Arc weld
Veteran Member
I was talking to my buddy last week who is a rig welder. He sold his old truck with a Lincoln Ranger 305G. The welder had 5700 hours on it but still ran great. He used synthetic oil since about 200 hours(break in). He really liked the 305G so bought another one. The new one seemed to rev. a little faster and put out a few more amps. He noticed it was using oil where is old one never did. He figured after break in and it should get better. It did get better but at 600+ hours was still using about 3/4 of a litre between oil changes. He took it to the warranty depot and what they told him was shocking. They said the engine is only designed for about 200 hours a year and is about a 2000 hour engine before needing a rebuild. He said that's BS, my old 305 had 5700 hours and was still running strong.
Apparently the newer Kohler engines have some kind of emissions system that feeds excess fuel back to the fuel tank and if you overfill the tank, it causes carb. flooding that in turn washes the cylinders of the engine so the rings won't seat! The worst part is that there is no mention of this in the owners manual and no sticker on the machine to warn about over filling. Millers now have a sticker warning not to overfill the tank and leave room for expansion. They didn't used to have this sticker. A new engine was $1800 but the shop said they could hone the cylinders and install new rings and head gaskets to fix the problem. They also said they had 8 other 305's with the same problem!
So they did the work and my buddy went to pick up his machine. They charged him $1500 Still not bad enough is that none of it was covered on warranty!:thumbsdown: I know one of the customers where I work had the same problem. Lincoln and/or Kohler should step up to the plate. Could you imagine if you could only fill your truck 3/4 full so it wouldn't flood and cause engine damage? There'd be so much backlash, they'd have a massive recall.
My buddy sold the welder and said he'd never buy another Lincoln machine again! I can't blame him. He won't buy Miller either but that's not necessarily Millers fault. He bought a demo Miller 350P MIG welder with the aluminum package. He was building an aluminum deck for his new welding truck and wanted really nice welds on the fender wells. The pulse on the machine didn't work so he talked to the Miller rep. The Miller rep., went through the procedure to set the pulse and it still didn't work so he said to take the machine back where he bought it, Praxair. About a week and a half later, my buddy went to see what was happening with the machine. They were asking my buddy when he was going to pay for the machine and had no clue there was a problem with it!:confused3: It was still sitting in the same place where he dropped it off. My buddy was expecting it to be repaired or replaced with a new machine but they did absolutely nothing and his deck is 3/4 finished taking up space in his friends welding shop.
Customer service and standing behind your products seems to be a thing of the past. I'm sure my buddy had to use a lot of restraint in both situations. I don't know how I would have handled it.
Apparently the newer Kohler engines have some kind of emissions system that feeds excess fuel back to the fuel tank and if you overfill the tank, it causes carb. flooding that in turn washes the cylinders of the engine so the rings won't seat! The worst part is that there is no mention of this in the owners manual and no sticker on the machine to warn about over filling. Millers now have a sticker warning not to overfill the tank and leave room for expansion. They didn't used to have this sticker. A new engine was $1800 but the shop said they could hone the cylinders and install new rings and head gaskets to fix the problem. They also said they had 8 other 305's with the same problem!
So they did the work and my buddy went to pick up his machine. They charged him $1500 Still not bad enough is that none of it was covered on warranty!:thumbsdown: I know one of the customers where I work had the same problem. Lincoln and/or Kohler should step up to the plate. Could you imagine if you could only fill your truck 3/4 full so it wouldn't flood and cause engine damage? There'd be so much backlash, they'd have a massive recall. My buddy sold the welder and said he'd never buy another Lincoln machine again! I can't blame him. He won't buy Miller either but that's not necessarily Millers fault. He bought a demo Miller 350P MIG welder with the aluminum package. He was building an aluminum deck for his new welding truck and wanted really nice welds on the fender wells. The pulse on the machine didn't work so he talked to the Miller rep. The Miller rep., went through the procedure to set the pulse and it still didn't work so he said to take the machine back where he bought it, Praxair. About a week and a half later, my buddy went to see what was happening with the machine. They were asking my buddy when he was going to pay for the machine and had no clue there was a problem with it!:confused3: It was still sitting in the same place where he dropped it off. My buddy was expecting it to be repaired or replaced with a new machine but they did absolutely nothing and his deck is 3/4 finished taking up space in his friends welding shop.
Customer service and standing behind your products seems to be a thing of the past. I'm sure my buddy had to use a lot of restraint in both situations. I don't know how I would have handled it.
