karenm49•9d agoMost Upvoted

Had to choose between a full car replacement or a rebuild on a 15-year-old hydraulic unit

The call came in for a stuck elevator in a 1980s office building downtown. The main hydraulic cylinder was shot, and the building manager gave me two choices: replace the whole car system with a new one for about $85,000, or just rebuild the old cylinder and pump for maybe a third of that cost. I pushed for the rebuild, thinking I could save them a ton of money and keep a solid piece of gear running. It took me and my apprentice almost a full week to pull the cylinder, get the seals replaced, and clean out the valve block. The real headache was finding a new piston rod that would fit the old housing without custom machining. We got it done, but the building owner is already asking when the next big failure will be. Makes you wonder if going for the cheaper fix just sets you up for more calls down the road. What's your rule of thumb for when to stop patching and just push for a full replacement?

2 comments

2 Comments

seth_wells499d ago

That bit about the building owner asking when the next failure will be hits home. We had a similar situation with an old air handler, kept fixing the fan bearings until the motor finally cooked itself and took the control board with it. Ended up costing more in the long run than if we'd just pushed for the new unit the first time it acted up.

felix_coleman879d ago

That $85,000 replacement quote is a real number to get anyone's attention. But when the owner asks when it will break again, isn't that the whole problem? You saved them maybe $55,000 now, but what's the cost of their lost trust and the next shutdown? How do you even put a price on that worry?