I spent two hours chasing a drum balance issue on a client's machine in Dayton last Saturday before remembering his advice, and sure enough the hinge was off by a quarter inch causing the whole vibration problem, has anyone else found that manufacturers are skimping on hinge quality lately?
Needed a valve plate kit for a Copeland scroll on a walk-in cooler. Saw a no-name brand on Amazon for $40 vs $120 for the real thing. Figured it's just metal and rubber right? Wrong. The gasket was off by 2mm, had to recut it. Then the reed valve cracked after 3 days. Pulled it apart again, lost a whole afternoon, finally ordered OEM. Ended up spending more in the long run. Anyone else get burned by cheap compressor parts?
I was working on a Samsung fridge in a house near Austin. The ice maker stopped working and the board showed no errors. I spent an hour checking sensors and the water line before I noticed the little plastic arm that tells the dispenser when the bucket is full was just slightly bent. Bent it back with my fingers and it started working perfectly. Has anyone else run into something this simple causing no error codes?
I had to replace a circulation pump on a Whirlpool last Tuesday and usually I just tighten by feel. This time I borrowed a torque wrench from a buddy and set it to the spec 25 inch-pounds. The difference was crazy, no wobble or leaks at all compared to my last few jobs where I would get a slow drip after a week. Has anyone else found specific bolts where a torque wrench actually matters more than others?
I had to choose between a genuine Frigidaire ice maker module for $85 and a knockoff for $40 last week on a job in Austin. I went with the cheap one to save the customer money, but now it's cycling weird and the ice cubes are half size. Did I mess up, or do aftermarket parts sometimes work out with some tweaking? What's your take on this trade-off?
Last month I had to choose between a clean used Bosch from a house flip for $150 or a new Frigidaire going for $450 at the local supply house in Phoenix. I picked the Bosch thinking I could save the client some cash and it looked mint. Got it installed, ran the test cycle, and two days later the control board decided to die mid-cycle. Now I'm stuck ordering a $200 replacement board and the client's pissed. Anybody else swear off buying used dishwashers from flips or do I just have terrible luck?
I had to choose between a used Maytag washer with a mechanical timer and a brand new Samsung with all the electronics, and I went with the Maytag because it was half the price and I know I can fix anything on it with basic tools. Has anyone else found that older, simpler machines hold up better in high-use rentals than the new fancy ones?
Customer had a Kenmore that kept throwing an error code and stopping mid-cycle. The drum wasn't spinning but the motor hummed. Turned out the belt was loose but not broken, and the idler pulley was wobbly. I wedged a penny behind the pulley bracket and cinched the tensioner arm with a heavy zip tie. Ran three loads with a heat check after and it worked perfect. Anybody else got a ghetto fix that actually held up?
Picked up a used Samsung top loader off Facebook Marketplace for $120. Thought I got a deal but it started leaking on day 8. By day 14 the drum wouldn't spin at all. Opened it up and found the bearings were completely shot and the spider arm had cracks. Took me 4 hours to haul it to the dump and I was out the cash plus my time. Anyone else get burned by a used machine that looked fine on the outside but was rotted inside?
I went with the aftermarket one to save $200 and it died after 8 months. Has anyone else had bad luck with aftermarket compressors on hot days?
Last Thursday I pulled apart a Sub-Zero fridge in a house off Maple Ave, swapped the ice maker module, then tested the old one on the bench and it clicked fine. Turned out the contactor coil had a hairline crack that only showed at certain temps. Anyone else ever wasted a whole afternoon on something that simple?
Got a call at 8pm last Friday from a lady in Arlington whose dryer would run but never get hot. Turned out the thermal fuse was blown but also the vent was packed with three years of lint (like, a solid 2 inches of it). How often do you guys actually check the vent before swapping parts, or do you just go with the error code and hope for the best?
Last Wednesday I drove 45 minutes to a house in Arlington for a dishwasher that wouldn't drain. Customer said it was making a grinding noise. Pulled the kickplate, ran the diagnostic cycle, got error E15. Started thinking it was the drain pump or a bad control board. Then I remembered a tip from an old training class. Checked the coarse filter first. It was completely blocked with a piece of broken glass and some rice. Cleared it out, ran a rinse cycle, machine worked fine. Charged the call fee and that was it. Felt like an idiot for not looking there first. Has anyone else had a high dollar repair turn into something that simple?
I've been fixing washers and dryers for about 5 years now. Last month I had a Kenmore washer with a bad lid switch. The OEM part was $38 and the aftermarket one was $12. I went with the aftermarket one to save the customer money. Well two weeks later it fails and I have to go back out and swap it again for free. This time I used the OEM one and it's been fine. But then I did a Whirlpool fridge last week and the OEM evaporator fan motor was $85 versus the aftermarket at $30. I used the $30 one and it's been running smooth for 8 days now. So which way do you guys lean? Is it really always worth it to go OEM or are there certain parts where aftermarket is fine?
I was working on a Whirlpool dryer in a client's basement last Tuesday. The thing sounded like a freight train when it spun. I spent 45 minutes checking the belt, the rollers, and the idler pulley before I noticed the drum bearing housing had a single loose 5/16 inch screw. Tightened it up and the noise vanished completely. Made me wonder how many times I've overcomplicated simple fixes. Anyone else ever chased a complex problem that turned out to be something basic like this?
Honestly, I always thought those cheap ultrasonic cleaners were just a gimmick for jewelry, but I finally caved and grabbed one from Harbor Freight for $45 last month. Tried it on a gas range burner cap that was caked with years of baked-on grease, and it came out looking nearly new after just 8 minutes in the tank. Has anyone else found a weird appliance part that the sonic bath saved instead of replacing?
I was at a customer's house in Portland yesterday, fixing a drain issue on a GE top-loader. Got it running again, then it just stopped dead during the spin cycle, no error codes. Has anyone else seen this before and found a fix?
Last Thursday I was clearing out a clogged dryer vent in Elmwood and the old guy kept saying it wasn't a big deal, just clean the lint trap. He told me he had run his dryer like that for 12 years with no issues, which kind of hit different because I lost a customer last year to a dryer fire from the exact same setup. Am I being too cautious with the code standards or is it worth pushing back when people argue?
My buddy kept pushing me to buy a heated diode leak detector for like $150 and I figured my old bubble spray was fine. Then I spent 3 hours chasing a slow leak on a walk-in freezer at a diner near the highway. The soap would show tiny bubbles but I couldn't pin it down. Finally borrowed his detector and it found a pinhole near the bottom of the evaporator coil in about 2 minutes. That tool saved me from ripping the whole unit apart for nothing. Has anyone else had a cheap tool actually fail you bad enough to spend real money on the good version?
Last Tuesday I was working on a Bosch dishwasher at a house in Elmhurst and the manual said 25 inch-pounds for the sump screws. I followed it exactly but one strip of plastic cracked and now the whole thing leaks. My buddy swears by going 10% under the spec on plastic parts, but my old mentor said never deviate. Which side do you lean on for plastic components?
I keep seeing people in this group recommending extended warranties on every fridge and washer they sell. But in my 8 years repairing stuff in Austin, I've only seen them pay out maybe 3 times for major issues. Most of the time the fine print excludes things like compressor failures or control boards. Am I the only one who thinks they're just a cash grab or do you actually see customers getting value from them? What's your take based on real repair calls?
I was working on a Frigidaire model FFHS2611PF last Tuesday in Omaha, and the ice maker wasn't dumping. After checking the auger motor and the thermostat for 3 hours, I finally found the issue was a tiny piece of plastic stuck in the mold that stopped the ejector blades. Has anyone else run into random debris like that eating up your time on a simple fix?