So you are saying that since you called out Fred and were right now you are calling out Dana and you are right?

Although it is a tough time in the marine biz, they are way different companies. I am not rushing to their aid, I will say that my experience was fine. Dana has been around many times more than old Fred. I don't know what kind of phone conversation you had but Dana is out here in the open with what seems like a good offer to fix some parts that probably have no warranty. So maybe you have had a bad run of some of their stuff. It would not hurt to let them fix it for free. Heck, they can actually fix their parts. That is more than a bunch of these folks.

NO business operates this way, you can't send product out without some form of payment guarantee, in this case he is offering to repair your cylinders for free so they payment he requires comes in the form of YOUR CYLINDERS, now from the dealings I have had with Dana and what I see from them around here I am willing to bet that if you were willing to place a deposit large enough to cover the cylinders, he would be willing to send you a set out and refund your deposit when he receives your old ones back. They probably have a used set around the shop that they can use as a "swing" set. Apparently you are not familiar but this is called a "core deposit" it is the standard way things work in this business. A company simply can not make a business practice of sending out parts with no payment or failed part secured prior to shipping.

They have offered you a very fair solution and you would be foolish to not accept their offer and try and rebuild these cylinders yourself. As Chris Sunkin said, it is not a field for do it your selfers, there are some critical things that need to be checked and at the pressures that these systems operate under the repercussions of a failure can be high. I realize these are very small cylinders but the pressures are the same, there is a LOT of power packed into those little lines leading to the cylinders and within the cylinders them selves.

And lastly how much could your hatch weight? I get to lift them everyday at work when people bring their boats in with dead batteries and I have yet to come across one that was that big of a deal to lift and put a prop rod under, and honestly you should have a prop rod under that hatch anytime your are under it with a hydraulic hatch lift system, there is no positive lock with them unlike the electric linear actuator style. If a line or seal fails while you are under it that hatch is gonna come down on you and it is gonna hurt. If you are worried about oil dripping from the lines while the cylinders are out you can either find some caps or plugs for the lines or zip tie plastic bags around them, there are ways to deal with things like this, how do you think shops preform such repairs without making a mess of your boat?

WOW,Very well said,Bob.I think I'll pull up your catalog and buy something!Class act. Bob

Fred was a whore who bought products from other companies, beat them up on price, and sold them below map.

Dana actually manufacturers product, and sells to OEM's and dealers. They are no "Trick". I've found their customer service to be spot on.

If the product is out of warranty they could have told you to pound sand. They also don't have to sell replacement parts. With the offer they posted on this thread, it seems that they've been more than fair to you, even if the tone of the phone call didn't satisfy you. Send them back, or take them apart and find somewhere to match the seals up local.

Oh my god! I never took a look at the Dana website till just now...
I will be ordering many items over the winter

zt260, you are the true defination of an unreasonable customer:rolleyes::rolleyes:

zt 260 are you an optometrist??? You have so many I's in your conversation

Because it isn't happening your way doesnt mean it isn't happing the correct way

Dana has offered to help and posted how he will help

first you complain about the cost then when Dana says it is free you complain about shipping

Dana has put in writing on this forum what they will do, so send it to him let em fix it and put it back on in the spring

You partialy got what you wanted (attention to the issue) and Dana has offered to make it more than right

Ball is in your court you can play ball, or leave the court. If you leave the court don't complain you lost the game

You are one whiny little tool, aren't you?

i think he's right about the dana offer not being reasonable. NO WHERE in there did they offer a free fuel for life and to put his kids thru college and a $ 25,000 cash settlement.

COMMON DANA step up and do the right thing.

I've personally had nothing but great experiences dealing with Dana Marine. They run a nice clean operation.

Kurt