Forums >Gears and Wears>Treadmill deck condition and hesitation
I fly.
I have a different brand treadmill, but I had a similar problem. I had a replacement belt put on it as well as the thing that turns the belt (I'm really high tech with my terms). When they opened up the treadmill to replace the parts, they found spiders living in it too, which the guys thought may have contributed to the belt hesitation. Pretty gross.
I bought an extended warranty from Sears even though I wasn't the original owner of the treadmill. Since the repairs would have cost a few hundred bucks, I thought that it was a good deal (just under $100 for a year).
MTA: They were able to figure out how old the treadmill was based on a number on the base - when I called to order the service contract they told me where to look.
Bring it on.
A little late to the discussion. I have a ProForm 735 which started tripping the breaker a couple of weeks past. Got the lube kit from Dick's, strainghtened out the deck pad, cleaned out the immense amount of spiders living in in the unit, lubed the roller bearing area, 1/4 turn tightened the belt. Runs perfectly now. Trip must have been from heat but the cleaning couldn't have hurt.
Spaniel - if the phoenelic is cracked, there are some self leveling composites you could try to fill and support (comes with surface tape). Cheaper than replacing the deck. Most hobby shops should have it.
"He conquers who endures" - Persius "Every workout should have a purpose. Every purpose should link back to achieving a training objective." - Spaniel
http://ncstake.blogspot.com/
Feeling the growl again
Thanks, I'll keep that in mind. While it's in warranty for a few more months, I'm going to try and make them pay for it though first.
"If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does. There's your pep talk for today. Go Run." -- Slo_Hand
I am spaniel - Crusher of Treadmills
Update. I logged in and completed my registration, then called warranty service. My info already appeared for them 3min after I entered it. Then they connected me to a service technician, who informed me that they have been waiting on a shipment of F63 decks and they have been out of stock for one month, but should be in in two weeks. They are shipping me a new deck and belt by FedEx at no charge as soon as they come in, and emailing me instructions on how to install myself.
So if they follow through, I will have a new deck and belt at no cost to me and they are not requiring me to pay a service tech to come one, verify my problem, and do the replacement.
Pending the final outcome, this seems to be phenominal service to me. The fact that they are waiting on a shipment of decks makes me wonder how common this problem is though....
I will update when more is known.
that is good customer service!!
Good point about the back-order on the decks.Either it's a common problem, or they're just tightly controlling inventory.
Good luck!
Wow. That's good news indeed. Missed the part where it was still under warranty so that is a huge plus.
I finally have my TM back! But it did take a while: 3 weeks. The deck arrived by FedEx ground just before Labor Day, then another week went by while Sole was apparently trying to find someone cheaper than Fitness Superstore to do the service call.
According to the tech that came out, Sole treadmill failures are uncommon, while Sole ellipticals bite it all the time. Good to know.
I am posting pictures of the old deck. This is from an F85 with 1500 miles on it. The cracking on the underside is far more impressive. The tech mentioned that in many cases the deck can be flipped over if one side wears out. This is a potential solution for a post-warranty DIY repair. But that wouldn't work in this case, as both sides are toast. The tech also mentioned that there is enough fraying on the belt seam to justify replacement. I'm glad that I have 15 months left on the two year parts+labor warranty.
Top of deck: what looks like hairs are hairline cracks.
Bottom of deck. Lots of cracking and signs of stress.
Still waiting on my deck. The two weeks are just up though so I'm still patient...
I received a safety switch replacement within a couple days of contacting Sole. I installed it myself. Holy smokes that was a lot of screws to remove just to get to that one part of the display. With the old switch, the TM would shut off if I just touched the red key. Now, the the unit only shuts off it the key is actually removed from the slot.
This cracked deck issue has me somewhat concerned. I thought some part of the Sole Treadmills had lifetime warranties. I'll have to check.
Mine still wears the sticker saying frame and motor lifetime, everything else 3 years. I'm 3 months from hitting 3 years.
Update:
They said the decks were backordered for 2 weeks, it has been almost 4 weeks so I called to check on the status. They guy who answered said the system said I'd just ordered on Friday, so I clarified that it has been almost a month. He seemed genuinely upset that the date was wrong and it had taken so long ("this is ridiculous"), and told me he was going to go down to the warehouse, straighten it out, and call me back. He called back within 10 minutes and said that the reason was the decks just arrived Friday so this was when the order had finally executed and my parts should ship out today.
It's taking a little longer than I'd hoped but the part was out of stock, so I'm not bent about it. So far very good experience on customer service. Final update when I get everything in and installed.
I have had 2 Sole treadmills..Both f-80s and they are really not that durable from my use..The first was an 05 model..It last three years until the steel frame on the front side of the deck itself just broke one day..While I was running it snapped and flipped over..Next they sent me entire new unit in 08' as a replacement mode..The frame is better but the decks don't last very long..Running my old routine which was about 30 miles a week give or take..A deck was cracked in years or less..I have changed the deck twice on this model already since 08'..First it overheated..Then it cracked cross ways..I changed it out and put on a new belt in 2011..Since then I have not ran as much as Iused to but already feel those long line cracks like you showed and described here so I changed it again last week..This time the deck is all they would send..The belt seems fine still but a new belt they want 200 bucks for..I lubed and lined it up yesterday and ran one time for about 30 mins..It gets really hot in the center and I always keep them lubed good..I think it is just the sole decks they why they don't last worth a crap..And I only weight 160lbs..I think when I have yo buy another tread mill I am gonna go with a different brand than Sole. I think they aimed at the usual lazy people who use it for a clothes rack that to run on.
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Can someone get rid of the spam?
Wow, this thread brings back some memories. I still have my Sole F85. It has about 4,000 miles/600 hours on it now. It's been pretty reliable. The odometer turns back to zero every 1765 miles, which is weird. I've had the dreaded Low Speed Error a few times lately, but ultimately I figured out that the sense wire was strung too tight where it connects to the controller board. I suspect that the combination of excessive strain on the connector and the vibration would cause it to lose contact momentarily. When that happens, the motor accelerates for a few seconds (can be scary if you are already going fast) before triggering the Low Speed Error. These machines have quirks and wear items, but the motor itself seems bulletproof.