Warranty Activation Headquarters
is a leader in the automobile warranty industry.

A decade ago, Roger Albertson, a manufacturing engineer at Gehl Products sought a solution for the abuse Gehl Products skid loaders received in the field, as warranty service
costs were too high.

"Under constant back and forth motion and jarring vibration, certain fasteners wouldn't hold tight on typical threading," said Albertson. "We tried just about everything from locknuts and adhesives to inserts, washers, and double nuts. But they either came loose in the field, posed assembly problems, or both. Another complication was that operators had to adjust the drive chains every 100 hours in the field, so fastener reusability was a requirement as well."

After testing and investigation, Gehl Products chose to use self locking threaded fasteners for added vibration resistance and holding power. Because the design change worked so well, Gehl Products later added fasteners to all hard joints on products - such as motor mounts, lift control levers and rods - for locking ability and ease of assembly.

"The change has virtually eliminated service and warranty concerns
in these areas," says Albertson of the self locking threaded fasteners. "By minimizing the need for warranty service and simplifying assembly, I'd estimate we've saved over $100,000 in the last nine years."


Chris Shoemaker

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