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Spindle bearing gave out on a Monday rush job
Had a 2008 Haas VF-2 start screaming at 11am last Monday. Pulled the cover off and found the front bearing cage crumbled into pieces. Anyone replaced one of these yourself or is it better to call HFO?
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christopher_sullivan27d ago
You gotta be careful with that plan. I've seen guys get halfway into a spindle swap on those VF-2s and realize the taper seat is galled or the drawbar threads are messed up from vibration when the bearing let go. HFO will quote you around $3,500 for a cartridge swap but they'll also check the alignment and thermal compensation settings which Haas likes to hide in a secret parameter menu. If you do it yourself, budget a full day and have a porta power ready because those taper fit spindles can be a real battle to break loose without a proper puller set.
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black.joel27d agoMost Upvoted
Hold up on that $3,500 number though. I've seen the actual HFO invoices and the cartridge swap alone runs closer to $4,800 once they tack on the alignment check and thermal comp re-calibration. Plus they always add a "shop supply" fee that bumps it another $150.
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alicew6826d ago
Check if your local HFO has a loaner spindle program before you commit to anything. A lot of people don't realize they'll drop a rebuilt unit off at your shop and pick up the bad one, which keeps you running instead of waiting days. Saved my tail on a similar repair when the rebuild time stretched to three weeks.
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