I am basically completely covered for parts for all my machines. I would get a new kit, as the crank would not be damaged by this, even having struck the MUCH weaker piston skirt and destroying it, you can rebuild this very easily and cheaply provided you didn't lose any bolts. The cylinder should be fine, maybe a little PB blaster and 240 emery cloth might be necessary in a few spots, but all in all, you should have no issue getting these running again under $50 or so. BTW, don't forget to bring in your muffler for the free recall swap. The new ones are VERY welded underneath, the older ones have a mount spot welded to the lower back of the mufflers, just incase the dealer tells you it's been done to that machine, or they don't do that for these anymore, it's a FEDERAL SAFETY ISSUE, and they are required by law to replace them forever on these machines that haven't had the swap already. Hope this all helps you out some, and maybe dissuades you from writing off the Redmax brand alltogether.
Also, here is a parts breakdown for the 7001. If you need one for the 8000, let me know, I have one too.:
http://www.redmax.com/ddoc/RMXI/RMXI2003_USen/RMXI2003_USen_EB7001,0311_SN40100101 and up.pdf
Just my $.02