loquin
Well-Known Member
Early last winter, I picked up one of the HF engines on sale, and with the 20% coupon, got it for less than $80. I knew I wouldn't be needing it immediately, so, I put in oil and gas, and ran it about 10 - 15 minutes, just to make sure there were no problems. It ran fine, so, I turned off the fuel, and let the carb run dry, drained the gas tank, and put the motor on the shelf until I needed it.
A couple of weeks ago, I pulled it off the shelf, and there was oil everywhere - it had lost most of the oil from the crankcase! Finding a fresh oil leak on a clean surface is tough, but, after some searching, it turned out that the leak was through the crankcase cover itself; there was a casting defect on the cover, at the base of the oil fill neck. Apparently the aluminum casting was a bit ... porous there. Just enough to provide a slow leak.
The motor was under warranty, but, since this was long past HF's 30 day return window, I had two choices: ship the engine, (at my expense,) to California, or get them to send me the parts to fix it. Since paying to ship it to CA was going to MORE than eat the savings, I opted to fix it instead.
On a positive note, when I spoke to their customer support department, they were very helpful. I told the guy what had happened, and gave them the info they needed, and they placed an order to get a new crankcase cover, gasket, bearing and seal sent to me, free of charge. The only problem is that they stock NO parts for this motor in the US, so, the order goes to China, with a resulting 6-8 weeks for delivery.
Ouch!
I think there's a couple of 'morals' here. If you want to use this motor, wait until you will be needing it before buying, or, at least, re-check for any problems before the 30 day return window has run out.
If you need parts for the motor, be sure to order them at least 8 weeks before you need them... Yeah - I know. The state wouldn't give you a license for that time machine. At least, get a set of gaskets, seals, and maybe bearings on order as soon as you can, because you really don't want to be down for 8 weeks, while you're waiting on parts that are on a slow boat from China.
A couple of weeks ago, I pulled it off the shelf, and there was oil everywhere - it had lost most of the oil from the crankcase! Finding a fresh oil leak on a clean surface is tough, but, after some searching, it turned out that the leak was through the crankcase cover itself; there was a casting defect on the cover, at the base of the oil fill neck. Apparently the aluminum casting was a bit ... porous there. Just enough to provide a slow leak.
The motor was under warranty, but, since this was long past HF's 30 day return window, I had two choices: ship the engine, (at my expense,) to California, or get them to send me the parts to fix it. Since paying to ship it to CA was going to MORE than eat the savings, I opted to fix it instead.
On a positive note, when I spoke to their customer support department, they were very helpful. I told the guy what had happened, and gave them the info they needed, and they placed an order to get a new crankcase cover, gasket, bearing and seal sent to me, free of charge. The only problem is that they stock NO parts for this motor in the US, so, the order goes to China, with a resulting 6-8 weeks for delivery.
Ouch!I think there's a couple of 'morals' here. If you want to use this motor, wait until you will be needing it before buying, or, at least, re-check for any problems before the 30 day return window has run out.
If you need parts for the motor, be sure to order them at least 8 weeks before you need them... Yeah - I know. The state wouldn't give you a license for that time machine. At least, get a set of gaskets, seals, and maybe bearings on order as soon as you can, because you really don't want to be down for 8 weeks,
while you're waiting on parts that are on a slow boat from China.
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