soflotoyo,
1. The brake job does seems high but unless one has more details it is not fair to judge the price. What does it actually include? Brake shoes, wheel cylinders, master cylinder, assist slave cylinder etc.
2. Hour meter readings at best are only a guide. Hour meters can go bad and be replaced with a new one that starts at 0000 hours. I know a large Toyota dealer in Atlanta that replaces all the hour meters as an SOP when they delivery a reconditioned lift. It is always a good idea when buying a pre-owned (used, reconditioned) lift to ask the dealer for copies of the service history on the unit - they should have it if they had the unit in their rental fleet or if they performed service on the unit. I sold used equipment & would offer the customer copies of the service history as a condition of the sale. Customers liked that.
3. The 7 series Toyota lifts in this class were replaced by the 8 series in 2007. So it is 4 years old - warranty has long expired. Warranties are stated in terms of time & hours & expire which ever one is reached first.
4. I've worked for small & large dealers and it was common practice that an annual PM would be billed out with travel time, standard service labor rates & parts.
To receive a "preferential" rate (meaning no travel time charge & a fixed labor rate for defined PM services,) the PM service had to be performed at least every 90 day interval.
5. Customers have shown me invoices from small independent dealers with a standard service labor rate of $50.00, our labor rates were $75 to $85/hour) & their total invoice cost for a PM would be $325 -$360. The independent dealer cannot buy OEM parts at a good price so they buy a lot of parts from the cheapest source they can find & usually these parts don't last as long - but they fit. Personally, I buy service parts for my vehicles Ford & have found that their prices are real close to the "will fitters" like Auto Zone, PEP Boys, Advanced, O'Reilly's but I have the assurance that I am receiving the parts with current updates from the manufacturer. "Will fitter" parts houses keep selling them until their supply is exhausted.
5. I realize you rarely use the lift at 10 hours per year. This is not a good thing long term. The engine rarely gets to operating temperature which means condensation can build up in the oil pan - condensation will cause sludge built up & acid formation which can attack bearing, seals, etc., axle, transmission seals need to be worked to remain pliable. Condensation can be a big issue in Florida. Play havoc with the LPG fuel system (tar build up), etc - the LPG system uses heat from the engine coolant to better vaporize the fuel coming from the tank.

I am not a Toyota guy, never have been, never will be (I'm retired) but what I have stated here can be applied to any brand you.

Like some one mentioned Linde is great when it comes to brakes but OMG their PM service cost are an arm & a leg - I worked for a Linde dealer..

It would be nice if Toyota actually listened to its engineers, sales guys & customers over the IC counter balances.

Engineers moan about the awful brake set up / having to repeatedly adjust them.

Sales guys moan they loose orders due to the transmission & brake system Toyota insist on fitting.

Customers want hydrostatic transmission & brakes.

I still think Linde make the best IC counter balance machines, there much better laid out under the bonnet / easier to work on & thats coming from me a Toyota employee!

What specifically does Toyota say to do each year for the brake inspection? I saw a service manual for a 7FGCU that said to pull the wheel cylinders and measure the clearance between the pistons and cylinder bore. However, you must be very careful when taking out cup seals and pistons. My practice is to simply make sure the bore is clean and not pitted, then replace with new seals and pistons, making sure clearance is within specs. Also, when replacing shoes, I always check the wheel cylinders and either rebuild with new seals/pistons or replace assembly. What about you?

Not long after bragging about those brakes with 27000 hours a wheel cylinder failed just like you mentioned. Sitting overnight, it leaked all the brake fluid out. I tore it all down and the shoes were 3/4 worn out. All new shoes, wheel cylinders, and seals were installed. The master cylinder is doing ok.
The Toyota owners manual says the brakes should be inspected once a year.
After neglecting the brakes on that truck, I would suggest new wheel cylinders after 5 years or 10000 hours even if they don't show and leaks. The brake fluid was checked weekly and it was not dropping down. All of a sudden, overnight, that wheel cylinder just let go.
It is one thing for a truck to konk out and not run but a brake failure is something no one ever wants to happen.

After reading Mr. Fixit's experience with getting so many hours on the Toyota brakes, I am curious as to how often Toyota recommends at least pulling the wheels and checking the shoes, and removing the wheel cylinders and checking condition of seals, bores, piston clearance. How often do you replace wheel cylinders or rebuild with new seals/pistons? Pistons can wear and you can get good seal when supplying brake pressure, and then when the pedal is released you get leaking.

Forklift truck brake shoes hardly ever wear out. Typically the wheel seals leak, as in your case, or the wheel cylinders leak. In either instance the fluid soaks int the shoes and they must be replaced.
It sounds like you should call a different dealer to perform the work. A brake job on this truck can be done on the road at your location. It really isn't very difficult. I also don't know hwy he is recommending turning the brake drums. I would only do that if some hardware broke and gouged the drums.
The cost to do a complete brake job on this truck shouldn't be more than six hour labor maximum plus travel time, mileage and parts.

I believe you. Don't take offense to anyone being skeptical of a forklift surviving for 27,000 hours as this is very unusual and for any other brand unlikely.......nothing lasts that long without good maintenance and great operators.

Well the 7FGCU15 I've serviced since new in 2004 has 27,000 hours now. Never did anything to the brakes, motor, or the propane regulator.. I figure it has burned at least $135,000 worth of LPG. I got better things to do than make up stories and post them on the internet. I'll pull the brake drum next time I service it and take a picture. They traded in the other one with 27,000 hours for a new Yale. The Yale has 4000 hours now but has had trouble and I can tell it will never live like a Toyota.
A forklift with 1700 hours certain doesn't need to be reconditioned so something is up with that. New truck warrentees are at least 2000 hours.
I did a head gasket job on a 7FGCU25 with 15,000 hours this week and when the head was off you could see absolutely no wear in the cylinder bores. All the honing cross hatch was there even on the sides where the piston skirt rides. I did a quick check of the valves and had the head milled flat. Took it off at 8:00, had it at the machine shop at 9:30, picked it up at noon, and the second shift operator drove it away at 3:00.

Unless you know the full history (via service records not verbal stuff) of this unit don't be fooled by the hourmeter reading you saw when you bought it. Hourmeters can be replaced easily, disconnected & later reconnected, replaced with one that has a lower reading, etc. I know a dealer in my town that replaces all hourmeters on every used reconditioned lift truck they sell. They tell the prospective customer it is easier for them to keep track of the usage in their application. This is a dealer that represents a major brand of lift trucks - but maybe they haven't learned to subtract yet.
Secondly, if someone says they never replaced brake shoes on a lift w/ 25,000 hours (equivlent to 750,00 to 1,000,000 on a car some say they a.) blowing smoke up your tail pipe - a forklift only has two brakes & weigh more than 99% of the autos on the road when running empty b.) they used transmission reversing to stop the lift & had the trans repaired, rebuild or replaced several times over & damaged a lot of product

update:

i had a independent repair company come out, he took of the front wheel, and found oil soaked worn brake shoes. he recommends a complete brake job, sublet both brake drums for machining, brake shoes, wheel cylinders, axle and hubs. Does not include master cylinder.
$312 for parts, $120 for pickup and delivery to his shop, $455 in labor, 6 hours @ $75/hr, comes to $950 with tax.

I'm no expert but the previous post said he's worked on my model with 25,000 hours without doing a brake job. this unit has 1,742 hours. like i said before, i bought this reconditioned and put 30 hours on it since.

A. the brakes were shot when i bought it and it was adjusted and i never noticed it.
B. there is more than 1,742 hours and someone reset the hour-meter-fraud.

Is it possible to need this whole service at such short hours?

Funny thing is after he put the unit back in service, the unit operates real nice and it feels like a new set of brakes maybe not needed? but it may be just temporary...

Thanks

Thanks

definatly needs the drums pulled for a proper look. maybe a parkcable has seized with the low usage. low usage sometimes causes more things to go wrong

It sounds to me like one of your shoe linings has delaminated from the shoe and is causing brake jamming issues. This is likely caused by driving with the park brake applied and overheating the shoe. The 7FGCU15 uses the 4Y engine and is very powerful. THe operator may have inadvertently driven with the brake on without knowing it. Either way it is a good idea to remove the drums and inspect the problem on both sides. Not including travel, the time for inspection should be less than an hour. If the drums are not scored you can replace the shoes in another hour to hour and a half. A sharp mechanic will have the whole thing up and running again in 2-3 hours. Dealers typically charge around $90-100 / hr. Independants are around $60-80 / hour. A tip! Save yourself the hassle of aftermarket bargain shoes and use the Original Toyota shoes. You will usually get double the life.
HG

mr fixit, you guys work really cheap.

It sure sounds like something broken in the brakes with the parking brake issue also. No way anyone will do a service call for free to check something and give a estimate. Call another company and ask how much to inspect the brakes. I guess it depends how close they are to you. I charge about $125 to do a local call (within 1/2 hour drive) and do 1 hour labor work. Then $75/hr for any additional labor. Brake shoes, springs, cylinders, etc. for that truck is about $300. Probably 4 hours labor.

thanks mr. fixit for your help.

no, it was just a pm service and he guessed it needed a a job. it started grinding/pulsing and gradually getting worse until i called to have the pm service/get it looked at.

would forklift service companies give free estimates or is industry standard for a service call to drive out and inspect., no the service included blowing off filter with air and new oil filter, 2 hr labor at $170 (1 hour travel time) and tax and fuel surcharge.

thanks



floridabillyjatgmaildotcom

I've also noticed a new issue, when in neutral, after parking brake has been enabled, and trying to go into reverse, its sticks or hesitates and then jolts and them moves fine from there out. is this connected to the brake issue/parking brake or a seprate transmission related issue.

this lift has worked fine for years and now that im starting to use it more, im noticing things!

i wonder if very very little use and sitting has to do with these issues?

thanks

Sounds like something may have broke on the left side brake. Did anyone take the brake drum off and look in there? If 1,742 hours are the total orginal hours they can't be worn out. Also the brakes are self adjusting and don't need anyone to adjust them unless something is broken. Was it grinding/plusing before the PM?
If you only run it 10 hours per year, maybe only get a PM every 2 years to change the oil.
I would call a different forklift service company and ask them to take 20 minutes and pull the brake drums for inspection and give you a quote to fix just what is wrong with the brakes.
The 7fgcu15's I work on with 25,000 hours still have good shoes.
Did the 45 minute, $275, PM include all new filters? How much of it was labor and travel?