Griot's Garage 6 Gen 2 DA accident

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originalgoods13

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To my surprise, about 50 hours of use my Gen 2 broke off while I was in Speed setting #6, projected to my metal garage door and dented in about 1 cm deep

It was a very close call and the part where you mount the backing plate separated from the rest of the polisher during high speed

It looks like it was "punched in" from factory and the defect looks like it spun against the body, shearing some metal bits and pieces.

I will post some pictures but I just want to warn everyone that if your DA is "vibrating" or noisier than the usual to inspect and stop using it

I'll be sending it back for repair but worried about Canadian shipping rates and other duty or taxes

I also just bought the Gen 3 to finish the work and it was a night and day difference

My take on it is that prolong usage of the DA in one session causes the heat transfer from the motor to the mechanism causing the metal to gradually expand over time, the slowly separating itself from the rest (I am talking about the nut and rod where you screw in the backing plates)

Thanks for reading and I'll post pictures when I get back from my trip

Cheers
 
To add I usually let the DA cool down for every section passes but it gets really hot on Speed #6 to the point that I have to spray the backing plate Velcro and behind the foam pad so it does not toast my foam pads prematurely

I apply minimal pressure to the DA during the correction and finishing process
 
originalgoods13 said:
To add I usually let the DA cool down for every section passes but it gets really hot on Speed #6 to the point that I have to spray the backing plate Velcro and behind the foam pad so it does not toast my foam pads prematurely

I apply minimal pressure to the DA during the correction and finishing process
Click to expand...

Stick with speed 5 and change pads often.
 
Wow! Lucky it didn't hit a car window, light or something else fragile. I assume they'll take care of it under warranty.
 
Wow! That is spooky! The piece hat went flying is no light weight piece either.

GG has a lifetime warranty so hello new DA.

Sorry to see that but glad you did not get hurt.
 
Someone posted a picture just like that last week, but it was a Harbor Freight machine.

With an manufactured product you are going to have an occasional problem.

sorry about the problem. Glad that shaft didn't skip across the paint and instill deep scratches.
 
Holy CRAP!

That could have been terribly expensive. :eek:

That shaft/bearing looks like it had a bit of rust as well. Hmmm.... makes me wonder for sure. I think I'll be pulling mine apart and shooting a bit of Lucas gun oil down in there for good measure. ;)
 
Rsurfer said:
Stick with speed 5 and change pads often.
Click to expand...

I recommend this as well. i've never had a need to run at 6. Maybe 5.5 on occasion.

all in all, glad to hear no one got hurt. I would guess GG would sent you a reimbursement since you already purchased a new Gen3 rather than sending you a new machine. They are pretty top notch when it comes to honoring warranty.
 
I think this is why the late 2nd gen and current 3rd gen GG6 have a sticker on the side of it that says polishing speeds 4-5 instead of 5-6 like it did on the first batch of the 2nd gens. IMO this can happen if you're running any traditional pc-style DA on speed 6, especially for long period of time. i remember hearing about the shaft breaking off on quite a few of the pcxp's more than anything quite a few years ago. thanks goodness griots has a great warranty and customer service and will make things right...

p.s. besides the outer cosmetic change, can anyone confirm that the 3rd gen GG6 is not as powerful as the first 2nd gens?
 
Yes, this one was bought back in 2011 and it had the recommended speed setting 5-6 for polishing and I have religiously followed that since.

I am glad no one got hurt and it flew away from the vehicle and into the garage door.

It separated so fast that I did not even see it fly off, I just heard a loud bang

The only tell-tale sign that I saw was the nut was easier to access with the wrench compared to the new GG, I would assume that that piece was slowly pulling away and separating itself off from the rotating body/bearings up the failure.

Notice that backing plate has score marks in black from the shield cover of the rotating assembly
 
My Gen 2 also went flying on me and GG PROMPTLY replaced it with a Gen 3, which I agree with you was night and day. Mine sheared off at the stem and the counterweight just went flying along with the backing plate

GG6_damaged.JPG
 
for anyone who has or used both the 2nd and 3rd gen GG6, are the GG6 3rd gens as or more powerful then the 2nd gen?
 
Would it be correct to assume-guess, that it appears that machines like the Griots, and PC (and perhaps others in this genere) rely on simply a press-fit of the Backing Plate Arbor Shaft?

If so, then my take is that in essence, every one of these machines is a ticking time bomb, that it's not if it will or will not happen but when? And at what cost?

Me, I surely wouldn't be worried about the machine, but worried about vehicle damage.

Seems to me a poor design, where perhaps something as simple as a C-Clip or another minor design change-upgrade may have prevented such?

I don't think I've read of such yet occurring with machines like the Rupes, or Flex?
 
Did you notice if the inner race of the ball bearing assembly turned freely? I wonder if this was caused by the spindle twisting inside the inner race because the bearing was tight.
 
Probably caused by ball bearing failure in the eccentric spindle.

These bearings have tough lives, as the high centrifugal forces of their eccentric motion can tend to sling out the grease past the rubber seals. Once all the lubrication is gone, it's just a matter of time until the bearing freezes (no longer spins). When the bearing is frozen, the steel shaft of the eccentric spindle can spin against the inner race, resulting in a "spun bearing" type failure as your picture illustrates - with metal-on-metal wear.
 
Is there a serial number breakdown for each generation of GG6 polisher? (Or some other easy way to differentiate?) I think mine is a Gen 2, but am not really sure.
 
the 3rd gen, which is the one currently sold is this one below...
10813_FAM


2nd gen is the one without the rubberized material on the top of the head, ergonomic moldings/placings on the body and on/off switch on the top...
10750


you'll also notice that on the 2nd gen GG6 that the sticker
on the side reads polishing 5-6 and waxing 3-4, where as
on the current 3rd gen it reads polishing 4-5 and waxing 2-3...

some have also said the 3rd gen isn't as powerful as the 2nd gen,
but GG assures that the only thing different is the exterior and the motor still remains the same...
 
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