Milwaukee 5625 Spindle Issue & Customer Service

[M. A. Espinoza]

I posted this in another forum but the 5625 and Milwaukee are popular choices so I thought folks here might want to have this in the database as well.



I posted a response to someone's asking about the Milwaukee 5625 and mentioned that the new one I had just recieved had some travel in the motor spindle. About .004".

I've noticed that others have noticed this so I wanted to follow up.

I posted about a separate issue in the Milwaukee Tool Forum on their website and recieved a response a day or two following with a name, phone number, prompt cue's to get through the menu, and an extension. The original posting was about some vibration and possible runout on a 5615 owned. While this was transpiring UPS brought my new 5625.

I unpacked the 5625 and before even firing it up I checked the spindle for play as I had read a post from Pat Warner that he had noticed this on a couple 5625's. Sure enough it had the play so I called the cust service person and went through the issue's on both routers.

While I was on the line he went and checked a motor (motors?) in-house and said they had a little play as well and said he would check with the tech's and get back to me. Following day he called and said that he would issue a call tag for both motors and have them evaluated.

FeEx call tag arrived in the mail a couple of days later and I shipped them off. About a week goes by and I haven't gotten them back so I call and he says they've been evaluated and problems resolved on both motors, they are shipping the next day.

Just got them back today and they are both fixed. Included was a service report with itemized parts.

No play in the 5625 spindle, the fix apparently involved adding a couple of wave washers. I was told these are standard in the 5615-5616 but not in the 5625. I'm guessing they will be now. Ran it for a couple of minutes to see if all OK; ran fine and didn't seem to get hot so I don't think the bearings are too tight now. In fact it still takes a bit to spin down, very different from the Porter Cable 890 I have. Maybe a motor brake on the PC?

Regarding the 5615 it has been taken care of as well. They added an armature kit (?), new bearing, and a new motor housing. It had slipped out of my hands while changing a bit and the housing hit the vice causing a dent. It vibrated before and after so I didn't think this affected anything but it was swapped out. The motor is now very smooth.

Keep in mind the 5615 was over a year old before I thought to call them. It buzzed but it took a while for me to be bothered enough to see if it was bad enough to get service.

None of this has cost me any money in service, shipping, or downtime. Luckily the service fell at a time when it didn't amount to any downtime because of the routers being out of the shop.

The 5625 issue was addressed quickly but it should have been as it was new. There should have been no spindle play to begin with but they took care of it.

The 5615 was better than average service I would say. Used tool and they basically overhauled it for no charge. I measured .0045 runout which is just under their .005 tolerance. Their tech measured .003 at 1.5" over the collet after service. This seems fine as the motor is much smoother than it ever was before.

A little long winded for me but I think Milwaukee took care of the problem pretty well. The tools are fixed, I didn't have to ship or drive it to a service center and they took care of it pretty quickly overall.

<input name="questions" value="0" type="hidden"><input name="day" value="" type="hidden"><input name="month" value="" type="hidden"><input name="year" value="" type="hidden"><input name="hour" value="" type="hidden"><input name="min" value="" type="hidden"><input name="ampm" value="" type="hidden"><input name="stopday" value="" type="hidden"><input name="stopmonth" value="" type="hidden"><input name="stopyear" value="" type="hidden"><input name="stophour" value="" type="hidden"><input name="stopmin" value="" type="hidden"><input name="stopampm" value="" type="hidden"><input name="enablestart" value="" type="hidden"><input name="enablestop" value="" type="hidden"><input name="noview" value="" type="hidden"><input name="mustvote" value="" type="hidden"><input name="addpoll" value="1" type="hidden"><input name="Subject" value="Milwaukee 5625 Motor Issue & Customer Service Report" type="hidden"><input name="Body" value="I posted a response to someone's asking about the Milwaukee 5625 and mentioned that the new one I had just recieved had some travel in the motor spindle. About .004%22. I've noticed that others have noticed this so I wanted to follow up. I posted about a separate issue in the Milwaukee Tool Forum on their website and recieved a response a day or two following with a name, phone number, prompt cue's to get through the menu, and an extension. The original posting was about some vibration and possible runout on a 5615 owned. While this was transpiring UPS brought my new 5625. I unpacked the 5625 and before even firing it up I checked the spindle for play as I had read a post from Pat Warner that he had noticed this on a couple 5625's. Sure enough it had the play so I called the cust service person and went through the issue's on both routers. While I was on the line he went and checked a motor (motors?) in-house and said they had a little play as well and said he would check with the tech's and get back to me. Following day he called and said that he would issue a call tag for both motors and have them evaluated. FeEx call tag arrived in the mail a couple of days later and I shipped them off. About a week goes by and I haven't gotten them back so I call and he says they've been evaluated and problems resolved on both motors, they are shipping the next day. Just got them back today and they are both fixed. Included was a service report with itemized parts. No play in the 5625 spindle, the fix apparently involved adding a couple of wave washers. I was told these are standard in the 5615-5616 but not in the 5625. I'm guessing they will be now. Ran it for a couple of minutes to see if all OK; ran fine and didn't seem to get hot so I don't think the bearings are too tight now. In fact it still takes a bit to spin down, very different from the Porter Cable 890 I have. Maybe a motor brake on the PC? Regarding the 5615 it has been taken care of as well. They added an armature kit (?), new bearing, and a new motor housing. It had slipped out of my hands while changing a bit and the housing hit the vice causing a dent. It vibrated before and after so I didn't think this affected anything but it was swapped out. The motor is now very smooth. Keep in mind the 5615 was over a year old before I thought to call them. It buzzed but it took a while for me to be bothered enough to see if it was bad enough to get service. None of this has cost me any money in service, shipping, or downtime. Luckily the service fell at a time when it didn't amount to any downtime because of the routers being out of the shop. The 5625 issue was addressed quickly but it should have been as it was new. There should have been no spindle play to begin with but they took care of it. The 5615 was better than average service I would say. Used tool and they basically overhauled it for no charge. I measured .0045 runout which is just under their .005 tolerance. Their tech measured .003 at 1.5%22 over the collet after service. This seems fine as the motor is much smoother than it ever was before. A little long winded for me but I think Milwaukee took care of the problem pretty well. The tools are fixed, I didn't have to ship or drive it to a service center and they took care of it pretty quickly overall. They have a 5 year warranty, hopefully I won't be dealing with it again." type="hidden"><input name="Parent" value="" type="hidden"><input name="ParentUser" value="" type="hidden"><input name="Main" value="" type="hidden"><input name="postername" value="M.A. Espinoza" type="hidden"><input name="Cat" value="" type="hidden"><input name="Reged" value="y" type="hidden"><input name="Board" value="UBB2" type="hidden"><input name="IP" value="70.134.208.23" type="hidden"><input name="what" value="" type="hidden"><input name="page" value="0" type="hidden"><input name="view" value="collapsed" type="hidden"><input name="oldnumber" value="" type="hidden"><input name="sb" value="5" type="hidden"><input name="o" value="" type="hidden"><input name="PStatus" value="O" type="hidden"><input name="Icon" value="book.gif" type="hidden"><input name="frompreview" value="0" type="hidden"><input name="vc" value="" type="hidden"><input name="fpart" value="" type="hidden"><input name="replyto" value="" type="hidden"><input name="convert" value="markup" type="hidden"><input name="dofav" value="" type="hidden"><input name="addevent" value="" type="hidden"><input name="calday" value="" type="hidden"><input name="calmonth" value="" type="hidden"><input name="calyear" value="" type="hidden"><input name="Sticky" value="0" type="hidden"><input name="addsig" value="1" type="hidden">They have a 5 year warranty, hopefully I won't be dealing with it again.

[Allen Bookout]

Thanks for posting the results as I have been waiting to see what they did for you. I would like to take the play out of mine. It is about .003, within their specks looks like, but would like to fix it anyway. I would not mind trying to add the washers if they would supply them to avoid the shipping hastle. My 5615 has no play at all.

Do you have the contact information so that those of us that have the problem do not have to talk to a thousand people before we find anyone that knows anything about it.

Thanks! Allen

[Barry O'Mahony]

Hmmm, I'll have to check mine.

[M. A. Espinoza]

The guy I talked to at Milwaukee is named Corby, I haven't found his extension number. Wrote it down somewhere...

But I got the feeling that it isn't some big call center with Milwaukee, if you call their service 1-800-SAWDUST and ask for Corby I'm guessing you'll get in touch. He is definitely in Wisconsin. He reminded me of better tradesmen I've worked with. No BS or spin, just info and action.

Runout is going to happen unless you get a magic one off the production line so I can live with it as long as I don't see scalloping. But the end travel isn't something I think is allowable. No router I've worked with has had play in the spindle unless the bearings were gone. This includes a Harbor Freight trim router.

I remember them saying something about allowing so many thousands for end play but they fixed it anyway. And the 5615 with the runout had no play.

If I find his info I'll PM you.

[Allen Bookout]

Thanks much!!!! Allen

[Bill Fields]

Thanks, M.A., for telling us all about excellent customer service. It's getting rare!

The other end of the spectrum is Harbor Freight. It works--sort of--after lots of calls. However, they do take store-bought items back with (almost) no questions.

Maybe I'm not being fair----"you get what you paid for" applies. ANd they are sometimes 1/2 the price for very similar products.

I guess the tough part is the clerks who haven't seen a bath in a month and have face metal all over--and really don't know much about the stuff they are selling.

That is why I've stopped worrying about the future of our local Ace Hardware vs. the borgs. To save time and money I always go local with any questions about plumbing fittings, etc.

Bill

[scott spencer]

Thanks for all the info and update. I bought a refurbed 5615 last summer that looked new and has been flawless.....wonder if I got lucky or if they fixed an issue on it. It's surprisingly strong for it's amp rating. Nice to know their service is good if I need it.