Back in the mid-nineties, when it came to bearings, Gartech offered a program that let us extend the life of our split heads by widening the yoke groove or bolt-on yoke ring to a slightly larger bearing size. This enabled our customers to get added life from their parts.
Not familiar with Gartech heads and yokes? Learn more.
But, many customers started running the heads longer, believing they had the extra coverage, and wore the parts beyond the 1-1/8″ cap. They also stopped stocking parts.
As demand for parts decreased, we too stopped stocking as many spares. When you offer over 9,000 parts, you can imagine the inventory costs add up!
Some hot water and a few hot tempers later…
Back to the Bearing
By the early 2000s, Gartech discontinued the 1-1/8″ bearing offer. We found this encouraged routine maintenance and service calls. We were also able to keep a better line of communication with our customers.
Rhonda misses you. (Yes, she’s still here.)
Still, from time to time, customers who’ve maintained their equipment better than expected will call and replace a part–specifying they need the wider groove to accommodate the 1-1/8″ bearing.
Here’s the misconception.
Back to Standard
We encourage our customers with these non-standard parts to go back to the original set-up we sold them. Often times, we’ll even donate a set of standard bearings to make the change more affordable.
Nothing else in our patented yoke needs to change; which isn’t to say that pins and setscrews last forever. The same unworn pins in use will work with either bearing size.
Advantages?
Running the same bearings throughout the Gartech conversion makes for an easier set-up, fewer spares to track, and greater interchangeability.
If you’re running the 1-1/8″ bearings, we will still sell those parts if you absolutely want them. Otherwise, don’t let the change confuse you. We simply like to keep a streamlined offering of parts for our conversions.
Updating & Standardizing
As we’ve made design changes for interchangeability or our own changes in manufacturing process, changes like this–or even updated part numbering–may occur. In every instance, we’ll keep you informed before we begin production or ship your order.